After a divine fried rice with satay and what not to have worked backwards, also enjoying a good interview, last night was the fifth meeting of Neerland Scheeren community managers begin. It was my first time I met could / could experience. The how and why behind it is a long story and I want to spare you. Good. Maybe it is useful to say that for the first time made a very nice room with Deloitte in Dublin.

The key question is whether the main theme of the evening was this: When a community is successful? A main question of course your heart can be divided into sub-questions. Whatever happened after the case study of Deloitte Consulting's Cafe, run by government of Kooy.

Consulting Cafe is a pilot and a coffee corner to digital example of the knowledge cafe Winkwaves. Empire is the community manager of the platform that was launched to enhance social interaction within Deloitte. Rich mentions the community and successful figures in his presentation seem to confirm this, but there is a debate. Is there a pre-determined when the success, or any level of activity included?

Rich then names the role Yammer takes within Deloitte . And the size of that role, relative to 'the pub'. That significant. Rich: "You see very few non-business topics at the cafe, although the design of the platform is completely peeled from the strict style Deloitte." Those are personal matters are discussed on Yammer. Despite this, considering Deloitte Yammer inaccessible because it is not hosted in-house and therefore harmful to the organization. When asked why Yammer is integrated or not, Rich replied: "That's been one step further. (...) Yammer is extremely easy to use, the Consulting Cafe can post maybe too up your clips and upload photos, share documents, just saying whatever ... For beginning users that perhaps too much to do in depth. " And maybe you do not socialize on a platform that was set up by your employer, call a smart guy from the audience. Food for thought.

Then put a few people some questions on large sheets of brown paper. And we joined ourselves to the questions that seemed interesting to us. A figure did have very many questions put on paper. That triggered me enormously. I took that piece to get.

Our group is bent over questions like: where you base your sense of success? Is that active members (growth)? Whether your community is successful when it is being used where "he is referring to? When the recurring visits is maintained? Or if the concept appeals to the audience, however small?

Another interesting question was: Do you visions? And if so, how far plan ahead? The (former) community managers ikki did this is a suitable example. Ikki started as a vacancy, but also by signals from the community turned into careers network where professionals can develop themselves, and with a new network profile for a desired job (in a different field) can move. The lesson you may draw therefrom is that your target time to evaluate what you want and where necessary, to what to send.

Issues that other groups have had bent over, what is the value of a community for a business? And how do you measure that? Using a 0-measurement before? But what are you measuring it? Harold Chicken proposes a model-based stars, kudos, diggs, or whatever you want to call. A user would your platform to others? And if so, is not that much more valuable than the number of members?
What everyone agreed on was that you are not one community after one year to dispose when the figures are not impressive enough. "Knowledge is power, is such a cliché," said Kirsten . "A community is like a bank, you put not after one year on fire, so do not pull the plug after one year of a community. That is sin. "Thus Harold Kip. Fine findings and one-liners so.

Were there any flaws? Yes. There was no WiFi. Now every self-respecting community manager of course a smartphone, but it had still been fine. And a slightly more central location is also handy. Yesterday I had to skip the drink and I was only at half past eleven at home.

Not that the fun was pressing. I was enjoying myself and have read some nice new communities. A good night so!