> If your community has a "manager", it isn't being treated as a community and probably isn't a community to begin with. A better description might fall within: a) a con job where someone is attempting to get people to participate on their terms for their benefit while trying to convince them that isn't the case at all and everyone is equally in it together; b) a cult organization; c) a captive audience being actively groomed for marketing purposes ... perhaps a mix of the above. Not, however, a community.
Oh, man... This has been my experience, completely. I was hired as a "Community Associate" and later promoted to "Community Lead" for a FinTech startup in NYC. "Con Job" is the perfect way to describe it. The company's idea to increase user growth was to simply BUY contact information of people in the field the product was targeted for, and add them to their MailChimp list. After getting promoted (well, after my boss was fired), I fought vociferously to end the practice, knowing it would bite them in the ass. I left in October of 2013, and I've kept an eye waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Oh, man... This has been my experience, completely. I was hired as a "Community Associate" and later promoted to "Community Lead" for a FinTech startup in NYC. "Con Job" is the perfect way to describe it. The company's idea to increase user growth was to simply BUY contact information of people in the field the product was targeted for, and add them to their MailChimp list. After getting promoted (well, after my boss was fired), I fought vociferously to end the practice, knowing it would bite them in the ass. I left in October of 2013, and I've kept an eye waiting for the other shoe to drop.