Atlassian Community: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

This week at Summit we announced an exciting rebrand of two major elements of our community. Read on for details and jump in with questions!

In 2006, a group of ~80 Atlassian users in Virginia got together in-person to network and discuss our products and practices. They then began to meet regularly, forming the very first Atlassian User Group. This was the first, grass-roots effort to build our user community. As most of you know, we have since formalized the AUG program and now have 344 leaders hosting events in 148 cities around the globe.

Fast forward to 2017, when we launched our online community to provide support and connection for our users on a larger scale. The success of our online community is due to a group of amazing individuals, Community Champions, who provide connection and product support to the 2M+ members of this community. Just like the people who help us run in-person events, these online leaders are the heart of our community and we would not be where we are today without them. Fun fact, we even have ~30 people who are currently wearing both hats and leading our community in online and offline capacities!

So, over the past 12+ years we’ve developed two community programs – in-person and online – and two top contributor programs – AUG Leaders and Community Champions – that have recently been organically converging into one. Recognizing the potential power in combining these forces, we’ve rebranded two foundational aspects of the Atlassian Community. This rebrand will begin to roll out over the next several months and we’re excited about what the future holds as we combine these two parts into one greater whole.

Without further ado…

LeaderPatch.png

Introducing Atlassian Community Leaders*

*Artists formerly known as Atlassian User Group Leaders and Atlassian Community Champions

As mentioned above, the people who host in-person events for our community are quite similar to (and in some cases are even the same people as) those who provide connection and support in our online community.

Both of these groups:

  • Provide guidance and advice to Atlassian users who need support

  • Enjoy fostering connections between like-minded people

  • Like solving complex problems with Atlassian products

  • Are the heart of the Atlassian Community

…and more!

By removing the silos between these two programs and combining them under the Community Leader umbrella, our hope is that we’re able to better recognize and support all of our leaders. The paths to becoming a Community Leader will become more clear, the options for ways to engage within the program will become more robust, and we’ll (hopefully!) be delivering more value to the people who are shaping the future of our community.

Goodbye AUGs*, hello Community Events

*Bittersweet… “AUG” will always be part of Atlassian’s DNA :)

Another strategic rebrand that has been in the works for some time and will launch this week at Summit is the Community Events program. Our objective with this rebrand is to make these events more approachable, identifiable, and flexible. Over the years, Atlassian User Groups have evolved into many different types of events… in addition to the formal meet-up with presentations, pizza, and beer that most of us are familiar with, we have also observed that our leaders are hosting lunches, happy hours, internal events, and more. And, while Atlassian products are central to many events, leaders also educate their members on adjacent topics like Agile, ITSM, or team collaboration. You also don’t have to be an Atlassian user to attend these events! The term Atlassian User Group no longer felt comprehensive enough and also kept this program separate from the broader Atlassian Community brand. With this change, we hope to see more people leading more events, an increase in engagement across the board from our members, and more types of events being hosted all around the world.

 

event-signage-sticker (2).jpg
An example of what the new brand and naming might look like in action!

 

shirt+button_newswag.jpeg

New swag, who dis?

 

Call to action

These two rebrands — Community Leaders and Community Events — are just the first of many steps in integrating our online and offline community. In addition to an upcoming Leader survey, we’ll be promoting several research opportunities where Leaders can join focus groups to help shape specific aspects of this combined program… including things like perks & rewards or onboarding, new event kits and swag! You can expect lots of transparency from our team as we move forward into this exciting new phase of the Atlassian Community.

 

Feedback, questions, concerns? Comment on this article or email me directly at SGrice@atlassian.com

23 comments

Gonchik Tsymzhitov
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 9, 2019

Time to merge our 2 accounts :)

Like # people like this
Kapil Samadhiya April 9, 2019

Awesome!!! Go “Community Events” Go 😊

Like # people like this
Kimberly Deal _Columbus ACE_
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 9, 2019

Love the idea of merging accounts, but it needs to be really easy to unmerge too, and it needs to *only* apply to Community.  I have *cough* a lot of Atlassian accounts, for reasons.  I do not want them related to me on the Community and would like to be able to decouple them if I need to remove them or change my email address. 

Like # people like this
Taranjeet Singh
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 9, 2019

Awesome !! the new rebranded swag looks cool ! Wondering and waiting about the criteria to become "Atlassian Community Leader" !

Like # people like this
JP _AC Bielefeld Leader_
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Leaders.
April 9, 2019

ACEs are the new AUG-Meetings

Like # people like this
Davin Studer
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Leaders.
April 9, 2019

I think it is great to realize that the online and offline efforts are really for the same cause and we are working together.

Like # people like this
Mary Ramirez
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Leaders.
April 9, 2019

Yay! 💃 

Like # people like this
Capi [resolution]
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
April 9, 2019

Sounds like a sensible move!

Like # people like this
Jodi LeBlanc
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Leaders.
April 9, 2019

This is exciting news for the community and I love the new branding! 👏🏼Joining forces will result in enhanced collaboration and more cross pollination with the two roles becoming one 😊

Like # people like this
Vishnukumar Vasudevan
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 9, 2019

Thats great :).

Like # people like this
carolyn french
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 10, 2019

Great announcement! Would love to see the tech platforms more integrated too to join forces even more efficiently. How can I join the focus group @Stephanie Grice ?

Like # people like this
Sloan N_ B_
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Leaders.
April 10, 2019

I am super excited for this change: I can now officially say: *in Batman voice* I am a leader.

Like # people like this
Billy Poggi AUG NOVA_ DC
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 10, 2019

I love this idea so much, I'm sad I missed the big event!  I know Ashley, Celina and crew all had a fun with the reveal!! 

Like # people like this
JUDY
Atlassian Team
Atlassian Team members are employees working across the company in a wide variety of roles.
April 15, 2019

Beautifully written and beautiful designs! <3 

Like # people like this
Cat Schwartz April 15, 2019

Love the designs! Excited for the change!

Like # people like this
Am D April 19, 2019

loved the idea of merging both:). Can't wait to host first event.

Like # people like this
Kat Warner
Marketplace Partner
Marketplace Partners provide apps and integrations available on the Atlassian Marketplace that extend the power of Atlassian products.
April 22, 2019

Looking forward to seeing this in action.

Like # people like this
Matthias Gaiser _K15t_
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
April 23, 2019

As a (former) community champion, it was great to meet lots of online and offline community leaders and to share experiences.

And think about ways how the offline and online community can benefit from each other to actually form this one new community.

Like # people like this
Andy - PTC Redundant
Rising Star
Rising Star
Rising Stars are recognized for providing high-quality answers to other users. Rising Stars receive a certificate of achievement and are on the path to becoming Community Leaders.
September 14, 2019

This is so damn exciting ! The Atlassian Community brand just keeps getting stronger and stronger.

And I can't wait for all the new glorious swag to arrive!
@JP _AC Bielefeld Leader_  was wearing the new hoody at the Vienna Open ACL Social and it looked AMAZABALLS! (See below)

The ACLs also had a good laugh at the "AUG... don't you mean ACE?" joke circulating at the moment.

Looking forward to ACL and ACE being the norm so I can avoid these types of conversations... 😉😋

Me: I do love being an ACL
AUG attendee: What’s that?
Me: Atlassian Community Leader
AUG attendee: oh right, the online leader stuff?
Me: No... I lead the ACE
AUG attendee: Uhm... what’s that?
Me: Atlassian Community Event
AUG attendee: Errrr.... say what now?
Me: AUG... I lead this AUG
The other ACL: Don’t you mean ACE ! ??

JP_JUmper.jpg

Like # people like this
Saravud_Nakkoed January 28, 2020

Hi

omar_nazar May 22, 2020

That is great, waiting for it!

Anthony Martinez bullard June 26, 2020

My name is anthony Martinez bullard, requesting community leader umbrella,I would like to thank ,CELINA samira for such valuable insights-this is  support expected from an Atlassian leader.

Arkadiusz Grzesiok December 20, 2020

Good

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