Three Things I Wish I'd Known: Kimberly Deal

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.
November 6, 2018

Good Day (and possibly Night!) to you all! 

At the risk of sounding like an Old Timer with a "Back in My Day"  sort of story,  I want to start from the beginning a bit.  When I was asked if I would like to be a Community Champion, there was just a fledgling site, of this now fantastic, part of the web called Community.  It was an exciting, and yet slightly frustrating time, as we all sorted out what it meant to be a part of this Community and what it meant to be Champions of this Community.  I don't know that I can manage to express how delighted I am to see how its shaped to the space we have now, with both serious and not so serious topics to share and converse on.

But enough chattering, lets dive into what I wish I'd have known.

 

1. How worried I was that I didn't know enough to be helpful
    (and how worried I was that I'd give the wrong answer!)

Once we started getting questions, I was excited to jump into work, but there were a *lot* of questions that were outside of my experiences and I learned very quickly how big the Atlassian world was!  Add to that there were Community Champions, whom I had heard of in the Atlassian lore of myth and legends, answering some of the questions too, and I found myself rather quickly in the Swamp of Anxiety! How was I going to able to give full and correct answers, fast enough to be helpful?  I'll be honest, I took a step back from trying to answer questions for a while.  I poked around with some of the more administrative tasks for a while, to stay active, but I did eventually came around to the questions again. 

 

2. How honestly helpful and friendly everyone here would be.

Not that I EVER thought anyone wasn't or wouldn't be these things!  It has just been amazing to see how much we are all driven to be friendly and helpful.  When I did start getting back into the question game, I started by adding to other peoples answers, perhaps with a clarifying statement or screen shots,  this took the burden of a whole answer off, and gave me a chance to answer something that might have already been answered.  It gave me a way to be helpful, both to the poster of the question, and the Champion/Atlassian Team/Other Community Member answering the question.  I also feedback and discussion going on the answer or question, which I think broadens understanding.  If it was something I was unsure of, I would tag people in my answer, that I knew might have more experience with it.  It became a more collaborative event for me, and let me be helpful too.  I think one of the things that is the best about this community, isn't answering the question of how I can be helpful, but how can we all be *the most* helpful to the people who come here.

 

3. How much fun it would be

I love the fun we get into around here!  I know the Misc. Monday and the Friday Fun posts have been mentioned, but really "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"  (my apologies Jack!)  You get to know the people who hang out here, and we do hang out here.  Its like having a whole set of friends I never knew I had.  I love seeing What's outside your Window, Where you like to Vacation or What Socks you all packed for Summit.  I love being able to reach out to my local AUG though the Community platform, to plan some in person fun and I love getting ready to see everyone at the next upcoming Summit.  

 

Which I sincerely hope that I will get to see you at Summit and share all the things we are doing and learning together.  Thank you for be a part of the Atlassian Community and making my day more meaningful and fun!

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Monique vdB
Community Manager
Community Managers are Atlassian Team members who specifically run and moderate Atlassian communities. Feel free to say hello!
November 8, 2018

I love this so much! 😍

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