For those of you who don’t know, today is international Community Manager Appreciation Day. That means we’re celebrating the hard work of community builders around the world and the movements they’re building.
This day began in 2010 after an initiation by Jeremiah Owyang, who has since proclaimed community builders to be the most powerful group on the Internet.
Last year, Sarah Judd Welch put together a great overview of the history of community as it has been studied in the modern world, which you can check out right here.
A few weeks ago, we turned to our very own community of community builders, and we asked the CMX community who they look up to when building communities. We’ve put that list together here so you know exactly who to follow for inspiration.
Check out the post on the CMX Hub Facebook group to see the full comments and all the love our community shared for some of our fellow members.
And make sure to check out our #CMGRHangout Google Hangout tonight at 5PM PST and all the other amazing hangouts happening ALL day today right here.
Community-Building Founders
These are founders who build communities around their products or whose products are communities themselves. These founders work day in and day out to build movements, and they’re showing others the way.
Alison Michalk
Founder and CEO, Quiip
@alisonmichalk
Allison Leahy
Senior Community Manager, Fitbit
@zapleahy
Amy Jo Kim
Co-Founder, Shufflebrain
http://amyjokim.com/
@amyjokim
Andrew Hyde
Startup Weekend Founder, Up Global
@andrewhyde
Charlene Li
Founder, Altimeter Group
http://www.charleneli.com/
@charleneli
Chris Heuer
CEO & Founder, ALYND
@chrisheuer
David Spinks
Founder & CEO, CMX Media
http://whatspinksthinks.com/
@davidspinks
Derek Powazek
Co-founder & CEO, Fertile Medium
http://powazek.com/
@fraying
Eric Elkins
CEO, WideFoc.us
@datingdad
Gina Bianchini
Founder & CEO, Mightybell
@ginab
Janet Fouts
CEO, Tatu Digital Media
@jfouts
Jenna Woodul
Co-Founder, EVP, Chief Community Officer, LiveWorld Inc
@JennaWoodul
Jerry Michalski
Relationship Economy eXpedition (REX), Founder
@jerrymichalski
Kate Kendall
Co-founder & CEO, Cloud Peeps
http://katekendall.com/
@katekendall
Laura Jane Fitton
Founder, One Forty
@Pistachio
Max Altschulter
Co-Founder & Advisor, CMX Media
@MaxAlts
Rachel Happe McEnroe
Founder, Community Roundtable
@rhappe
Ryan Hoover
Founder, Product Hunt
http://ryanhoover.me/
@rrhoover
Scott Gerger
Founder & President, YEC
http://scottdgerber.com/blog/
@scottgerber
Scott Heiferman
CEO, Meetup
heif.tumblr.com
@heif
Sean Ellis
CEO, Qualaroo & GrowthHackers
@SeanEllis
Sue Feldman
CEO and Founder, Synthexis
Thomas Knoll
Founder & Trust Builder, Primeloop
@thomasknoll
Venessa Paech
Founder, Swarm Conference
venessapaech.com
@venessapaech
Startup Community Builders
Building startup community is hard work. The entire ecosystem from founders to developers to VCs must be built and engaged on a regular basis. These are the premier builders in this space.
Anja Kundra
Vp of Operations, Partender
@kundrela
Morgan Brady
Program Director, YEC
@morganbrady
Mentors and Leaders
These are community builders who’ve been at it years, who are constantly building next-level communities and trying new strategies, and who inspire us on a daily basis. They’ve got experience under their belts, and they often share that experience with others both on and offline. We’re proud to call many of these community builders members of our community.
Allison Leahy
Senior Community Manager, Fitbit
http://allisonleahy.com/hi
@zapleahy
Amy Muller
Director of Community & Customer Success, Automatic
@AmyGSFN
Ash McGregor Dey
Social Media Manager & Community Builder, Indiegogo
@AshLaf
Bill Johnston
Director, Social Media & Community, Autodesk
@billjohnston
Caty Kobe
Head of Training, FeverBee
www.catykobe.com
@catykobe
Chelsea Rustrum
Author & Cunsultant, Rustrum Associates
http://rustrum.com/about/
@chelsearustrum
Cindy Au
Former VP of Community, Kickstarter
medium.com/@shinyee_au
@shinyee_au
Danyelle Ludwig
Senior Manager, Lyft
@danyludwig
Darren Gough
Director of Community Development, Feverbee
@Darren_Gough
David DeWald
Community Manager, Thunderhead
thehistorian.org
@Historian
David Rust
Community Manager Team Lead, Lyft
@davidlrust
Dawn Lacallade
VP Account Services
@DawnL
Elana Leoni
Director of Social Media Strategy and Marketing, Edutopia
http://www.elanaleoni.com/
@elanaleoni
Emery Lees
Social Media Strategist, URS Corporation
@emeryim
Emily Castor
Community Relations, Lyft
emilycastor.com
@emilycastor
Erica Kuhl
Director of Cummunity, Salesforce
@ericakuhl
Holly Goldin
Global Community Lead, Atlassian
@HollyGoldin
Jenn Pedde
Lead Community Manager, eModeration
http://www.jennpedde.com/
@JPedde
Jeska Dzwalski
Senior Community Manager,CreativeLive
@JeskaD
Joe Cothrel
Chief Community Officer, Lithium
@cothrel
Julie Hamel
Global Community Manager, Lithium
@juliehamel
Krysta Gahagen
Customer Success Manager, Sparkcentral
http://www.krystaelaine.com/
@krystaelaine
Lauren Cucinotta
Director of Community, Dedodedco
http://laurencucinotta.com/
@LCucinotta
Linda Carlson
Global Community Relations, Sony
Maria Ogneva
Head of Community, Sidecar
@themaria
Mark Yolton
VP of Digital, Cisco
@markyolton
Megan Berry
Head of Community and Social Product, RebelMouse
www.meganberry.com
@meganberry
Phoebe Shin Venkat
Director of Communication Engagement, Salesforce
@pheebkat
Rebecca Newton
Program manager, America Online Communities
http://rebeccanewton.com/
@RebeccaNewton
Regina Walton
Co-Organizer, SFTech4Good
@ReginaWalton
Richard Millington
Founder, Feverbee
@RichMillington
Samer Rabadi
Community Manager, Edutopia
@3seed
Sanya Weathers
Community Director, Undead Labs
@SanyaWeathers
Sarah Hawk
Head of Community, Feverbee
@ILOVETHEHAWK
Sherrie Rohde
Community & UX Leader, Rebellion Media
sherrierohde.com
@sherrierohde
Sue John
Online Community Manager, eModeration
http://sueontheweb.com/
@SueOnTheWeb
Susan Tenby
Online Community/Social Media, Caravan Studios
http://susantenby.com/
@suzboop
Tim Falls
VP, Community, Keen IO
http://www.timfalls.me/
@timfalls
Toby Metcalf
Tech Support Community Manager, PTC
@Toby_Metcalf
Advisors and Consultants
These are some of our community’s go-to’s for community advice and consulting, having been in the community space for years past. Many of these community consultants and advisors write about what they’ve learned along their paths (as in the group below), which provides us with a great resource for building our own communities.
Brian Oblinger
Strategy Consultant, Lithium
http://www.thirty-ninea.com/
@brianoblinger
Ellen Petry Leanse
Business Strageist & Advisor, Work in Progress Advisors
medium.com/@chep2m
@chep2m
Etienne Wenger
Independent Management Consulting, Wenger-Trayner
@etiennewenger
F. Randall Farmer
Social Media Product Design Advisor and Consultant, Peerlyst
@frandallfarmer
Justin Isaf
Principal, The Communl Group
@justinisaf
Ligaya Tichy
Angel Investor, 38 Angels + By/Association
http://www.ligayatichy.com/index.html
@helloligaya
Martin Reed
Community Building Consultant, CommunitySpark
@martinreed
Ray Eisenberg
Community Development Consultant, RME Consulting
http://voiceofcommunity.typepad.com/
@Ray94903
Sarah Judd Welch
Founder, Loyal
http://sarahjuddwelch.com/
@sjw
Scott Moore
Co-founder & Online Community Consultant, Communl
@scottmoore
Sean O’Driscoll
Leader of Social & Communities Practice within Digital Change, PwC
@seanodmvp
Community Builders Who Write About Community
Talk about meta. These are the builders who write about the work that they do and observe others do. Not only are these folks leaders in the industry, but they’re building up other leaders as well and sharing best practices.
Carrie Jones
Editorial Director, CMX Media
CMXhub.com and carriemelissa.com
@caremjo
Erik Torenberg
Founding Team, Product Hunt
Often writes at cmxhub.com
@ErikTorenberg
Evan Hamilton
Director of Community & Customer Loyalty, ZOZI
http://www.evanhamilton.com/
@evanhamilton
Patrick O’Keefe
Owner, iFroggy Network
managingcommunities.com
@patrickokeefe