The other day I learned from fellow industry type person Sam Houston that what I was blithely calling “Monday” others had jazzed up with “Community Manager Appreciation Day”. I felt a little ripped off. There I was, already a few hours into what should have been a very self congratulatory affair and not a parade in sight – just me, my laptop and the kitchen table. Which didn’t even have a tablecloth on it.
My job is pretty amorphous, and mostly serves to baffle well-intentioned family members that can’t quite get a handle on what it is I do. So, Dad, this is for you (though in fairness I went most of my life having no clue what you really do at work!): I work for the N4G Network. I am one of three Administrators for the Network and a Reviews Editor for Network site ZTGD. At the crux of the N4G Network is, unsurprisingly, N4G, and there I function essentially as a Community Manager, tackling the news, the forums, member issues and the like.
As far as I can suss out, “Community Manager” is a made up job that emerged in recent years and that in many ways I carved out for myself in the N4G sphere. My colleagues are talented, engaging people that conjured up a profession out of blood, sweat and fanboy tears – it’s only fitting that someone (one of us?) make up a day of observance for all those labors.
Here’s the thing though – for as bizarre, stressful and trying as the job can be, I am incredibly blessed by the work I do. I delight in the bizarre, relish conquering the stress and thrill in solving problems. The next time CoManAppDay (what?) rolls around, I fancy myself toasting the internet for making crazy things possible 24-7.
I work for people I’ve never met in a place that doesn’t exist with a community of people the world over that are completely apart.
I’m Community Manager and Admin for the N4G Network and write for ZTGD.
CatPlaysGames is a blog in its design infancy and under construction. Pardon my mess.
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