Taking charge of the Ambassadors - WPC Ambassadors 2.0!

[James Falconer]

Hey all, wanted to start a new thread focused on the Ambassador group here at WPC.

I'm disappointed in the growth of the group, and the response and communication within the group is next to none As a great example, on Monday, Dave posted in the WPC Ambassador chat (on skype) that he was leaving, and then he left the chat. On THURSDAY, one person replied. Couldn't believe it! Other Ambassador teams are communicating ALL the time (skype, google hangouts, email), and I see none of that here.

I'd LOVE it if one of the mods here stepped up to lead the Ambassador group. Laura is already doing great stuff with everyone here on the mod side, and I'd like to have someone I can trust taking on the Ambassadors as well, even if only on an interim basis. We need someone who can communicate regularly, identify awesome new members, rally the group to start tackling key projects, and MEET/EXCEED Ambassador expectations.

If we need to rebuild the group from the ground up, I'm completely OK with that.

This is the current Ambassador roster I have on-file (there are some really good folks in here):

• BIGPADDY
• pmhgeneral
• ttsoldier
• unstoppablekem
• Curtieson
• mase123987
• WanderingTraveler
• montsa007
• rdubmu
• hopmedic

This is our chance to turn it all around.

Any takers?

 

[rockstarzzz]

I think if we are talking WPCA 2.0; should we firstly refresh/rehash what we want them to meet/exceed?

One idea is having ambassadors split amongs mods according to devices/services forums. For example - 2 or 3 ambassadors from that list can be in charge of keeping the Windows Phone 8 and 5-6 other popular devices busy doing what they do but posting more in the subsection. Other 2 or 3 can be in charge of Windows Phone 8.1 and all Microsoft services etc etc. Each sub team of 2 or 3 could be moderated by one of us mods.

A simple poll in ambassador forums in lines of "What products/services/devices are you enthusiastic about?" collecting interests from ambassadors could help us put the right ones in sub groups. If they are asked to keep posting in what they like more and a couple of forums of our interest - I bet threads will be constantly answered. Or may be you will all hate me?

Isn't communication via ambassadors forum enough or via PMs? Does it have to be via other clients?

 

[James Falconer]

The 'universal' Ambassador guidelines and expectations have been slightly tweaked and changed since the beginning of the program... and all Ambassadors are still held to these expectations (on all sites!).

To reply to your key points.. one of the duties of am Ambassador is to provide quality help and advice for devices that he or she owns. But if the Ambassadors want to tackle groups of forums themselves (you take this forum, I'll take this one), that'd be up to them... so long as they meet the expectations of the Ambassador role.

Communication here and via PM's is just fine, but keep in mind... the Ambassador groups on all the other sites are in constant contact. Email, hangouts, skype... blows my mind sometimes at how well they work on problems as a team. Rich and Noah on CB are a great example. They often (multiple times a day) will send out an email, something like 'Hey team, this person needs help with [PROBLEM], who can jump in and help?'.

For me, it's all about communication, communication, communication. If we stick to only communicating here on the forums, that's OK, but it's certainly (in my opinion) the least we can be doing... at least in comparison to what the other teams are up to!

I'll post the Ambassador guidelines and expectations here (they're on the MN Forums) for your reference!

 

[James Falconer]

Here we go... for reference! Some small changes might apply here shortly (we're working on some tweaks)... but this is the general expectation.

As an Ambassador you will:

• Conduct yourself like a professional and abide by our Community Rules & Guidelines at all times. Remember, you?re a representative of our community now. Act accordingly!
• Meet (or exceed) the expectations and responsibilities listed in the following section. We do reserve the right to remove any member from our team for not meeting these criteria.
• Be a friendly voice in the community at all times. Be welcoming, open... and above all, professional.

Expectations and Responsibilities:

• Engage in forums conversations on a regular basis (as you?ve no doubt already been doing!).
• Create new conversations. Team members are responsible for starting new, relevant and meaningful discussions as often as possible. A minimum of 7 new threads per week is required (don't worry, we have resources to help you do this!).
• Make a point of welcoming new members in the Introductions forum on a daily basis. We want to develop a friendly atmosphere for new members. A warm welcome is always appreciated.
• Respond to a minimum of FIVE Unanswered Threads each day. If that is not possible, shoot to answer 20 - 30 Unanswered Threads each week.
• Write ONE detailed guide per month. Your team leader will have a shortlist of guides that we need written/created. When creating these guides, you may link to other materials on Mobile Nations only. Please limit any links to 3rd party sites. When complete, these guides may be ?stickied? to the top of the appropriate forum.
• Be active in any NEW forums that are created. Ensure that new threads are started for device specs, availability, or any other threads of relevance that have not yet been started in a new forum.
• Provide help and assistance for devices you have experience with. Long story short, lend a hand whenever and wherever you can.
• Be a champion for Mobile Nations. Subscribe to all of our social feeds and spread the word as big news, important features, and new events and contests come about.
• HAVE FUN!

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'd suggest making the guidelines a bit less stringent. When I was an ambassador, the part about writing guides seemed like to much of a challenge. I never did write guides, since I ended up being moved to being a mod.

Creating new threads is also a challenge, although I know some of the threads I started as an ambassador are still going strong like the pet pictures thread. Granted, I got those ideas from what I saw when I was a regular (and active) member on CB. I've also started those threads on SWF and iMore (desktop computer wallpaper in particular). We've already had instances where ambassadors started new threads that were duplicates of what regular members started first, so that might be too challenging also.

I also noticed that many ambassadors are answering the bot generated threads that are links to the blog articles. Instead of answering those just to do unanswered threads, it would be more beneficial if they would answer threads from actual members.

 

[James Falconer]

All good points Laura!

Actually, some of what you talk about (guides) is already worked into the latest revision of the expectations, so I think you'll be pleased with that.

...and in regards to posting in the 'news from the blogs' forums... those forums do not count towards unanswered threads, so Ambassadors are replying there because... well, just because they must have something to say on it

 

[Laura Knotek]

All good points Laura!

Actually, some of what you talk about (guides) is already worked into the latest revision of the expectations, so I think you'll be pleased with that.

...and in regards to posting in the 'news from the blogs' forums... those forums do not count towards unanswered threads, so Ambassadors are replying there because... well, just because they must have something to say on it

I have noticed that some of those threads seem t include frequent one line replies that don't necessarily say anything, so I got the impression it was a ploy to answer as many unanswered threads or to pad post count.





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[pkcable]

Bring Daniel back and put him in charge?






















​i kid I kid.

 

[stmav]

I thought for being autistic, Daniel did fine and was a good ambassador.

 

[Muessig]

Been thinking this over and while I'm busy with a full day job and part time graphic design, I've decided to give being Ambassador Team Leader a try. I fully intend to follow Laura's lead and include all the mods whenever possible to keep an eye on everything and to give advice and weigh in on new ambassador decisions etc.

I thought it'd be something that I regretted if I didn't at least give it a good try.

 

[James Falconer]

@All - Muessig and I discussed this over the weekend, and we're going to push ahead. Muessig, I know you're going to do a great job, and all of us (myself especially!) will be giving you a hand with things to help get the ball rolling.

Lots of work to do, but we're going to get 'er done!

 

[Laura Knotek]

Been thinking this over and while I'm busy with a full day job and part time graphic design, I've decided to give being Ambassador Team Leader a try. I fully intend to follow Laura's lead and include all the mods whenever possible to keep an eye on everything and to give advice and weigh in on new ambassador decisions etc.

I thought it'd be something that I regretted if I didn't at least give it a good try.

Awesome!

Congratulations and good luck. I think you'll do a great job!





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[HeyCori]

I still like the idea of ambassadors being assigned specific areas of the forum. Perhaps one are based on their phone(s), another one that's assigned to them and then one of their choosing. It's about accountability. When we see that a specific area is falling below our standards then we can hold that ambassador accountable for his section. While posts-per-month is a decent way to measure performance, it doesn't help if ambassadors concentrate into one area. We need that activity spread across the forums. Assigned areas would allow us to better track that activity.

 

[HeyCori]

I'd suggest making the guidelines a bit less stringent. When I was an ambassador, the part about writing guides seemed like to much of a challenge. I never did write guides, since I ended up being moved to being a mod.

I concur. Writing a guide is a bit time consuming and doesn't add too much to the forum. Especially when our guides are the equivalent of linking to the manufacturer's specification page. Perhaps a more realistic expectation is creating 2-3 positive threads a week. Something to help combat the the rampant negativity.