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Our opening keynote speaker at Type-A Bootcamp in NYC is Victoria Taylor, aka chooter on reddit and @happysquid on Twitter. I’m here as a 2015 Type-A Conference Ambassador (disclosure: my conference pass was free, but I’m paying for my own transportation and lodging) and as a liveblogger. Victoria was instrumental in communicating between reddit moderators and the guests for various Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions in subs like /r/Science, /r/IAmA, and /r/Books before she was summarily let go from her position, causing upheaval (read: drama, torches, and pitchforks) on reddit. While those of us who are avid reddit users miss Victoria, we’re happy she’s moving on to greater things with WeWork.com. And with the X-Files reboot happening, I look forward to tweeting with her more about it, as I only knew her as a fellow X-Phile before I learned what she did at reddit.
Building a Fiercely Loyal Community
There are so many different types of communities we can create. How do people interact within those communities, and how can brands get involved? She uses the water cycle as a metaphor. Bloggers are content creators, readers are content consumers, and brands can help us with what we’re passionate about and what really drives us. Each community has its own personality. Brands need to find the content creators who resonate with their brand philosophy and make long-term relationships.
There’s something really satisfying about having everyone walk away from the table happy. You want to know who is the right fit for any given project. Brands should provide tools that help bloggers can as involved as possible. Not everyone can be all in, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work with them where they are.
The key for content creators, new and old, is consistency.
Since she talks really quickly, she’s opening up for questions.
How did you get involved with WeWork?
It was a lot about respect. The ability to come to the table and say “I really respect what you do,” that’s something special. That was something she loved about working with reddit users, and she found a fantastic company that would let her get involved in a similar way.
How do you work with communities when people can tend to be…cantankerous?
Open the conversation, even when people are being negative. There are some trolls who are general troublemakers, but the people who chime in just to say “this sucks” may not have anything good to say but want to participate in the conversation anyways. Build tools to help you do what you need to do.
If you’re concerned about your safety, don’t tweet that you’re at a restaurant if you plan on being there for another two hours. You know, in case those few crazies from the community end up actually being dangerous.
For the most part, though, people just want to be heard. Have a good sense of humor, and it will pay off.
How do you take a physical community like WeWork and bring it into the digital world?
She’s only 3 days into the job and still getting her “sea legs.” It’s really hard to find work spaces in NYC because even Barnes & Noble has signs there saying you have to leave after 20 minutes. By providing listings of collaborative workspaces is providing a helpful service to freelancers and small business owners who don’t have an office space of their own.
How do you handle the media attention surrounding your departure from reddit?
Treat everyone with respect. Always. She’s always tried to be kind and concerned, no matter who was reaching out to her. She wants everyone’s voices to be heard.
To what degree has sexism played in your career and in the tech space in general?
She’s been going to SXSW for several years, and she feels it was important to just show up and be a presence in what seemed like a boys club.
Is it easier or harder being the AMA guest with us?
She’s done over 2,500 AMAs, even on her honeymoon. Each AMA guest needed their time to shine. She spent a lot of time on the phone with guests, so she’s used to talking a lot. Being our AMA guest right now is easy for her.
The vast majority of people who support you may never express it, but they’re out there. Don’t forget that someone is a big fan of yours!
How do you deal with the ugly side of community and mob mentality?
It’s a problem across all social media platforms. Feel comfortable with your own identity, because the haters are out there. There should be some sort of support group for people who have been writing for a long time, because pretty much everyone has experienced the trauma of mean people who forgot you’re an actual human being on the other side of the screen.
Don’t tweet when you’re angry. Don’t put something out there, because even if you delete it later, it’s going to live on somewhere.
Ask yourself, “If taken out of context, would this harm me in any way?”
What advice can you give people who suddenly find themselves in the middle of a maelstrom?
Put the phone away. Get out of town if you can to get away from the mess and spend time with the people who love you. Thankfully, Victoria had already had plans to go away for 4th of July weekend with her family when things at reddit went down. Remember that you are bigger than “this,” whatever “this” turns out to be. And the drama will eventually die down and let you live your life and move on.
How do you build that community you really want?
If you’re really big on Twitter, live Twitter. Focus on your strongest platform where you perform best. If you’re bad at Pinterest, don’t do Pinterest badly. You can ask a friend for help where you need it. You don’t have to be a maven at every platform. Be where you’re most comfortable and where your people are.
How about anonymity?
Being able to use an alias is a strength in many ways. When you want to talk about really personal things, anonymity can be very valuable. There are a lot of topics people don’t want to openly discuss, and being able to be anonymous on reddit allows people to connect about things like career changes, minority challenges, health problems, etc. that they wouldn’t normally talk about with real-life friends.
I have two teenage daughters…
Victoria has literally talked on the phone with the daughter of a concerned mom who thought her social media sharing could negatively affect her career. If you wouldn’t be okay with your social posts to show up on a billboard at your grandma’s house, you might not want to post it. Everything from college admissions to job prospects to personal relationships can be impacted by social media postings. These are things that kids need to be taught.
P.S. Someone should do a comprehensie overview of what it’s like setting up social profiles for their teens, like what guidelines are provided, if advice about adding friends and managing privacy
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
