If you want a glimpse of the type of community management challenges faced by a large social network, have a look at the reader comments on this blog post:
13 reasons your Facebook account will be disabled
Apparently (and logically), Facebook have partially automated the policing of the site and are disabling user accounts based on suspicious behavior patterns. One result: outrage and public protest from the banned users and their friends.
Which of these users have actually abused the site and which have been unjustly blocked? Very hard to say. Analyzing each user’s story and all circumstantial evidence related to his or her individual case is extremely time-consuming, and it is often impossible for the community manager to be sure of making the right call. Considering that Facebook have now reached 200 million members, a population approximately two thirds the size of the whole United States, Facebook’s community managers have their work cut out for them.
Here are a few principles that make it easier to get through community management challenges:
- Have your legal counsel draft a Terms of Service statement which give your company full authority to close accounts at your discretion and protect you from liability. Users should sign this at registration.
- Automate community management functions wherever you can do so without affecting the quality of the service. This frees up community managers to work where they are adding value.
- Give your community managers clear priorities. Otherwise, there’s a risk that they will take their priorities where they are getting the most feedback — from the community members, whose interests might not match your company’s.
- Empower your community managers to make judgment calls in individual cases. No matter how comprehensive the set of rules and reply templates you provide, there will always be plenty of situations that don’t fit. Choose community managers whose judgment you trust and then authorize them to use it.
