I am taking some of this advice:
Volunteering for a great project http://www.icanlendyouthat.com – helping the community grow.
Developing my writing skills, writing for http://www.nerdles.com
Learning to maintain/code/manage my own website http://www.sleepywhisper.com

AND

setting myself up on linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/in/guycross
twitter: http://www.twitter.com/guydavidcross

so. thanks for all the help/fish

I was pretty lucky in that the Community Manager title was handed off to me, because people in the organization felt I had the natural skill set. I certainly wasn’t ready to assume all the responsibilities associated with the position, and I knew it. So the very first thing I did was listen and read. I read as much as I could during and after work, but as I read I kept a list of the company’s goals for my position right beside me. I was constantly trying to apply the wisdom of the experts in the field to the bottom line objectives of the specific role I was in. Some of the initial skills I used were developed in college. I was an English major so critical reading, in-depth analysis and application are things that now come naturally to me.

I would also recommend that those seeking the Community Manager role create ways to demonstrate and showcase their unique voice. Some of this will come by just creating profiles on the sites you list in the post, but some of this needs to be more deliberate. I purposely blog and participate in different sites where I can showcase different variations of my voice. I’m always true to myself, but I can and do adapt my voice to match the purpose/intent for a particular site. I’ve found that employers want to be confident in a prospect’s communication style; they always respond positively when given the opportunity to read and explore the different types of writing that a prospect is capable of.

I was pretty lucky in that the Community Manager title was handed off to me, because people in the organization felt I had the natural skill set. I certainly wasn’t ready to assume all the responsibilities associated with the position, and I knew it. So the very first thing I did was listen and read. I read as much as I could during and after work, but as I read I kept a list of the company’s goals for my position right beside me. I was constantly trying to apply the wisdom of the experts in the field to the bottom line objectives of the specific role I was in. Some of the initial skills I used were developed in college. I was an English major so critical reading, in-depth analysis and application are things that now come naturally to me.

I would also recommend that those seeking the Community Manager role create ways to demonstrate and showcase their unique voice. Some of this will come by just creating profiles on the sites you list in the post, but some of this needs to be more deliberate. I purposely blog and participate in different sites where I can showcase different variations of my voice. I’m always true to myself, but I can and do adapt my voice to match the purpose/intent for a particular site. I’ve found that employers want to be confident in a prospect’s communication style; they always respond positively when given the opportunity to read and explore the different types of writing that a prospect is capable of.

I don’t know about you, but when I was 25, work was the last thing I wanted to do.

Lots of good gems here regardless of you career choice. Personal branding is always a wise choice.

I’m still curious, but not sure where I’ll be moving next. I kind of had to laugh at the public speaking bit, personally – while I know it’s an important element and one most people lack, it’s never been my weak point.

One of the advantages of teaching college & University is that one loses any inhibitions when it comes to standing up in front of crowds of hostile or bored strangers and carrying the conversation for long periods of time!

Thank you again for answering the question tho, and providing such insight into this growing and developing field.

I don’t know about you, but when I was 25, work was the last thing I wanted to do.

Lots of good gems here regardless of you career choice. Personal branding is always a wise choice.

I’m still curious, but not sure where I’ll be moving next. I kind of had to laugh at the public speaking bit, personally – while I know it’s an important element and one most people lack, it’s never been my weak point.

One of the advantages of teaching college & University is that one loses any inhibitions when it comes to standing up in front of crowds of hostile or bored strangers and carrying the conversation for long periods of time!

Thank you again for answering the question tho, and providing such insight into this growing and developing field.