I’m the “head of community” at SmartCAT. Though I still have a hard time explaining what this means, I usually say that my job is to get people talking. So why is this needed at all?

From the company’s perspective, the answer is clear. If your users talk, you can find out what they need from you, what makes them tick or sick, why they love or hate this or that feature.

But why does the community need itself?

I believe that there are many answers to this, too, but I want to highlight one:

Belonging to a community built around a product you use gives you power to control it.

This may sound pompous, but I believe that this is true. Remember what happened to Digg? By not listening to its users and ignoring their opinions, the king of web sharing is now dragging on its pale existence.

Similarly themed Reddit and Quora, on the other hand, made their communities a strategical cornerstone, and here they are, growing and thriving with direct involvement of the people who come to visit them every day.

As a community member, you have the power to make the product thrive or die.

It’s not only about suggesting features and reporting bugs. It’s also about talking to each other and knowing that, if something you don’t like happens or is about to happen with the product, you will have someone to stand for your beliefs and to make the developer change its mind — for everyone’s sake.

What do you think? Is the community game worth the candle for you?

Originally published on Ab HoC.