It is that time of year again, the time where all your DKP is counted up and distributed across the ‘Best Community Managers’ of 2014. For three years now, our sister-site, Guild Launch has hosted the Dragon Slayer Awards.
So, how exactly does the Dragon Slayer Award process work? Well, members of the communities of nominate community managers, community builders, streamers, and developers, among others. This happens over three rounds, and when those rounds have concluded the final list is released. Voting is live now and runs through to September 1st, so be sure to register your vote.
Past winners of the Community Manager award include, Jonathan “Zarhym” Brown in 2012, and Andrew “Tamat” Beegle in 2013.
The Nominees
- Beleen of Adventure Quest Worlds
- Charles “Akromatik” Haitkin of Neverwinter
- Doomsaw of Gazillion Entertainment
- Eric Musco of Star Wars: The Old Republic
- Jessica Folsom of The Elder Scrolls Online
- Jonathon “Zarhym” Brown of Blizzard Entertainment
- Martin Kerstein of Guild Wars 2
- Rick Heaton of The Lord of the Rings Online
- Stephen “RockJaw” Reid of 2K Games — Bio
- Tony Rey of Wildstar Online
What is a Community Manager?
A CM can be compared to a Man-in-Black, a Sheppard, a conduit, a punching bag… but I like see them as the our best friends (within the community that we are involved in.) Among other duties, they help us through each day, tell us when we are out of line, and pass on any frustrations we may have.
They achieve this through many means; social media, live streams, blogs, live interviews, forums, and any other mediums that can enable productive communications with the community-at-large.
As a former CM, I know that a lot of what happens behind-the-scenes goes unnoticed: long hours, short weekends, infinite coffee, dropped Skype calls. Yet, when that piece of news goes out and the community reacts, good or bad, it’s when you know you have done your job. These nominees all do their jobs to the highest standard.
The Question Then
Which Community Manager has ticked your boxes? Is it Tony Rey and the ‘I’m a fan’ mentality he brought to WildStar during the launch period? Could it be Jessica Folsom and her down-to-earth management of the ESO forums amidst the cries of foul by the community? Or is it longstanding CM, Zarhym, who never fails bring opinion and fact from both sides of the fence when discussing content with the World of Warcraft community? Or will it be one of the other, equally deserving, Community Managers? The power is in your hands.
Let your voice be heard, vote now! Feel free to vote on the other categories too.
