I’ve been working in Community since before the tech industry had realized it could be a professional focus, and it’s been great to see the profession coalesce over the past decade. Here are some of my recommended resources for community professionals!
This page will be updated as I find new things worth sharing!
Sites/groups/newsletters
CMX is a large professional group for community managers that offers training programs, a jobs board, and a very active Facebook group.
Community Roundtable is another professional group with meetups and training opportunities, plus some great frameworks and research you may find useful.
Community Signal has interesting interviews from a broad swath of community builders, always interesting for new info or reminders.
Evan Hamilton has been in the business for a decade-plus as well, and does a very solid, concise weekly newsletter that I always enjoy.
Rosieland is a community for community builders that also has a fun newsletter.
Books
- The Art of Community: Seven Principles for Belonging — If you only read one of these books, read this one. It’s foundational.
- Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life
- How to Handle a Crowd: The Art of Creating Healthy and Dynamic Online Communities
- Leadership: In Turbulent Times
- Get Together: How to build a community with your people
- Come Hell or High Water: A Handbook on Collective Process Gone Awry
- Systems Thinking for Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results
- Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides
- The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation
- Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t
The Thing With The Stuff 