Community Signal Guest Information

Thank you for your interest in being a guest on Community Signal and for taking the time to read this. It’s a little long, but it’s worth it!

Why the Questionnaire?

As a starting point when I am developing a show, I try to find things that the potential guest is thinking about, that maybe they aren’t talking about. I can read your LinkedIn and personal channels (and I do), but I often find that the most interesting things aren’t there. I like to get in your head a little bit. Hence, this questionnaire.

It really helps me to dig in to what you are thinking about. The strength of our program depends on the candidness and depth of our guests. This is a show for experienced pros. It’s not a puff piece, it’s not a profile, it’s not a marketing show. We talk about real things. So, with the questionnaire, please focus on specific numbers, problems, tactics, stories, and strategies that you have executed or are thinking about. The stronger and deeper the questionnaire, the more likely we are to have a show.

Please avoid platitudes and short, vague comments. Similarly, please don’t use this form to tease things or to say that I should “ask you more” about this. This is the place to tell me the more and to fill in context. Give me the good stuff!

The reason this is important is because this is a show targeted at experienced community, moderation, trust, and safety practitioners. Many of our listeners have been doing this for 10+ years. I’m not going to ask questions like, “how do you build community?” or “how do you measure the value of community?” We’re past that. Instead, it’s a conversation between us, where we talk about specific topics, based upon the unique, interesting experiences that you have had and challenges that you have encountered.

If you own and operate your own community, or if you are a consultant, some of these form fields may not apply to you. Please feel free to answer them in the way that makes the most sense to you – or to simply skip them.

Please Remember

Community Signal is a fiercely independent program. As an example, our sponsors have no idea what is coming next! We don’t allow them to know. We serve our audience first. It’s important that you know:

  • Whatever you enter into this questionnaire could be shared on the show. Please do not put any conditions on the information.
  • Guests do not have control over what makes the show.
  • I will not run show topics by you before hand or submit a list for anyone’s approval.

This may sound scary, but it’s not meant to be. Please share what you feel comfortable sharing. If there is something that is personally-sensitive, feel free to flag it for me.

About the Program

Community Signal is a community-focused show. There are plenty of social media and marketing podcasts out there. That’s not what this is. We try to maintain a strict community line, and so what we discuss in our conversation will satisfy that goal.

The show is hosted by me, Patrick O’Keefe. The show will be pre-recorded and edited by my producer, Karn Broad. If we have a show, we’ll block out an hour to record, and a finished show is usually between 30 and 40 minutes.

Audio ads may be read by me live during our session or inserted into the show later. If, during our conversation, I refer to “Karn,” that means I am making a note for my producer. Feel free to say hi to Karn!

If we do schedule a time, please find a quiet spot to record. Ideally, you will have a wired internet connection, instead of Wi-Fi. While we can use video to see each other, only audio will be recorded. You should wear headphones/earbuds and use the best mic you can. Karn will make us both sound as great as possible.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me.

Guest Questionnaire

About Your Work
What's a typical day look like for you?
Who do you report to? Who reports to you? Where do you sit in the organization? Who else is on your team?
Where do you build community? What platforms do you use? Please substitute "moderation" or "trust and safety" for "community" if work within those fields.
How is community judged at your organization? What metrics do you use to illustrate the value to the business? Please be specific. You can also mention interesting metrics from past work. Please substitute "moderation" or "trust and safety" for "community" if work within those fields.
About Community (or Moderation or Trust and Safety)
Either as a participant or a career - or both. Please substitute "moderation" or "trust and safety" for "community" if work within those fields.
This is the big one! Some of our greatest shows come from what guests share here. I like to get a sense of what challenges you have been thinking about lately. Even better if they haven't been talked about publicly. What's your mind? It is very helpful if you are specific. By now, we've talked about so many different things on our show. For example, instead of saying something like "self-care," instead talk about specific self-care initiatives that you are finding helpful or about particular obstacles you are working through. Please substitute "moderation" or "trust and safety" for "community" if work within those fields.
Please substitute "moderation" or "trust and safety" for "community" if work within those fields.
About You
How would you like us to refer to you?
Links welcome. We won't use this verbatim, but may extract portions to properly introduce you.
When the show is promoted on Mastodon, we'll tag you.
When the show is promoted on Instagram, we'll tag you.
On our show, we don't give you a chance to plug anything. Instead, we can mention links at your request, at the discretion of the host and show. Please suggest links here. This can include your company website, personal website, social media profiles, and more.
Please upload your current headshot, in a large and high quality format.
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