The Editor's Desktop: Gather helping Gather

The other day, I was trying to explain to someone about the power of community. I explained that the magic of a community happens when people not only contribute their own expertise, but also engage and assist the rest of the community. So while Gather is made up of many small communities and a growing list of new friends, there are some members who have become mentors for their community peers. These members have taken the rest of the community under their wing – finding ways to grow their audience, create visibility, and spur great discussion. They often offer tips and tricks that we haven't even talked about yet. While I will only point to a small percentage of the most helpful people on the site, I encourage you to visit their pages for more help and insight about how to make the most of your Gather experience (Note: I will only mention each member once in this article, but their value can often be multi-faceted).

Finding great content and guidance through comments. Gather provides users with a number of ways to find content: tags, search, groups, Editor's Picks, "Top" lists, and recent lists. But when it comes to finding quality stuff, the best way to find content on Gather is to check comments. Great  content can be found all over the site, tend to be written by great writers who get involved in a number of conversations.  You can get a good idea of who to read by checking out Kathryn Esplin-Oleski's guide to welcoming newcomers.  Another great way to find some of the popular writers is to read through comments. Some of the best serial commenters are ready to share their views on politics and culture, but also on how experience Gather. Check out  George Corneliussen, Jessie Voigts, Candida Bonne-Eittreim, Bert Bigelow, ~martinchill~, and Christopher C. to name just a few.

Getting recognition and readership (and points too). Richard Frisbie and Ed Nudelman have mastered the art of getting read by members. Opportunistically, they know that getting members to read their articles leads to building a bigger pool of points, and soon cash (see our CEO Tom Gerace's update on how to earn on Gather). Richard encourages Gather writers to promote themselves off-Gather in order to build an audience and the points that accrue from a well-read article on-Gather (great point, Richard!). Ed has become a yogi of sorts for Gather. He is both teacher and student with one of the largest groups on the site, Writing Flash Fiction.

Using the community to learn. With so many writers on the site, Gather members see the community as a source of peer review for authors. Some are famous authors with professional points of view, and others are just good writers with good insight into helping each other. The Critics Corner, hosted by Alexander Leverenze, and Sandy Knauer's Writing Tips are just two places to go to critique and be critiqued.

Etiquette on Gather. I am proud of the community – after a raucous few weeks where no one seemed to be supportive, or at the very least collegial – the community righted itself to encourage more constructive comments, more thorough articles, and more friendly use of the tools like private messaging. No one illustrates this better than Carol Voigts, our resident etiquette expert, otherwise know as Ms. Noetal. Her group, Ms. Noetal's Gather Etiquette and Hints, is a great place to see helpful tips offered by Ron Hall, Thomas Leggate, and of course Carol herself. Other etiquette help can found in comments by Jonathan Schussler and in Gather's own Building a Better Gather.

Managing the tools. Gather continues to simplify the site – look for improvements in the next few weeks. Our current on site guru, though he doesn't work for Gather, is the tireless Kevin V. This Gather member provides a technical guidance and support in the form of articles and comments, and probably directly through private messages as well. Find Kevin's suggestions on his page or through groups like Gather Tips and Tricks. While Kevin has only been active on Gather for a month or so, he has mastered much of what Gather has to offer, and has provided his services to others in the community. His groups help folks with technology, navigation, and general technology issues that are not related to Gather. In his spare time, he also points out cool blogs for others to read in his Blogs of Note group.

Making it real. Let's not forget our multi-channel Gatherers, the folks who have met on Gather and gone on to meet each other in person: Gisela S. and Bonnie L. met in person and had a great conversation as a result; Shava Nerad's efforts to meet up in Boston continue. I see Shava at a lot of local conferences as I attend blog conferences in the area. Monica Kennedy, one of our most prolific organizers on the site, has organized a get together for Gather members on May 6th at the Barnes and Noble in Cary, North Carolina, just outside of Raleigh.  At some point, we at Gather hope to have "Gatherings" across the country where you can meet your fellow Gatherers.

Gather is always willing to help you with any questions you may have about using the site. But your fellow Gather members are a great resource for you in terms of helping enhance your Gather experience.  We encourage you to share your knowledge if you have something to share.  And don't be afraid to ask questions of your fellow members either via onsite email or in comments.  Gather members, like those mentioned above are always willing to help out. As a starting point, these are some of the best. If someone has helped you and didn't get mentioned here, share them in the comments below.

David Cooperstein is Editor in Chief at Gather. His past The Editor's Desktop columns can be found at editors.gather.com, a group for people who want to connect around the content on Gather.