SXSW Community Manager Manifesto (2012)
CRITIQUE & ANALYSIS
Authored by:
- Michael Ellis
- Joy Ndukwe
- [Your Name Here]
Context, Introduction & Critiques
Introduction
The Community Creed (2026) is a living document created to help community professionals navigate the changing realities of our work. It combines principle with practice, offering guidance that is both ethical and actionable.
This Creed was inspired by the Community Manager Manifesto first drafted at SXSW in 2012, one of the earliest collective attempts to define the role of community management. That document gave language to an emerging profession and built early bridges between companies and their communities.
More than a decade later, our context has changed. The platforms are different, the pace is faster, and the work has expanded far beyond social media or customer engagement. Today, community management is a blend of strategy, care, design, and stewardship.
The goal of this Creed is not to replace what came before, but to extend it, to give today’s practitioners a modern foundation that reflects inclusion, digital ethics, and sustainability. It was written collaboratively and is meant to evolve through feedback, translation, and shared authorship.
Every line is meant to be useful, not ornamental. The document is structured in three tiers:
- Core Principles, how we show up as humans in this work
- Sustainable Practice, how we operate with integrity and care
- Evolving Systems, how we adapt and collaborate for the future
Readers are invited to reference, remix, and contribute to this work. The only requirement is to credit it faithfully and continue improving it with the same spirit of openness with which it was created.
This is a resource for anyone who helps people connect, whether in open-source projects, digital communities, workplaces, classrooms, or creative networks. It is built on a simple belief:
Intent + Effort > Perfection
Quick Summary: What Holds Up vs. What’s Outdated
The following highlights a distilled version of our initial findings for the current state of the Community Manifesto. A more detailed overview of the findings with notes has been proved below
Still Valuable:
- [ ] Commitment to transparency and trust
- [ ] Belief in empowering members
- [ ] Advocacy for CMs in strategy
- [ ] Curated community voice
- [ ] Focus on education and collaboration
Needs Updating:
- [ ] Measurement sophistication
- [ ] DEI, accessibility, equity
- [ ] Recognition of burnout and boundary setting
- [ ] Modern safety and moderation frameworks
- [ ] Decentralized ecosystems and AI-era realities
Detailed Summary: A Closer Look at Findings
1. It’s Aspirational, Not Operational
Quote:
“We must participate in business strategy development & decision-making.”
Critique:
Yes, we must - but the manifesto never defines how. It assumes CMs are already empowered within org structures that historically silo community beneath marketing or support. In reality, that seat at the table must be earned through data, diplomacy, and demonstrated business impact.
Modern Lens:
Today’s CM needs frameworks for internal advocacy: stakeholder mapping, narrative storytelling with metrics, and partnership models. Without those, “participate in strategy” becomes wishful thinking.
2. The Measurement Language Is Thin
Quote:
“Engagement levels, sentiment, growth, response.”
Critique:
That’s 2010-era social metric speak. It doesn’t capture product-community loops, retention value, or conversion funnels. There’s no mention of LTV, NPS, or community-led growth metrics.
Modern Lens:
We now think in terms of behavioral impact, network effects, and flywheel metrics. “Sentiment” and “growth” are surface-level; what matters is impact on activation, retention, and revenue. The manifesto would benefit from connecting measurement to specific business outcomes.
3. It Treats ‘Trust’ as an Internal Comms Problem, Not a Systems Design Challenge
Quote:
“We must publish clear process, protocol and service level agreement (SLA).”
Critique:
Transparency and SLAs are good - but trust in communities isn’t built by process documents; it’s built through predictable, humane moderation and shared governance models.
Modern Lens:
We now talk about community safety architecture, consent-based design, and ethical automation. The manifesto predates the era of algorithmic visibility, platform toxicity, and DEI accountability. Today, trust means addressing psychological safety, not just SLAs.
4. It Romanticizes the CM as a Hero Archetype
Quote:
“We represent and report on the voice of the customer.”
Critique:
The “voice of the customer” framing centralizes one person as the conduit. But community is a system, not a spokesperson. A single CM can’t scale that role responsibly.
Modern Lens:
We need distributed ownership: ambassador programs, champion models, and contributor pathways that turn the community itself into the voice. The manifesto overemphasizes the CM’s personal role and underplays the need for scalable frameworks.
5. It Lacks a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Perspective
Critique:
There’s no mention of accessibility, bias, or representational equity. For a manifesto that talks about “belonging,” that’s a major blind spot.
Modern Lens:
Belonging must include equity of access and safety. A current version would call out inclusion practices explicitly: inclusive moderation, global time zone fairness, multilingual support, and compensating unpaid community labor.
6. It Doesn’t Address Burnout or Boundaries
Quote:
“Community managers should be part of creating and nurturing the voice of the company.”
Critique:
That’s noble - but also the kind of expectation that leads to 24/7 emotional labor. The manifesto assumes infinite emotional energy and availability.
Modern Lens:
Healthy community management includes boundary setting, shared accountability, and emotional hygiene. We now teach community sustainability, workload balancing, and trauma-informed practices.
7. It’s Brand-Centric, Not Ecosystem-Centric
Critique:
Much of the manifesto focuses on aligning community to organizational goals, not co-creating shared value with the community itself.
Modern Lens:
The CM is cast as an internal advocate who translates community to business, but not as a community advocate who negotiates power with the brand. In mature community ecosystems, power dynamics are shared: open governance, contributor voting, transparent decision-making.
8. It Doesn’t Anticipate Decentralization or Open-Source Models
Critique:
It reads like something written for brand communities on Facebook and Twitter, not for federated or contributor-owned ecosystems.
Modern Lens:
Community leadership today often happens without brand control — through DAOs, open source projects, or federated groups. Modern manifestos talk about stewardship, not ownership.
9. Its Language Is Formal but Lacks Emotional Intelligence
Critique:
It uses business vocabulary (“service level agreements,” “protocols”) but rarely human language about empathy, curiosity, or creativity.
Modern Lens:
Community health is emotional, cultural, and narrative. We now integrate psychology, ritual, and storytelling into CM practice.
10. It Remains an Artifact of “Early Social Media”
Critique:
The manifesto feels frozen in a pre-algorithmic era. There’s no mention of moderation at scale, AI tools, parasocial dynamics, or community as brand protection.
Modern Lens:
Today, CMs navigate misinformation, harassment, creator economies, and AI-assisted engagement. The manifesto would need an entire new section on digital ethics and platform stewardship.
Community Creed (2026) v1
THE COMMUNITY CREED (2026)
A Practical Framework for Ethical, Sustainable, and Connected Community Management
Authored by:
- Michael Ellis
- Joy Ndukwe
- Robert Collis
- [Hopefully, Your Name Here]
Preamble & Preface:
This Creed builds upon the Community Manager Manifesto first that was first developed at SXSW in 2013. At the time, the document was landmark, and we respect its contribution to legitimizing and professionalizing the field of Community Management - while also recognizing a few of the original document’s limitations: it reflected a narrow moment in time, corporate, Western, and executive-driven.
The Community Creed (2026) continues that legacy of building upon the 2013 Manifesto through an inclusive, practitioner-led lens. It is both a moral compass and a field guide for community leaders, moderators, and strategists everywhere.
We believe progress in this work follows a simple formula:
Intent + Effort > Perfection
Introduction
The Community Creed (2026) is a living document created to help community professionals navigate the changing realities of our work. It combines principle with practice, offering guidance that is both ethical and actionable.
This Creed was inspired by the Community Manager Manifesto first drafted at SXSW in 2012, one of the earliest collective attempts to define the role of community management. That document gave language to an emerging profession and built early bridges between companies and their communities.
More than a decade later, our context has changed. The platforms are different, the pace is faster, and the work has expanded far beyond social media or customer engagement. Today, community management is a blend of strategy, care, design, and stewardship.
The goal of this Creed is not to replace what came before, but to extend it, to give today’s practitioners a modern foundation that reflects inclusion, digital ethics, and sustainability. It was written collaboratively and is meant to evolve through feedback, translation, and shared authorship.
Every line is meant to be useful, not ornamental. The document is structured in three tiers:
- Core Principles: how we show up as humans in this work
- Sustainable Practice: how we operate with integrity and care
- Evolving Systems: how we adapt and collaborate for the future
Readers are invited to reference, remix, and contribute to this work. The only requirement is to credit it faithfully and continue improving it with the same spirit of openness with which it was created.
This is a resource for anyone who helps people connect, whether in open-source projects, digital communities, workplaces, classrooms, or creative networks. It is built on a simple belief: community and collaboration serve to better our shared and collective experience.
TIER I – Core Principles
These define how we show up as humans in our day-to-day work as Community Managers.
1. Start from Trust
Principle:
Trust enables participation.
Practice:
Be transparent, consistent, and clear. Publish guidelines and respond reliably.
Measure:
Member retention, re-engagement, and sentiment trends.
2. Lead with Empathy
Principle:
Empathy improves dialogue and conflict resolution.
Practice:
- Listen before reacting (active listening); validate before correcting.
- Use inclusive "we" framing.
- Acknowledge emotions.
Measure:
Reduced escalations, increased voluntary resolutions.
3. Build Together
Principle:
Co-creation strengthens belonging & community.Practice:
Invite members into design, feedback, and leadership roles.
Measure:
Growth of member-led initiatives or content.
4. Measure What Matters
Principle:
Metrics should reflect health, not vanity.
Practice:
Balance quantitative and qualitative data; review quarterly.
Measure:
Scorecards including belonging, safety, and impact indicators.
5. Respect Labor
Principle:
Community work is real work.
Practice:
Credit contributors, advocate fair pay, and provide growth paths.
Measure:
Contributor satisfaction, retention, and documented volunteer hours.
TIER II – Sustainable Practices
These ensure that communities, and the people running them, can thrive over time.
6. Design for Inclusion
Principle:
Accessibility expands creativity and trust.
Practice:
- Provide transcripts, translations, inclusive visuals, and cross-time-zone access.
- Seek diverse voices early, not as an after-thought.
- Include different abilities, identities, languages, cultures, and lived experiences.
Measure:
Participation diversity and accessibility feedback.
7. Protect Boundaries
Principle:
Healthy communities need healthy managers.
Practice:
Set office hours, rotate duties, and normalize rest.
Measure:
Team retention and burnout indicators.
8. Steward Voice, Not Control It
Principle:
Communities thrive on authentic expression.
Practice:
Represent members honestly; share decision rationales; empower advocates.
Measure:
Organic advocacy and community-led communication.
9. Act with Integrity
Principle:
Transparency sustains credibility.
Practice:
Own mistakes publicly; protect confidentiality; stay consistent.
Measure:
Trust sentiment after incidents or changes.
10. Build for the Long Term
Principle:
Communities are ecosystems, not campaigns.
Practice:
Document rituals and processes; revisit values annually.
Measure:
Member longevity, repeat engagement, and institutional memory.
TIER III – Evolving Systems
These guide how communities grow beyond themselves and connect with others.
11. Foster Cross-Community Collaboration
Principle:
Healthy ecosystems connect beyond their borders.
Practice:
Partner with aligned communities, share knowledge, and co-create initiatives.
Measure:
Number and quality of collaborations, joint projects, or knowledge exchanges.
12. Use Technology Thoughtfully
Principle:
Tools, including AI, are extensions of our intent.
Practice:
- Apply the same community principles of care, transparency, and accountability to tool use.
- Audit automation and AI systems for bias, fairness, and unintended impact.
- Communicate openly when automated systems interact with members or are used for creative work, detailed data analysis, or content generation.
- Provide human alternatives where possible, ensuring members can choose personal interaction.
- Treat tools as partners in service, not cost or time saving replacements for human connection.
Measure:
- Member satisfaction following automation or AI implementation.
- Frequency of human review and feedback cycles.
- Documented improvements in workflow, fairness, or accessibility enabled by technology.
Closing Reflections
This Creed does not replace the 2012 Manifesto; it extends and builds upon it. Where the original spoke from the perspective of executive leadership, this document speaks with practitioner-first ethos. Where the old defined ideals, this one defines tangible actions for day-to-day realities. And where the first assumed privilege, this one assumes duty and responsibility. This is because community management is both a professional discipline and a human -centric art, requiring skill, empathy, and maturity in equal measure.
The Community Creed (2026) is a living document. It will evolve through dialogue, translation, and practice. Its goal is not perfection but honesty, a shared commitment to building better, together.
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