Meet our 2024 Speaker: Hugh Lashbrooke

Interviewing Swarm Speakers is continually a pleasure. They always come to us with such enthusiasm, and so much community management knowledge they want to share with Swarmees.

In our latest Swarm speaker interview, we chatted with Hugh Lashbrooke of Discourse. Hugh joined Discourse in January as a Product Manager, but you may recognise him from previous Swarm appearances in previous roles.

This talented and insightful community manager has been part of Swarm for quite a while now. We’re delighted to have his presentation, “Managing Your Community Like a Product,” in the Swarm lineup this year.

Before we get to that though, enjoy reading the following Q&A with Hugh:

 

Tell us about your community management history:

“My entry into community management was in the open-source WordPress community. I had been working in that space as a developer for a number of years and made the switch to full-time community work around 2014 after seeing how powerful an open-source community can be. I worked in various parts of the WordPress project for many years, developing skills and growing into my passions.

“Over the course of that time I realised that my background as a software developer gave me tools for community work that I would never have had otherwise, particularly relating to how I manage community programs. Coming to that realisation made my whole experience of community work far more satisfying as I realised I bring something unique to the role and my work.

 

 

And what has been your favourite role/community?

“Some of my favourite work has been in launching and managing new initiatives and programs, both in WordPress and Discourse, and seeing those initiatives grow into flourishing programs.”

 

What would you say is unique about working on your current community?

“While I’m currently working as a product manager, I’m doing so at a community-focused open-source company that I love being a part of, so I get to bring my community expertise into my product work. It is immensely satisfying working on building and growing one of the top community platforms on the market.”

 

What community platforms, socially or professionally, do you personally engage with?

“I’m primarily on Discourse and Discord, with some time on Slack as well (although that is steadily dwindling). I’m quite involved in the broader tabletop gaming community, and many of the communities in that space use Discord.”

 

What is your favourite aspect of community management?

“All of the gaming communities I’m a part of are exceptionally supportive and collaborative – they’re full of people working together to help each other and create great new things. That epitomises what good community is all about.”

 

How are you adapting to the constantly changing social media landscape?

“I generally prefer on-platform community spaces – communities that meet on a platform that they manage and moderate themselves. In terms of broader social media, I’m on Twitter and Mastodon, but tend to not think or worry about it all that much, and honestly, I don’t find that I get a huge amount of direct value from being active on them as much as I used to.”

 

When asked what he is currently reading, watching, or listening to that all community professionals should explore, Hugh provided these three insights:

“Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of new tabletop RPGs. That might not seem immediately relevant, but these games work on the basis of a group of people with shared interests working toward a common goal, making them a direct embodiment of what community is all about. I would strongly encourage community professionals to take some time to learn from these games and spaces.”

 

And to close out, we asked Hugh “What are you most looking forward to about Swarm? “

“’ve spoken at and attended Swarm online the past few years, and this will be my first time attending in-person. I’m incredibly excited to meet everyone IRL and can’t wait to connect with Swarmees and community professionals from all around Australia!”

 

In welcoming Hugh Lashbrooke to Swarm Conference 2024, we eagerly anticipate the invaluable insight he will provide community managers as both a product manager and communtiy professional.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Rebekah Lambert, the Founder and Community Lead at Freelance Jungle, in preparation for her appearance as part of the Swarm Conference 2024 panel discussion “Communities of Practice”.

Rebekah started making her crust in community at the pointy end of the spectrum – in the wonderful world of IVR, online, and mobile based dating in the 90s and noughties.

“Dating communities are a wonderful mix of optimism, vulnerability, confidence, and raw emotion. It’s where the rubber meets the road in customer service, online events, and crisis handling,” she said.

So let’s delve into our interview:

Tell us about your community management history:

“I’ve worked for various startups and small businesses, often in the quirkier community spaces like the end-of-life, mental health, the sharing economy, the arts, and disability as a freelancer since 2010.”

“I’ve also been a Patreon A-Club captain, worked on virtual worlds for kids, done placemaking installations IRL, and in community radio. I’ve used my community management powers for good by advocating for better mental health for freelancers as part of a joint COSBA and Beyond Blue year-long working group and got freelancers on pandemic era JobKeeper with a 21,000-person petition. “

 

And what has been your favourite role/community?

 

“My favourite community is the Freelance Jungle, a 6500-strong freelance community for Australian and New Zealand freelancers. This encompasses a Facebook group, Substack, and partial funding via Patreon crowdfunding.”

“It grew from a 2011 survey where I was trying to figure out if I had made every mistake possible in freelancing. We focus on ending the isolation inherent in freelancing, reminding freelancers stress has a productivity cost, advocacy, and raising the knowledge bar. No mean feat in years defined by natural disaster, covid, and inflation.”

 

What would you say is unique about working on your current community?

“Unlike other business-based communities, Freeland Jungle focuses on stress reduction, inclusion, and mental health and trauma-based principles. We also use crowdfunding and placemaking hand-in-hand to create revenue streams and different member experiences.”

 

What community platforms, socially or professionally, do you personally engage with?

“I still have an enduring love for Instagram. I have also put my hair up in a messy bun and unhooked my bra to chill on Threads.”

“And I spend time with Facebook and LinkedIn attempting to swim against their current vibes.”

“I also love life on Patreon and Substack as they mature into their identities.”

 

What is your favourite aspect of community management?

“As a woman with disabilities, chronic pain, and mental health issues, I love the tenderness and the inclusion aspects of communities. A healthy, happy community to me is where underrepresented voices feel excited to grab the mic, and where anyone feels safe enough to tell their most vulnerable story.”

 

How are you adapting to the constantly changing social media landscape?

“I’ve seen a lot of online change – I was one of the first Australians to receive rights on servers for IRC on #Netsex for example. And I worked for the company that invented online dating. I’ve seen it shift across technology, usage, and platform. And from outlier culture to mainstream, and now into the maturation stage, and into AI and tech disruption.”

 

“For me, it’s not so much tackling change but staying curious, adaptable, and recognising that no matter the format or the constraint, community is about people. You can always move people to platforms or formats as long as you can manage the change, even if it means losing audience, if you stay true to community principles and meet their needs.”

 

When asked what she is currently reading, watching, or listening to that all community professionals should explore, Rebekah provide these three insights:

• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport is a must read.
• I’m loving Feverbee with Richard Milligan (online community resources and blogging).
• If you’re not on Substack, you’re also missing out.

 

And to close out, we asked Rebekah “What are you most looking forward to about Swarm? “

“I’m really looking forward to making community within the community event. My brain simply lights up hearing from other people, and I am sure this will be no different.”

“Please excuse me in advance if I am furiously taking notes during presentations and/or getting my nerd on in front of you in various ways.”

 

In welcoming Rebekah Lambert to Swarm Conference 2024, we eagerly anticipate the invaluable professional contributions and enriching personal perspectives she will bring to the Communities of Practice panel.

 

Meet Evan Hamilton, Director of Community and Hubspot.

We’re so excited to have Evan Hamilton appear as part of our Swarm 2024 lineup. He’s been one of our most requested return Swarm speakers, and is a valued part of the Swarm community.

At Swarm this year, Evan will deliver one of our webinars on 30 August, with a presentation titled “Maintaining Quality Communities at Scale: Lessons from Reddit and HubSpot”.

Tickets are on sale now – grab yours!

We recently interviewed Evan to provide you with more insight into our San Franciso-based speaker and how he sees the world.

(Before you read further, we’ll remind everyone Evan is American, and we’ve quoted him verbatim. American spelling and all.)

Tell me about yourself and your community management history:

I stumbled into community through a Craigslist post about a MySpace page (just to date myself) and discovered that I had been waiting my whole life for such a role. I’m an introvert who loves understanding people, bringing them together, and creating joyful experiences for them. I was hooked, and I’ve been building communities professionally for the 15+ years since then.

 

What has been your favourite role/community?

I’m not sure I can pick a favorite role because they’re all amazing and hard in different ways. Leading community at Reddit was an incredible experience that I’m so grateful for (though it was also incredibly exhausting).

 

What’s unique about working on your current community?

HubSpot has always been on the cutting edge of SaaS and, unsurprisingly, is on the cutting edge of community. It’s really fun and exciting to try really different things but within the support and confines of a very big company. The work is definitely on multi-year horizons, but I’m really excited about where it’s going. If we pull this off, community will be a central component of most of our public-facing efforts.

 

What community platforms do you personally hang out on? (either socially or professionally)

I’ve loved Reddit since before I worked there and still hang out there quite a bit.

I’m enjoying Threads, though I miss Twitter (but I don’t miss supporting a terrible person).

I’m a part of a lot of small slacks and text threads that feel probably the most intimate and valuable to me.

 

What is your favourite aspect about your community (either on you manage or one you’re a part of)?

I love that HubSpot fans are so passionate and so smart. A big chunk of my job is just figuring out how we can get out of the way and let them cook, because when we do they create amazing outcomes like events spread across the globe, thousands of excellent answers in our success community, and amazing content on social.

 

How are you tackling the constantly changing social media space (i.e. The Twitter to X rebrand, Meta’s changing rules re: journalism, owned platforms vs social based communities)?

First, I try to build a core audience via email. I have an email newsletter called Community Manager Breakfast that goes out once a week and features 3 curated links about community building. Having that direct access every week is really important.

Second, I try new platforms all the time. I don’t invest deeply unless it’s a fit, but I want to be aware of what’s out there and move when I see an opportunity.

Lastly, always focus on quality. I’ve skipped weeks of my newsletter because I didn’t feel the quality was high enough. I might post 8 times in one week and then 2 the next week because I just don’t have anything of value to provide. Although the algorithm likes volume and consistency, I’ve found that PEOPLE want quality.

 

What are you reading/watching/listening to right now that all community professionals should read/watch/listen to?

The best things I find go into Community Manager Breakfast so you should definitely subscribe to that. 😉

That said, I’ve been really impressed with the insights on the Beginner Maps podcast and I will basically read anything written by Tiffany Oda, Brian Oblinger, Richard Millington, or Carrie Melissa Jones.

 

What do you love most about Swarm?

The people who attend Swarm are SO smart and thoughtful and passionate. I’ve had some of the most intriguing conversations of any conference at Swarm!

 

Tickets are on sale now – grab yours!

 

See all our speakers here!

 

Meet Victoria Cumberbatch, Founder & Principal of adventuresOFcommunity and community manager extraordinaire.

Victoria is a transformation leadership coach in Denver, USA. She helps people move from states of tension to states of intention. Her neuro-friendly and trauma-informed lens supports people through coaching, breathwork, and communal events.

At Swarm this year, Victoria will deliver one of our webinars on 14 August, with a presentation titled “Becoming an Authentic Leader at Home & at the Workplace”.

Tickets are on sale now – grab yours!

We recently interviewed Victoria to provide you with more insight into our Denver-based speaker and what makes her tick as a community manager.

Tell me about yourself and your community management history:

Within the past full year, I’ve pivoted from over a decade of serving in community building to coaching and facilitation. It took me nearly that entire decade to discern the golden thread that my form of contribution is through the lens of community building, management and design. I hadn’t realized that that was what I’d been ‘doing’ until the covid moment, where the community industry seemed to explode.

I got into community many moons ago, after graduating with a government degree and no job. I chose to do long term substitute teaching followed by long term backpacking, as a rotation, for many years in my 20s. When I would travel, I would typically do work exchanges, home stays or work at hostels and these environments are really where I began to gather people intentionally. Then with full time work, the titles morphed to ‘program coordinator’ or ‘program leader’ to inevitably, community manager or something more aligned with what I was actually doing.

My favorite role, albeit the most challenging as well, was leading a community of digital nomads around the world for a year with a co lead. We oversaw the experience and well being of about 50 adults for 12 months solid, including a few months of shadowing. Here’s what it was like!

 

What’s unique about working on your current community?

Currently, I am slowly building an in person community in Denver, where I now live, based around somatic work. I delved into embodiment work in the past few years of living here and became a breathwork facilitator, so I offer community breath experiences around town and I’m starting to attract regulars!

 

What community platforms do you personally hang out on? (either socially or professionally)

Very few, to be frank with you. Primarily, Slack, Heartbeat and Facebook Groups!

 

What is your favourite aspect about your community (either on you manage or one you’re a part of)?

One of the best aspects of a former community I managed was the permission to be creative with intrinsic level ‘perks.’ This allowed me to go wild with things like themed months, month long bingo activities, experimenting with different virtual ‘tea times’ and getting deep into discussion on dicier topics. That was fun to me and kept me motivated to keep envisioning new innovative ideas to keep people connected and returning.

 

How are you tackling the constantly changing social media space (i.e. The Twitter to X rebrand, Meta’s changing rules re: journalism, owned platforms vs social based communities)?

I’m not! With ADHD and working for myself, I truly can not handle the rate of change. So, I’ve decided to simply hang up perfectionism and do what I can when I have the energy for it. It’s something I preach heartily about now as well.

 

What are you reading/watching/listening to right now that all community professionals should read/watch/listen to?

I love to read April MacLean’s newsletters and body double with either of these apps: Groove or FLOWN.

 

What do you love most about Swarm?

I love how intentional Swarm is, whether it be with content, outreach, recognition of the land any team member might currently be on and so much more. This sort of thing, intentionality, gives me the perception that the people at Swarm care more about being in integrity than straight up capitalism.

 

Tickets are on sale now – grab yours!

 

See all our speakers here!