Community Leadership Summit

Coincidences are funny. I always wonder if they are influenced on a subliminal level. For example, I had an idea a week ago to have a community management summit within our company, and yesterday I happened to see that there's a Community Leadership Summit scheduled for July 18-19, 2009 in San Jose.

It's new, and it's an unconference. So, there's no schedule of speakers (though some will be scheduled) and it's also free. That last bit helps when getting travel approval!

What's appealing and exciting about it is the opportunity to dialogue and network with peers and experts alike. So much of what we know about online community management is still evolving. I feel practitioners -- those directly involved with managing and leading online communities -- have as much, if not more, to share than those who have anointed themselves as social media experts. Give me practical experience and lessons learned, please!

And let me build a network of fellow community managers I can tap into with questions, ideas and problems I want help with -- that's ongoing value. A conference (excuse me, unconference) like this offers a rich pool of peers to draw upon.

And since it's an unconference, if I've got a topic that resonates with others it may end up on the program. That's a degree of customization and targeted scheduling that's hard to beat.

Yes, I'm going to be there. Anyone want to join me?