ChatSpace Launches Website For Community Professionals

Posted on June 20, 2001

Communitygods.com, a new website that serves as a resource for professionals in the online community field, was launched at VirComm after a presentation by ChatSpace, Inc., one of the venture's three industry sponsors. The site is designed as a place where community professionals can communicate, share experiences and learn from one another, compare notes, see what works, what doesn't and where they can improve.

"This is a place where community professionals can communicate, share their experiences and learn from one another and about one another," noted Eric Olinger, CEO at ChatSpace. "The field is moving and expanding so quickly that we need to compare notes, to see what works, what doesn't and where we can improve."

The site offers a free networking haven for the administrators, hosts, managers and moderators who run community forums on the Internet as well as community developers, vendors, analysts, press and other interested parties. Communitygods.com will feature a Who's Who Directory of professionals in community, with job listings for those seeking positions and information for companies looking to hire people in the field. Monthly topics will be provided by a group of leading professionals.

The site itself is managed by an independent council that includes Lynn Clater, former Community Development Director at CNN.com; Sandee LaMotte, Director of Community at WebMD; Blake Marlow, Head of Community for Youth Tech; Jonathan B. Spira, Chairman and Chief Analyst at Basex; Pam Thomas, Services Integration for CornerWays and Laura Zubel, Community Director Chatergy.com.

Each month, members of the council will post articles relating to their area of expertise that will provide a thread for discussion. The initial areas of discussion include portal communities, enterprise communities, customer service, distance learning, youth communities and community jobs. In addition, the site will host scheduled live chats with industry experts.