I’ve gained a lot of experience running and working with bulletin boards in my day, although most of my experience has been based on numerous mistakes. In 2004 and 2005, I established a number of communities, but most of them wound up being unsuccessful for a number of reasons, and that’s pretty much how I learned NOT to run a community.

Well, a few weeks ago, Patrick O’Keefe (of phpBBHacks.com fame, as well as a number of other communities and websites), released a brand new book called Managing Online Forums: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Run Successful Community Discussion Boards. Patrick was on phpBB Weekly #050 back in February, and in addition to talking about phpBBHacks.com on that episode, he gave us an early preview of his book. Since then, he sent copies to both myself and David Lewis for us to read and review. (Plus, we’ll be giving away an autographed copy on phpBB Weekly #061 on May 10th!) I recently finished the book, and am quite excited to have the opportunity to review it.
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Tags: administrators, book, communities, forums, guide, guidelines, management, Managing Online Forums, marketing, Patrick O'Keefe, phpBB, review, staff, tips

You know that when you listen to PreviewCast, you hear me mention that the show is a part of the Tech Podcast Network and the Teen Podcasters Network. The former is a very vibrant, well-known network that features 91 excellent shows. The latter is a lesser-known network that has kind of been in a slump recently, such that a few months ago I posted a topic asking if there was anything I could do to help them get going, because the idea of having a network just for teen podcasters sounded like a great idea.

Well, the Teen Podcasters Network is making a comeback, and I’m going to be helping out. Beginning today, I have been given the position of “Lead Developer” on the board of Teen Media Productions, which heads the Teen Podcasters Network. That intimidating title means that I will essentially be working along with President/CEO Matt Pippen to work on the website, first of all, and then pursuing other ideas to achieve the goal of building up a good sized community of teen podcasters, with the ultimate goal of hopefully rivaling the other TPN that I’m associated with.

If you’re a teen podcaster and are interested in helping build up the community, be sure to check out the Teen Podcasters Network, and I’m looking forward to being able to do good work with them in the future!

Tags: community, development, job, PHP, Podcasts, staff, Teen Podcasters Network, teens, WordPress