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Case: Very significant overhaul of community hub.

• Challenge:
  • Most community members don't always interact with the community site; many don't care about the updates, many do. How to reach people appropriately.
• Solution:
  • Be decisive/use authority when necessary. Be transparent as possible. Respond personally to personal complaints.

Transparency vs. Prior Notice

• Allowing for consideration before a change can cause more resistance.
• Keep people apprised on a specific blog where relevant people are informed. Use rough drafts of plans with a basic outline of future direction.
• More acceptance through communicating the problem before creating change.

How to communicate to a large and diverse user community

• Communicate through community organizers/leaders
• Tell the story of what you're doing. First person acccount. Include how it was done.
• Consider separate communications for different aspects of the product (user experience, technical)

How to communicate to less involved users

• Post on a company blog
• Make available a plugin that allows you to try a new version

How to get upper-level folks in the organization to participate in/support communications

• Communication lead for each project, who works directly with product manager