Straight Talk on Power Of SAP Community: “Why We’re Active on SCN”: TechEd Live’s 3 City Tour

I had the pleasure of conducting two SAP Tech Ed Live Interviews and enlisting Jason Lax to conduct a third in Bangalore. My blog will share the 7 most exciting and insightful parts of the interviews. You can also watch the entire interview by following the links below.

The idea behind these interviews was to bring together members who are active in SAP Community Network (SCN) to spread their enthusiasm to SAP TechEd attendees who don’t know the benefits of really participating on SCN. This was geared towards new members who are not familiar SCN – beginners or those who get answers but have not jumped in to contribute.

Straight Talk from Members on the Power of SAP Community Las Vegas

More Straight Talk from Members on the Power of SAP Community Madrid

More Straight Talk from Members on the Power of SAP Community Bangalore

APPLAUSE please – for our 8 participants for generously giving their time to share their wisdom.

Thomas Dulaney, SAP Basis Architect, ECS | at iLuMiNa Solutions @thomas_dulaney

Raquel Pereira da Cunha, SAP Solution Manager Consultant at Vinit @raquelsolman

Jim Link, Vice President of Business Architecture (SAP Customer) @JimLinkBPX

Anooj Behanan, Senior SAP HANA/Business Intelligence Consultant at Bluefin Solutions @akb0711

Fred Verheul, SAP NetWeaver Consultant at NL for Business @fredverheul

Juan Pablo Reyes, SAP Basis Consultant.@jreyes_irl

Kumud Singh, Team Lead at NTT DATA @singhkumud

Leon Limson, Principal Software Engineer of SAP Packaging Framework at SAP.

Here’s My Top 7 Tips from Straight Talk on the Power of Community

1. Start Small
   • It’s typical to start as consumer of content; do your first post>you’ll get response> its easier from there (Tom)
   • Resist the natural tendency to be fearful of contributing your first post. Just start – it’s easy! (Fred)
   • Find what motivates you and get into that space [follow]. (Kumud)
   • …by producing content, you produce your work, you document your work. (Kumud)
2. Phrase Your Question Well to Get a Good Answer
   • Ask yourself, “What info does the person asking the question need to know to answer you (e.g. what version/service pack are you on?)” (Jim)
   • Show that you have done the basic work to try to find the answer before posting; don’t make it obvious that you haven’t even tried to find an answer. The community can tell. Once you do that, we are happy to help. (Tom)
   • Post the question in the right space on SCN. If it goes unanswered, it could be sitting in the wrong space. (Raquel)
3. Get Answers Fast, Saving Time and Money
   • First time I posted a question I got 2-3 answers in half an hour that were really high quality. I said “Hey this is pretty good!. Then I answered some questions on topics that were familiar to me. It was nice to get a few points for that too.” (Juan Pablo)
   • As a customer, getting answers from SCN saves my company money by not having to hire outside consultants (Jim)
   • Best you search first [for your answer] on SCN. (Leon)
     • Beyond site search, try the by text once in a space and Google search (Reference: Everything I know about… Searching SCN
4. Become Known for Your Expertise
   • It’s nice to have someone approach you at a live event and say “Hey, I follow you; I value your answers.” It makes you feel good to be recognized for what you know. (Raquel)
   • By contributing to SCN, I can build a network where people identify as an expert. (Leon)
   • I’m much recognized in my organization via SCN, (Kumud)
5. Find Time to Post – When?
   • We SCN for research during the day; we post blogs and longer replies during off-hours/nights…. and we don’t mind doing it, we like it! (Jim, Raquel)
   • You can check in during the day – everyone has a little excess time (you check sports scores or Facebook, right?) (Tom)
   • It is possible that you can find time by completing your work and you can then do it as a passion with the knowledge that you can share. (Leon)
6. Measure SCN’s Value Intrinsically; Trying to Quantify It Misses the Point 
   • Hard to put a $ value on it, but we all know its valuable (Fred)
   • With SCN, you stay current: being active gives you an edge in the SAP hot topics; helps you know where to start with a client, keeps you current, you can be familiar with the concepts (Juan Pablo)
   • With SCN, you can demonstrate thought leadership for your company and yourself. I’m lucky to work for a firm that values that. For me, SCN is a source of pre-sales information, points for sales pitches and more. You can build your personal brand here too. (Anooj)
   • SCN really helps you grow better, because it not only provides you with updated information but also gives what’s happening (e.g. free developer licenses, online InnoJam, getting first hands on experience with free developer resources) (Kumud)
   • SCN is the Point of contact for the SAP world…without SCN, we can’t access [SAP World] (Leon)
7. Pay It Forward: Get An Answer – Give An Answer!
   • This is the motto I live by on SCN – When you get a good answer to your question, browse through and see if there is a question you can answer to give back to the community. There’s a natural urge to want to do that after you’ve been helped. (Jim)
   • You can’t always keep reading: ultimately you are at the stage that you have to produce back. (Kumud)

I’m sure folks new to SAP Community with find gems in the interviews that will move them to get started. What did you hear that resonated with you? What else would you say to a potential member?