Trying to become a better contributor on SCN
Having followed the interviews month by month for those who get the prestigious ‘Member of the month’ award I am keen to know what they do / How they do
so I am creating this blog post to share what I could possibly understand by reading all interviews .I hope the post is helpful for those like me who are aiming to be recognized some day to be on the hall of Fame page More details and the list of winners is mentioned in the below link based on which I have done my research
SCN Member of The Month Hall of Fame
1. How many points do they have on an average per year and till date
This is a range of the points I have found based on the last 12 months data and also took out an average of it .
So maybe if you fall between this you may consider having a good chance of being considered a member of the month or maybe this is not a criteria at all
But just a thought? I see the range quite a large interval I only took it for the last 12 months though.
2. How they all started on their way to become the SDN MoM ?
– Initially just a silent absorber posting queries
– Trying to answer a few queries in the specific area in which they were working
– Creating blog posts which are like sharing some stories and can be random things that you think and would be useful for the SCN community to grow and expand
– Be a document addict . Think of every problem you solve as an opportunity to learn something new and document it the same day before your start sight on what you did. So postponing after the projects / work is competed might not be a good idea. Provide real time tips and tricks which people can relate to.
-If it is not something you have solved before even then try to find answers to queries by doing research.
– Try to answers or follow posts from multiple areas and expand your skillset ABAP , any specific module , Fiori , Gateway etc ..
– Do SAP open Sap courses and try to help others on knowing what you understood and get your self cross skilled. This is the best way to be cross skilled even if there is lack of opportunity at an organization level for you.
3. Don’t work in Silos
– Find a SCN member whom you admire so you have a role model to follow
– Be able to work cross module you should not focus on only one module/aspect of SAP consulting . SAP grows and expand every minute and so should
the SCN members do as well .
– Engage in contests / Create your own spaces or do something creative even if it does not work there is no harm.
4. What motivates them ?
This one is in general answered to help others . share information , learn something .
But I would like to add a tad bit of my own thing here . I get motivated when I see some things moving or if I am able to set Goals and
I see them being completed week over week . I do the following things in order to keep a track
– Check your Missions are completed they give you extra points which can be found at Reputation Tab>>> Missions section
– Check your Ranking as you score points you will see your rank go higher . Even if its a single points that you manage to accrue your ranking can shift in multiples of 10 . It can be found in Reputation Tab>>> Ranking section
– See the number of views of your documents . Go to Browse >>> Content and selected the option Authored and check the number of views anything more than 500 is what I consider as a good contribution and then obviously depending on the likes , ratings and comments you know if the post has been appreciated or not .
– Check your points and Level This is my personal favorite keep checking how many points short you are to reach to the next level how many points you collected every week and how you could possibly increase that ?
Having said all this I do not want to emphasis that it is all about collecting as many points as possible. This should be an after effect of trying to
to help others share knowledge, answering queries and being interactive on SCN .
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Thanks you for reading and do share your feedback and comments if any .Look forward to hearing back š
Regards
Vinita
Hi Vinita
Interesting blog on observations of being a MoM. When I became one a while back I was quite surprised to have been chosen in such a diverse group of quality contributors
You've mentioned a few points points of those being quite and contributing slowly. But I think it can be well summarised into learning the rules and culture of the community. Read the rules of engagement and understand who you can contribute to community content quality. It might take time to build up if you are a beginner.
For example, every member can start by alerting moderator when they identify content that breaks the rules. Every member can choose to be silent and not reply to basic questions or frequently asked questions. Although not explicit in the rules, answering these reduces overall content quality and makes searching in SCN hard. It also discourages experienced members from participating and takes up time of moderators and others to clean up and remove the posts.
These types of behind the scenes actions are silent to your peers but speak volumes to the global moderators who look for member of the month options
Participation in SCN is important so longer as there is quality and well thought out. Points will change on the 1DX so it won't be the best indicator. They can also be misleading as an indicator of deserving this recognition (some spaces have high point volumes compared to more specialised products). Really, it comes down to establishing yourself in part of the community and being consistent with your efforts for a period of time. MoM is meant to recognise contributions from up and coming members so it's not always about time frame. It can mean that your observation of points reflects the "up and coming stage"
I wonder if hopping over to BETA and testing and providing feedback would be a valuable way to contribute to the community and get recognised.
When it comes to number of views on blogs and questions, it can be a good indication of reaching your audience. But if you find yourself writing click-bait titles that attract people but adds no value (e.g. no one writes comments and continues the conversation) then they may not help
Finally, only one person is recognised each month and 12 in total for the year. There are a lot of deserving people. So if you don't get MoM it may not be personal, but just that there aren't enough to give everyone
Ultimately, focus on being a member of the community and not on the awards. The badges and recognition like these are great but you receive more from the community based on what you give. It's what I've learned in my time with SCN
Regards
Colleen
Wow Colleen Thanks a lot for the useful information. I have noted the points you mentioned specially revolving around how we could improve quality content on SCN and I agree its not about being the MoM but helping to play your part well in answering queries and learning a new thing or so everyday.
Thanks again for taking time to read my blog and for providing valuable insights.
Thank you Vanita, for sharing your perspective on Member of the Month recognition. I am honored to hear that the recognition is something that your strive for, and encourage you to keep up your contributions.
Though I have been announcing the nominations for the last two years, the program was established in 2012, you can see the guiding principles I have done my best to uphold here: Announcing SAP Community Network Member of the Month Program
And I couldn't have authored a better reply than Colleen already has above (thank you Colleen). So I will only reiterate that a focus on points would be misguided. Quality contributions, diverse participation, engagement that clearly indicates a focus on understanding the rules of engagement, and showing care for the overall quality of the community, are the best path to recognition.
We are fortunate to have the guidance of moderators, space editors and other global moderators with each selection, because it is always a challenge to select one single member each month. There are so many members that are valued, and we on the community experience team are humbled everyday by the contributions made and expertise shared.
Thanks so much Caroleigh for your reply. I am thrilled to hear back from you. And going through the link you mentioned helped me understand more about the program.
I have been reading all your interviews and found details about each of the winners specially on what motivates them and about their personal life , interests and hobbies quite fascinating. Thanks again for reading and providing your comments.
HiĀ Vinita,
a very interestingĀ analysis and a good read.
I think even though this was done in old SCN, it generally is still validĀ here in SAP Community.
best
Joachim
Still valid?
All gamification things were gone. š
Good bye motivation... (?)
Hello "karma". No more points, levels, badges...
I thinkĀ Vinita kasliwalĀ must upgrade this post.
Regards,
Oswald
Well, as I allready saidĀ elswhereĀ : if gamification / points where the only things motivating someone, it's probably good to move on....
best
Joachim