SAP Community Call about Reputation: Follow-Up with Panelists

On Monday September 24, the SAP Community Call held a session about reputation in SAP Community. Chris Kernaghan was the host, and I presented and moderated in the session.
I don’t intend to do a recap—Tammy Powlas  already covered that with her post SAP Community Reputation Call Webcast Recap (thanks Tammy!).

I want to encourage those who were unable to attend the live session to check out the recording and the presentation slides.

There were a few questions that we did not wind up having time for in the panel discussion (I think all of us would have loved to spend another hour talking about this topic!). We had three very interesting members on the panel, all of whom have been Member of the Month in SAP Community at some point in the past: Bärbel Winkler, Sharath M G, and Matt Fraser.

Two of the panelists have graciously agreed to provide their answers to the additional questions in writing to me, and I’ve published them below (Matt is still on travel in Peru or I’m sure he would have chimed in too).

I encourage you to listen to the recording, read the panelists’ additional answers, and then post any questions you may have for the panelists on the topic of reputation in SAP Community in the comments on this blog post. They all said they will be happy to answer.

Additional questions, with answers from Bärbel Winkler:

Q: Can you tell us about another member you hold in high esteem, and can you detail for us why?

A: Jelena Perfiljeva  – she doesn’t hold back her opinions and states them in a clear and concise way.

Q: When you are consuming content by other members of the community whose names are not familiar to you, how do you evaluate their reputation? What do you look for in another member’s presence that indicates to you whether you may find value in their content?

A: I sometimes check their profiles to see how much and how they have already contributed. If there are already responses to a question or comments to a blog post by other well-known community members it is also an indication that the content might be of value.

Q: As Members of the Month, all of you serve as role models for new members. How do you generally engage with new members, who may need some help or guidance to get established and build their reputation?

A: This is perhaps something I should/could do more. But it’s often difficult to know who actually is a “newbie” in need and appreciative of some encouragement and who may just balk at getting unsolicited advice.

Additional questions, with answers from Sharath M G:

Q: Can you tell us about another member you hold in high esteem, and can you detail for us why?

A: Jeremy Good and Elizabeth Gutt, for giving me chance to be part of SAP Jam group and opportunity to present my content to the global team.

Q: When you are consuming content by other members of the community whose names are not familiar to you, how do you evaluate their reputation? What do you look for in another member’s presence that indicates to you whether you should bother to consume their content?

A: Generally, the profile with their followers gives a clue in terms of their reputation. But, I try hard to form opinions and try to consume the content as it is.

Q: As Members of the Month, all of you serve as role models for new members. How do you generally engage with new members, who may need some help or guidance to get established and build their reputation?

A: Share my experiences, guide them in questions and answers. Hopefully, inspire and encourage them to express their views.

I want to thank the panelists again for their informative and gracious participation in our panel discussion.

Do you have a question for one of the panelists? Feel free to ask it in the comments below.