Brian Oblinger
He lives, breaths, and loves Community!
Brian Oblinger
Jobseeker - Community focused
Brian Oblinger is a man who loves people and helping organizations connect with people. He’s been building and developing communities since he was a teenager. Join us as we talk about his early days with Playstation, his love of community and how he’s been sharing his love of community on his podcast In Before The Lock
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Show Notes:
Brian Oblinger
0:35 We talk about making connections (it’s how we met!)
0:58 Brian Oblinger Introduces himself
2:10 Talk about your Podcast “In Before The Lock“
2:15 History behind the name
2:55 How the podcast got started
4:44 Are you more focused on the business side of the community?
5:40 Talk about the area you’ve helped around business’s and community
6:10 Talks about consulting for a community vendor platform
6:45 Worked for Ultrix and built a community team and practice
7:30 Roles Brian’s interested in
9:07 Brian talks about falling “ass-backward into this”
9:42 Got involved as a superuser in the PlayStation community
10:15 Works for free!
10:30 Got hired and started his career
11:17 History of building community and how it’s helped
12:00 Talk about community as a way to deliver value to customers
12:40 Talks about community as improving customer experience
13:20 What kind of challenges do you see companies wanting to get into the community?
15:05 Community as a sales channel vs. a fan base
15:15 Community as a servant mentality
16:40 Using social media as a community
17:00 Different mindset with these channels
18:30 Should companies approach the community as a multi-prong, or do they focus on a specific area?
19:20 Companies focus on support first, but there is so much more fruit
21:15 I love the lego community
21:28 What are some communities you admire?
21:50 Your shot by National Geographic
22:05 Lots of electric car communities, more passion-based
22:18 Spotify and music lovers
22:30 There is a community for everybody
23:18 With slack anyone can create a community
23:40 Synchronous chat vs. asynchronous chat
24:30 Where would you focus if you could fix any community today
24:40 Facebook, and I’m not afraid to say that.
25:13 There is a real opportunity to get it right and accelerate the great stuff they have started
25:50 One day at Facebook, What would you change?
27:35 What are you doing to improve yourself?
28:00 Focusing in on people
28:36 The podcast of course
29:11 What advice would you give to someone listening to this now
29:30 General advice – “don’t let it weigh you down.”
31:10 How has the job search been going in this Covid-19 world?
31:32 Linked in is the best tool
31:50 Talking to people
33:45 What advice do you have for someone to utilize their current connections and grow more?
37:05 What / How do you recommend someone makes that cold connection
41:33 Brian issues a challenge to you, the listeners!
42:00 Brian talks about the power of recommendations
44:13 What are some fun things you do? How do you keep your sanity?
44:30 Lots of dog walks
45:53 Brian invites us to CO!
46:06 What was the last thing Brian bought on Amazon?
46:38 Closing
0:35 We talk about making connections (it’s how we met!)
0:58 Brian Oblinger Introduces himself
2:10 Talk about your Podcast “In Before The Lock“
2:15 History behind the name
2:55 How the podcast got started
4:44 Are you more focused on the business side of the community?
5:40 Talk about the area you’ve helped around business’s and community
6:10 Talks about consulting for a community vendor platform
6:45 Worked for Ultrix and built a community team and practice
7:30 Roles Brian’s interested in
9:07 Brian talks about falling “ass-backward into this”
9:42 Got involved as a superuser in the PlayStation community
10:15 Works for free!
10:30 Got hired and started his career
11:17 History of building community and how it’s helped
12:00 Talk about community as a way to deliver value to customers
12:40 Talks about community as improving customer experience
13:20 What kind of challenges do you see companies wanting to get into the community?
15:05 Community as a sales channel vs. a fan base
15:15 Community as a servant mentality
16:40 Using social media as a community
17:00 Different mindset with these channels
18:30 Should companies approach the community as a multi-prong, or do they focus on a specific area?
19:20 Companies focus on support first, but there is so much more fruit
21:15 I love the lego community
21:28 What are some communities you admire?
21:50 Your shot by National Geographic
22:05 Lots of electric car communities, more passion-based
22:18 Spotify and music lovers
22:30 There is a community for everybody
23:18 With slack anyone can create a community
23:40 Synchronous chat vs. asynchronous chat
24:30 Where would you focus if you could fix any community today
24:40 Facebook, and I’m not afraid to say that.
25:13 There is a real opportunity to get it right and accelerate the great stuff they have started
25:50 One day at Facebook, What would you change?
27:35 What are you doing to improve yourself?
28:00 Focusing in on people
28:36 The podcast of course
29:11 What advice would you give to someone listening to this now
29:30 General advice – “don’t let it weigh you down.”
31:10 How has the job search been going in this Covid-19 world?
31:32 Linked in is the best tool
31:50 Talking to people
33:45 What advice do you have for someone to utilize their current connections and grow more?
37:05 What / How do you recommend someone makes that cold connection
41:33 Brian issues a challenge to you, the listeners!
42:00 Brian talks about the power of recommendations
44:13 What are some fun things you do? How do you keep your sanity?
44:30 Lots of dog walks
45:53 Brian invites us to CO!
46:06 What was the last thing Brian bought on Amazon?
46:38 Closing