Everyone has a different work style and prefers to set up their spaces differently.   Should we assume that community managers being social in nature want a social office atmosphere as well?  Do online social professionals actually prefer to work alone?  This chat dives into all of those questions and figuring out best workspace and workflows as well.

Q1) What’s your ideal work set-up? At home, office, coffee shop? Does working around others help or distract you?

mediasres  I work at home and at the office. I love different things happening around me. I thrive on ADD influences
7Huck Depends on task. Writing: absolute silence, maybe background music. Support: pretty flexible A1

LovelyLuMy ideal work set up is my home office, I have just enough distractions to feed my ADD, and everything I need at my fingertips

vargasl  I can work anywhere as long as I am organized. Prefer my “command center” set up in home office though.

mhandy1  Easy home… roll out of bed and start working… in LA that can be hours of time saving advantage

rhappe  For me, the ideal is a mix between days at home and days interacting with others. Too much of any one is sub-optimal

DigitalKaitlyn I find I work best either at home or in office at a desk. I don’t mind people as long as I have headphones & music

Q2) How important is privacy in your workspace?

evanhamilton We’ve tried to arrange desks so nobody is looking over anyone else’s shoulder in our office. But we are not privacy-crazy.

DigitalKaitlyn It makes me uncofortable to work with someone looking over my shoulder no matter what it is so a little privacy is perfered

ericfoster Privacy has little place in a collaborative workspace. Peace and quiet, however, does.

JoeKutta We work in an open office space, so we can talk about any issues with various clients and brainstorm on resolutions.

vargasl Privacy? Not overly concerned in physical sense, but very aware of online privacy & alignment w/prof workspace.

blairAtVolt We tore the walls off our cubicles. I thought privacy would be an issue at first, but now I wouldn’t have it any other way

Historian I don’t see privacy as an issue. CM’s tend to be focal points for information… for internal and external.

Q3) Does the social part of the job mean you have to be social in the office? Or do you prefer to work alone?

evanhamilton I think the title Community Manager encompasses internal community too – so being social in the office is important

nickcicero I think naturally social people have the best success online and off, I prefer to work alone bc I get in the zone!

chelsead Nice to have the social piece of an office atmosphere, but need to find tools to stay connected when off site. (Skype, gchat)

aperl23 Need to be social bc #cmgr is such a collaborative position – I get info and work with just abt every department here

kcpike  As comm mgr you need to represent (sometimes loudly) the community’s interests in your organization. Being social is a must.

theTsaritsa I get everything I need out of social media. I feel like I get more work done when I don’t have other people around.

vargasl When I interview cmty mgrs and they say they are social & should get position, it turns me off. Tell me what social means to cmty

Q3.5) How do you utilizing others around you (or on your team) to help workflow? How integral are interns?

tmonhollon I think working with a team is critical. We share links, stats, ideas, collaborate on projects. Keeps creative fresh

vargasl Anyone read ‘The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey’ – this is how I utilize team and self.

Q4) Any tips for “Feng shui-ing” your space? What does your office/work space look like? Share your pictures on here!

tmonhollon  I try to keep a clean visual landscape around my computer to help me focus.

momnonstop Half of our office #cmgrchat http://t.co/mwkQi48

evanhamilton They do say that clutter is good sometimes, because you “discover” old ideas when searching for something…

kcpike Here we are 🙂 #cmgrchat http://t.co/HeKz51j –

JPedde My desk with @ArvSux @kratzpr @johnnykamikaze all hard at work #cmgrchat http://t.co/zdJe2RJ

aperl23 No feng shui here! This is AFTER I straightened up yesterday 🙂 #cmgrchat http://t.co/r2CyVBk

7Huck  I have toys on my desk, things to put a smile on my face. It’s more zen than fengshui

ericfoster Left side of my desk is the proactive pile, the right side is the reactive pile. I leave the drawers strictly for toys.

pushingvision Here’s my currently messy desk. #cmgrchathttp://t.co/Kz4LKta

lilGronberg Can’t believe I’m showing this too you guys. #cmgrchathttp://t.co/lCjCva2

gordondym  I have toys, Viagra clock, computer, fax/copier, biz card file cabinet, and – books! #cmgrchathttp://ow.ly/6bQxp

BlairAtVolt My little work quad, yep there is a unicorn cat above that clock #Cmgrchat http://t.co/UPrsKiz

evanhamilton My desk on a bad day: http://t.co/4mzHwVv

RachelYeomans Here’s my desk at the office! http://t.co/lTrDMxq#cmgrchat

theTsaritsa It can look a little chaotic, but I know where everything is. I hang up my drawings: http://t.co/2t0Buey