VIP Guidelines - Part 1

A year ago, I started writing about homesteading. Then I got more involved on the platform. My activities included fighting abuse, supporting mamas, producing @SteemitWeekly, and working with Utopian.

My first #iamutopian post is the beginning of my Utopian journey.

Would you care to join me?

Outline

• Overview of VIP Guidelines
• Difficulties Encountered
• How I Joined Utopian

Yes, yes. Guidelines again.

@Didic wrote the second part to his Drawing the (Guide)lines series. You should read it and get a glimpse of where Utopian is heading.

We have a lot going on, deadlines to beat and guidelines to polish. I assure you, we're not broken records.

As Utopian's VIP Club Manager, establishing the guidelines is my top priority.

There are no rules. We have guidelines.

_{Pixabay: Support by Wokandapix}

VIP Guidelines

Scenario 1: VIPs in place, how do we take care of them?
After my final onboarding call, it was obvious that we needed a more strategic way of managing our VIPs. @Elear, @Knowledges, @Suesa, and different Community Managers took turns with this responsibility. The way Utopian is progressing, this is not sustainable.

Like any company, there should be a point of contact for critical company services. My current role outside Utopian is exactly this - point of contact for IT and business departments. The gatekeeper for the technical and the non-technical.

Pin this on my forehead, it's Suesa's apt introduction.

_{Taking off with my new role...}

After joining all the private group chats, this is the first thing that came to my mind:

How on earth will I keep up with all these group chats?
_{to be answered later on...}

Drafting the guidelines was...interesting. It was a result of my observation of the current VIPO Club situation and how to improve our relationship.

Part of the guidelines include managing:

• communication for each project
  ++ This covers private group chats.
  ++ This should help with Elear's direct messages and chat support queue.
  ++ This should help with unnecessary pinging of Community Managers.
• task request protocols
  ++ This covers reviewing task request document for completeness and clarity.
  ++ This should help Didi's workload on refining TR. My goal is for Didi to edit TR documents once
• project members and their contact information
• "wiki" for each project
  ++ Last 2 bullet points cover who's who on a project. The resulting document should be the go-to notes for anyone in Utopian management. It should also help with transitioning a new VIP manager. That is, if I switch to a different role.

Scenario 2: No VIPs, where do we look for projects to pursue?

When I joined Utopian, I wanted to understand where @Elear was coming from. What drives him and how I can help achieve that goal. I ran into this post, when he signed the document (with his Dad's pen) making Utopian a registered company.

Consultation, ideation and creation of online platforms and Open Source software solutions for public, personal, and corporate applications (blockchain and automation systems for the generation and management of virtual currencies); creation and management of online communities for the realisation and promotion of Open Source software and online platforms; software production; tech consulting.
_{https://steemit.com/utopian-io/@elear/utopian-is-officially-a-registered-company}

We have projects in the VIPO club that are already on the Steem blockchain. Utopian's goal is to reach out and draw more investors and Open source supporters. How can we do that?

Our translation category is already supporting Open Source projects on Crowdin. That is where we would start looking. We can cherry pick the top projects in line with Utopian's vision. Special niches are what we're eyeing for. Blockchain, cryptocurrency, machine learning, AI, and IoTs, to name a few. These are not set in stone. _{So hold your horses and don't start throwing stones at me :)}

Scenario 3: When to add and when to drop
Elear's post, Talk to the CEO, drew some heavy discussions.

I was mentioned on one comment thread.

When do you continue supporting a project? When do you stop supporting a project?

Gathering feedback, suggestions and running projects on measurable metrics are critical for sustainability. At one point of a project, some form of audit needs to happen.

This is something I will be working on, as soon as possible.

Difficulties/Impediments

_{The Open Source Initiative [CC BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons}

Open Source is a growing initiative. Not all are too keen on adapting, sticking to the name brands (with dubious code most users become hard of hearing).

@Techslut shared an article on the Utopian Open Source Show. Why most developers are not contributing to Open Source? It's spot on.

_{Source: sdtimes.com}

This should give you an idea on what we're facing. It should also give us the drive to push Open Source's wider adoption. Utopian community, as the front-runner!

On personal impediments, this position is part time. With my full time job, I work 30-40% onsite and can't attend to DMs and anything blockchain related. The IT infrastructure guys made it so. On days I work remote, I can set aside break time for VIPO tasks needing my attention.

Background

It's been over a month since Utopian posted the VIPO Club Manager position. I read it on the 16th of October, same day it was out. I was glad that Utopian is finally going to dedicate a staff member to take care of the VIPs.

After 5 days, I had a nagging feeling. I checked the post again and sure enough, there were only 2 comments expressing interest.

I re-read the post with these 2 points in bold letters in my head:

• part time dedicated manager
• "Speaker to developers"

Heck, I can do that! That's what I do.

I'm already busy with the Anti-abuse initiative, @Steemflagrewards, and @Steemitweekly. But here I was, brushing the dust off my neglected LinkedIn profile. Drafted a no-nonsense email and hit Send!

A few calls after, the rest is history.

I'm Yam, Utopian's VIPO Club Manager. If I'm not tracking abuse, I'm working towards Utopian's success. Join me and the Utopian family. Cheers to Open Source!

Stay tuned on my next VIPO Club update