Hey everyone
After my own introduction to the platform last week, we're going to keep the meet-and-greets rolling, and this time it's the turn of our Community Manager Boomer. Would be a bit weird for him to interview himself, though, so this week I'm asking the questions!
What do you do at Just About, and how did you join the team?
I'm the Community Manager, so think of me like a bridge between the community and the Just About team. I'm an advocate for the community, so I'm here to take feedback, check out bugs, and handle any moderation reports. You'll see me hanging out in different communities (do say hi!) and working with members and moderators to ensure the platform is a welcoming and inclusive space.
I met the Just About team at the Community Collab in Brighton earlier this year, at which point I wasn't actually looking for a job. I was - and still am - enrolled as a part-time PhD student researching toxicity in online gaming communities, but what I heard at the Community Collab convinced me that Just About has a genuine interest in being a home for healthy communities. I mean, I had to apply, right? How many researchers get the chance to continue their work in industry in a way that helps real people? I'd say at least one!
How did you get started in this industry?
I got my start in the Rooster Teeth community in the mid-2000s. I was an active member of the UK community for around 18 years, organising the annual charity gaming event, keeping the forums active, creating and managing social media channels, and managing the Guardians (volunteers) at the RTX London events. I eventually set up my own business which focuses on games, events, and education, and that gave me a lot of scope to build a range of communities of varying sizes. This led to me meeting Just About at the Community Collab, and the rest is history!
Non-work quick-fire round
Game: Outer Wilds.
Film: Blade Runner.
TV show: currently Metalocalypse, or It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Book: sadly I only read for my PhD nowadays (ask me if you're interested!).
Band: historically Metallica, but more recently Sleeping Pandora.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
That's a tough one. I lived in Germany and Cyprus when I was a kid, and my partner grew up in France, so definitely somewhere in Europe. Near the border of Germany, France, and Switzerland would be cool, near the Black Forest. Strasbourg maybe?
Tell us about one of your hobbies!
I'm a fan of Magic: the Gathering and I've recently started getting into DnD (more accurately Call of Cthulu). I also have a huge backlog of games I'm working through; over the weekend I started Deathloop, which is a lot of fun, and before that I was powering through Fallout 1 and 2.
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