Since Dan Wilson left eBay back in November last year eBay in the UK have been without a Community Manager. Now Monisha has taken up the gauntlet of what at times is a tough position to hold.
As Community Manager it’s important not only to engage with the community of buyers and sellers and highlight their concerns to the whole of the eBay management team, but also to balance legitimate with what one could only at times describe as “whinging” ;-). It’s easy to blame eBay when business isn’t going well and it’s important to differentiate when eBay are at fault (such as the loss of visibility on eBay.com) and when it’s more general market forces at work.
There’s also the eternal problem that what benefits one eBayer will undoubtably disadvantage another, and striking a balance between trying to please everyone and establishing what’s best long term for the community is a tough job. With Monisha now in place to listen to the voice of the community eBay management should once again be aware of what issues are hot for both buyers and sellers, what is working and what could be improved.
I guess it’s now safe to reveal that Dan Wilson used to go by the nickname “Henry Nutford“, and was much loved on the community forum chat boards. No doubt it won’t be long before Monisha puts in an appearance and we’ll be figuring out what name she goes by. 😉
Monisha’s other role will be to improve communication on the site. At the last eBay University you may have met her asking attendees how eBay could better publicise site changes and new features. Keep an eye out for her at future events and take the time to say “Hi”. 🙂
UPDATE: Monisha is using her real name on the community forums! 🙂