douglas atkin - how to create a powerful community culture
DESCRIPTION
Douglas Atkin, Global Head of Community at Airbnb, explains how AirBnB manages to create a powerful and loyal culture of members amongst its audience.TRANSCRIPT
Community Culture Douglas Atkin 10-30-14
A Journey through all kinds of Communities
Cults
A Journey through all kinds of Communities
Cults Communities
A Journey through all kinds of Communities
Cults Communities Movements
Cults Communities Movements Grass-Roots Organizing
A Journey through all kinds of Communities
Communities that Scale and Take
Action Douglas Atkin 10-30-14
Movement: A population that’s
mobilized to take action driven by a shared
vision of how the world should be.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that
ever has.”Margaret Mead
Grass-Roots Organizing
____________________________
San Francisco
Grass-Roots Organizing
____________________________
Barcelona
“...proponents demonstrated a much larger grassroots base. At hearing after hearing, hosts outnumbered opponents...Supervisors continually ran into people who used Airbnb, liked Airbnb, and saw nothing wrong with Airbnb’s practices. That’s why you heard very little anti-Airbnb rhetoric from supervisors, including those who do not hesitate to castigate real estate speculators and Ellis evictors.”
- Randy Shaw, BeyondChron
“Scores of Airbnb hosts spoke at public meetings and rallies over the past several months, supporting the version of the law that the supervisors green-lighted.”
- Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
"Airbnb and its backers, who've been well-organized in San Francisco, have argued throughout the public battle that short-term rentals help keep the city affordable..."
- Emily Badger, The Washington Post
Scale: Call Attempts (SF)
Tota
l # o
f Att
empt
s
0
6000
12000
18000
24000
30000
April May June July August
Scale: Contacts Made (SF)
Tota
l # o
f Con
tact
s
0
1400
2800
4200
5600
7000
April May June July August
Action: Growth in Supporters (SF)
# of
Tot
al S
uppo
rter
s
0
1200
2400
3600
4800
6000
April May June July August
S.F. Universe
Total hosts + guests with addresses
6,288People reached
8,660
5,954People who have been reached and are supporters
Support Levels
5,354Low-Medium Supporters
494Strong Supporters
106Core Members
Interested in attending events and other high-engagement activities, ex: join Action Team, attend public hearings
Strong supporters who are reliable, trustworthy and politically savvy. In regular contact with Organizers. ex: attend last-minute event, meet with city official
Interested but non-committal, want low-engagement activities, ex: signing petition, writing a letter
And what they all have in common…
Idea #1: The Commitment Curve
• Lower the barrier to entry
• Make incrementally harder...
• ...But more rewarding and effective
This helps you model what ‘Asks’ you should make, and when.
4. Commitment Curve
Sign PetitionTell your Story
Attend Action Meetup
Tweet Senator
Attend Rally
Senator Visit
Oped
Story Postcard
Month 1 Month 4
Commitment Curve
Sign Petition
Month 1 Month 4
Commitment Curve
Sign PetitionTell your Story
Month 1 Month 4
Commitment Curve
Sign PetitionTell your Story
Attend Action Meetup
Month 1 Month 4
Commitment Curve
Sign PetitionTell your Story
Attend Action Meetup
Tweet Senator
Month 1 Month 4
Commitment Curve
Sign PetitionTell your Story
Attend Action Meetup
Tweet Senator
Crowdfund Ad.
Month 1 Month 4
We are Peers. We’re asking lawmakers for more sharing, not less. We want to play by the rules, but New York needs laws that are safe, fair, and clear.
Support sharing. Fix the Law.w. peers.org/fixthelaw
This ad was paid for by 1,165 Peers who crowdfunded this message to ask lawmakers to support sharing.
“I worked at a company that declared bankruptcy before paying me. Sharing my home made it possible for me to keep my house.”
EVELYNNEW YORK, NEW YORK
“As a cancer survivor who lost disability insurance, sharing my home gave me the bandwidth I needed to pay rent. The best part was the families, who had a home close to the hospital—my home.”
WENDYNEW YORK, NEW YORK
Sharing is revolutionizing the way New Yorkers participate in the economy, creating new opportunities for our families, our communities, and our state. But outdated laws treat law-abiding New Yorkers like slumlords.
Do we look like slumlords to you?
“We were afraid we’d have to leave our farm, our animals, our home. We started sharing our home to make a little extra, and it has saved us from losing our farm!”
LAURAITHACA, NEW YORK
Commitment Curve
Sign PetitionTell your Story
Attend Action Meetup
Tweet Senator
Oped
Story Postcard
Month 1 Month 4
Commitment Curve
Sign PetitionTell your Story
Attend Action Meetup
Tweet Senator
Senator Visit
Oped
Story Postcard
Month 1 Month 4
Commitment Curve
Sign PetitionTell your Story
Attend Action Meetup
Tweet Senator
Attend Rally
Senator Visit
Oped
Story Postcard
Month 1 Month 4
It works for all kinds of Communities
Read%Purpose%Look%at%Resource%Pages%
Read%Forums%
Contribute%to%Forum%
Lead%Forum%
Become%key%contributor%in%forum%
Read%Member%Profiles%Look%at%photos/videos%
Read%blogs%Comment%on%blogs%
Write%blog%post%
Message%other%member%Upload%video%
ParBcipate%in%live%video%discussion%
Join%sub%group%
Start/Lead%subEgroup%
AGend%event%
Organize%event%
Adopt%leadership%role%
COMMITMEN
T%
TIME%
Become%a%member%
Lead%live%video%disc.%
The%Community%Commitment%Curve%
It works for all kinds of Communities
That Awesome Slide Title of Yours
Idea # 2: Operation and Programming
City Hall Event 4/29
102 supporters attended
Planning Commission Hearing 9/15
107 people attended 82 speakers during public comment
1st Land Use Committee Hearing 9/15
219 people attended 89 speakers during public comment
2nd Land Use Committee Hearing 9/29
102 people attended 61 speakers during public comment
Board of Supervisors Hearing 10/7
Pre-Hearing Event: 120 attended
Board of Supervisors Hearing 10/7
Pre-Hearing “Canvass” of Supervisor offices: 38 hosts participated
Board of Supervisors Hearing 10/7
In the Hearing Room: 92 supporters
How do they get these results?
Operation Programming+
How do they get these results?
Operation Programming+1. Operational discipline applied to the ‘soft’ skills of relationship-building and community development at scale.
How do they get these results?
Operation Programming+1. Operational discipline applied to the ‘soft’ skills of relationship-building and community development at scale. 2. Building an external community infrastructure that is scaleable, self-sustaining, and built for the long-term
How do they get these results?
Operation Programming+1. Make varied asks that track up the Commitment Curve and that suit members’ capacity and comfort
How do they get these results?
Operation Programming+1. Make varied asks that track up the Commitment Curve and that suit members’ capacity and comfort 2. Develop programming that makes regular and escalating asks (c. every 2 weeks) to maintain engagement and get shit done.
How do they get these results?
The Operation
How do they get these results?
The Operation:
1. Field Organizers
How do they get these results?
The Operation:
1. Field Organizers+2.
Goals/Metrics
How do they get these results?
The Operation:
1. Field Organizers 3. CRM++2.
Goals/Metrics
How do they get these results?
The Operation:
1. Field Organizers 3. CRM
4. Build a Self-sustaining community
infrastructure of Hosts
+ ++2.
Goals/Metrics
!!
Qualifica)ons/Characteris)cs: !• Experience with community and poli5cal organizing
• Flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances
• Communica5on skills -‐ ar5culate and ability to improvise
• Great rela5onship-‐building skills -‐ comfortable talking to all kinds of people face-‐to-‐face and over the phone
• Willing and able to work long hours, including weekends
! Responsibili)es: !
• Build a network of supporters, with a close group of “core supporters” at the center
• Collect and enter data on a daily basis
• Organize events such as neighborhood mee5ngs
• Recruit, train, and manage volunteers to take leadership roles in a las5ng, volunteer driven grassroots organiza5on
• Manage rela5onships with supporters -‐ earn trust in order to make “asks”
Field Organizers____________________________
What’ they’re NOT What they ARE1. A phone bank 1. Relationship-
Builders Who use phone lists to identify, convert
and recruit Hosts to engage
2. Canvassers (Low-level
recruitment and training to make
simple, one-off asks)
2. Community-Builders at Scale
Who build self-sustaining community of Hosts by identifying, training and
supporting leaders, captains etc.
3. Goal-driven, metrics accountable
Managers
3. Traditional Community Managers
Who have built strong relationships with c. 50
key hosts and run events.
Self-Sustaining Communities
Self-Sustaining Communities
Organizer
Advocacy Team
Advocacy Team
Events
News + Information
Storytelling
Rapid Response Captain
Training
Action Team Action Team
25-50 Members in each community
Programming
S F F I R E S T A R T E R C A L E N D A R
JulySunday' Monday' Tuesday' Wednesday' Thursday' Friday' Saturday'
' ' 1' 2' 3' 4' 5'' ' ' ' ' ' '
6' 7' 8' 9' 10' 11' 12'' ' ' ' ' Mandatory'Fun!' '
13' 14' 15' 16' 17' 18' 19''Sunday'Streets'In'Richmond'
' Brand'Launch'Week!' Supper'Club' ' Volunteer'Event'@'E.R.'Taylor'Elementary'
'
20' 21' 22' 23' 24' 25' 26'' ' ' ' ' ' '
27' 28' 29' 30' 31' 1' '' ' ' ' Press%Event*%
Campaign%Launch%Home'Sharers''Happy'Hour'
'
'
D2'Chiu'ATM' D10'Chiu'ATM'
D4+7'Chiu'ATM' D1'Chiu'ATM'
D10''ATM'@Byron’s''
D5'ATM'''
D2+3'ATM'''
D6'ATM'''
D4+7'ATM'''
D8'ATM''
D1'ATM'''
Haight'Ashbury'Neighborhood'Council'
EVNA'Meeting'to''discuss'Home'Sharing'
Corbett'Heights'NA'–Home'Sharing'presents'D9'ATM'@Gregg’s''
City'Hall'Meeting'with'Avalos'
D8'ATM'X'Weiner'
D2'City'Hall'Meeting'w/Farrell'
Commiss.'Meeting'with'Cindy'Wu'
D9'City'Hall'Meeting'w/Campos' D10'
Meeting'w/Cohen'
D5'City'Hall'Meeting'w/Breed'
D6'Chiu'ATM'
Meeting'with'Planning'Commiss.'Fong'and'Johnson'
Commiss.'Meeting'with'Hillis'
Scaled Asks
- Testify at a Rally/Hearing - Share story publicly - Advocacy Team (speak at N.A. meetings) - Meeting with city official - Join neighborhood association - Attend public hearing - Host a meeting - 1:1 with Organizer - Attend Action Team meeting - Write letter - Share story - Post to social media
High engagement
Low engagement
Summary
Communities in action
Communities that scale
# of
Tot
al S
uppo
rter
s
0
1200
2400
3600
4800
6000
April May June July August
Commitment Curve
Operation and
Programming
New model for Community?
Thank You
Com
mitm
ent
15,876 Hosts Activated
11,113 Facebook Likes
3,812 Volunteers
400 Team Leaders
2,668 Team Members
August October November
31,500 Live Conversations
7,779 Petition Signatures
5,445 Event Attendees
September December January
31,513 Hosts
Paris: 25 Field Organizers