Teaching English at tech companies in Belarus, Scorum Community Manager John McTavish began to get requests for copywriting work. Through a friend of a friend, he was introduced to the Scorum project, and the more he learned about what they were trying to accomplish, the more he got into the idea.

“I realized that this industry was blowing up and I could be a part of it if I made the right move.”

John joined the team and the rest is history. For the Scorum Community Podcast, I interviewed John McTavish about his role at Scorum, asked him to share some behind-the-scenes secrets, and asked him questions on how users on Scorum can stand out from others. I'd like to thank John for his time and patience, as I recorded this interview nearly two months ago.

Listen to @Mikey's Interview with Scorum Community Manager John McTavish

Show Notes

  • What drew John to Scorum (:50)
  • What made John comfortable with the industry and the project (3:00)
  • I ask John, “what leads you to believe that the team can fulfill their promises?” (4:30)
  • The Scorum Telegram channel, which John helps manage, can be a little lively to say the least. John discusses how he handles negative comments and feedback (5:50)
  • John talks about what would surprise the community about what happens behind the scenes among the Scorum team. They have a pull-up bar in the office, which is dominated by the Google Adwords guy (9:30)
  • I ask John, “What’s the best part of your job” (10:50)
  • Hear why John says that “being connected all the time” is the worst part of his job (13:55) 
  • What John is most excited about in the near future for Scorum. It might surprise you (18:40)
  • Building a community is an important aspect of being successful on Scorum. As a Community Manager, I pick John’s brain for his tips on how users should build their own micro communities on Scorum (21:20)
  • What successful users do differently (23:35)
  • How the team balances the different projects, from the blogging platform to betting to fantasy sports (26:00)
  • John shares a conversation he had with the CEO about balancing projects and how the team is planning to tackle these over the next year. “They are 80% mapped out” (26:30)
  • One thing that you as a Scorum user should know, but you might not (27:35)
  • “Write cool stuff that you care about” (30:05)
  • Show close (33:00)

What were your main takeaways from the interview, and who should I interview next? Please comment below and thank you so much for stopping by!