Andy is the community lead for the Overwatch community team. Which does mean he has a lot of responsibilities which go beyond participating on the forums. Don’t worry he is around, but I think it’s very important to understand that a community manager has a lot of tasks that we don’t get to see from our view.
I am someone who has been taking the time to expand my career skills in hopes of finding an opportunity to work in community management, I can absolutely assure you that is not the case. I have a mentor who is the community lead for another video game that I am following with great interest and she has been instrumental in helping me learn everything about what she does and how it impacts the development of a game.
Video game community management is not just being a voice on official channels for a given game. You need skills in copywriting, graphic design, social media platforms, Agile/SCRUM/Jira, Google SEO Analytics, content creator outreach, and so much more. Not to mention you need to have a strong interest in the game you are a CM for AND be willing to put yourself in the line of fire of flames and trolling that occurs on channels like these forums.
So please, I ask you to carefully consider that you take the time to understand that what community managers do is a lot of work.
Y’all! Andy never left us!! 
It probably feels like that since I have been trying to spend more time with y’all on the forums, but I promise he’s here!! 
To speak to the other subject in this post, it can be difficult to quantify what Community Management is because our goals are qualitative. Our pro strats are driven by sentiment, awareness, engagement and building a healthy ecosystem around a game we love!
Blizzard is special to me because of how involved the community team is in the development process. Team 4 puts a lot of value on my team because of how much they value the Overwatch community-- which is all of you.
I am going to let Andy know that you miss him, and I promise you will be seeing more of us both from now on. 
Fair! But this one is from ME. 
I said this in a previous thread, however it bears repeating here: the majority of my focus for the last month and change has been on strategic planning and alignment (since before the holiday break). This is normal for management around the start of the calendar year.
WyomingMyst and Jodie both did a great job of describing many of the responsibilities of the community discipline. This is on top of several hours of meetings/day.
I don’t tend to lean on titles in public (I don’t think they matter to players in the vast majority of situations, which is why all of our titles on the forums are “Community Manager”). As the team lead, over time I’ll naturally be focusing less on the day to day tactics, and more on team/community goals and strategy. As the team grows, I’d expect to see less of me day to day, but much more of folks like Jodie (and our eventual teammates).
I’m certain that it may disappoint some of you that I do not, in fact, sit on the forums with solitaire open in another window all day. Although, let be real…if it was on brand it would be Hearthstone.
I’ll still be around and reading forums/reddit/Twitch chat/Discord/etc… daily. It’s important as part of the team that I stay connected with your experience, all with the goal of being an effective advocate internally.
You’ll not be rid of me that easily
Let me make sure I am very clear about this, if an opportunity is available for me to join Blizzard and I know I can make a difference, I will try to pursue it. I have applied for many positions in the past and I know I have the support of many of Blizzard’s current and past team members. However, it still comes down to making sure the best people fill their needed roles, and I want my experience to be fairly compared to others with relatable skills. I have no regrets not being presented with an opportunity to join Blizzard, instead, I often gain more insight and experience.
Right now, you may notice there is a Community Manager role position for Overwatch on Blizzard’s career page. For as tempted as I am to apply, I am lacking core experience for that role’s specific duties. The good news is that I am finding ways to build on that experience in the gaming industry as a whole, and I am actively looking for great positions where I can make the leap. Understand though, it may not be for Blizzard in the long run but that is okay because I have transformed my career path into one simple goal.
To use my skills to help make games a better place for everyone.
In the meantime, I greatly appreciate Jodie and Andy’s support in my efforts as a forum MVP, along with many of the others who I have worked with in the past. Just know that I don’t expect any shortcuts or favors, just the opportunity to learn and grow where I can. And when the time is right, I will be ready for a bigger challenge.
Yep, and replies like that are more or less an attempt to make sure everyone stays on the same page. I also wrote out a facts list in a separate topic about today’s news. I did that more or less as setting the realistic expectations I think we should have for Blizzard (both in the short term and long term). This news is jarring today, and I feel passionately involved, but that is because I have invested so many hours of playtime into Blizzard’s games and I have strong friends for many of their team members. So it is my hope that anything I express on these forums is done so under the expectation that you the community can learn a greater understanding of how Overwatch continues to grow as a game.
Let’s also be clear, there are times I screw up… badly. I mean let’s not forget about the Role Queue Beta Season incident. Thank god, Scott Mercer stepped in and set the record straight on that fiasco, but I still feel bad that how I interpreted official documentation from Blizzard and how I communicated it on these very forums did lead to people inadvertently leading players to disrupt the overall competitive ladder. It is in the past now, and I consider it a good learning experience. Back then I didn’t get to have nearly as much direct contact with the CMs at the time. Now I do and that has helped me become a better member of this community.
I think I am entering ranting/rambling mode… I need a baconator. See ya’ll later, and please be nice and take care of each other as we continue to watch this news unfold.
You do realize Aaron Keller has never posted on the forums right? Now that I think about it I don’t think we’ve had a single Orange Post since Jeff Kaplan left.
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