History

Community Manager Appreciation Day takes place every 4th Monday of January as a way to recognize and celebrate the efforts of community managers around the world using social media to improve customer experiences.

Jeremiah Owyang initiated this international event in 2010. People are encouraged to send sincere Thank You notes to their online community managers. People using Twitter

Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 include the #CMAD and #CMGR hashtag in their tweets

Twitter

Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 about this event. Many online community manager

Online community manager

The online community manager role is a growing and developing profession. People in this position are working to build, grow and manage communities around a brand or cause.-History of Online Community Management:...

s and vendors in the social media

Social media

The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...

 marketplace post blogs in appreciation of their community managers. Cities with large concentrations of Social Media focused businesses, such as Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Austin

Austin

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...

, and San Francisco hold in-person meetup events to celebrate and honor those who represent and support their online communities.

In 2011 Africa's first Community Manager Appreciation Day took place in Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

, it was facilitated by iHub Nairobi, hosted by Mark Kaigwa and Soud Hyder. The Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

 meetup was attended by leading community managers, digital media

Digital media

Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...

 as well social media

Social media

The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...

 experts and practitioners. Present were representatives from Kenya ICT Board, Pamoja Media, Questek, Safaricom

Safaricom

Safaricom, Ltd is a leading mobile network operator in Kenya. It was formed in 1997 as a fully owned subsidiary of Telkom Kenya. In May 2000, Vodafone group Plc of the United Kingdom, the world's largest telecommunication company, acquired a 40% stake and management responsibility for the...

, Sandstorm, Social Light Media, Squad Digital, Skunkworks Nairobi. At the suggestion of Victor Ngeny the group agreed to have regular meetups to discuss matters pertaining to the digital media, internet and content industry in Kenya.

CA Technologies http://www.ca.com/us/cmad.aspx participated in the 2011 Community Manager Appreciation Day by issuing a press release http://www.pitchengine.com/catechnologies/ca-technologies-celebrates-community-managers/119504/ and a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MwDsae9a2s to publicly celebrate the contributions of its community managers.