I hope I made it clear when I spoke at CMX East on the subject of ROI that I made it clear I was standing on the shoulders of others. That’s generally the way math, science, and tech work; we’re all learning from each other, sharing, and moving things forward. I made it clear I wasn’t a math whiz, and you didn’t need to be either; instead, it’s about finding the existing ways of measuring value and applying them to your community.

That said, I wish I had taken a moment for shout-outs. Thank yous to Jenn Lopez and Erica Kuhl for letting me use their case studies. Shout-outs to Jesse Avshalomov, Justin Isaf, Loree Draude, Annemarie Dooling, Bill Johnston, Mark Williams, Aurelien Poma, and anyone I’ve forgotten who gave me tips and stories to draw on for my presentation. Major thanks to David Spinks for asking me to speak and helping me focus my presentation.

But a very special shout-out needs to go to one man: Richard Millington of Feverbee.

Richard has been pushing for community ROI since before most of us (psst—check out his amazing Feverbee blog). He’s been finding reliable, scientific ways to measure it since before most of us (psst—check out his underrated book, Buzzing Communities). He’s been helping move our field forward before most of us were even part of it (psst—check out his consulting services). While there were a few parts of my presentation where he was specifically cited, this and any presentation on community management ROI owe a huge debt of thanks to Richard’s work. He’s a pioneer in the field, and we wouldn’t be the same without him. Thank you, Rich!