Today’s guest post is written by Jelena Woehr.

Part cat-herder, part social butterfly, part psychotherapist, and part janitor, the online community manager has a unique and rapidly evolving job.

How can a person navigate the choppy, uncharted waters of online community management without losing her cool?

Moderator Maria Niles, along with panelists Eden Kennedy, Elisa Batista, Julia Roberts, and Marie “Riese” Lyn Bernard, explored this question at BlogHer 2011, as part of a panel on “Sustaining an Online Community Without Losing Your Own Sanity.”

The panel’s open forum format invited attendees to expound upon the panelists’ conversation.

That’s what I’d like to do here, by sharing three of the most important lessons the panelists made, along with my own additions and questions for discussion. (more…)