Community Content That Never Stops

Lessons from building an internal creative conference

Creative community events shouldn’t end when participants leave the room. They should catalyze ongoing engagement that builds momentum throughout the year. This is exactly what we achieved with Conflux, Amazon’s cornerstone creative community event.

What began as a two-day conference has transformed into a powerful strategic engine—a true content flywheel that drives community engagement year-round. This evolution wasn't accidental; it was the result of deliberate design thinking about how to maximize the value of creative contributions beyond the event itself.

From Event to Engine

The beauty of Conflux isn’t just in those two days of inspiration and connection—it’s in how it generates momentum that carries us through the entire year. Think about it: in 2023, we received 111 content submissions from 96 contributors across the company—a 405% increase from the previous year. This was just by creating an intake system that made it easy for people to apply.

That wealth of creative thinking couldn’t just disappear after the event. Instead, it becomes the foundation for our ongoing community engagement strategy.

Creating the Flywheel

1. Attract: The event draws in hundreds of creative submissions, each representing unique perspectives and expertise from across Amazon.

2. Engage: We (a selected group of peer-reviewers) select the most compelling content for the main event, but that's just the beginning of their lifecycle.

3. Delight: The content that doesn’t make it to the main stage doesn’t go to waste—it becomes the seed material for:
   • Monthly newsletters highlighting creative excellence
   • Smaller, focused workshops throughout the year
   • Deep-dive sessions on specific creative disciplines
   • Case studies we can share with the broader community

4. Analyze: We track engagement across all these touchpoints, helping us understand what resonates most with our community and informing our strategy for the next iteration.

Reducing Friction, Increasing Speed

What I appreciate about this approach is how it addresses two challenges: workload and content creation.

Instead of starting from scratch for each community touchpoint, we are now able to leverage content that’s thoughtfully developed. Our team can focus on curation and presentation rather than constantly generating new material. This reduces friction in our workflow while maintaining a steady cadence of valuable community engagement.

The Secret to Sustainable Community Engagement

As you think about your own events, here are a few valuable lessons here that any team could apply to their own community or content strategy:

1. Design for reusability from the start: Structure your submission process with multiple formats in mind. Ask contributors to frame their ideas in ways that could work across different channels.

2. Create a content repository: Develop a system for cataloging and tagging all submissions by topic, format, and audience. This makes it much easier to pull relevant content when planning future touchpoints.

3. Balance curation with opportunity: While not every submission will be right for your main event, look for alternative platforms where different types of content can shine. This creates more opportunities for community participation.

4. Communicate the journey: Let contributors know that their submissions have value beyond the main event. This encourages more thoughtful submissions and helps people feel their efforts are worthwhile even if they aren't selected for the spotlight.

5. Think in themes: Identify recurring themes across submissions to inform your content calendar. These patterns often reveal what's most relevant to your community right now.

6. Exceed expectations and take vacations: By working smarter with your content flywheel, you can deliver more value to your community while actually reducing the workload on your team.

Keeping Human Element

Beyond the operational benefits, there’s something wonderfully human about this approach. Each submission represents someone's passion and expertise—their desire to share with peers. By finding multiple ways to showcase these contributions, we're honoring that impulse and strengthening our community bonds.

Looking Forward

As I work on other events, I’m excited to think about how we can design the submission process with this flywheel model in mind from the start. How might we structure our call for content to facilitate easier repurposing? What formats would give us the most flexibility?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this approach. Have you noticed other ways we could leverage our community's creative energy to fuel ongoing engagement?

Until Soon.

Elysia Syriac is an Experience Designer with a passion for Design Operations, crafting dynamic spaces where creatives can connect, grow, and recharge. At Amazon, she led Creative Gatherings for Amazon Design, driving events like Conflux and shaping new experiences that foster learning and collaboration. Her work is bold, experimental, and always community-driven. An active member of AIGA, DesignOps Assembly, and Volunteers of America, Elysia is constantly exploring, learning, and turning big ideas into unforgettable moments. Connect with Elysia Syriac on LinkedIn and follow more of her writings on Medium.