In education, there is a vanguard of smart, innovative people who are coming up with really wonderful uses of new internet based technologies (sometimes referred to as "web 2.0" stuff), but they are not always seeing adoption in their groups and organizations.
Not just in education. The reality check on new technologies is people, and their willingness in business, nonprofits, public bodies to use them - or not. Nancy offers some great slides, and points out that Bev Trayner has been articulating some of the questions in in her blog:
- Are we focusing on the right value to the people we are asking to use these new tools and ways of working?
- How do we stimulate people's imagination to try new things, like tools and processes that may be of use?
- How do we trigger inventiveness with new tools?
Nancy links us to Annette Kramer on How to Implement Web 2.0 In Practice? Write Some Wrongs (and Not Just in Theory), who has some great ideas, including the use of writers as catalysts. Hah! That must be the social reporter.
Beth Trayner Kanter picks up Nancy's post with a reference to her own thinking on the participatory nonprofit, adding:
I can't put my finger on it, but some of it some relates to the MacArthur Foundation's birth of a new field ... but instead of learning for children, it's learning for adults.
I'm citing these posts because I think they are generally really important, and also because they highlight some issues for me on current projects:
As well as the round of social media events - for example London 2.0 last night, Social Media Club on November 15 - isn't it time for more events focussed on how to use social media in the often nonparticipatory cultures of our organisations and institutions. That is, after we've worked it out personally, of course. One for my friends at Policy Unplugged, I think ... where work on Web 2.0 for Good and with Channel 4 education is laying the groundwork.
Can we really understand the implications of social media and social networking for nonprofits - currently being explored with gusto by the NCVO ICT foresight team here and here - without some practical piloting. Maybe a link is possible with the new London ICT champion Miles Maier who I interviewed the other day.
Could the Digital Challenge Inclusion Network, that I wrote about yesterday, help move public sector partnerships towards the development of more participatory cultures with Web 2.0 tools? The bids from 10 finalists have to be in by January 19, and the guidance notes specify illustrated storyboards showing user journeys.
And are there enough existing or potential buzz directors around to give each other some mutual support? That would be a fun network. Pity Nancy is in Seattle, Bev in Portugal, Beth in Boston. Virtual doesn't do it all.
David,
It's Beth Kanter, not Traynor.
You know .. we could try virtual until we find the right circumstance to meet face-to-face.
Maybe we need something less distributed ...
Posted by: Beth | November 09, 2006 at 01:32 AM
clicked on post too fast - like a phone call on skype or something
Posted by: Beth | November 09, 2006 at 01:32 AM