by Ben Rigby

We all know someone who loves to drop high-tech terms into common conversation. These are the people who deal in phrases such as: “Hm, I’ve noticed that your power cord is fraying. Just be careful you don’t fry your dual rank DDR2 SDRAM. It would make a nasty Voronoi carpet burn.” With the exception of these enthusiastic term-droppers, the phrase “Web 2.0” has few fans. However, I argue that it can be useful and even an entrée to a fascinating social-change discussion, once you poke a bit into its history and context.

Initially, the term “Web 2.0” referred to a group of popular technologies that survived the dot-com bust, so called 2.0 because they picked up from the previous generation of technologies invented during the last wave of Internet innovation (circa 1995-2002). Overall, these newer technologies made the Web more like desktop computer applications – featuring smoother transitions between screens and easier methods for providing user input.

But around 2004, something interesting started to happen. The Web sites that used these Web 2.0 technologies became immensely popular such as Amazon.com, Flickr, YouTube, Del.icio.us, Wikipedia, and many other of the big-name Web sites with which you’re bound to be familiar. And people noticed that most of these successful Web sites were doing something different – they were allowing users to create content and to connect with each other.

Instead of communicating in a one-way direction (broadcasting), these businesses encouraged user participation. For example, Amazon.com took the radical step of allowing customers to rate and comment on their entire inventory! This feature seems quite common now, but at the time, it seemed downright foolish. If you want to sell more product, the thinking went, you don’t let potentially irate customers write negative comments about your service or the products you sell. But it turned out that there was a tremendous pent-up demand for services that offered this type of participatory transparency. In fact, services like YouTube and Flickr thrived entirely on the active participation of their users.

The term “Web 2.0” then underwent an evolution from describing a loose set of technologies to referring to Web sites that were outstandingly popular and that offered an architecture favoring user participation. Massive confusion resulted. The term now referred to everything from text fading smoothly onto a page to a business model that encouraged social connection and participation. And this is where we are today: in a state of massive confusion around the term. Technical people despise it because there is no technical definition. There’s no documentation, manual, or standard. Nontechnical people dislike it because they think that it may be a technical term that they just haven’t yet completely grasped… despite the fact that their organization has tasked them with an initiative to “build a Web 2.0 Web site.”

But here’s where the opportunity lies. We share this term. From grandmothers, to Unix coders, to volunteer canvassers, we are familiar with it. In addition, most of us believe that something big is happening and that it has to do with the Internet. We see the world changing dramatically around us – and we tend to call it “Web 2.0.”

I propose that we stop trying to nail it down – to give it myriad definitions – or to figure out what is or isn’t Web 2.0. It’s a phenomenon. Across technical, social, economic, and regional boundaries, there’s a substantial group of us who believe that we’re entering into a new era. This epoch is defined by radical economic, social, and technological shifts in which the very notions of “consumer” and “audience” are falling away in favor of a much more fluid relationship between those who create, sell, and consume. This shifting relationship affects nonprofits as deeply as it does commercial enterprises. It speaks to redefining approaches to membership, marketing, messaging, and organizational hierarchies.

“Web 2.0″ is certainly not the most precise phrase to describe this phenomenon - It underwhelms by coupling itself to mere technical advances. However, it’s seeded across almost every social circle. It’s a starting point and a common ground for engaging in discussion around deeply important social movements. Let’s use the term to start building a more nuanced understanding of forces shaping our era.

About the Author

Ben Rigby is the founder of MobileVoter.org, an organization dedicated to using new media to politically empower young people, and the first organization in the world to engage young voters via text messaging (SMS). He has worked as CTO and president of several new media firms, developing and devising web and mobile strategies for nonprofits and Fortune 1,000 companies. He is currently working on a project tentatively called “Volunteer Now,” a mobile phone application that allows people to volunteer on the spot - anywhere/anytime - in 20 minutes or less. Edited by Rock the Vote, Rigby is also the author of Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Recruit, Organize, and Engage Youth.

by Carol Gee

Today, as non-profits and for profit organizations focus on recruiting and hiring new employees in a sluggish economy, not only will their focus be on hiring employees who are able to lead, able to develop strategy or innovative products and/or able to improve efficiency, they will also demand employees’ whose skills, appearance and attitude are aligned such that they are able to interact with all of the organizations’ stakeholders: other employees within the organization, its Board of Trustees, community leaders, its clients, volunteers, past, present and potential donors as well as a host of others.

Like it or not, a person’s appearance, attitude and overall demeanor says a lot about them. So when is making a great first impression important? I say it’s important all the time. Although others will say that it’s particularly critical when meeting a person for the first time, when campaigning for office, or when seeking a job.

Like many folks who migrated to Atlanta for the weather, job opportunities or men (several years ago a well-known magazine listed the ATL as a great place for meeting the opposite sex): not me, as I am married—with cats, however, I did relocate without a job. Armed with a masters degree, veteran’s preference (points from military service good toward state or federal jobs) from my 21 years in the Air Force, accompanied by years of solid work experience, first, as a counselor at a mental health agency, several years as a retail sales manager and trainer, and at that time, nine plus years spent in higher education, I felt confident that I would find a job.

Standing in the snakelike lines of companies that offered the middle management positions I sought, I observed the hundreds of other jobseekers milling about. What I saw were scores of applicants whom had not adhered to the basic rule of preparing for an interview, to “dress for success.”

There were young men with odd hair styles. One even had words cut into his scalp. (I am not making this up). Several wore baggy slacks that threatened to fall at any moment and there were several ‘Miami Vice’ wannabes who wore dress shoes without socks. A few of the women didn’t fair much better. There was one wearing a short denim skirt-suit while another wore a tight, low cut dress better suited for an evening at a club than working in a professional office. Were these folks really serious about obtaining a job, I wondered?

Let’s face it; we all pick up subliminal messages from others. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we make snap judgments about people from the way they look, walk and talk. Is it fair? Perhaps not, however, once we get an opinion in our minds, it is often difficult to dispel.

Making a great first impression is much more than how you look. And it is equally important whether one is just entering the work force or a seasoned employee. It’s also about the way that you communicate with others, which in today’s technology-driven society includes e-mails. In email as in life, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Thus it begins with your subject line, which is your first and only chance to encourage a subscriber to read and respond to your message or call for action. Communication gurus recommend that you limit the number of paragraphs and sentences to those necessary to convey your message. Typically people only skim their e-mail. Thus keep e-mails short and to the point.

Making a great first impression also applies to all documents or reports that you generate. Messy looking or poorly written reports reflect badly on the person presenting it as well as the person receiving them. I once heard it said that “perception is often the co-pilot to reality.” Having had the opportunity to explore a multitude of experiences as well as dabble in a variety occupations and interests through the years, I have found this to be true. So whether you work for non-profits or for profit organizations, keeping in mind that you only get one chance to make a first impression, there’s absolutely no limit to what you can accomplish.

Carol Gee

Carol Gee, M.A. has worked in education for 26 years in positions ranging from teaching to administration. Currently she is an editor and business writer at Goizueta Business School at Emory University. She is also the author of books, The Venus Chronicles and Diary of a ‘Flygirl’ Wannabe (Life Lessons of a Cool Girl in Training,) and a contributor to the baby boomer book, Age Smart-Discovering the Fountain of Youth at Midlife and Beyond.

www.venuschronicles.net
venuschronicles@aol.com

OK Radio #11
Allison Fine, Senior Fellow at Demos and Author of “Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age.”

4.17.2008
OK Radio host Joe Folan speaks with Allison Fine, Senior Fellow at Demos and Author of “Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age.” Allison talks about what organizations need to do and beliefs they need to adopt to stay up to par in the connected digital age. How can organizations capitalize on the resources available to them? What should they not be doing? What do YOU need to know?

Download this program now to find out…

Listen to the Podcast Now!

(5.8 MB)

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Interview Highlights
:29 – Intro to Allison
1:06 – Concept of Momentum
2:16 – 2-way communication today
2:27 – Advice on finding an organization that is sustainable in the connected age
3:33 – How many orgs are up-to-snuff in having 2-way communication
4:15 – examples of good orgs that have accepted new communication tactics
5:20 – How to capitalize on sites like facebook, myspace and linkedin
6:20 – Online direct mail vs. networking and making friends
7:08 – Biggest hurdle facing the nonprofit community
8:38 – Social enterprise and the connected age
9:55 – OK IF
10:50 – Where to get more information

Allison Fine - Author of “Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age.”

Allison Fine
Senior Fellow at Demos and Author of “Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age.”

Allison is a successful social entrepreneur and writer dedicated to helping grassroots organizations and activists successfully implement social change efforts. As a senior fellow on the Democracy Team at Demos: A Network for Change and Action in New York City, Allison researches and writes about the future of social change and civic engagement in this new digital age.

She is the author of Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age, the winner of the Terry McAdams National Book Award. Allison’s articles have been published in the Boston Globe, San Jose Mercury Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. She is also a frequent contributor to Huffington Post, Personal Democracy Forum, Alternet and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Allison served as CEO of The E-Volve Foundation in 2004-2005 and was the founder and executive director of Innovation Network, Inc. from 1992-2004.

Allison currently serves on the board of directors of Just Vision, a nonprofit organization that increases awareness about Palestinian and Israeli non-violent, civilian-led efforts to build a base for peace in the Middle East. Allison has a Masters in Public Administration from New York University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from Vanderbilt University.
Website: Allison Fine’s Website