Navigating Web 2.0

There was some good news for companies like mine and some bad news for nonprofits today.

NTEN is reporting a new study about Web 2.0 adoption by nonprofits published by the Overbrook Foundation.

The line that will grabbed my attention: “I’m in a perpetual state of anxiety about which tools I’m supposed to be paying attention to.”

So the good news is nonprofits need help and the better news is that there are people out there who can help. The bad news is that when nonprofit managers don’t know what to pay attention to, it is easy for them to fall victim to buzzwords and clever pitches.

I can understand the confusion among nonprofit management about Web 2.0. First of all it’s an ill-defined concept that at it’s core is designed to make people feel like Web 2.0 is better. It has to be better than Web 1.0 because 2.0 is better than 1.0.

The truth is there are many things about the 2.0 ecosystem that every nonprofit can benefit from. There are others that I would say many shouldn’t even dip their big toe into. I choose the word ecosystem carefully, not just because it makes me sound smart - although it does, doesn’t it. I call it an ecosystem because the potential of Web 2.0 is in the interconnectedness around tools and communities, not in any single tool or community.

Charting the right course takes time and effort and missteps. I’m selling something here, but something different. There is opportunity for nonprofits in Web 2.0, but it isn’t a panacea or a quick-fix or a one size fits all kind of opportunity.

Beware of companies bearing Web 2.0 starter packages or instant blog kits or MySpace layouts, that promise results without even taking a look at your audience and your organization. There is not a one-size fits all solution out there, their are however ideas and new ways of thinking that every organization can use to better connect to their constituents, and in the end better serve their communities.

And that my friends is the heart of what each organization needs to be looking at, how will this help be to serve the community that I am passionate about serving, not how is this going to help me be 2.0.

Update: While this one was still in the hoppper Web Worker Daily published some similar thoughts.