Comments on: What good are social networks? http://www.netfornonprofits.org/2009/01/21/what-good-are-social-networks/ Using the Net for Non Profits Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:15:27 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Brad Bell http://www.netfornonprofits.org/2009/01/21/what-good-are-social-networks/comment-page-1/#comment-510 Brad Bell Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:26:24 +0000 http://www.netfornonprofits.org/?p=395#comment-510 Having a Web 1 attitude means treating the internet like a broadcast publishing medium like radio or TV, and less like the telephone. Web 1: "We talk, you listen." Web 2: "You talk, we listen, we talk, we laugh, we cry...." Where Web 2.0 is read/write, Web 1.0 is read-only. In Web 1, organizations want 1 tightly controlled voice. In Web 2, organizations have lots of casual voices, and some of them are their customers, donors, and volunteers. And so on.... Most illustrative Web 1 attitude: "We can't afford to hire someone to talk to customers to find out what they think and desire. (We can however, afford to spend more than 1 salary to run focus groups and extrapolate from a small sample of people who aren't necessarily even our customers - to find out what our customers want.)" Or "We can't afford to hire someone to blog and make our site lively and great, respond to comments, answer email, contribute to relevant communities, and do *real* internet networking/marketing. (We can however, afford to hire an SEO to try to write site content stuffed with top keywords, run PPC campaigns, and attempt to trick Google into thinking we have an amazingly good site.)" Web 2 says to Web 1, "Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to BE great than to hire people to create the misleading impression that you are great?" Having a Web 1 attitude means treating the internet like a broadcast publishing medium like radio or TV, and less like the telephone.
Web 1: “We talk, you listen.”
Web 2: “You talk, we listen, we talk, we laugh, we cry….”
Where Web 2.0 is read/write, Web 1.0 is read-only.

In Web 1, organizations want 1 tightly controlled voice. In Web 2, organizations have lots of casual voices, and some of them are their customers, donors, and volunteers.

And so on….

Most illustrative Web 1 attitude:
“We can’t afford to hire someone to talk to customers to find out what they think and desire. (We can however, afford to spend more than 1 salary to run focus groups and extrapolate from a small sample of people who aren’t necessarily even our customers – to find out what our customers want.)”

Or

“We can’t afford to hire someone to blog and make our site lively and great, respond to comments, answer email, contribute to relevant communities, and do *real* internet networking/marketing. (We can however, afford to hire an SEO to try to write site content stuffed with top keywords, run PPC campaigns, and attempt to trick Google into thinking we have an amazingly good site.)”

Web 2 says to Web 1, “Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper to BE great than to hire people to create the misleading impression that you are great?”

]]> By: Sean http://www.netfornonprofits.org/2009/01/21/what-good-are-social-networks/comment-page-1/#comment-496 Sean Fri, 23 Jan 2009 04:25:50 +0000 http://www.netfornonprofits.org/?p=395#comment-496 Hey, Brad. I think I agree with your last point - the intern part made me laugh. But when you say "Web 1.0 attitudes," what do you mean? Sean Hey, Brad.

I think I agree with your last point – the intern part made me laugh.

But when you say “Web 1.0 attitudes,” what do you mean?

Sean

]]> By: Brad Bell http://www.netfornonprofits.org/2009/01/21/what-good-are-social-networks/comment-page-1/#comment-472 Brad Bell Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:11:00 +0000 http://www.netfornonprofits.org/?p=395#comment-472 Social networking sites are really fantastic for letting people with absolutely no technical skills publish on the web. In Web 1.0, people needed a web designer to publish. With Web 2.0, they don't. Social networking sites are great for people like my mum and aunties who don't even have the confidence for the rest of the Web 2.0 tools. They can't set up a TypePad blog with photos pulled in from Flickr, videos from Vimeo and bookmarks from Delicious. Facebook is easy. Of course, that's *nothing* like the picture marketers/fundraisers paint of social networking sites, which is hyped and distorted to the point where people think Web 2.0 and social networking sites are the same thing. Charities (and marketers) end up with Web 1.0 web sites, Web 1.0 attitudes, and an intern squatting on Facebook for a year to find out whether there really is any point using the internet for fundraising. Social networking sites are really fantastic for letting people with absolutely no technical skills publish on the web. In Web 1.0, people needed a web designer to publish. With Web 2.0, they don’t.

Social networking sites are great for people like my mum and aunties who don’t even have the confidence for the rest of the Web 2.0 tools. They can’t set up a TypePad blog with photos pulled in from Flickr, videos from Vimeo and bookmarks from Delicious. Facebook is easy.

Of course, that’s *nothing* like the picture marketers/fundraisers paint of social networking sites, which is hyped and distorted to the point where people think Web 2.0 and social networking sites are the same thing. Charities (and marketers) end up with Web 1.0 web sites, Web 1.0 attitudes, and an intern squatting on Facebook for a year to find out whether there really is any point using the internet for fundraising.

]]> By: Alex http://www.netfornonprofits.org/2009/01/21/what-good-are-social-networks/comment-page-1/#comment-468 Alex Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:15:43 +0000 http://www.netfornonprofits.org/?p=395#comment-468 That last sentence is exactly what I say when anyone - journalist, fellow non-profit marketer, friend - asks me about how to 'sell' on a social network. You don't - you make a friend, and ask for their loyalty in return for your agreement to keep your demands to a friendly minimum. That last sentence is exactly what I say when anyone – journalist, fellow non-profit marketer, friend – asks me about how to ’sell’ on a social network. You don’t – you make a friend, and ask for their loyalty in return for your agreement to keep your demands to a friendly minimum.

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