A Really Short Case Study Around Implementing Web 2.0 Technology in Ancient Times (2004)

Waaay back in the early 2000s in my work with a local chapter of a professional organization in my own field, I was disappointed at how in-person meetings were often all but consumed by Roberts Rules and adminstrative details, all but eliminating any time to discuss creative collaboration and real incisive action in the running of the organization.

To see if something could be done to move administration out of in-person meetings, I built interactive Web portals for the Colorado Psychological Association in SharePoint, and Organization for Program Evaluation Colorado in Geeklog to see if Web 2.0 technologies, including threaded discussions, online document libraries, task lists, contacts, and other tools could be leveraged to dynamically create online communities of practice, community generated content, and frankly, to get more done.

The projects were successful insofar as the functionality was utilized by early adopters, but as in any good experiment, there were more lessons learned than easy wins. As one who is constantly driving for better systems and results, I am very open in discussing what didn't go exactly as planned. Such things are often a lot more interesting and useful than open and shut cases with proven technologies.

This is of course in no way intended to draw attention to these organizations in particular. These projects rode the first waves of non-IT Web 2.0 implementation. The organizations and their members should be applauded for being on that early wave. Also, I suspect that what we found would still be the case just about anyhwere.

So my first impression was that regardless of how much buzz there is about Web 2.0, and how effective the implementation, the user base horse must be led to water, and strongly encouraged to drink. In volunteer organizations, where executive leadership is often less forceful than in paid environments, this is difficult.

My second major impression was that regardless of the buzz around Web 2.0, at the time I put the sites up, folks seemed to still be just getting the idea of the role of a Web 1.0 designer. That is, many people seemed to expect me to act more as a digital newspaperman, rather than a facilitator of their own online content.

It was sometimes challenging to convince folks that just because I put up an interactive Web portal for them, I knew nothing about their business, and expected them to do the talking once the online forum was built. It's a paradigm shift for some folks to get the idea that in this new age, we all have our 15,000 minutes of fame.

Overall the projects were successful, at least in comparison to the static, Web 1.0 online business card sites they replaced. Today, as Web 2.0 tech is more widely adopted, and everyone seems to have Facebook page, these lessons seem obvious. It really is amazing how fast things can change.