Resources for Social Technology

Nice post about the perils of building or buying IT systems. Lots of good lessons learned.

I've just had a very interesting e-mail exchange with Rowena Young at NESTA about social innovation and social technologies, and particularly the need to reach out beyond the normal early adopter communities into the much larger community of 'non-webbies'. In Rowena's words:

"We are concerned most with the application of innovation to social change and impact, so novelty gets tempered by what difference it's actually making."

It's a very happy day at Everything HQ today. We had a picnic in the park at lunchtime, AND we've just been told that School of Everything has been selected as an Official Honoree for the Education category in The 13th Annual Webby Awards. This is a big deal people!

Fantastic one-page guides to using YouTube, Twitter and many other online tools.

Great presentation from Erika Hall at Web 2.0 Expo (via Matt Locke) on how to write copy for web 2.0 applications. Key message: write less, and write for action.

Nice post from David Meerman Scott about online PR here:
http://www.webinknow.com/2008/05/top-ten-pr-tips.html

I don't know David, but I liked his statement: "I realized that sometimes there is value to top-of-mind ideas. Nuggets of value may be lost when you obsess over getting every detail perfect." Couldn't agree more.

Here's his list:

1. The old ways to get noticed were to buy expensive advertising and beg the media to write about you and your products. The best way to get noticed today is to publish great content online.

Great article (via @guykawasaki) on how the expectations of the next generation are reshaping the businesses they work for. 12 points about how the new workplace will need to reflect the principles of the social web.

Here are my favourites:
* All ideas compete on an equal footing.
* Leaders serve rather than preside.
* Resources get attracted, not allocated.

Really good set of practical tips for everyone looking to get online and get started with 'web 2.0'.

Just so we know what we're all talking about, here's a definition piece from the guy who coined this infamous term.

One of the things I really like about Folksy.com (the UK-based crafts marketplace) is the cool stuff they make to promote the site. Looking through their Flickr stream, there are plenty of other examples of them getting involved with the community of people who make and sell stuff through the site.

There's lots of inspiration there for us at School of Everything - and for any other startup that's trying to find playful ways to spread the word about a useful service.

An old observation of mine that seems to be becoming more and more significant - as anyone who has had to add their boss as a Facebook friend will be all too aware...

Here's the presentation I gave at the NCVO yesterday, now with added Zappa.

Great 'world 1.0 -> world 2.0' post from Euan Semple. Best line:

"It is not about technology but about a shift in behaviours from a command and control mentality to an instigate and nurture one."

Nice paper by Luke Razzell about Twitter, how it's being used and what it's really useful for. (Thanks Euan!)

great range of material covered

Good presentation; instructions for game right at the end

Here's an old post of mine about controlling conversations in web 2.0 projects. Key message: 'get out of the way'!

Nice piece by respected VC Fred Wilson on how the web is giving 'power to the people' and what this could mean for education.