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NetSquared enables social benefit organizations to leverage the tools of the social web.
Capaciteria | Jonathan Peizer, CTO / OSI
What's *really* new on the Web, as opposed to buzzwords and soundbites?:
I guess my first question is what you would define “new” within 1 month, 3months, six months, a year? 2 years?
I would probably say the new collaboration and social organization tools in aggregate (blogs, podcasts, meetups, link-in, rss, deli.cio.us, etc..) They have allowed people to organize and collaborate far more easily outside the standard institutional constructs that we typically require to do so.
Which tools best embody the new opportunities from your point of view and why?:
See above.
Who's doing the best work with the new tools (technically or in terms of social benefit or both)?:
I like the globalvoices.org effort out of Harvard and worldchanging.org. On the other hand there are many small efforts making use of these tools for specific actions to benefit society.
What's the bad news? What are the greatest barriers preventing web-based technology from producing social change?:
I think the greatest barrier is public will – the need to focus not on Brad and Jen’s breakup but rather to focus on using time and tools for social benefit. One can speak about
The limitations of static institutions like governments, philanthropies and nonprofits, but the web and associated tools has really allowed a venue for people to organize outside these institutions, coordinate their activities, fundraise for resources and create powerful lobbies for change. One wonders how much more effective the great social movements of the sixties would have been with these tools in existence.
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