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NetSquared enables social benefit organizations to leverage the tools of the social web.
Building communities and moving the world on the Internet
What's *really* new on the Web, as opposed to buzzwords and soundbites?:
Web 2.0 Argh - the term is so 7 months ago, but until I can think of a better term I'll just have to stick with that.
I love the new sense of community on the Internet and the online tools that empower average-Joe-types to have a global voice and use it too! This to me is the coolest and most impactful thing about the Internet today, annoying buzzwords aside.
As more and more Web users begin to be aware of the tools available to them and actually start using them to their advantage, the Internet and the face of real-world organizations, business, relationships and nonprofits will continue to dramatically change.
Open-source Although I'm certainly no programmer myself, it is refreshing to see the different ways that people are collaborating and giving back to the online community by focusing their efforts on improving and modifying software apps that everyone can use. Mash-ups are awesome!
Which tools best embody the new opportunities from your point of view and why?:
Social Bookmarking sites like Del.icio.us - Share your resources and connect with other like-minded people/groups. Tagging rocks.
Digg - Online news and information retrieval with real human beings helping you decide what you need to read and learn about.
Blogging utilities like Typepad and Movable Type - Cheap and easy-to-use communication tools. These really couldn't make it easier to keep in touch with an enormous audience.
Flickr - Super content sharing beautifully labeled with tags and Creative Commons to boot.
Free online wiki interfaces like PBWiki - Great collaboration tool.
Who's doing the best work with the new tools (technically or in terms of social benefit or both)?:
Yahoo! has made some exciting forward-looking acquisitions on the social software front with their purchases of tools like Flickr, del.icio.us, Upcoming. I just hope these utilities keep on growing under their new corporate parent's wing.
From a social standpoint, I am overwhelmed by the number of 'little guys' that are making a huge splash in the world today with new tools avaible to them. I think that social activists (or people who just have something to say) are doing the best work with these toolsets.
This could be my Aunt Matilda or guys like Seth Mazow from Interplast -- you don't have to be on the payroll of a huge organization to get your message across anymore. It's those unknowns that are utilizing these new tools to the fullest and that's completely amazing to me.
What's the bad news? What are the greatest barriers preventing web-based technology from producing social change?:
As swell as all this new technology is, you still have to have bandwidth, electricity and hardware to access online information and communities. Funding to get universal access to these vital elements is an enormous barrier to achieving social change via online tools.
Adoption hesitancy is also a barrier in making progress with online communication and networking tools. Many groups that could benefit the most don't realize how simple and often cost-effective these tools can be for them.
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