Ingredients for Change

Blogs, wikis, twitter and links. These are the free and readily available tools anyone can use to effect change.

The Internet is leveling the playing field between the powerful and those they serve. Ignore your constituents? A blogger will make sure your actions get widespread attention. Jeff Jarvis helped change the culture of Dell Computer through his blog post, “Dell Sucks. Dell Lies.” Jeff tells the story (in his book, “What Would Google Do?”) of how his post hit a nerve with highly dissatisfied Dell customers. Equally angry readers linked (click on the underlined blue words for more) his post so widely it quickly rose in prominence in Google Searches until it appeared just below Dell’s own website! It was at that point Dell decided they had been ignoring their blogging critics too long. They had missed important input that was now hurting them. Their critics are now their partners.

Wiki’s. Wikis are moderated websites where collaboration grows great ideas. Have you ever visited Wikipedia? Did you know that unpaid volunteers make almost all entries in Wikipedia? How do they keep controversial topics from becoming one big free-for-all? Wiki software and the more experienced and committed volunteers created a system where ideas grow and controversy is effectively managed. Wiki software is free. Feature-laden versions may add some costs that are worth the price. Is your organization using them to collaborate and nurture good ideas?

Twitter. I thought Twitter was for kids, until I listened to some fascinating lectures on one of my favorite websites, Ted.com. What I learned about Twitter on TED was that twitter was providing instantaneous news, long before the media could report it. It was changing the game in Iran and Africa while breaking news from the little guy in the US. When used as a tool by organizations, the speed and focused message Twitter provides could bring large groups together in powerful unison.

These are just a few of the many mostly free tools that populate the web. Wise organizations and leaders are effectively employing they with remarkable results. Use them. Don’t get left in the dust.