Leveraging Blogs, Feeds, and Wikis: My Organizer’s Collaborative Presentation
After a meeting the other week, a gentleman introduced himself to me saying, “I was at the presentation you gave at the Organizer’s Collaborative conference.”
“Oh, good,” I replied. “What did I talk about? I forgot already.”
He smiled and we both laughed because he had kinda forgotten, too.
To remind myself, I finally put the outline online. It was for a panel about Web 2.0 technology at the 7th Annual Organizers’ Collaborative Grassroots Use of Technology Conference in June.
This presentation posed a great challenge because I had been initially asked to discuss blogging and how non-profits could use blogs, but during the other panelists’ presentations, it became clear to me that I should talk about some other things instead. And when a woman asked if the Web 2.0 technologies were only for younger people or if older people would know what to do with them, too, I decided to address that. That was a great question. I don’t think the technologies are for any specific age group. I think in general some younger people might be more comfortable with them just because of how easy it seems some younger people adapt to new technology, but that doesn’t mean using a blog or wiki will shut out older people. Some older people are quite tech savvy.
I think the real issue is the popularity of the tools. If people you want to reach via technology are using blogs, wikis, XML feeds, etc., you might want to heavily consider using them if you aren’t already. If no one in your audience uses the technologies, you might be making a big leap to introduce them. That’s when it’s important to know your audience’s comfort level with computers and new tools. Some audiences will flow right along with tech changes. Others might get stymied or stalled for a little bit. And some audience members who don’t like or can’t handle the change(s) might leave.
