Professional orgs 2.0

As people feel more and more comfortable with the Web 2.0 and social media (and as we move into Web 3.0), organizations of all types need to be more aware of and clear about the guidelines of people interacting with information and contributing to a group. As active participants on the web, we're getting used to doing things for ourselves and creating new content and revisions on a multitude of sites.

This is what open source is all about -- being provided a basic set of information and then being able to add, edit and revise to make it better. Unfortunately, most businesses, institutions, and organizations aren't set up this way and have not changed their policies and framework for this to happen.

Take, for example, your favorite professional organization. Perhaps it is a club, perhaps it is a network of professionals in your related field, or maybe it is a large group of people that subscribe and receive updates from a centralized leadership. Do you know exactly what you can contribute to that organization? Do you need to go through a nomination and voting process? Is experience always going to trump innovative ideas or even hard work?

Organizations, like the ones I describe above, should open up their structure. There is no reason that in a group of professionals there needs to be strict lines of leadership. At one time, I think was necessary. There needed to be a cohesive force at the top of organizations in order to rally the troops when necessary, distribute news and information, and maintain communication with the membership. Now we're able to set up automated, reliable databases that can collect information and make it possible for us to have a many-to-many relationship as opposed to a top down, one-to-many relationship. Additionally, social networking sites allow us to alert people of changes and events almost instantaneously.

I believe people will feel more excited about an organization and help it gain membership as well as enhance member contributions if members play a vital role (as opposed to paying a subscription/membership fee) and feel relevant. So, with a focus on organizations, here are a few steps and things to think about when creating guidelines and usability for members of your organization:

1. 1. Establish a social-network presence so people can follow the organization and create connections with each other. Facebook, Ning and LinkedIn are good options for this, and for something a little different Twine might as well.
2. 2. Get rid of the top down communication approach. After members connect with the organization, and within the organization, allow all users to contribute to publications, advocacy materials, and events. While it is a one-to-many approach, Twitter also allows communication to quickly turn into a many-to-many relationship if members feel as though something is worth broadcasting (see: Retweets). I truly believe that if an organization doesn't Twitter they are missing out on a very easy and cheap way to reach out to their membership.
3. 3. If you're not comfortable allowing members to have a hand in your organization, be explicit with those rules. If members want to propose changes, let them know exactly who they need to contact. Avoid hierarchical, bureaucratic structures for top leadership. Have a go-to person or group that people can call, write-to, or email.
4. 4. Don't say you can't implement an additional service for members, especially if the suggestion comes from a member. There is no reason not to install and let members take the lead on offering additional services and information. Again, don't act from the top-down -- allow the user suggesting the change to implement it or, if they don't have the know-how, help connect them to a member who does. When we can assemble my own network of professionals around us and when organizations close off their inner-workings, we will only begrudgingly join them to fulfill requirements, not to be participatory members.
5. 5. Constantly and consistently evaluate the relevancy of your organization. Ask members for their opinions about not just how conventions and your web site looks, but about how the organization is working for them. That's the point of a lot of professional organizations, and I think we all lose sight of that. Professional groups need to be much more than just a resume line as we continue through the "continuum" of the internet.