Dear friends,

Recently aware of your iniciative and eager to contribute to a better understanding of the challenges and posibilities of the so called Knowledge Society, I would like to let you know of two projects who conceive the use of blogin to generate networks of participative conscience on different issues of social participation in which I have been part. One is LINC which stands for “Laboratorio de Inteligencia Colectiva” (you know, we use Spanish as lingua franca in this South…), and was a somehow successfull -and still unique by the time- experience, to establish free ways of expression and colaborative thinking between people working in different areas of the public administration in charge of the social protection program Chile Solidario. There you´ll find lots of entries on issues of social protection and TIC´s and some twenty links to other blogs who were being created on time and conform a network still active in at least a region of the country, altough the initiative was not “fully” comprised by the central administration… but that lead to another conversation on politics. Then, there´s our actual initiative using the same open media and still in social protection and technologies but from the private sector this time (8th Millenium Goal). Both links to this material could be accesed next. Needless to say that we´ll be very gratefull for your visit and coments. Please don´t hesitate to contact and make any question you want.

www.vc-on.blogspot.com

www.siischilesolidario.blogspot.com

Best Regards,

Rainer.

(cross posting from internet.artizans blog)

Shaking the hype out of Web 2.0

A big shout out to the organisers of the Web2forDev conference in Rome. They’re shaking the hype out of web 2.0 and wrestling it in to relevance for the world’s poorest and most marginalised.

Connectivity, Innovation, Censorship

If I’d had a chance to contribute to the conference, I’d have stepped back from the real issue of rural connectivity and looked at the less examined issues of innovation and censorship - the good and bad futures for the social web in the developing world.

The dark side of web 2.0

The bad news first - as soon as social media starts to make a real social difference it will be subject to some form of repression by those who favour the status quo. The downside for web 2.0 is that, under the wrong circumstances, its social networking side could become an engine for privacy invasion and surveillance. We must learn from places where social media survives and thrives in the face of corruption, military might, and the intimidation of opponents. Embedding human rights in social media requires eCampaigning for Internet Freedom.

Innovation - the disruptive fruit of participation

The real powerhouse of web 2.0 for dev will be innovation, the disruptive fruit of all architectures of participation. Charlie Leadbeater’s book We-think starts with the example of the Barefoot College before going on to show how examples like Wikipedia are the herald of a new era of mass collaborative innovation. His wide global analysis of the new era mashes silicon valley with social innovation - as he says about a peer-to-peer AIDS support network “Low-cost, self-organising networks might be the height of organisational fashion on the US west cost but they are a matter of life-and-death in places like Mbuya Parish, Kampala“.

Web2forDev HowTo

So where do we find guiding values for the development potential of web2.0? If I’d been at the web2fordev conference I’d have plagiarised the Res Publica Report ‘Prospects for e-Advocacy in the Global South’ and proposed this set:

• Work within Movements: Working within a movement means that all the talent of the various members can be brought to bear in creating solutions and the lines of communications within the network can be used to quickly disseminate new methods.
• Worship the Power of the Network: Through networks we aggregate our knowledge, amassing insight that is greater than the sum of its parts.
• Bring Technologists and Advocates Together: Innovative solutions emerge when technologists collaborate with advocates, working on a specific campaign problem or network goal.
• Build Innovation Systems: Rather than think of innovations as pieces of hardware or even creative ideas, it is better to think in terms of “innovation systems,” combinations of hardware, social structures, and economic models that solve social problems.
• Promote Independence not Dependence: Seek to empower, and explicitly address sustainability.
• Engage with Youth: In almost all societies, young people are most likely to adopt new ICT methods. They are more familiar with ICT because it has been present for most of their lives.
• Cultivate the Fringe: The boldest new ideas often come from far outside the
  mainstream.

I applaud the organisers and participants at the web2fordev conference for their global fusion of social media and social impact. The scale of that impact will depend on how well mass creativity can challenge the status quo. As the APC’s Anriette Esterhuysen says “The key is NOT to think of social networking tools (or Web 2.0) as a completely new set of tools/applications. … but as representing significant changes to power structures that characterise the creation and use of content on the internet“.

Thanks to Michael, Peter and Lawrence for giving interesting answers to my questions some while ago. Let’s face it, web2.0 is just a concept, but there is a lot more behind it and even more perspectives on it. I am still curious, so here are some more questions:

1. Can web2.0 really work on grassroot level or does it need intermediate organizations such as NGOs?
2. Is “user generated content” of high value for development?
3. If so, what kind of user generated content could or already does have impact on social change?
4. What are the challenges to motivate people to engage in networking and creating social media?
5. Is web2.0, in the context of development, so far only a thing for and between organizations?
6. Will web2.0 promote transparency and feedback (evaluation) to development projects?
7. Will the collaborative web be trully multilangual, or will English be again the lingua franca?
8. Is this networking and aggregation of information giving us more knowledge when needed?
9. What are and will be the tools of the web2.0 buzz which could really help the people get involved in development?

Please contribute also some questions. Everybody’s questions are welcome.