Presentation for 21st century network, February 28 2012. With notes At times of financial restraint and when Governments are looking at how civil society can be recruited to deliver on their own agenda then how can we ensure that the many associations that make up civil society can protect their independence. Can social networking help create a network of mutual independence that strengthens the countless groups that are the social glue of our civil society? http://www.meetup.com/21stCenturyNetwork/events/41358702/

1. GlobalNet21 webinar February 28 2012
Can social networking help create a network of
mutual independence that strengthens the countless
groups that are the social glue of our civil society?
Maybe - but how? And who?
David Wilcox socialreporter.com
using some ideas from Drew Mackie
Joe Taylor to bring us down to earth
Tuesday, 28 February 12
The intro to the webinar http://www.meetup.com/21stCenturyNetwork/events/41358702/
At times of financial restraint and when Governments are looking at how civil society can be recruited to deliver on their own agenda then how can we ensure that
the many associations that make up civil society can protect their independence. Can social networking help create a network of mutual independence that
strengthens the countless groups that are the social glue of our civil society? This is the topic of this webinar.
How do we develop social networking so that groups can have an influence and make a difference? Is it sufficient to just set up a meetup site or a NING site for
example and then hope that it will take off into cyberspace and be successful. What more do we need to do to reach wider audiences and particularly vulnerable
and marginalized groups that do not always join into existing online communities?
In this webinar we will look at how one umbrella group NatCAN (The National Community Activist Network) has used social networking to involve community and
activist groups through the NING platform and they will discuss how successful this has been and what more needs to be done. Joe Taylor of NatCAN will present
this part of the webinar. http://nationalcan.ning.com/
David Wilcox will then discuss how successful this approach is in reaching out to marginalised groups and other audiences and the importance of developing a
strategy that goes beyond online communities.
He will look at the importance of texting, sharing photos, and increasingly, tweeting, using Facebook and Google Plus to compliment online communities.
In this environment then what are the skills necessary to be successful.
Probably the most important roles may well be those of information aggregators, online-offline organisers, social reporters etc doing a mix of making sense, joining
up, helping others to engage, and working across networks rather than just on individual platforms.
How do we develop this new network infrastructure, what mapping is necessary and how do we find and enable the facilitators and orchestrators of this
environment so that it can be successful?
David Wilcox
http://socialreporter.com
http://socialreporters.net
david@socialreporter.com
@davidwilcox
Free book download on social tech for social impact http://socialbysocial.com
Drew Mackie
drewmackie@mac.com

2. We won’t do it by
• Building (yet another) civil society online platform
• Expecting volunteer local bloggers to do it all
• Just favouring Facebook, or Google+, or Twitter, or Linkedin
• Polarising online and face-to-face
We may do better by
• Thinking about network structures
• Developing networky attitudes and behaviours
• Understanding roles of people
• Making organisations more sociable
• Blending media and using what suits us
Becoming network builders .... not just networkers
Tuesday, 28 February 12
Much of the discussion about the use of online networking for civil society has been around what technology to use, with some polarised attitudes on
* the need for a one-stop online platform - for example http://yoursquaremile.co.uk/ supported by Big Lottery Fund
* the value of local blogs and online communities - see http://talkaboutlocal.org.uk/ and http://networkedneighbourhoods.com/
* the scope for using systems like Facebook and Twitter - because that’s where people are
In addition, there has in the past been a split between those favouring online networking, and those who believe nothing substitutes for face-to-face. There is now
more cross-over.
This presentation suggests we need a framework that involve undertanding structures, individual attitudes and behaviours, and roles: we need a mix of media,
and for existing organisations to behave in ways that make it easier to network.

3. National - local
challenge
Newsnet Your Square Mile
NatCan Our Society
ABCD Fiery Spirits
Transition Towns
... and Facebook, Linkedin
Twitter, Google+, blogs
These don’t
join up
Tuesday, 28 February 12
This diagram suggests that local level, people seeking to build networks, and connect within communities, will map existing physical and social assets in order to
identify resources,encourage local action, and act as reporters to tell stories about what is happening.
We need the eqivalent at the national level - and some joining up between local and national.
There are some online spaces and networks operating nationally in the field of local action - for example:
http://nationalcan.ning.com/
http://oursociety.org.uk/
http://newsnet.mediatrust.org/
http://yoursquaremile.co.uk/
http://fieryspirits.com/
http://abcdeurope.ning.com/
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/
However, while people may be members of several networks, there is little linkage. There is also a lot of activity on Twitter, blogs and other networks, but it can be
difficult to make sense of the many conversations and references.

4. Still many hierarchies loosely joined
Developing a social innovation network
How can we help local groups, civil society organisations, agencies, share ideas
and experience of doing "good stuff" locally and nationally. Move from models 1. and 2. to
model 3
2. Cluster: Join in (if you can)
1. Portal: "join us"
nodes for ideas and support;
people, events, hubs
ideas via stories and conversations
3. Mesh: join up your own
connections
Tuesday, 28 February 12
While there may be more talk about networking, many organisations still operate as hierarchies, or in clusters of hierarchies. To achieve the soirt of civil society
networking we are exploring here, we need more of a mesh.

5. If we want more connection and
collaboration we need
• Networky attitudes
• Networky roles
• More sociable organisations
• A personal approach
Tuesday, 28 February 12
While technology is an important enabler, for it to work we need attitudes and roles disposed to networking, more open organisations, and to work out a personal
style that support networking.

6. Collaborative attitudes and behaviours
Collaboration pyramid Oscar Berg
http://www.thecontenteconomy.com/2012/02/collaboration-pyramid.html
Collaboration depends on connecting, conversing, sharing, being visible, discovering, building trust
Tuesday, 28 February 12
Oscar Berg writes about The collaboration pyramid (or iceberg) http://www.thecontenteconomy.com/2012/02/collaboration-pyramid.html
While he is writing about enterprises, the same principles apply more widely:
The majority of the value-creation activities in an enterprise are hidden. They happen below the surface. What we see when we think of collaboration in the
traditional sense (structured team-based collaboration) is the tip of the iceberg – teams who are coordinating their actions to achieve some goal. We don’t see -
and thus don’t recognize - all the activities which have enabled the team to form and which help them throughout their journey. We see the people in the team,
how they coordinate their actions and the results of their actions, but we rarely see the other things which have been critical for their success. For example, we
don’t see how they have used their personal networks to access knowledge, information and skills which they don’t have in their team already but which are
instrumental for their success.
The layers which are below the surface are usually not recognized or valued. Below the surface you typically find:
• The direct and indirect contributions from people outside the team – by the extended team, stakeholders and external contributors
• Other kinds of broader and ad hoc collaboration (social collaboration) than those that fit within the traditional definition of (structured, team-based)
collaboration
• The ongoing community building that makes people trust each other and commit themselves to a shared purpose
• The efforts of gaining the workspace awareness that is necessary for making the right decisions in any collaborative effort
Bring those above the surface so they can be recognized and supported. If people can't do those things, even the traditional collaboration efforts will suffer or
might not even happen. If we are to improve efficiency and effectiveness of collaborative efforts, we need to better support these layers.
The first step towards improving these layers of collaboration and support other kinds of collaboration is to recognize their existence and value.

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Tuesday, 28 February 12
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8. More sociable organisations
Curate
content
Resources
Events
Commission Host
Convene
and catalyse
Capture stories and Build
knowledge networks
Visit
Explorations
Moving from central to social - and a knowledge ecology
Tuesday, 28 February 12
I developed this diagram for a conversation with staff at Big Lottery Fund, where John Popham and I did some work in 2011 exploring how BIG could be more than
a funder. The blog entries are here http://www.socialreporters.net/?p=256
I suggested the BIG might aim to do more in catalysing and convening.
Events could be reported in ways that help build networks, with content curated to provide more resources.
Visits to groups and other activities could be used to develop stories about local action, and build networks

9. Finding a personal approach to networking
Mine is social reporting
Commend
Listen out
Connect
Spot opportunities
Capture
Join up Interpret
Make sense
Introduce
Bridge
Socialreporter Aggregate
Encourage
Help out
Scrutinise
Mentor
(if no-one else will) Support
Signpost
Tuesday, 28 February 12
I’m developing the role of social reporter, as someone who aims to help people make sense of the masses of content in different places; who connect people and
conversations; and who helps people use social media for themselves. There is also a role to scrutinise and challenge.

10. A few questions
• What works for activists (and you)?
• Should we focus more on mobile?
• Why don’t online systems join up?
• Are civil society organisations networkable?
http://socialreporter.com
http://socialreporters.net
david@socialreporter.com
@davidwilcox
Tuesday, 28 February 12