Like many nonprofits, we are tentatively playing with social networks and other Web 2.0 tools.
Those of us who are comfortable with technology tend to dive right in to new tools like social networks, play around and learn as we go. We see possibilities, become enthusiastic and want to bring what we’ve learned to our “real-life” networks, whether that’s our family or where we work or some other group we belong to.
But the problem is that not everyone is so comfortable with using these technologies or learning them as they go. They need to understand the value before they begin, and that can be very difficult to communicate if you haven’t experienced it. In the nonprofit where I work, for years I heard about how much more effective we would be if everyone could communicate easily across offices dispersed worldwide, tap into one another’s expertise and learn from one another’s experiences. Of course, I saw how technology could help make this happen. But getting people to use the technology effectively was a challenge I did not foresee.
The Bamboo Project has an article on this subject, which I found helpful, especially the comments.
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shannon.turlington AT gmail.com 
Sometimes I wonder if people REALLY want the ability to connect and learn from each other, or if this is something that they say. When I go to conferences or other face-to-face events where the goal is supposedly to “share best practices” and “learn from each other,” I usually find that these are usually opportunities for people to showcase all the great stuff THEY are doing. I see lots of telling and not a lot of listening, discussion and questions.
Although I think that technology is part of the challenge, the other part of it may just be the fact that what people say they want and what they actually want may not be the same thing. Or maybe I’m just feeling cynical today.
Cynical or no, you may be right. This is a case where people often say that if only they had the right technology, it would all magically happen, when they probably need to be looking more closely at how to motivate people to share and incorporate that into their daily work lives regardless of the tool that’s being used to make that easier.
So maybe we need to start with getting people to be more open and willing to listen and learn. Once you have that mindset, then the tools are a no-brainer. But if you don’t, then what’s the point?