Our field is maturing rapidly. The next generation of movement leaders is overcoming its fetish with technology and expertise as secrets to online success. Indeed, now faced with existential challenges from a fast shifting landscape, the time has come for us all to rethink our most deeply held tenets in this struggle to remain relevant. Thankfully, a brave few are trying – and they're finding answers. Looking beyond traditional online strategy, they're fundamentally transforming how they and their organizations work – shifting their entire perspective towards what we call "Web Thinking" – to better reflect the reality of our time. And they're winning. They're charting a path forward for us all.
The teams at EchoDitto and Biro Creative have been tracking and studying this shift for more than six years through their work with a wide range of leading social change organizations. After a decade of obsessive technology consumption, the sector is ready for a new chapter. This manifesto reveals new tenets for success. It is a call to arms for our next generation of leaders.
How We Got Here
From the mid '90s, when non-profits first got serious about the web, a powerful story emerged among early adopters. The biggest barrier to success, it went, was lack of buy-in from management. Skeptical EDs, VPs and Campaign Managers who didn't "get it" were stifling our movements – holding us back from the great potential of the Internet.
By the early 2000s, this "buy-in" story (both real and imagined) had mostly vanished. Thanks to the mind-bending success of early wired orgs – from MoveOn.org to Howard Dean to Adbusters – our leadership's commitment to the web solidified, becoming largely a matter of degree.
What followed? A period of massive online expenditure. The "buy-in" story caved to a powerful new story about investment. Its simple and seductive premise is that technology is key to growing movements online. (And to a lesser degree, technical staff and outside expertise.) In its basest form, it equates investing online with online success. Does it sound familiar? Funders love this story. Consultants earn their living perpetuating it. There are entire conferences dedicated to this story. For almost a decade it has guided our field.
Times Have Changed. The New Reality.
The trouble is, as we enter 2010, we find ourselves in dramatically different terrain. And yet despite mounting evidence, few are critically examining the tech investment story or questioning its relevance. This basic tenet of first generation online strategy has remained unchallenged for almost a decade. At least two factors suggest it's time for a rethink:
First, the playing field for technology has leveled dramatically. Even the most humble non-profits now harness social media, mobile and e-advocacy tools – sometimes to massive success. This leveling represents a boon for new players, as barriers to entry fall. And for those early adopters who reaped huge rewards from early investments, it means a loss of monopoly. It's an erosion of competitive advantage. A basic level of infrastructure has been laid for us all.
Second, people no longer depend on organizations to affect change. A frightening idea perhaps, but true. Organizations once provided the sole gateway to politicians, media, movements and power. Now people reach them on their own. They act themselves and also galvanize their peers, especially the millennial generation so accustomed to the web's DIY ethos. The role of organizations is being fundamentally redefined – something online investment simply can't address alone.
The Way Forward
There is a new breed of organization that seems to more consistently and dramatically win online, while the rest seem to stumble around in the darkness. They make up a fraction of the non-profit world but can claim a disproportionate stake of success – generating funds, growing memberships and winning legislative change online.
You likely have your own list of heroes that fits this category. Recent, high-profile examples include the likes of Obama, 350 and Basta Dobbs.
These organizations and their ilk are a source of great promise. And indeed, our research over the past six years suggests that their most significant, defining variable goes beyond what is traditionally understood as online strategy – beyond technology and technical expertise. Rather, their success is tied most strongly to a willingness to break from the status quo, to make brave moves to fundamentally transform how they and their organizations work – their very perspective – to better reflect the reality of our time. We call it "Web Thinking."
What follows are ten proclamations for the next generation of movement leaders – it is a summary of our findings and a manifesto for our space. It's an unfinished guide and an invitation. It's also a challenge.
- 1 We Will Position Ourselves as Movement Leaders
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We will be more concerned with our cause, our broader mission in the world than with building a brand or institution. And we will reflect this reality in all of our work. We seek to work across traditional boundaries of race, class, gender identification and religion to build alliances that truly represent the people impacted by our issues. We can't be afraid to talk about other efforts in our space, to link generously and be genuinely proud of the successes of our friends and allies. Their success drives our success and drives the change that makes our existence worthwhile.
- 2 We Will Engage Web Thinkers in Leadership
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We will make it mandatory for the people in charge of Internet and digital strategies to be in senior staff meetings – and be sure they serve at the highest level of the organization. Planning a new campaign or initiative without "new media" at the table is as foolish as holding that same meeting without Communications or Membership Directors.
- 3 We Will Engage Everyone in Web Thinking
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We will understand the difference between IT and the Internet and ensure all staff share responsibility for leveraging the web in their daily work. Not everyone will understand the latest tools and tricks, but collectively, we will appreciate the web's value and the critical role it plays in the lives of our audiences.
- 4 We Will Hire Digital Natives
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We will embrace millennials because we understand the difference between learning about technology and growing up digital – between speaking Internet as a foreign language and speaking web natively. Internet culture is radically changing the way people engage not only with one other but also with organizations. Transparency, collaboration, and open dialog – millennials can show us how to develop these cultural norms and values. We will listen and learn with them.
- 5 We Will Look Outward
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We will value the opinions of users, members and volunteers as highly (or more) than we value our own. Developing a deep understanding of our constituents gives us the information we need to establish strong and trusted relationships. We will talk with our constituents, listen, ask for feedback, and find out what matters most to them.
- 6 We Will Let Go of Control
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We will try to be open and ego-free, and to give our campaigns away. We will trust our supporters with important work – as important as that performed by staff. We will prioritize building systems that enable our audience to carry out our mission, over building departments for doing that work on our own. We will consider it a sign of success to see our brand or message distributed far and wide in ways we could never anticipate. We will add value by providing frameworks, clear theories of change, and even leadership training and empowerment, rather than detailed recipes. The movement adds value by iterating, improving, and innovating on that framework.
- 7 We Will Tap Our Movements To Get Smarter
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We will seek out the collective intelligence of our audience – recognizing it is greater than any number of us sitting around a conference table. By transparently asking for help and ideas when we need them most and by collaborating with partners, we will gain priceless insights and assistance. We will use new tools for facilitating dialogue, enabling the best ideas to rise to the top.
- 8 We Will Connect People Directly
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We want movements – not foot-soldiers. People respond to people, not to brands or figureheads, which is why we will seek ways to connect people with shared passions, both online and in person. We've seen that great things happen when we get out of the way. We will provide connections, support, leadership, direction and venues, but ultimately look to empower people to build strong relationships that don't depend on us.
- 9 We Will Emulate and Innovate
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We will watch intently, study and learn from others in the online space. We will share and track successes and failures. And we will shamelessly incorporate ideas that work. That said, the web is unchartered territory and we will also not be afraid to fail with new ideas. In fact, we will plan to fail. And we will rely on others to tell us where we're off so we can respond. The open source mantra, "release early and often," presents a useful model for organizations prepared to iterate rather than launch fully baked programs.
- 10 We Will Be Nimble
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We will move at the speed of the Internet – and the instantaneous news cycle. We will set up structures that eschew bureaucracy and allow us to move both quickly and strategically. Organizations that are positioned to respond rapidly are rewarded. We will redefine what it means to be proactive on issues. We will create and distribute news directly and we will hijack, adapt, and redirect the traditional news cycle to fit our campaigns and issues.
