Technology for your Mission

Today I read an article in Wired, The New Socialism. While it has a misguided perception of Socialism as a historical movement — basically equating it to communism — it makes a powerful statement about the empowering force of technology. The article speaks of a world of open source software, of information freedom. Frankly, I feel that this OSS utopia is unrealistic, and I’m a little tired of hearing about it, but the fact remains that technology has blurred lines. It has opened information, giving rise to an particular brand of information socialism. Information is no longer just the purview of the elite, it is owned by everyone and created by everyone. At least everyone with enough money for a computer and an Internet connection.

It is important that the nonprofit world recognizes this change. The role of nonprofits as the single point of information and aid is dwindling. Instead, nonprofits need to shift to information brokers. We need to help our constituents communicate with each other. Our job is increasingly to facilitate communication — between individuals and the government, between individuals and other organizations, and particularly between individuals — and less to be content providers in our own right.

Obviously nonprofits must adapt their use of technology to meet this changing world, but the change must go deeper than that. Nonprofits must fundamentally change the way they think about their organization, their mission, and their clients. We must think about communication, marketing, outreach in an entirely new light. Technology isn’t the tool we need to use, it is the way we need to think. In today’s age, there is no difference between technology and communication, the Internet and outreach. 

Well, that was all a little (maybe more than a little) melodramatic. The world isn’t going to change overnight. Nonprofits still provide and will continue to provide very real and very needed services — homes need to be heated, children need an education, everyone needs to eat. Our prominent place in this nation’s social safety net isn’t going to change. But the approach is changing,  and we need to pay attention.

For further reading on the topic I recommend Here Comes Everyone, by Clay Shirkey.