Working Wikily

Several grassroots level organizations today utilize online networks for communication and mobilization. Online networks was often seen as a secondary activity. But not since US President Barack Obama’s election. Obama rallied more than 13 million supporters and raised a record-breaking $745 million through out his presidential campaign using  what the Monitor Institute has termed  “Working Wikily.”

“Working Wikily” is a phrase that describes the new ways that people are applying network theory and networked technology to do the work they have always done in a more collaborative form.[1] A  Stanford Social Innovation Review Summer 2010’s research paper, “Working Wikily” by Diana Scearce, Gabriel Kasper and Heather McLeod Grant, looks at the way this phenomenon has grown to represent  greater openness, transparency, decentralized decision making, and collective action.[2]

The Benefits of “Working Wikily”

The research paper indicates that online social websites such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs are widely practiced by nonprofit organizations, however, only a very few of these organizations are utilizing these social tools to fundamentally change their operation and enhance their social impact. Kiva and Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup are the rare exceptions. The authors identified five prime reasons why people should use a network to achieve social impacts: weaving community, accessing diverse perspectives, building and sharing knowledge, mobilizing people, and coordinating resources and action.

The Challenges of “Working Wikily”

However, challenges of working wikily exist: In some cases, a more traditional operation of centralized and closed approach works better than the open community platform. For example, a website  that holds restaurant reviews from ordinary patrons  may not serve as well as an authoritative gourmet critiques from New York Times. A dominant opinion channel hold by experts may work much better in the organization that needs to take firm control of a product or process in order to maintain certain quality or when responsibility needs to be clearly assigned. For social change leaders, the challenge is to understand when it is best to maintain tight control and rely on the skills of experts, and when it is best to let go and rely on networks to yield the best result.[3]

The Lessons Learnt from “Working Wikily”

To wrap up the paper, the authors address five suggestions of how to work wikily based on their experiences and lessons learned from the pioneers in the area. 1. Design projects around a problem to solve, not around the tools. 2. Combine top-down and bottom-up approaches. 3. The rules of relationships still apply. 4. Understand your position within networks. 5. Share what you’re doing and learning. In sum, working wikily is not all or nothing. Hold on to control where it is necessary, but also look for small, strategic opportunities to let go.

[2] Diana Scearce, Gabriel Kasper, Heather McLeod Grant, “Working Wikily”, P32, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2010

[3] Diana Scearce, Gabriel Kasper, Heather McLeod Grant, “Working Wikily”, P35, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2010