e-wot?

Dave Pollard has written a ‘methodology for Web 2.0 collaboration experiments (in reluctant organisations)’. It’s a neat roadmap for getting collaboration experiments off the ground in contexts where cost, risk, culture and complexity are concerns.

Here’s a summary of his steps:

1. Champions self-organise. One point he makes here is to co-opt all Web 2.0 users (wikiers, bloggers, online appers, social networkers, etc…)
2. Champions get together face-to-face to understand the situation and brainstorm opportunities. Adapting to the context/culture, not trying to change it.
3. Design & create experiments extending existing relationships and integrating with legacy technologies.
4. Run the experiments
5. Monitor, celebrate success, learn from failures

I particularly like his points 1 & 2, because they focus on the people – the soft side. I think this aspect is often left out in the early stages of too many projects. Early stakeholder engagement done well is essential for the success of any project – particularly projects that are about collaboration.
click for Dave Pollard’s article