Walking the Line Between Web2.0 and Old Skool in Nonprofits

Photo by Kalabird (Michaela Hackner)

Johanna Bates, an extraordinary nonprofit technologist, has launched her blog with a very thoughtful post called "Walking the Line Between Web 2.0 and Old Skool in Nonprofits"  This adds beautifully to the conversation over at  NTEN Wiki (name coming soon).  A number of insightful comments have led to the creation of How Can Your Organization Avoid Drinking the Web 2.0 Kool Aid?, a checklist helping orgs understand when they should not devote resources to Web 2.0.

Johanna's post talks about the importance of knowing your audience.  While you (staff person in the nonprofit) may be ready or getting fluent in Web 2.0, what do you do if your audience or constituents are not?  What do you do?

We survey our constituents periodically. They are not early adopters. After many years, they are now solid email users and are fairly confident using Google. But RSS? Instant messaging? YouTube? As much as we want them to be there, they are just not there yet. Some are showing signs. They are just on the slower side of the adoption curve. So does that mean that our org should not be investing time and energy in social media tools?

Is the answer  dancing in the spaces in between?  I like the way Johanna describes it - a scaffolding.

What we’re doing is taking a Web 2.0 approach, but we’ve dialed down the tools a bit. We are slowly marching out more ways for our constituents to engage online.

Do you ever need to walk the line between cutting edge social media and Old Skool in your org? If so, how do you do it?

As Gail Peterson notes in the comments of Johanna's post, "I think the answer is to try to be kind and helpful to those who fear technology and provide several ways to communicate."