The Networking Age and the Philanthropic Industry

Last week I attended the TEDxLive talks via TEDxCalgary. The talks on crowd-sourcing and social change really perked my ears. It was exciting to hear people sharing their thoughts on things that I have been thinking about for a while and how they took my thoughts to a new level. Isn't that the whole point of TED - to make us think and dream bigger?

Lior Zoref crowd sourced his whole presentation (check out TED-Ox). At the end he asked people to dream big and to use the wisdom of the crowd to help achieve that dream. My Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is to change the way that North America's charitable sector operates. No, I don't want to do this myself, nor do I think this is possible as a solo activity. In fact, the only way that we can address these critical issues is by working at multiple levels, in different ways... using the Power of the Crowd. The issues facing the charitable sector are so complex, that there isn't one solution.

Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn,  presents four concepts that can facilitate this, and it's all about trust:

1. Understand the uses of new technology - Become network literate
2. Build your identity: Your network is who you know AND what they know; Your personal brand is what people say about you, not what you say about yourself
3. Understand your network's intelligence (who you know, shapes who you are)
4. Understand and be able to tap into your network's capabilities

LinkedIn developed a tool in its lab called InMaps. This tool maps out your connections. Here's an example of a LinkedIn Network Map.

So how do we tap into this crowd-based wisdom? Throw out the problem and build a feedback loop for ideas and solutions. Share the feedback that you get. Integrate your learning and pass it along. Build the trust amongst your network and understand ways that your network intersects with each other and their abilities and capabilities.

When I threw out the idea that we can change the way that North America's charitable sector operates there was a flurry of discussion and idea exchange. Some of the discussion ended up on my blog, some was taken up on other's blogs, others shared in through major media outlets (Globe & Mail) and at university conferences. Philanthropy 3.0 was presented at TEDxCalgary in early 2010. Since that presentation this concept has evolved due to the feedback and ideas were shared. How we share information and who owns it, is getting murky because of the very nature of the technological network. As long as we are willing to let go of the question and embrace the collective solution we can tap into the full power of the network. It sounds almost Cyborg like... I am not advocating for abdicating responsibility. I am advocating for supporting each other as we tap into some of these complex problems and test solutions that may, or may not, be successful.