Social software for social change
The next ten years could open up a huge opportunity to create a new generation of civic organisations and campaigns based on the way the ‘social web’ – the tools, software and business models, including social networking, known as Web 2.0 – allows people to find new ways to organise themselves at scale. That could breathe new life into civic activism, third sector organisations and our flagging public domain.
That’s how Charlie Leadbeater opens his ‘Social software for social change’ discussion paper for the Office of the Third Sector. It is a welcome rallying call and debate primer for the Third Sector organisations, but it makes for important reading for the Whitehall and Westminster institutions, who themselves have much to learn about impact of social media on their core business areas.
The Hansard Society’s eDemocracy programme was pleased to be involved in reviewing drafts of the report and attending a round table on the contents of the final report. We particularly welcome it for taking on the ideas we raised in our Consultation and campaigning in the age of participatory media paper, produced with the NCVO.