One manifestation of the culture of participation is "user-generated content", the idea that a site's users will contribute content that makes the site increasingly valuable to a target community. But the truth of the matter is embodied in something called the 99:9:1 rule:

Executives are increasingly using blogs for stakeholder communications. A baseline.com article contains both useful tips as well as links to representative executive blogs. Most important, the article remind aspiring executive bloggers that a serious investment is required to reap the rewards: "Blogs are not a “build it and they will come” messaging vehicle. They take commitment, authenticity, and time to cultivate into a respected communications conduit." The NG team recommends that executives unable to commit to this level of effort consider commissioning "thought leaders" to contribute to a company blog.

The presidential candidates are trying to engage NG's culture of participation through presence on popular online community sites. Here's what's happening with the three major presidential candidates:

"Crowdsourcing" is often applied gathering information from online communities, but it is also a way of putting those communities to work. Presidential candidates are using crowdsourcing applications that put volunteers to work in their own homes calling potential voters around the country. Clinton's "Call Center" landing page shows a typical app's workflow step-by-step.  Obama's landing page for a similar app has a different engagement style.

Google Docs has been an free, albeit awkward, way for teams to collaborate via shared documents. Now Google ups the ante by introducing Google Sites. Google Sites is basically an enterprise wiki that supposedly integrates with the company's shared documents and email capabilities. The NG team will be reporting on how well this works for our projects in the future. But for now I'll leave you with this comment from CIO Insight on Google's potentially disruptive impact on traditional organizational dynamics:

"The wisdom of the crowds" is a popular Web 2.0 concept, but in a provocative Slate article/podcast titled "The Wisdom of the Chaperones", Chris Wilson cites studies of Wikipedia, Digg,  and other popular crowd-sourced sites to argue that all is not what it seems.  It's worth reading/listening, but here's the practical takeaway for successful NG implementation.

Attractive websites require intelligent and constantly fresh content, which many enterprises cannot quickly generate from the communities they are trying to engage or from their own employees. So using editors and writers, contracting with thought leaders as frequent contributors, and other similar investments should be evaluated. The chatter of the crowd is sometimes just no substitute for the work of professionals.

A CIO Insight article chides the over half of surveyed execs lacking hands-on experience with Web 2.0 applications, "you aren’t putting enough thought into your job."

"Workers across your company aren’t waiting for you to try these applications, they’re using them already. The incoming generation of Web natives—the young people who will replace the retiring baby boomers by the millions—expects a work environment that reflects their reality. That’s where they’ll be most productive, too."

The author's suggestion - "spend a little time mucking around" - may work for some, but more aggressive approaches include seminars, workshops, executive boot camps, and coaching. Peer-oriented pilot projects can be particularly effective.

An element of NG's culture of participation is "crowdsourcing", outsourcing by open call a task traditionally performed by a specialist. It is a way to leverage the mass collaboration potential of online communities. The Fort Myers News-Press used this technique last fall to investigate large and unexplained increases in a local municipality's property tax assessments.; On the Media reports:

Listen to an insightful 10 minutes on the workplace dynamics among Boomer, Gen-X and Gen-Y employees; and how this ties to NG tools like instant messaging and online collaboration, in a podcast interview with Tammy Erickson, author of the Harvard Business' Across the Ages blog.

Interesting talk at LIFT08 conference by psychologist Jonathan Cabiria about relationships in virtual environments and social justice. He explores how platforms such as Second Life can create safe environments and can be a recommended activity for marginalized people, especially if they suffer from issues such as loneliness, depression, isolation, pessimism and/or low self-esteem. Watch the video: