Asset Based Thinking, Community Hubs, and Web 3.0

I just presented at the Opportunity Collaboration, where I made an argument that there was a shift in sentiment - particularly on the part of young people - that has the potential to dramatically change the world. More and more, we're moving to a mission-oriented culture of belonging.

To describe the shift, I used a framework I've used in the past to look at social movements like the British Abolitionist movement that involves examining context, actors, perceptions, interests, and power.

I shared three elements of the "context" that I think is driving the shift. The first is an increasingly social web, in which individuals are no longer just consumers of messages, but active producers and remixers who have more power than ever before to share with one another and self-organize around issues and organizations they care about. The second is a shifting conversation about the nature of business that is asking whether social and environmental impact should remain "externalities," and what responsibilities businesses have to larger societal good. This shift is manifest in corporate social responsibility, social enterprise and more. Finally, there is a major explosion of civic participation in the form of higher rates of volunteerism, interest in political participation, and more. The demographic most native to all of this are young people.

Within this context, there is a potential major shift in perception in a few key ways. First, there's an ever growing conversation about the nature of "success," with more and more people questioning how necessarily related traditional financial gain and prestige are with a sense of value and meaning. Second, there is a growing alternative narrative about short term gain versus long term sustainability. In the realm of development, greater levels of exposure to actually experiences with people experiencing poverty and injustice has more and more people involved with social change efforts viewing people as inherently full of ideas, talents, and skills just waiting to be unleashed.

Finally, while power is still distributed unequally, there are some major shifts. Governments are finding it harder than ever before to control the flow of information to their advantage. Business face more brand exposure than at any period in the past, and it's easier than ever to expose wrong-doing. Finally, people are using cheap technology solutions to self-organize and build companies and organizations that are challenging existing business models.

My conclusion was a few recommendations for the nonprofits participating in the session. First, embrace a new mindset - less control, more opportunity. Second, invest in the architecture of connection - social media is here to stay. Third, make big bets - it's sort of go big or go home time and we need to really get it done. Fourth, make bets on youth.