I enjoy new technology, but am not an early adopter. I get excited looking at new netbooks, then always feel disappointed once I buy something. The dream outpaces the reality.
Yet Web 2.0 applications have turned out more valuable than I had imagined. Many are practical, simple and cheap (or free).
The two I use most are wikis and online surveys.
Online surveys give you a quick and accurate access to people’s opinions on all sorts of topics. They can be used to measure satisfaction, gather perspectives and views on issues, even to follow up on workshops and training. They are a great marketing tool, getting people involved in your activities and proposals.
We recently used an online survey to track feedback from 14 participants on a six-month leadership course. We were able to revise and change the workshops from month to month on the basis of the survey responses. At the end we used the results to identify valuable quotes and testimonials from each of the participants and quickly insert these into a brochure to promote the program to sponsors.
It was so much easier than taking notes along the way, and it was all in the words of the participants themselves.
Wikis (think wikipedia) are a simple device for a group of people to collaborate in creating a document. Instead of sharing e-mails and track-marking changes across numerous documents, all the changes go into a single master document and you can track the history of each person’s contribution. I use them with my colleagues to draft tenders. I have also used a wiki to draft a report, sharing the document with clients. A common experience for such reports is that when the written report goes in, the client is disappointed. The written version is never quite what they expected. With the wiki, the clients (and their colleagues and bosses) had seen drafts from their earliest stages. They were able to contribute on sections where their expertise was relevant. They get a sense of control and involvement, even in the messy and chaotic early draft stages. I felt that the cliets were much more accepting of final report since their expectations about the results had been managed all along the way. This is just a couple of uses for wikis.
These web to devices are simple, often free or very low cost.
You can do it all on your kitchen table.