I came across an interesting report from the IBM Global Innovation Outlook project today.

If you've been exploring new media a lot, it's full of things you probably already know, but somehow, they articulate it better. If you're just getting into all this new media/web2.0 hoopla, it's a very well written primer about the possibilities and limitations and just what kind of organization you need to be to make it all work well.

There are several little gems in the report that I would like to explore more, but the thing that stuck with me most after an initial read was the importance of authenticity. It stayed with me, because it's one of my core values, and NTEN's as well:

• We strive to be authentic and honest in all of our communications so our community knows that we say what we mean forthrightly, and mean what we say.

        AND

• We are accountable to you and to your needs and strive to engage, listen, and be responsive to you, our members, in all that we do.

These are the two parts to getting the authenticity thing right:

1. That you say what you mean. The old "new media" (i.e. Web 1.0) let us do this in new ways. We could push our message out at people in all kinds of new ways. But it only gets at half of the authenticity question. Just because you SAY something is true doesn't mean that people will believe you. Ultimately, they need to experience it. And how do they do that?
2. That you listen and be responsive. This is the part that Web 2.0 really helps us get at. It's one thing to say that you value open dialogue (even dialogue that is critical of you or your work). It's another thing entirely not only to let that dialogue happen, but to participate actively in it. Blogs, social networks, videos, podcasts, etc. are all helping nonprofits create and engage in authentic dialogue.

At this point, there are about a hundred threads I could pick up, stuff I hear all the time in our community (and sometimes feel myself). For starters:

• But dialogue is scary. I want to control my message. Won't this lead to disaster?
• If I'm engaging in dialogue everywhere, will I ever get any work done?
• How do I know that all this investment in dialogue is paying off? Are we getting more activists/members/volunteers?

Here's my short answer to almost all of those questions: Get over it.

Start trying these things out. Almost every human on the planet values talking WITH someone over being talked TO. You know it's true. And only by experimenting with these tools will we gather the experience we need to effectively answer the questions above.

So get to it. Engage in a real conversation and build your brand by being authentic.

One final note: does NTEN always get this right? Nope. But we all learn from our mistakes. To paraphrase US Magazine, We're Just Like You!