How to Reach out to the Networked Public

Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web2.0 Technologies to Recruit, Organize and Engage Youth

There are books you enjoy because they are entertaining and there are books you enjoy because they make you think. This title is a part of the latter group. Ben Rigby clearly knows Web 2.0 and he also knows nonprofits. This combination make him excellent to convey to others in the nonprofit space how to better take advantage of social media tools to raise awareness, do fundraising and become more effective change agents.

All the chapters are structured similarly, with an opening section devoted to the understanding of the different technologies (blogging, social networking, video/photo sharing, mobile phones, etc.) and how they are being used by nonprofits and the public sector. Following comes a part that walks the reader through the basics of getting setup and running. Strategic considerations and possible challenges wrap up the chapter's core. As a prologue to each chapter there are two outside authors offering their "big picture" view to complement the topic.

Granted that the book goes well beyond Web 2.0, covering mobile technology and Second Life, one should not get too hung up on this subtlety. Mobilizing Generation 2.0 is a must-read for anyone working in a nonprofit or the public sector, wanting to connect to that ironically elusive "networked public," as described by Danah Boyd in one of the "big picture" essays.