Web of Change

A community of global web leaders

Ten years ago, the field of webbies working for social change organizations was small. Young leaders with “web” in their titles often found themselves supporting very creative and challenging projects, but lacked the resources, access to power, and peer support needed to be successful in a fast moving new industry.

Communicopia created an event that set out to change that. In 2001 we launched Web of Change at Hollyhock Retreat Centre in BC’s coastal wilderness, and in 2010 we celebrate our 10th anniversary. Communicopia also created Canada's first “social tech MBA”, the Social Tech Training, with our partner MaRS in Toronto.

Our real-world events have now served nearly 1,000 emerging leaders, and WOC community members are responsible for many of the most successful, award-winning online campaigns for social change on the planet.

Networks are bigger than brands

It was surely an illogical act for a small digital agency to invest resources year after year growing a community of “competitors”, and introducing them to each other’s clients. But over the years Web of Change has become an open platform from which not only our firm but hundreds of individuals, agencies, tool developers, and consultants have been able to grow their careers.

The reason is in the community design. Rather than try to own the brand and control all the details, we held the center but created an open space for others to take real leadership by setting the agenda, inviting their networks, and having on-site profile as leaders. This network model not only created stronger and more lasting ties, it fostered collaborative ownership. Dozens of small “distributed contributions” of time, money, ideas, and networks from past and present members lead as much to the success of Web of Change as our central convening role does.

Building a culture of collaboration

The culture of the social tech community — modelled by events like Web of Change — is highly collaborative. This is not only necessary in a constantly changing field, but it works. Web of Change leaders are at the vanguard of many amazing digital campaigns, and they are pushing for new ways of campaigning. Many of us are influencing our organizations toward new organizing models, using web values like listening, storytelling, connecting and participation to engage audiences in exciting new ways.

A true network organization

After 11 events in 9 years, we decided to take a step back and invite the community leadership to the next level. Web of Change 2010 was produced with a new phase of distributed leadership, with 10 individuals and 6 companies — including Communicopia — now running the show as the anchor team.

With nearly 30 sponsors, support from a half-dozen foundations, an innovative “New Networks” fund greatly diversifying our community, a series of popular “thought-bomb” blogs online, and a sold out event, the Web of Change is now stronger than ever.

Web of Change is our “network sandbox”: a place for experimentation and sharing that is structurally unencumbered by the limitations most hierarchical organizations impose. In short, it’s a community that works — online and “on-land” — and a model for others who wish to seed and grow strong-tie social movements that collaborate for transformation.

It wouldn't be possible to thank everyone who contributed to Web of Change, but there are two whom we must. Joel Solomon helped co-found and fund us, and has been deeply engaged on every level. In 2006 Jodie Tonita showed up as an attendee, and soon jumped in to become a driving force in professionalizing our model and moving us into bold new territories.

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