Web Thinking Manifesto: 10 Proclamations

Michael Silberman is the Web of Change 2010 Chair and a partner and co-founder at EchoDitto, an internet strategy and online campaigns team that works with leading social change organizations.

Our field is maturing rapidly. The next generation of movement leaders is overcoming its fetish with technology and expertise as secrets to online success. Indeed, now faced with existential challenges from a fast shifting landscape, the time has come for us all to rethink our most deeply held tenets in this struggle to remain relevant.

Thankfully, a brave few are trying – and they're finding answers. Looking beyond traditional online strategy, they're fundamentally transforming how they and their organizations work – shifting their entire perspective towards what we call "Web Thinking" – to better reflect the reality of our time. And they're winning. They're charting a path forward for us all.

The teams at EchoDitto and Biro Creative have been tracking and studying this shift for more than six years through their work with a wide range of leading social change organizations. After a decade of obsessive technology consumption, the sector is ready for a new chapter.

Here are ten proclamations for the next generation of movement leaders – it is a summary of our findings and a manifesto for our space. It's an unfinished guide and an invitation. It's also a challenge.