This is the first in a series about the changes taking place on this blog in 2009. First, the new name: Future Changes. It has two tightly intertwined and complementary meanings:

1. A Play on Wikis

First, it is a play on the recent changes/revision history feature in wikis that keeps track of every revision made to each page. I wanted to take a forward looking spin on it, and emphasize that when you put information in a wiki, it becomes more easily found by others, diverse viewpoints are more easily incorporated, and as a result, it will be more relevant and useful.

2. Change as a Theme

Second, change is an important theme right now. In Things that change Seth Godin writes:

The best stories change over time. They change in ways that fascinate the consumer, and more important, they change in ways that are fun or important to talk about.

The 2008 US elections, presidential transition, and current economic conditions all spell significant and deep change. Government needs to become more transparent, businesses need to run more efficiently, and education needs to equip people with skills to cultivate what Marci Alboher calls slash careers.

In one of the most significant examples so far, Barack Obama’s transition team has signaled that technology will play a major role in communication, citizen involvement in government, and transparency in government meetings and processes.

• The team is using a blog to inform the public on their progress, and has already given the weekly radio address a much-needed update by producing videos and posting them on YouTube.
• His campaign used a wiki to organize volunteers and precinct captains.
• The transition team also announced that, “all policy documents from official meetings with outside organizations will be publicly available for review and discussion on Change.gov.” Take that a step further, and his administration could use a wiki to build their legislative agenda and get public input on it.

This is an opportunity to explore how technology can power these changes, and how you can apply examples like this in your own team or organization. My writing will continue to focus on wikis, but I’ll also be looking at some other topics, including how some of my wiki adoption strategies can be applied to other technology tools, how wikis and blogs can be used to improve internal productivity, then taken a step further to draw in and actively involve external audiences.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know. Just leave a comment and I’ll reply as soon as I can.

Next: Industry Coverage