It’s good to be in the middle generation at this time. Gen X (of which I also happen to be a part of) has a bit of experience behind us and there’s still a bit of the ol’ creative juices flowing. Perfect for bridging the gap.

Getting to 2.0 is all about baby steps. The youngest generation, bless their naive little hearts, has a high focus on changing the world… NOW. Patience seems to be in want. Gen X already went through this with the Dot Com bust. I imagine many of the Gen Y group is going to have the same thing happen with many of their social networking ideas.

One thing I’ve learned is getting buy-in from all generations, and that’s by using tried-and-true principles that everyone agrees on. There’s nothing wrong with bold ideas, but there’s also nothing wrong in taking the time to do it right. Get feedback, and accept criticism. Teamwork and not heroism is called for. Leadership comes from all levels. You need leaders at the top supporting the project, but you also need commitment at the lowest levels.

That aside, for any collaborative project to really work, it has to be used. I’ve seen too many wikis, databases, Sharepoint sites and forums end up like home excercise equipment. It’s fun for a bit, but then next thing you know it becomes more of a place to hang your clothes on.

To build off of your article, there are plenty of collabortive applications that are easy to start with and build from there. A site for listing standard operating procedures or work instructions. Starting a simple Human Resource site. (Great because *everyone* eventually needs something from HR.) Workflow some simple processes that require forms. Make a employee directory or a developer wiki.

Make sure that whatever you create is quick and produces constant measureable results. I’d stay away from initial projects that have the potential of being used, but being forgotten once the novelty wears off. A good example would be a company or department “Facebook” page. That happens to be one of those things that generates a lot of excitement, but doesn’t really produce a lot of anything. Sure you might get the developer or two who posts great links or has really good blogs like Word of Pie. The reality is that most of it ends up being a giant vortex of suck. Look at how many blogs exist in the world, but how many people have that much to say? Again, create something with measureable results. It’s easier to show the VP of your department that your workflow for submitting form based health insurance re-inrollment saved on average 3 hours processing per person and the wiki created 2 more hours of productivity since workers didn’t have to waste time looking up information.

Those are winning projects. Start small. Get buy-in from all generations. Pick projects that are sure winners and lock people into the concept. From there, expansion is a piece of cake. Oh, and remember me when that bonus comes. I accept gift cards from just about anywhere.