Many of you are seeking a deeper understanding of not only how do the tools of the social web work, but more importantly, how do they relate to the more traditional web standards we’ve become accustomed? This has been the number one inquiry I’ve fielded during workshops and webinars this past year.

In each case, I’ve answered the question with a metaphor. The new web is like a wagon wheel. Your organizational website or blog is central, acting as your hub. And for many content sits static, contained within your portal where people are still expected to visit to learn more. All the while your members or constituency are having conversations about their likes, dislikes, interests, and in some case your organization, using social media applications. That conversation is constant, orbiting your website or blog, acting as the wheel in our metaphor. Now if you are creating relevant content and engaging in conversation with your constituency, traffic to your site will flow back and forth from your website to the social web via the spokes.

Interesting enough, I will often times share the same metaphor with those who ask about future technology or what’s next. You can theorize about the future all you want, but until you’re able to embrace the basic tenets of today, you’re foundation for future endeavors will be shaky at best.