Web 2.0 platform businesses are the best at making it easy for people to contribute content.  There is a lesson to be learned here for non-digital life, businesses, and organizations.

The major platform based internet sites have millions of content contributions.  It is clear that people love to create and contribute.  However, people do not contribute if the act is overly complicated or discouraged.   The job of the platform business is to make it easy for them to contribute.  This happens in three main ways:

1. Easy upload process
2. Non-judgmental approach to contributions.  All content (within legal restrictions) is permitted and not judged immediately.
3. A clear path for content to gain/grow in popularity.  This happens through a system of peer input (reviews, forwards, links) which allows attractive and interesting content to float to the top.

The beauty is that great ideas and content can come from anyone, anywhere.

If you consider your business in the same way, your contributors are your employees and your customers.  As a  non-profit you have donors and employees.  Governments have constituents and employees.  Looking to the web-based businesses as a model, are you making it easy for these people to contribute content, without immediate judgment, and providing a system to allow the great content to float to the top?  People all around you are ready to contribute, to be involved, to be part of making something great.   Their potential is just waiting for your platform.