Are Social Work Advocacy Groups Using Web 2.0 Effectively?

This article describes social work advocacy efforts, states what Web 2.0 technology has to offer social work advocacy, and presents original research on the current levels of Web 2.0 use on social work advocacy organization Web sites. This study employed a content analysis of a purposive sample of social work advocacy organization Web sites (N = 63). The researchers created a data collection instrument containing items related to communicating with policy makers, resource gathering, information, and use of specific Web 2.0 technologies. Findings reveal that social work organizations make good use of their Web sites for some advocacy activities, and grossly underutilize the Web forum for others. Furthermore, social work organizations do not use Web 2.0 often for advocacy. Barriers impeding Web 2.0 use and methods to overcome such barriers are also discussed. Implications for future social work education, practice, and research follow.