Let’s discuss: An article from Techcrunch  Saving the World or Another FB App?

EMG 30 sec rundown: During the UC Berkeley Hackathon 128 students “hacked” for 24 hours straight, building some of the coolest websites, games, Twitter stream analyzers, and Facebook apps. One of the categories teams were judged on was “social good.” Does this technology or software contribute to the social well being of our planet? According to writer Vivek Wadhwa there was only one team worthy of receiving the prize. The team built a system for villagers in developing countries that enables them to send SMSs to volunteers who can provide emergency medical advice. Most judges didn’t understand that developing countries do not have a medical emergency system like 911. The team that did win for “social good” developed a polling technology for Universities. Judges felt helping universities was “social good.” This raises the question, can we build a social media app that betters our planet and makes a healthy profit?

EMG takeaway: EMG is a leader in the world of social media and interactive marketing. Companies look to our expertise in these verticals. We saw a new form of marketing and it was up to us to show others how to use it. As early adopters and experts I feel nobody is better suited to show people how social media can better our planet.

Social media is constantly evolving and new ideas are created every minute; however these ideas are usually for personal gain and/or self promotion. It is a challenge to be selfless and an even bigger challenge to be selfless while making a profit. Creating ideas for the “social good” can be as simple as creating a Facebook fan page for trash pickup at the beach. The great thing about ideas to better our planet is that even on a small scale they can do big things.

 Final Words:  Social media has definitely become a part of our lives and changed the way we live. Using it to better our planet and improve the way others live is a great challenge.

3 Questions to Continue the Discussion: Do you have a favorite charity/cause/group? Can you think of a social impact app or technology for them?

Many companies create a product which people want, improve lives and solves problems, is this considered social betterment?

Is it even possible to develop an app that not only contributes to the “social good” of the world, but is also profitable?