More cases of inspiring social innovation ideas

We have seen some of the brilliant social innovation ideas during past lectures. If you're interested, like me, in more social innovation ideas, I recommend this article:

100 technological social innovations

http://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/technological-social-innovations

There are familiar innovations we see during lectures and readings, such as #19 Focus changing Glasses, #20 energy poverty entrepreneurship, #25 Online education charities, #31 Life-saving baby bags, etc. This article lists 100 innovations from a global perspective. Every innovation is supplemented with videos and detailed illustration to help you understand the product or idea. Relevant readings or videos can be found below the description.

After reading through these innovations, I want to highlight a point here:

Most of the innovations intend to provide solution to big problems like poverty, lacking education, housing or energy. But not only tangible products are social innovations.  Social innovation could be as simple as an idea or a channel. Sometimes an idea could be more beneficial than a product that uses materials, create waste and has costs. A good idea can stay sustainable and absorb new initiatives. For example:

#29 Volunteer time credits

"Spice is a social enterprise that develops agency timebanking systems for communities and public services that engage and empower the many rather than the few," they write on their website. "Spice has developed agency time credits as systematic low cost and sustainable methodology for engaging many more people in communities as active participants, volunteers and in 'co-producing' public and community services."

This is an idea that volunteer time can be stored in a bank like currency. Volunteer credits can motivate people just as money can create huge motivation.

#48 Nigerian Entrepreneurship Incubator

"CcHUB is Nigeria’s first open living lab and pre-incubation space designed to be a multi-functional, multi-purpose space where work to catalyze creative social tech ventures take place," the website explains. "The HUB is a place for technologists, social entrepreneurs, government, tech companies, impact investors and hackers in and around Lagos to co-create new solutions to the many social problems in Nigeria."

Or it can be a social innovation that generates social innovations.

Social innovation products are essential in a way that they make people's life better with a low cost. But it's time to think about the non-product facet of SI&E like distribution channels. These factors determine how innovation can effectively reach out to people.

My question is: The world is never short of great ideas. But ask yourself of these 100 ideas, how many of them do you use or even know before there's an article like this or a friend telling you about it? Social innovations can have huge impacts on people in need, yet we may need to focus on the "marketing" of ideas more than we think. Facebook pages and youtube videos, reaching only the better half of the population, may not be the solution to reach needed areas. What is the "social innovation" to promote "social innovation"?