Social Innovation 3.0

“To achieve divergent thinking, it is important to have a diverse group of people involved in the process.” This quote from one of our assigned readings last week, Design Thinking for Social Innovation, especially highlights the need for a community of problem solvers. In the past, usual problems have been solved with usual solutions; however, our world now faces so many complex problems that it is impossible to use our usual methods of resolution. So what are some unusual methods? Leveraging the power of social media and web 3.0!

Over the past 30-40 years, the world wide web has evolved through three various stages: web 1.0 was mainly person to person; web 2.0 connected the individual to a community; and now web 3.0 is facilitating community to community interactions. I will admit that I am a latecomer to the social media scene; however, there are so many valuable uses of social media, beyond having the ability to tell the world that I made homemade chicken soup for dinner last night! As Brown and Wyatt referenced in the Design article, a company called InnoCentive has mobilized an online community of creative minds to help solve some of the world’s most important problems (FYI: for cash rewards!). Social media enables a diverse group of people to bring their knowledge and backgrounds in solving these unusual problems, hence divergent thinking. While social media may have started as fun and games, it certainly seems like web 3.0 may stir the social innovation pot over the next decade. How have you seen social media enable innovation?

While checking my twitter account, I landed on Search for the Obvious, a website powered by The Acumen Fund. Similar to InnoCentive (but without the cash reward), Search for the Obvious aims to engage creative thinkers in solving a specific challenge. The website first encourages users to upload photos of products or services that have helped better the world and/or have helped millions of people. As we discussed in our first class, many of these innovations seem so obvious. The website then allows users to create the next obvious solution. The current challenge is finding an obvious solution for basic sanitation (Any ideas?).

Speaking of obvious solutions, how would you characterize social media? Whether or not you are part of the social media craze, it is happening, and there is much good that can come from communities engaging with communities. Essentially, social media is a channel for virtual human-centric design. I wonder how Bruce Hanington and his Design of Social Impact students are incorporating social media in their design processes...