The Social Innovation Network

Attempting to guess where the future of social innovation is heading is an incredibly daunting task. Not only is technology evolving at warp-speed, but the field itself is just as quickly shifting to broaden its appeal and impact. One of the technologies that has certainly fueled the potentials of innovation has been the rise of social networking. With facebook and YouTube, massive numbers of people can connect with each other at a low (or no) cost. This interconnected web can direct energy towards large social movements and has the potential to make activism and social change trendy and hip and not just something for peace-loving hippies. The power of these tools can be seen in movements like the green-clad support of the "Iranian Revolution" and the public outcry that occurred with the deaths of the gay teens. How much actual positive change these movements have can be debated, however, they certainly show a shift in how we communicate and spread information through technology and graphic imagery.

With this knowledge and access to huge populations, social change and innovation now has a platform to bring together diverse minds and potential funders. With the rise of sites that seek to connect social innovation with actual human capital, many projects have been realized that seek to make lasting sustainable change in low income populations. An example is Architecture for Humanity, which brings together architects, designers, and entrepreneurs to solve housing issues around the world. Another project has been the Vlogbrother's Project for Awesome, which annually takes over YouTube for one day a year to post videos about charities and social innovations to raise awareness and potential volunteers. Social innovation has great potential to tap into these networks and resources to expand their mission and connect around the world. 

While social networking has and will continue to increases and spur innovation, it will also create challenges for social ventures in the future. With the ease of creating a facebook page for your cause or linking in to a thousand different networks, the question arises of how up-and-coming social ventures and innovation will stand out and actually receive needed attention to make change. On one hand, this will allow only the truly innovative ventures to rise to the top, while on the other, it could hinder great idea makers by placing them in the middle of undefined cyber noise. 

One project looking to help social innovators stand out above the crowd is an organization called LoudSource. Loudsource raises funds to help advertise social projects through a variety of media. From billboards and TV to ad on your iphone app, LoudSource has created a fairly simple business plan: 

There hope are then "that funding advertising maximizes individual impact by reaching completely new communities for people's favorite causes. By bringing unexpected ideas and creative solutions to mainstream channels, we will ultimately build momentum for some of the best work happening in the world." Looking forward, it will be the innovators and entrepreneurs who can harness the tools at their disposal to raise awareness and efficiently create lasting change. 

It will be interesting and inspiring to witness how the field of social innovation continues to evolve to meeting the challenges and opportunities that technology and communication are bringing to the world. Hopefully these changes will make progress that can be felt by all.

A few questions:

What other online tools have potential for evolving how social innovation is integrate into society?

Has the social networking movement done more to damage the plight of social innovators by making people want instant gratification and by creating generation of kids who have their focus pulled in a million different directions? Can these technologies be compatible with lasting sustainable social change?