Thinking about some of the really good products of the past few years made me realize how many of them have had huge, positive, social impact - even when they didn't start out that way. Apple created iTunes to get people to quickly and easily buy music for their iPods - no stated social goals, purely revenue/profit driven. But, it (was) is a product that people want to use, and now it has vast numbers of educational podcasts and videos, from top universities too, and iTunes has, as a side effect, made quality educational content available to everyone. Social good? Check. Take Google, from search to YouTube. It has changed the way people get information, and more, it quickly and easily delivers previously unavailable information to people who need it. For every person who wastes hours watching dancing cats, there's someone learning about how to identify heart attacks from just plain stomach rebellion to too much spicy food. I don't know about the 'don't be evil' mission of theirs, but their tool is seriously used for good.
Let's not forget the now ubiquitous smartphone - and it all started with Apple's iPhone, though the med tech visiting villages in India to provide on the spot assistance is not using an iPhone necessarily. It's changed education, health care, emergency assistance - you name it. Again, the goal was not to do good directly, but provide this must-have tool which has changed our lives that could be used by any number of people to deliver the 'good'.
Then there's Facebook. Almost a billion users strong, recently reviled for its tanking stock price and the social network that everyone joins and many kvetch about. It started out as an exclusive, somewhat elitist (only the cool schools are in) online student group, almost a gossip board. Now it is not only keeping far-flung families connected and feeling loved (go grandmas!) but providing a platform for a myriad socially focused groups and even played a part in mobilizing people during the Arab spring of 2011. It fosters conversation, whether someone is sharing their latest idea for going green or slamming the convention speakers. It is bringing people together, and helping keep them that way (though arguably some of them need to be reminded to get out and do it in person too). Much of it may be banal and self-serving, but there's no question that Facebook has been an agent of social change
By the way, the older companies like Microsoft and Yahoo are also doing good on a daily basis with their products. Whatever you may say about MS Office, the world still uses it - and that includes kazillion non-profits - because it does the job, and I'm finding that tons of social groups, especially small volunteer ones, are all active users of Yahoo groups. And of course, there's their email - used for distributing sketchy jokes as well as tips to manage your money - the app that just refuses to go away. (By the way, if you're a fan of the all 'good' ideas bubbling out there, check out The Daily Good.)
Yes, this list is mainly of tech companies, because, honestly, that's the field I'm in and what I was ruminating about. This is not to imply that these companies are all warm and fuzzy like gargantuan, but cuddly, teddy bears. It's just that all of these are for profit, in a major way, yet they have achieved vast, global social reach and impact - because of the nature of their products.
Maybe more wannabe social entrepreneurs should focus on their products and why people would want to use them, knowing that the good will follow (along with the money). What do you think?
(Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)