Social Networking for Good

I've written about many aspects of social networking in the past such as

*Security risks and policy implications

*Support for research collaboration

*Applications in performance improvement

*Opportunities to reduce the provider documentation burden

One aspect I have not written about previously is the use of social networking for good such as fund raising for noble causes.

Just as I mentor 2-3 graduate students at a time, my wife has mentored fellow artists and supported them via Hatchfund

Although I've donated my time to various technology accelerators such as Rock Health, Tech Stars and Healthbox, I've not spent time on Kickstarter  or other crowd funding websites.

My wife told me tonight that she has made small contributions to worthwhile causes in the art, farming advocacy, and social cause areas.

Whether it's philanthropy, angel investing, or creating good karma, I find donation decisions to be very personal.    I've written many times that I want to make a difference and seeing tangible results on a small scale by using a social networking fundraising site seems more tangible than a donation to a large and anonymous organization.

Over the next year, I'll be working on creating my own social networking for good to fund innovation in healthcare IT.

In the meantime  I'll be paying more attention to crowd funding sites as I allocate my own contributions.