The power of social bonds is so important, and it's what powers two web apps that I'm very fond of, Causes and StickK. Each service helps non-profits, and each encourages positive change through positive interaction.
Causes allows Facebook users to create a cause associated with a non-profit. When you create a cause, your friends are notified through the news feed. When you get someone else to join the cause, you get credited for recruiting them. When your friend donates, they get listed as a top donor, and their friends get a notification in their feed. Then, you get listed as a fundraiser because your friend who you recruited, also donated. Every positive interaction leads to either awareness or fundraising for the cause. Not only that, but every action makes people feel good, and lets their friends know what they've done.
StickK on the other hand is a bit different. The positive change can be for yourself or for a charity. You pick a goal, for example "Do 20 sit-ups every day for three weeks". After that, you set the stakes (in my case $200), which I decided would go to a charity if I failed to meet that goal. Next, I set an impartial friend as my referee, and then inputted a list of supporters to encourage me. When the three weeks is over, my friend will have to decide- did I do 20 sit-ups *every* day? If he thinks I failed to meet my goal, the money will go to a random charity. If not, I get the $200 back, and put it towards a Wii. Either way, someone wins. In fact, either way, we both win. Now I have an economic push to meet my goal.
Both services rely on friends, which I believe is a great model. Causes to date has raised $59,215 for breast cancer. StickK hopefully will get me into a routine, which this programmer sorely needs. I'm impressed when software creates positive interactions between people, but I'm in awe when that same software causes positive change in the world around us.
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