First, Get a Worthwhile Cause; Then Get Wired

What Lend4Health and Social Actions have in common is simple — neither has tax status as a stand-alone charity. Their founders didn't have the time or inclination to wait for government approval to attack the ambitions they set for themselves.

And they understand that causes don't spread just because they are good; they spread because people spread them. This seems simple and rather obvious, but it's the basic secret sauce behind the rise of all the online social networks. In short, people like being asked nicely to do things by other people they know — that request validates the relationship.