In the rush to try to capitalize on the new social media for money-making purposes, businesses have taken a little longer to start learning how to use social media for social good. The good social aspects of any new trend are frequently low on most corporations' list of priorities, but an interesting thing has slowly begun to happen as businesses have started using the new media. The very nature of this new way of communicating is changing the consciousness of some companies. Their use of corporate social media is forcing them to think about the wider society and not just their own profits.

Take the recent social media campaign protesting what occurred after the Iran elections of 2009. This campaign was particularly strong on the Twitter network, mobilizing countless people to press for change. It connected people with those living inside the country, who could get word out about arrests and other oppressive moves by the Iranian government. No one using that media platform or with half an ear to the ground could mistake the majority opinion of most citizens on this matter. Twitter helped mobilize people and kept an important event before everyone's minds, which is an example of using social media for social good.

That is the first significant change. Social media today is teaching companies as to what their customers value, and woe to those corporations if they endeavor to offer the customers anything else. Because, secondly, social media is also making it possible for people to discover very rapidly when a business is trying to be a bit devious or if their track record isn't all it ought to be. But this also means that companies themselves have a way of making use of their corporate social media for the greater advantage of society, and can also use the new techniques to make public when they are cleaning up their act in some way.

Most social media platforms were originally devised just to connect people who wanted to be friendly and chat about similar interests, but as they learned they could use social media for social good, the nature of those connections expanded immeasurably. Some of the interactions became political, as people worked to effect great changes, and other connections became informational. Social media today is helping businesses and their customers get to know each other as well. And in the end, as corporations recognize what people's true values are and adapt to them, this is only going to do the world good.

Online approaches including corporate blogging and specific online advertising are serving corporations well. But the nature of modern social media is little by little making these companies rethink their focus on their own self interest, growing their vision outside themselves to target the welfare of the broader world. With the new power of their customers to organize quickly and make their priorities crystal clear, businesses are now required to give thought to how to use social media for social good, along with their own benefit.