To be a successful online entrepreneur today, you have to be NetSmart. You have to understand how the masses communicate and be able to anticipate the ever changing needs that arises. These business people are generally very intelligent and perceptive, able to adapt to the high change frequency of the Interweb. And these are exactly the same people who can think of a way to improve the entire world, and pull a profit at the same time.

So to all the brilliant entrepreneurs out there trying to discover the next big thing, do spare a little bit of your brain processing time. Saving the world might not be something accomplished in one weekend, but with enough people going at it, it is something definitely achievable. And with the entire planet as a potential market, the profits might just be extremely lucrative. Why entrepreneurs and not scientists? Because realistically, nothing is going to happen without a profit being made. Now if there is an army of business-minded scientists, that would be quite exciting.

The term “Saving the world” is vague at best, but it can be defined as generally helping humanity. Here are some areas to start with: decreasing poverty, creating cheap and renewable energy, supporting human rights, ending conflicts, propagating education globally, increasing health care technologies etc etc.

Making it Measurable

Saving the world is not something easily marketable to the average person. It is something that seems impossible to reach, so why bother to even try? The first task would be to convince enough people that it is achievable, by setting a series of milestones to the end goal. A number perhaps, in how many people are helped.

Look at past examples such as distributed computing projects for SETI or Protein Folding. There are viewable progress measurements for your part in the calculations. Each milestone wasn’t quickly accomplished, but it makes it a lot easier to understand with a progress bar. Or even with website donation goals, having a milestone set visibly will allow donors to see the change that they have caused. It’s difficult to see the difference one person can make most of the time, but it is now possible with the level of tracking and communications made possible online.

Creating Momentum

If there is one thing that social networks have taught people, it is the art of propagating information to your friends. Once progress is measurable, momentum can be quickly built through social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. Dissemination of information on these networks are unparalleled in terms of speed, reach, targetability and cost.

Celebrity gossip and political warfare are spread, discussed and discarded in the span of hours. The level of empowerment is there but without a globally recognized goal in place. In the current time of the Obama, we can build upon the intentions for improvement. People are rallied from their place of complacency by economic turmoil, and are now open to suggestions. Now is the perfect opportunity to create new dynamics and goals in society through online networks.

What you can do

One person can now make a massive difference. That is the key idea here. Think of a way to fill the immediate needs of people, yet will ultimately empower people to make further changes. Not many people will drop everything just to do a good deed, but if it is convenient for them and creates an extra sense of moral gratification, it will succeed. Some might think this is an overly optimistic belief, but I believe in the basic goodness in people. We just have to get the ball rolling towards a brighter future.