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"Hacking for social good is more than just a hacktivist reaction to injustice. Many developers and designers are taking a proactive approach to affecting social change by making web apps that aim to improve individual lives and whole communities, too.\nAt a recent event in San Francisco, about 100 hackers of all stripes gathered to do exactly that: work around the clock for 24 hours to create apps for social good. This resulted in 17 (still quite new) web and mobile applications with a slightly higher aim than that of your average consumer app.\nThe hackathon, called Hack for Change, was sponsored by Change.org, and was intended to allow some of the smartest people in the Bay Area to create \"any feature or app that does good.\"\nMost of the apps are not yet launched, but you can click through on the links below for early access and sign-ups.\n\nSEE ALSO: Hacking for Good: Three Ways for Devs to Get Involved\nThe winners of the day, all of whom received a small cash infusion to help continue building and launching their apps, were three stellar ideas from local devs.\nThe first-place winner was Good Neighbor, which lets users get quick SMS messages when their neighbors \"need a hand with quick tasks or errands.\"\nRunners-up were FindMeAPet and AnonyMouse. The former is a simple SMS app that notifies users when new dogs arrive at nearby animal shelters. AnonyMouse's goal is to help people looking for anonymous advice to find guidance and mentorship. Initially, the site will be geared toward closeted LGBT folks.\nOther apps built during the hackathon include:\n\nAnonyMissing,  an anonymous location-based app to report missing persons.\nCorrupt, an app for tracking and reporting corruption in your area.\nGoChipIn, which allows users to find volunteers for events they're organizing.\nGovContrib, a browser tool that helps users find information on government contributions to charities and lobbies.\nIGotUGot, a food exchange for home gardeners.\nPDB, which stands for \"personal daily brief,\" the kind current and former U.S. presidents receive. These briefs are tailored to each user's locations and interests.\nPicketline.us lets would-be activists share the word about boycotts.\nPiece of Mind aims to create a Kickstarter-funded mosaic of stories from veterans.\nSafehood lets users keep an eye on their neighborhoods through web and mobile interfaces.\nShoppingAdvisor shows users how their decisions as consumers might be affecting the rest of the world.\nGreatDebate helps community leaders and activists get connected with policy and decision makers.\nWhatsaboutmyCity is an app for identifying and fixing finite, local problems in a community.\n\n\n\nHacking for Change\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHack for Change\nImage courtesy of Flickr, kshep\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTop image courtesy of Flickr, kshep\nDisclosure: Mashable is a media partner of Hack for Change."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/06/24/hacking-for-change/>