Live from the Netsquared conference in San Jose, CA: 21 non-profit finalists are competing to win $50,000 in prize money for the most innovative use of social media for social good.

Here’s an interesting one:

Bryan Hayes from AskyourLawmaker.org, which allows users to submit questions for journalists to pose to lawmakers

My take: Power to the people. A lot more satisfying than just adding your name to a petition or a robo-email. Great manifestation of direct democracy.