Social networks can breathe new life into old brands by enabling companies to build collaborative relationships with consumers like never before. But what’s a corporate giant to do when no one wants to follow it on Twitter or be its friend on Facebook?

Many firms struggle to answer that question. Yet turning even mundane products like toothpaste or tampons into talking points doesn’t have to be difficult. The trick, a few innovators have found, is to let consumers lead the conversation. Rather than strip a brand of its valuable identity, relinquishing control of messaging to the masses can have a rejuvenating effect.

Here’s how a few established companies, from Ford to CBS, have used new media to their advantage.

Attempting to solve large-scale social challenges can be an overwhelming task. They are the domain of messy, interdependent, complicated issues, outdated models, and often mired in the status quo. It’s not unusual to face a paralysis in action or become stuck in endless debate when attempting change within this environment. Added to that is the tendency to polarize across two extremes: either assume that these massive challenges demand even bigger solutions, or avoid the complexity all together by focusing details in isolation, too small to have any impact.

The reality is, it’s not either/or. Embracing the tension, and connecting small to a bigger purpose, can unlock huge potential. Increasingly we are seeing old industries, large organizations, and big systems all exploring ways to seed new solutions that challenge old norms and reconnecting with their potential to act small. Armed with new tools, suddenly both small and big take on new meaning. It’s now easier to connect, collaborate, and align small actions around a bigger purpose. It’s not simply about small in large volume, but rather, the ability to focus the power of small in service of new purpose, big impact, and positive outcomes.

Everywhere you go, people are using mobile phones. But in many parts of the world, many people are not using banks. Combining the two could change the latter. Mobile money’s promise to make financial services universally accessible has caught the attention of many corporations, foundations, and governments. Vodafone has led the charge to date, launching several highly visible services from the Middle East to Africa.

Competitors have tried to replicate Vodafone’s pioneering programs with mixed success. Perhaps this is because most of their efforts focused on how to overcome technological and regulatory hurdles, instead how people actually use, count, and think about money. Paying attention to people’s attitudes and behaviors may be the key to unlocking mobile money’s full potential.

If you think e-mail is too time consuming, how about online games? A 2010 Nielsen survey of US consumers shows that Americans now spend more Internet hours playing games like Farmville than they do corresponding with other people.

Games attract human beings because we are wired for play. Designers can harness our desire to entertain ourselves by embedding game mechanics into all sorts of products and services. Play can transform arduous or mundane tasks, such as exercising and conserving energy, into less taxing, more enjoyable activities. In fact, the power of play is often most potent when gaming elements meld so completely into an experience that people do not interpret their activities as a game.

The Chinese word for service is fuwu (服务), which everyone in China who’s older than fifty recognizes as part of the Communist slogan “serve the people” (wei renmin fuwu, or 为人民服务). In the sixties, this maxim was designed to foster the virtue of selflessness, in the name of social harmony and national progress. Although that idea still resonates, citizens of modern China are redefining the meaning of service in the context of one of the world’s most powerful consumer-driven economies.

On the crowded streets of Beijing today, anybody with a few yuan in his or her pocket has more choices than they previously could have imagined. The abundance of choice—domestic and foreign brands, both authentic and fake—combined with China’s manufacturing might is allowing service offerings to evolve. The rest of the world is waiting with baited breath to see how Chinese consumers will shape the offerings of tomorrow. This is a sampling of what we’ve observed so far.

In times of economic uncertainty consumers often revise their thoughts about value. While some people may consider downgrading to less expensive things, many recognize the false economy of buying cheaper items with a shorter life. There have always been enthusiasts who love to restore and repair, but increasing numbers of people now believe that it’s wasteful to discard things that are still usable. As a result, quality, durability, and easy refurbishment have become valuable attributes in purchases that individuals and families make. They are looking for things they can keep and care for and enjoy for longer periods of time.

Financial constraints are reminding us of simple pleasures that we overlooked in more affluent times: taking care of the things we love and growing our love for the things we take care of.

Millennials, Gen Y, Echo Boomers, First Digitals — these are just a few of the names that describe the next generation to enter the workforce. Born between 1980 and 1994, Millennials are children of Baby Boomers and are just as strong in numbers. Seventy-plus million in all, they will fill the labor gap left behind by their parents.

If we look at numbers alone, the imminent labor gap won’t be a problem. Ability shouldn’t be a problem either — Millennials are motivated and innovative, well educated and nimble. So why is attracting and engaging this new breed of talent such a challenge?

Millennials bring a new set of expectations and sense of purpose to the workplace, but they need special attention. While salary is still a piece of the puzzle, personal growth and making a difference are just as important, especially when it comes to retention. At the end of the day, a better fit benefits both sides of the equation — setting up your company and your employees for long-term growth.

When companies design products and services for the poor, they often think about making them as low-cost as possible. But whether you’re tapping a market opportunity or addressing a social need, it’s important to realize that people living in poverty value quality design. Quality design doesn’t mean that goods and services need to cost more. Quality experiences meet people where they are, acknowledging such important factors as status, aspiration, and dignity.

Designing for the poor is more important now than ever before. It is the future of business growth, as multinationals and local companies are increasingly developing products and experiences that serve not only the upper classes but also the “bottom of the pyramid” — the 4 billion people worldwide living on less than $2 per day.

How can companies serve the legitimate needs of the poor not just for price but also for status, aspiration, and dignity?

People used to largely rely on expert opinion to inform their decisions: industry norms, government standards, academic research. But channels like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and blogs are giving us the opportunity to have our decisions influenced by a new breed of self-proclaimed experts.

An emerging group of advocates is connecting with people at a very personal level, and many of these individuals have amassed an extensive following. The result is a collective of informed, passionate, and influential people who sway others to buy or not buy, to engage or disengage, or simply to take a second look at what’s happening in the world.

Companies that have learned to tap into the mojo of these advocates are drawing in new consumers and tightening their relationship with existing ones. Those that can convert this voice into action can create new markets, or even new movements.

Interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has grown over the past 40 years. It involves companies regulating themselves and taking care of their impact on the world.

However, for many companies, CSR still means creating new themes for a public relations effort, rather than a serious change in their relationships with society. In other cases, companies may take more authentic approaches to CSR, with serious efforts that donate to meaningful causes. While respectful of these approaches, we still think of them as a “bolt-on” tactic, not one deeply integrated to CSR. But the tide is turning. Increasingly, businesses realize that they need to be in harmony with their customers, government, environment, and public. Consumers, investors, and employees are more loyal to good corporate citizens, and now they have the tools to track corporate behavior.

How can corporations more creatively and deeply build positive social and environmental impact into the DNA of their companies and still derive positive business results?

Although the square-jawed, Marlboro-smoking male role model has been under pressure since feminism, civil rights, and gay liberation came into play, he still shows up in contemporary advertising, branding, and design, while the traditional masculine model of protector and provider has gone from ideal to ironic.

Many men are figuring out that what they were raised to be no longer works, and society has not yet stepped in to support proper alternatives. This is a systemic design challenge fifty years in the making—one that tailored suits and eye-wrinkle creams do little to address.

In metropolitan hot spots around the globe, men are looking for options that appeal to their identities, roles, and behaviors. Some are expressing themselves through a new palette of products, brands, and services. Others are at a loss as to how to redefine their masculinity. Between these poles lies a wealth of design opportunities.