As Facebook shows that 500 million people can connect through a single platform, one of the most powerful tools in human history is being tapped to – well – save the world, say a growing number of media and technology experts.

More precisely, they say, a rising number of software designers are harnessing social media’s über-connectedness for something other than a million-member chat about whether Lindsay Lohan should serve a full jail term. As local, state and federal budgets swim in red ink, some are hoping that a sophisticated ‘search and match