The Super Bowl was alive on nearly all social networks this year as never before. And that created an excitement about the game and the brands that advertiser there in a whole new way for folks connected via social mediums, namely twitter, which set records for its traffic.

Sure there were the Super Bowl ads – #superbowlads or #superbowlcommercials.

And, of course, the Super Bowl food – #superbowlfood

There was the #brandbowl – which was all about how brands were strutting their stuff and being perceived.

Oh, and there was a football game – #sb46.

All had their own discussions going throughout the game.

There were plenty of commercials that also rolled out their own hashtags – #solongvampires appeared on the end of an Audi ad, and then was the #makeitplatinum for the introduction of Bud Light’s new Platinum brew.

But the tag that caught my eye was one that actually had some utility and community service to back it up. That hashtag was #whatworks, and it was championed by GE. The site aims to “Share the great people, places & things that work to help get America back to work.”

Users are asked to share a photo, vote for a photo or like the company on Facebook, and the company will donate $1 for each of these actions to “Support job creation and skills training non-profits.”

The site collected hundreds of photos, all of which received votes, some of them hundreds of votes. And each day the company is giving away money to the top vote getters.

What I liked about this approach to the social realm was that it put a real-world issue – economic and job woes  – on the table as something you could help ease just by sharing a photo. And because we are wont to share what we love (or like), those who shared #whatworks still continue to promote the good of the cause just by sharing photos today and into the future, long after #superbowl has faded from our collective, social discussion.

Of course, being that it’s the internet, criticism like this is just a link away. But for now, I’m excited about #whatworks.