The patients will sign Mr. Wilbanks's consent form, enabling them to share their medical information with the professional scientists attending the next Sage conference next year.

WSJ: Citizen Scientists Take On the Health Establishment

Sites like Sgrouples.com, an emerging social media alternative that does all the familiar Facebook things, adds a storage function, and allows users to control their personal information and share more privately, represent a possible next generation in the evolution of social media.

FORBES: Facebook's New Graph Search: Boon or Privacy Concern?

That next step centers around exploiting the unique resources companies have to do research and share information on good causes.

FORBES: CMO Network