The best way to put technical skills to the greater good?
apsec112: Learn to think better. (www.lesswrong.com is a good place to start, especially the sequences.)  Learn new skills. Learn how the world works by reading books that challenge you and by seeking new experiences. Work outside your standard identity.  Also, simply be kinder and better to the people around you in your personal life, especially your children, and be less conformist but more results oriented (most non-conformity tends to involve working from an ideology rather than trying to accomplish good).