A couple of years ago, Web 2.0-based social networking was very much a consumer-only affair. It was a way for people, kids, mostly, to find out what was hot and what was not. More recently, of course, businesses have gotten into the act. Many companies have blogs and Facebook pages, and more executives are using Twitter as time goes on.
Industry observers say a new phase is dawning as enterprise social networking begins the maturation process in earnest. And, like everything else, that evolution is being colored by the financial crisis. Organizations are recognizing the vast power of enterprise social networking and that it’s relatively inexpensive. They are beginning to understand the difference between consumer and business social networking and to systematically assess what works and what doesn’t. They are looking at how specific tools work in a variety of contexts.