12/02/07

With the rapid growth of social networking phenom Facebook—and note that this growth is fastest in the 35 and older age group—its impact on the workplace is only becoming more and more apparent. How do you feel about Facebook? Are you using it at work and, in particular, for work—meaning for professional or business-related networking, whether within your own company, or to connect with customers, partners, or colleagues at other companies?  Running a small company, I personally find it a valuable networking tool, especially to stay in touch with my highly dispersed network of contacts.  And I find it so much more enjoyable—okay, FUN!—than alternatives such as LinkedIn, which I’ve used for years.  Yes, the latter is a useful service, but what’s wrong with a little fun in one’s day in the course of staying in touch with colleagues?

Not all would agree, though, that Facebook should have a place in the workplace.  I read a surprising statistic recently from a Forrester Research survey: 58.4 percent of 308 large companies they questioned prohibit the usage of social networks at work. I had no idea that such a policy was so prevalent.  I was aware that one large Twin Cities-based firm (a retailer) prevents its employees being able to access their Facebook email at work, as part of a broader policy that disallows them to access any form of “webmail” while on the company’s network. Now, I’ve not heard of any employer backlash about LinkedIn yet—and that, in the strictest sense, is a social network, too. (Please tell me if you’re aware of any.) It seems the backlash is primarily against the most popular networks like MySpace and now Facebook. And I guess that’s understandable, with all mega media hype surrounding these two most popular social networks lately—and Facebook has been the most rapidly growing of the two.  Let’s face it, reaching a figure of 55 million users (in the U.S. alone) is no small accomplishment for such a young company!

The problem as I see it is now, however, is this: companies need to reconsider and realize that Facebook is growing up. It’s becoming a professional or business network in its own right.  In fact, I dare say that this kind of usage accounts for most of the growth it is now experiencing. Many adults are using it for much more than frivolous, personal, “leisure-time” purposes. They’re using it for professional networking. I know, because I’m doing it!  I tend to invite people in as I meet them. And I’m on the receiving end of this networking as well, virtually every single day.  Does it burn a lot of time?  No. Do I find that the time I invest in it returns value to me?  Most definitely. It took me about four years to get up to where I am now on LinkedIn—about 160 connections. Admittedly, I never worked real hard at it (spamming my friends with invites, etc). But guess how long it’s taken me to get up to almost that same amount on Facebook?  Only about four months!  And, again, that’s without having to try very hard—I’ve found that my network mostly builds naturally. People who have things in common with me, have similar interests and professional pursuits, simply find me....and I find them. I’m referring here to new “friends,” but there are many more connections I’ve made that are older contacts I had lost track of, but not lost interest in. It’s been great to find out what they’re doing now, where they’re located, their professional pursuits, their travels, etc.  Without Facebook, I would simply not have been able to learn all these things, and also meet so many valuable new “friends”—the majority of whom I would consider business-related, or potentially business-related, contacts. At the very least, they become referrers or connectors to others that will have value to my business or my professional pursuits.

Some more great reading on this topic:
• Thank You, Facebook (Alex Barnett’s Blog)
• Slides from a webinar: “The Power of Facebook” (WebCommunity Forum)
• Should Companies Allow Social Network Usage at Work? (Reem Abeidoh’s Introspect blog)
And talk about a forward-thinking company! ....
• Serena Software Adopts Facebook as Intranet (BusinessWeek.com)
But there’s more! We haven’t even touched on the developing value of Facebook as a marketing tool:
• Facebook, A Marketer’s Friend” (Wall Street Journal)
More on that latter topic in subsequent posts!

Tell us what you think about Facebook. Do you use it? Does your company ban it? Will your usage of it increase, whether personal or work-related?