If you think social networking was only for the young demographic, think again. The Institute for Corporate Productivity (I4CP), recently held a survey and found 65% of business professionals are connecting to social networking websites. The most popular in order was LinkedIn, Yahoo360, and Myspace.
Some of the stats collected by I4CP are as follows:
“About half (52%) of respondents whose organizations are using social networking sites do so to keep internal staff and remote employees connected, while 47% of total respondents use the networks to connect with potential clients and to showcase their skills. A total of 35% say they use networks to assist them in finding a job. “
More stats…
“Of those respondents who do not currently utilize social networks, the top reason (37%) is simply that they don’t know what networks to use. The majority of respondents (59%) said they would likely use social networks if they knew that such use would assist their professional development (31% say they already do), and a full 77% would welcome using them if they thought the networks could aid organizational efficiency.”
This report actually shows a gap in social networking. Much of social networking, hence “social”, is used for entertainment purposes and I believe there’s a gap in the business social space.
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Comments
8 responses so far ↓
Web Programming on Jun 5, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Good observation Pablo. I havent heard much about social network sites specifically targeting business professionals.
Wayne Smallman on Jun 6, 2007 at 6:22 am
I’m a member of Ecademy, which is a British-based, international business networking portal.
It’s interesting to see the mix of businesses in there, and how many business owners are pulling out the stops to be seen and to be interacting with others on-line.
Additionally, I think the ‘Internet is hard’ perception barrier is gradually dissolving, certainly enough for talk of doing business over the web to not sound trite or contrived…
Michael Temple on Jun 6, 2007 at 8:24 am
I know this is a cliche, but I think social networking is like 6 degrees of separation. Anyone that has used LinkedIn can quickly see how their very small network can grow geometrically and they can quickly access people they never thought they would reach otherwise.
I was recently interviewed by a senior correspondent from the Wall Street Journal and she sent me an invitation to her LinkedIn network. Once I looked through her connections I was amazed at how close, i.e. six degrees of separation I was from so many other interesting businesses and professionals. Excellent observation.
Loren Baker, Editor on Jun 6, 2007 at 8:26 am
The more and more I use Facebook, the more I see it as becoming the professional social networking destination of the future.
Ken Savage on Jun 6, 2007 at 11:34 am
I’ll agree to that Loren. Also Facebook adds a bit of fun into the mix where LinkedIn seems to shy away from.
I also notice the majority of the people in my company on LinkedIn are executives and managers and the majority on Facebook are the people working for them.
Kathy Hadley on Jan 17, 2008 at 9:36 pm
I can relate to this. I started using these methods to connect to people and learn more about prospective clients and if we could help them. Then, as I was going along, I found out that it was actually fun and interesting and I’ve met a lot of new friends all over the world.
Tonya S. Justice on Jul 20, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I have only recently discovered the value of these social networking sites to a small business owner, such as myself. I initially viewed sites such as Myspace and Facebook as fun sites for teens. I now understand the networking impact for business owners and urge everyone to use these networking tools.
Konnects on Jul 25, 2008 at 1:54 am
Great writeup. At Konnects out set goal is dedicated to small to mid size companies not only to network amongst each other but to also conduct business all within the site.
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