The social networking phenomenon has clearly changed the way people meet, interact and exchange ideas. I don’t think anyone will argue that this is not true. Even the most old fashioned of people now seem to have a presence on FaceBook, LinkedIn, Ryze or some similar site (if not all of the above).More recently, special interest groups have benefitted from dedicated networks and communities such as BlackPlanet for African Americans, Geni.com for those interested in genealogy, CafeMom for mothers and many more. There are now also a myriad of social networks based on your country of origin; for example, Cyworld for South Koreans, Biip for Norwegians and Grono from Poland to name but a few. Your options for joining a social network are now officially endless.
What does this tell you? It tells me that people want to link with each other to share ideas and information and to just generally communicate. It tells me that people constantly seek like-minded individuals with similar backgrounds, interests, experiences or origins. If this were not true then there would not be so many options available.
So what about social networking for the business community? Interestingly, the business community is way behind. First of all, most social networks that are frequented by business people are so because the business community believes that they can sell their product or service, find a job, hire a good employee, etc. In other words, the business community uses social networking to supplement the same functions that it was doing before. This means that most people do not get to realize the greatest value from the networks that they have joined. It may also mean that the traditional social network simply does not add that much value to the business community.
Businesses today should view the social networking phenomenon as an opportunity to create networks within their own client or employee communities. This will ensure that their products’ evolution is in line with their clients’ expectations. It would also mean that employees in large conglomerates could learn best practices from peers in far flung offices around the world. This exchange of ideas and information within a corporate environment may increase morale, productivity and efficiency. It will also ensure that limited spending dollars are focused on only the highest value initiatives for the business. In the end, even if these communities simply created a more transparent operating environment it would be good for the business.
Some business leaders may worry that this will empower their employees causing them to lose control of their message to staff. Simply put, that type of thought process is the digital equivalent of sticking your head in the sand. Employees only value employers that also value them and their opinion. Creating an environment where ideas, thoughts and complaints can be freely shared openly exposes management to the scary reality of what their business is and how it is perceived. It will also empower employees to think creatively and find new ways to solve old problems. In the end we all need to know what is good and what is bad in order to make the best decisions.
Social networks that include real targeted functionality could also be used to create new market opportunities for businesses. A great example of this is Parlerai (http://www.parlerai.com/). Parlerai is a client of my project outsourcing firm IFConnect (http://www.ifconnect.com/). Parlerai uses social networking technology to enable families to establish secure (i.e. closed) networks of family, friends, caregivers and educators around children with special needs. This is a great example of targeted social networking. What Parlerai calls “augmentative collaboration.”
Up to this point, the expansion of social networking sites has been limited to people with common interests or backgrounds. The new world order in social networking will be leveraging this same technology to build functional networks that simplify a person’s life. This goes way beyond the simple sharing of ideas and information and represents the future of online communities.
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