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Social Networking

posted by: Heather  /  30 March 2009

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace have had incredible success over the past few years which has heralded a shift in the way people use and interact with the Internet. These two examples of online social media sites may be the current favourite amongst Internet users but the future possibilities of this form of communication are infinite.

Darren Waters, technology editor for the BBC, has claimed that ‘social networks are the new email'. He believes that the problems with email are not an issue on social media sites. Problems such as spam which can not only be very frustrating but in trying to prevent it you actually risk the blockage of legitimate, often important, messages. Social networks can prevent this as the only people able to contact you are accepted by you as friends.

But if social networking sites are replacing email what does this mean for your business?

We believe that social networking is not only a tool to stay in contact with friends and family in your own time but it can actually be a fantastic forum to keep your company and its employees interactive and engaged in all aspects of your business. Here are some of its benefits...

Greater sense of community

Email is very much a one on one interaction, whereas in a social networking arena you can post ideas and thoughts to a large number of people which can provoke thought sharing and idea development which is available for everyone to see in interactive thought streams

Clearer sense of ‘real time'

By having frequent updates and developments through a ‘news feed' feature, users are able to have a clearer sense of time and structure which allows them to manage themselves and their work load more efficiently.

Easy communication

Whether you would like to post news articles, business development ideas or even new job opportunities to your colleagues you can easily post this to an entire company via a social networking application.

Talking between colleagues in one and one interactions is also made easier with its instant messaging application. This is much faster than email and much simpler as you don't need to route around searching for email addresses; you just enter the recipients name in the networks search engine.

Mobile

The mobile phone holds great opportunities in regards to online communication, in particular to social networks. Nielson Online have done research into online activity via the mobile phone and it was discovered that 23% (2 million people) of social network users access their favourite sites on their phone.

Here at Fivesite we are experts in creating social networking sites for large companies. We have recently created one for Thompson Holidays (TUI) which has allowed their holiday reps to communicate and stay in touch around the world. The site has been a great success. Simon Allatt at TUI said about the site:

To find out more about social networking opportunities for your business or for advice on developing other aspects of your online profile please contact us on 01234 292222.