Comments on: Facebook for the FORTUNE 500 Firm?

By: Roger Mundell

Roger Mundell — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:45:03 +0000

My company provides a free plugin that transforms Facebook into an LMS, and links to an easy to use course-creation tool.
Since launching the Facebook LMS in June the takeup by corporations has been slow, but we have had more than a dozen requests to take the plugins and link them instead to internal Portals, Intranets, Sharepoint servers, etc., Even sometimes to other web based social Networks such as Ning, that are (mis) perceived as being more private.

Although it is early days, it seems to me that once the social network is rerstricted to within the company a great deal of the driving momentum is lost. Instead of being a place that is consulted continually it becomes like a discussion board where people only go when they have to. The lack of continual interesting news feeds discourages use, and most feed items tend to relate specifically to courses.

It is too early to provide meaningful metrics, but I am still convinced that in the long run social networks need to cast a wide net in order to succeed, and linking learning to a wide ranging group of mentors and friends will work better than an imposed hierarchy.

By: Martin Zwilling

Martin Zwilling — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:10:11 +0000

Glad to see I’m not the only one struggling with understanding millennials. Business people as a whole don’t know how to deal with the new influx of millennials and their expectations. There are many issues and concerns on both sides – see my article on http://blog.startupprofessionals.com titled “Facebook or Faceoff” for some specifics.

Marty Zwilling, Founder & CEO, Startup Professionals, Inc.

By: Rob Campbell

Rob Campbell — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:53:22 +0000

I think the challenge with the transition of social networking to the workplace is in how it is used. MySpace and Facebook are quite literally focused on the social. The closest corporate equivalent is breakroom or water cooler talk, which by their very nature, are culturally not viewed as “real work.” Until the corporate world can find value beyond this, I think social networking will struggle in the professional setting. Perhaps that is why wikis are gaining in popularity. They tend to be social (although not nearly as social as tools like mySpace and Facebook) and interactive. Equally important, they also tend to focus on topics/problems/opportunities that both the company and the associates care about.

By: Rita

Rita — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:49:15 +0000

Are institutions of higher learning using social networking?

I write a blog for boomer consumers at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide at http://boomersurvive-thriveguide.typepad.com.

Rita

By: Margot Finley-Aguilera

Margot Finley-Aguilera — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:33:04 +0000

Hi Jeanne,

I have been in executive search for fifteen years and social networking has transformed my work like nothing else in the past decade (except email of course). Having good people whose networks I trust connect me with more referenceable good people across the nation and the world through personal networks has allowed me to deliver better results faster for my clients. Referrals has always been a critical buiding block for executive search and social networking like Linked In has increased our speed and effectiveness a thousandfold.

As for my clients, some of them are making it a top priority to hire visionaries and the accompanying staff with the technical know who can develop the appropriate social networking tools for their organization based upon their corporate mission and values. Some of them have not even considered the value it could add to their organization yet.

It is a very exciting time!

Margot Finley-Aguilera
President
Avondale Search International, Inc.