Social Networking Likely to Grow in Businesses

While social networking sites may primarily be the domain of students and recreational use, enterprises can be expected to climb aboard as well, dignitaries said at the Nokia Mobile Mashup 2007 event in Palo Alto, Calif.

Mobile Mash-Up emphasized mobile computing, social networking, and extending social networks to mobile devices. Although many of the estimated 200 persons in attendance acknowledged participating in the LinkedIn business networking site, only a small handful used the more recreationally oriented MySpace site. But as the "millennial generation" leaves school and enters the workforce, businesses will have to accommodate them by deploying the social networking capabilities they are used to, analyst Ben Bajarin, of Creative Strategies, said in an interview.

"What I think will be very interesting when this particular group enters the enterprise is their communication and collaboration desires change," Bajarin said. "The question is really, is that [a Microsoft] Exchange solution? Is that something that Microsoft can provide as part of the corporate enterprise? Or is that something that a company develops as a core use?"

"The idea of a social network and the power of it is when it's for a certain group of people at a similar stage, in this case like a company," Bajarin said. "It's a great example of how something like that may evolve and add value as communication and work habits change with this demographic."

A Nokia official concurred that social networks, mobile or otherwise, will spread to the enterprise. "It's coming, but it might take more time," said Rob Trice, a partner with Nokia Growth Partners, an investment management firm funded by Nokia.

Mobility the Key

Trice emphasized the mobile space for social networking.

"Just like wikis on the PC world, they started off as a consumer gadget that eventually morphed itself into an enterprise play. I think the same thing is probably going to happen on the mobile side," Trice said.

"The collaboration obviously can be extended into the mobile realm, which means greater efficiency, productivity," he said.