Having written last week about LinkedIn.com, this week I turn to a more controversial site - Facebook. Up to perhaps a year ago, Facebook was largely dominated by the 14-24 age group, but a real sea-change has occurred and I would put the top end of the age range more like 60-70 ,although that may be stretching it a bit far.Facebook is much more "social" in what it seeks to do, and includes much more on personal interests, online games and keeping up to date with what everyone is doing. So, you say, what's that go to do with business? Well, in these days of homeworking and disparate teams, Facebook is the glue that keeps such groups of people together. In my own team, for example, I have colleagues in UK, France, Finland, Spain, Romania and Egypt. Of these, I have personally met just one face-to-face, although that is being addressed early in 2009 with a plan to go to Cairo for a week. And, of course, I work from home.
So, excluding IM which we use for formal comms, we have no water cooler to chat at. Facebook is our virtual water cooler. Sharing photos, what you've been doing, forming groups etc gives a sense of belonging. Then extend that from business networking to the people you send your Christmas cards too - and instead of sending something once a year, you can keep in touch with them right through the year.
So, excluding IM which we use for formal comms, we have no water cooler to chat at. Facebook is our virtual water cooler. Sharing photos, what you've been doing, forming groups etc gives a sense of belonging. Then extend that from business networking to the people you send your Christmas cards too - and instead of sending something once a year, you can keep in touch with them right through the year.
