The business potential of social networking sites remains
largely untapped, says analyst
Gartner.
Most users of social networking websites are motivated by
personal needs and a desire for entertainment, rather than business
and practical objectives, according to a recent survey of
users.
Gartner said that although the
potential of such sites for business remains largely untapped,
they will become increasingly important to the competiveness of
large enterprises in the future.
"Social networking software holds enormous potential for
improving the management of large companies," said Nick
Ingelbrecht, an analyst at Gartner.
"However, work in this area is still immature and in the
meantime companies should be aware of what is happening in the
world of consumer social networking and implement appropriate usage
policies for employees' use of services such as Facebook and
MySpace on company time," he said.
The survey of 4,000 PC and mobile phone users was undertaken
across 18 countries and territories.
It found that 38% connected to social networking sites via a PC,
fewer than 1% by mobile phone only, and 8% via both mobile phone
and PC.
Over half the respondents said that they did not visit social
networking sites regularly or at all. Of those who did, male
respondents tended to access mobile and online social networking
services more frequently than female, and the most active users
were single people and teenagers.
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