Have you sent someone a strawberry dipped in chocolate recently? Dedicated a song to a friend? Connected with more than 50 clients and colleagues and friends in one day? Become a member of over 30 professional and hobby interest groups - all in one week? Thrown a sheep in jest? If you have, then you're a Facebook addict and well on your way to understanding the power of social networking. Facebook is the latest cyber craze sweeping the globe with more than 40 million users and a few hundred thousand new members signing up every day. Started as an academic network at Harvard, it now has networks in most academic institutions, high schools, company networks and country networks. As a tool for finding long lost pals, it's a lot of fun; as a business networking tool, it's unrivalled. While it might be considered a time waster by some companies banning its use during office hours and you may feel like you're back in the playground competing for popularity as to how many friends you have... it is a networking tool of note. Technology advances led to a disconnect in communication and a site like Facebook puts back the personality, the authentic voice so necessary in communication process. Much like citizen journalism is transforming the media world and individuals are demanding transparency in corporate and Government communication, Facebook provides a fun and interactive way to connect with your professional and personal networks. It's part of the social networking revolution that is impacting on the way we communicate professionally and personally. Last but not least, last week Monday our laptop theft video ended up being the most popular video viewed in a single day, ever, on local video- and photo-sharing site Zoopy.com, with a record 1183 views. That's the power of social networking!
Connect yourself already! Louise Marsland, editor@bizcommunity.co. Marketing news: marketingnews@bizcommunity.co. Responses to this column welcomed on our blog.