Business benefits of social networking explained

Social-networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace may offer employees a number of benefits, it has been suggested.

Staff should be able to access such sites as web 2.0 applications offer business potential, US firm Gartner stated.

Companies could 'unlock huge business value' through the creativity of social-networking sites, Vice President of Gartner, Joseph Feiman, said.

However, security risks are possible with the use of such sites on office computers, so the potential problems should be evaluated by employers and 'effective constraints and controls' should be determined, Mr Feiman added.

David Lavenda of WorkLight also suggested that a number of networking opportunities could be presented via such sites.

Following the release of Nielsen research on the subject, he told Online Recruitment magazine that 'collaboration, mind sharing and professional social networking amongst employees, affiliates and partners' are all possible benefits of the websites.