Social networking: not yet an ubiquitous business tool

News that Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, used Facebook to track down graduate scheme employees of Lehman Brothers after the US investment bank's demise grabbed the headlines recently (See: Nomura used Facebook to locate ex-Lehman staff). 

But the fact is that the increasingly popular world of social networking has not yet switched from the personal to professional realms of most peoples' lives. While business social networking network is changing the behaviour of headhunters, recruitment companies and job applicants, this is the exception rather than the rule.

While the people promoting social networks would like to think that a new corporate culture is emerging, we have not moved nearly far enough for this to be a reality at the moment. Corporate culture is still driven by traditional business models.

Corporations which are looking at business opportunities latent within social networking websites should proceed with caution. The first peril when dealing with information gathered from social networking websites arises from the fact that the digital screen where information is viewed from can provide a cloak for impostors or unscrupulous individuals seeking to mislead viewers about their personal achievements and credentials.

A social network is just another layer of validation. Information viewed should be double-checked and verified in just the same way as it is with other information portals which are used to search for a prospective employee, employer, or business partner.

Social networks are also being targeted by cyber criminals seeking to steal sensitive information from other web users. This is largely confined to the consumer sphere of social networking at the moment.