There was a lot of talk over the weekend about Facebook bankruptcy, calls to make Facebook more personal again, UK employers banning Facebook in the workplace, and so on. People are struggling with the how and why of using Facebook for social networking. Is it just a personal tool, or does it have business applicability as well?
I use Facebook for business purposes all the time. Last week, for example, I updated my status to say I was looking for a text messaging supplier (a feature we're planning for a future version of our software needs it). Within a couple of hours multiple people responded with suggestions. It saved me hours of searching the web, and also made me aware of what might be the best solution for our needs.
Facebook isn't very good, yet, at identifying the types of relationships you have with people. But that will come with time. It has to if they want to continue to grow. Meanwhile, it is possible to continue to use it and get great value from it both personally and professionally. Like Fred Wilson, I will continue to use it.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry make Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
