Social Media Minute: Social to Rule the Enterprise, Unless Spam and Malware Win Out

Social media moves so fast, it's hard to keep up. Here are the week's top stories in scan-friendly format:

• Gartner Says Social Will Rule The Enterprise
• Twitter Use Growing Fast in the U.K.
• Watch Out For Social Networking Spam and Malware
• Facebook: Our Users Are Aware of Privacy Settings

Gartner Says Social Will Rule The Enterprise

Gartner, the respected enterprise research and analytics firm, recently offered five social software predictions for this year and the years coming. In essence, the firm projects that social networking will spread into the enterprise and will slowly augment traditional communication channels that already exist inside enterprises.

The first prediction postulates that social networking services will replace e-mail as a primary communication platform for 20 percent of business users. This seems like a very practical prediction, as tools such as SharePoint and Jive's Social Business Software continue to make inroads into organizations, e-mail might get replaced with other services that allow team members to communicate in richer and more trackable ways.

Gartner also says that half of all enterprises will use activity streams (like microblogging) as a part of the day-to-day operations. These micro-blogging platforms are taking root in services such as Jive's social software, Zoho office suite and other 'business-class' tools. Further, activity streams provide a record of activity and developments surrounding documents, meetings and project tasks.

Do you see more social networking activity happening in your work environment for business purposes? How is social networking being used and what tips would you share?

Twitter Use Growing Fast in the U.K.

According to the Wall Street Journal, businesses and executives are utilizing Twitter as a conversation tool in increasing numbers. This is especially true in the U.K., where traffic in October 2009 surged to 3.3 million unique visitors per month. For comparison, only 121,000 users visited Twitter from Britain in October 2008. Also, 4 out of 5 of the top 30 major brands use Twitter on a daily basis, says Forrester Research.

British enterprises are finding Twitter to be a very cost-effective way to get the word out to customers in a new way. In fact, the most successful brands on Twitter are realizing the value in delivering constant Tweets that offer value to customers.

Via micro-blogging, brands such as Honda and British retailer Topshop are now able to offer specials and other incentives to keep customers engaged.

Business managers and executives are also enjoying the freedom to offer quick insights and link sharing on Twitter, an activity they can't do through the typical press release practice. With the proper themes and through offering authentic communication, brands are finding Twitter to be a great way to interact and share information with customers on an ongoing basis.

Watch Out For Social Networking Spam and Malware

A recent polling of some 500 companies revealed a dramatic rise in the occurrence of spam and malware resulting from visiting social networking sites. Facebook was at the top of the list for perceived risk amongst social networking sites. Other sites such as LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter were also on the list of sites to watch out for, amongst company security professionals.

It is well known that phishing and malware are prevalent on social networking sites. Because sites such as Facebook are occupied by your friends, visitors to these sites often click links and share malware because social networks are a more 'trusted' environment. Some enterprises have gone as far as banning social networking sites altogether because of malware.

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Tags: facebook, linkedin, privacy, security, social media, social media minute, social networking, twitter

Social media moves so fast, it's hard to keep up. Here are the week's top stories in scan-friendly format:

• Gartner Says Social Will Rule The Enterprise
• Twitter Use Growing Fast in the U.K.
• Watch Out For Social Networking Spam and Malware
• Facebook: Our Users Are Aware of Privacy Settings