Poll: Is Facebook a Good Business Networking Tool?
Tuesday February 19, 2008
But does it really work for business networking or is it still mainly just for socializing? And how does it compare to established networking tools such as LinkedIn? If you were going to choose just one, would Facebook be the one you chose?
Besides voting in the poll, add your comments below to let us all know what you think.
More on Social Networking on About:
- Using Facebook for Professional Networking (About Job Searching)
- Social Networking Basics (About Web Trends)
- Leveraging Social Networking Sites to Generate Business (About Entrepreneurs)
I think it’s a little too informal (and kind of embarassing) to use it for business networking. I personally like using http://www.octopuscity.com for business-related networking (it has more features than LinkedIn, and it’s more social oriented).
Thanks for this, Nicole. I’ve never tried octopuscity but I’ll have to check it out.
Actually, Susan, I don’t think it is very conducive to business networking at all. It’s Terms of Service (TOS) actually prohibit promoting your business!
Like the first poster, I’ll give OctopusCity a chance.
Kind regards,
Randy
It’d be great if facebook let you create a second business profile. This way you could partition off your personal life from your professional life.
I like keeping up with friends on facebooks, but random contacts I vaguely know or have a professional relationship with, I’m not really interested in their personal life. Facebook allows only 200 people to be blocked from showing up on your mini-feed and I’ve already filled that up…
I wonder if facebook owuld be a linkedin killer if it created an ability for professional profiles separate from the personal profile.
Now that’s a really great idea – being able to have a business profile as well as a personal one would go a long ways toward making Facebook a valuable business tool I think.
I agree with comment # 1 Nichole. They are not professional enough for me. I use http://www.personavita.com. That way you can separate your personal information from your business info. There, I created an online portfolio of not only work, but experiences, personal information and life lessons. You can then send a link to employers/friends showing a organized presentation of your thoughts, ideas and history. It builds credibility and others can validate your work. It is an easy was to make a name or brand for yourself while networking.
For business, LinkedIn is the tool to use. Unless you are targeting teens as your market, I would not use Facebook as a professional networking tool.