Business types are finding all sorts of uses for social networks, but some say they are the ones who are being used.
Carl Taibl is a big believer in the power of personal contacts — even if those contacts don't know who the heck he is. Taibl, a CPA with San Ramon, California-based accounting firm Armanino McKenna LLP, has for the past five years been a regular user of LinkedIn, a popular social-networking site geared to professional users. The CPA goes onto the Website to conduct research and establish connections with other LinkedIn members. "If there's a company I want to learn more about I see if someone one or two degrees of separation away works there and can get me an introduction" says Taibl. "It's very useful, particularly if you don't know anyone at a company you're targeting."
Taibl is not alone. Business executives are increasingly turning to social-networking sites to pitch potential partners, make introductions, or pry away employees. Scores of commerce-aimed virtual communities have sprung up, including Ryze, Xing (formerly OpenBc), Ecademy, Hoover's Connect, Spoke, and Vshake. While the sites are dwarfed by the largest social nets (MySpace claims 38 million unique users), these commercial sites are getting bigger. LinkedIn boasts 8.5 million registered members.
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