Web 2.0 in Business  Tags: business web2.0 web course_guide mba rss social_bookmarking social_networking blogs blogging tagging careers  

Social networking sites - social and business networks specifically focused on the building and verifying of online community.

LinkedIn, Plaxo and Hoover's Connect are good examples of popular professional social networks. If you would like to use social networking for keeping in touch with friends and family, Facebook and MySpace.com are great options for you.

Please share any professional social networks you've found helpful in your career:

• Hoover's Connect by Elena MacGurn
  Business networking tool that helps users get introduced to and establish relationships with targeted prospects. Great if you are in sales.
• dsl by AMahon2009

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Your professional relationships are key to your professional success. Online business networks like LinkedIn help you connect, get advice on a global scale, research background information, and join industry groups/associations.

Example 1: If you are a grad student who one day wants to be a CMO of a company, you may want to look at current CMO profiles to get an idea of what you may need to do before you achieve your goal.

Example 2: If you are a US-based small business owner that is looking to expand into India, you can easily reach out to another SMB owner who’s already established in India and get advice from that person.

Example 3: If your company is going into a new business meeting with a potential client, you could look those people up prior to meeting them in person. You’ll get a better feel for their background, where they come from, how long they’ve been with the company and if you have any connections in common. An old boss or co-worker of yours just might be connected to that new client. If they are, you’ll be able to ping them and get additional information about the person that you’ll be meeting with.

Social networking is a great tool to brand yourself, help you make money, reference check vendors, find candidates to fill critical positions and so much more.

LinkedIn is the fastest growing online business network of more than 25 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries with profiles on over 160,000 companies. 

1. LinkedIn is an efficient and easy way to keep in touch with your former, present and potential colleagues.
2. Use LinkedIn question boards to watch top industry people answer work-related questions. Ask and answer questions yourself to learn, increase visibility and build your reputation.
3. LinkedIn is a popular place for exchanging job offers, recruiting & professional recommendations.