Leader: The business of social networking

You've probably noticed a new buzz in the office. The watercooler is looking unloved and your staff seem to be happily spending more time on their PCs.

Has everyone stopped gossiping and decided hard work is the new rock'n'roll?

It's unlikely. It's much more likely that yet another office has fallen under the spell of social networking. You might have even overheard so-and-so saying they 'Facebooked' someone the other night.

But what does all this noise about social media and web 2.0 mean for your business?

The increasing popularity of social network sites such as Bebo and Facebook - both growing at a rate of knots - shouldn't be ignored. If one member of staff creates a profile for themselves it won't be long before there's five more, and then 10 and then whole departments. And once all your staff are interacting online you'll suddenly find you're going to have to sign up too.

It's not just a short-lived craze but potentially something that will have a longer-term impact on how you interact with your staff.

Employees have always had lives outside work but social networks are breaking down the barriers that separate these different threads. Private lives are going public - which means the relationship between employer and employee is changing, becoming more informal, more intimate.

This means it's important to be open-minded. Exploits that might previously have only been tittered about in the office kitchen might well now show up online in a series of photographs or even a video. But, by the same token, the potential for the workplace equivalent of cyber-bullying is there too. So treading softly and thinking about the potential impact is the order of the day.

And don't even think about trying to stop it. Change is inevitable, as the cliché goes, so embrace it - and look to see what business opportunities are there to be had.

Social networking could, for instance, turn out to be just the tool to help you get closer to your customers - and give them the ability to meet the personalities behind your company.

Don't rule it out.