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A very interesting study was commissioned by AT&T and conducted by Dynamic Markets that found that Social Networking facilitates higher efficiency and creativity in the workplace.

“The study, conducted by Dynamic Markets on behalf of AT&T, reveals:

• 65% of employees surveyed say that social networking sites have made them and/or their colleagues more efficient
• 63% say they have enabled them and their colleagues to achieve things that would not otherwise have been possible
• 46% say they have sparked ideas and creativity for them personally

The Top 5 social networking tools being used as part of everyday working life are:

1. Companies’ own collaboration sites on intranets (39%)
2. Internal forums within the company (20%)
3. Company-produced video material shared on intranets (16%)
4. Online social networks, such as LinkedIn and Facebook (15%)
5. External collaboration sites on the web and internal blogging sites (both 11%)

The study and corresponding White Paper look at many aspects of Social Networking in the workplace.  Perhaps the most telling were the predictions.  They read like Social Media commandments:

1. Corporations Will Change the Way They Communicate
2. Corporations Will Change Their Vision
3. Corporations Will Change Their Organization
4. Collective Intelligence and Customer Experience Will Lead Innovation
5. Networking Will Be Key to Employee Excellence
6. Employee Mobility Will Increase
7. Corporations Will Adapt Their Motivation and Career Path Systems
8. IT/Telecoms Applications Will Mutate
9. Corporate Adoption Will Happen at Different Speeds
10. Social Networking May Allow Increased Revenue

You can read the corresponding explanations in the White Paper but the titles are sufficient to get an idea how sweeping the changes brought about by Social Networks and Social Media will be on the corporations of the future.  Changes that we have believed in from the beginning at Next2Friends.  Even if half these predictions come true we’re still looking at a revolution in the way people communicate, collaborate and get their work done!

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