Corporate Social Networking

In response to the recent announcement by Facebook that it is entering the enterprise world, Joseph O'Connell has a  good post arguing that  corporate  social networking has in fact been around for a while, enabled by solution providers like SelectMinds.

The challenge to this strategy (if, indeed, it is Facebook's strategy) is that many corporate social networks already exist. SelectMinds has been developing online communities and the software that powers them for over five years to help leading companies in the consulting, accounting, investment banking, and legal industries where the value of networking amongst knowledge workers is vital. While we have several great features that help people connect, including "friend of a friend" technology made famous by Friendster et. al., SelectMinds celebrates the value in fostering relationship-building in person as well as online.