By Tim Ferguson
Friday, December 14 2007 12:36 PM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/0,39044908,62035578,00.htm

Social networking could turn out to be a costly "white elephant" for businesses that rush to invest in the technology.

Many companies are thinking about whether they can take advantage of social networking technology but analysts at Gartner are warning corporates against getting caught up in all the Facebook-led Web 2.0 hype.

Issues that businesses need to consider before investing developing internal social networking tools include protecting personal intellectual property and people's preference for using existing non-professional external networks such as Bebo, Facebook and MySpace.

With Facebook saying it will license its developer platform to other organizations it could soon be even easier for companies to develop their own social networks.

But the Gartner report says the hype around social networking does not necessarily mean it is a mature enough technology to make it a critical business requirement.

There is also little evidence that social networking will be as beneficial for businesses as other Web-based communications tech such as instant messaging and VoIP.

Ultimately, Gartner suggests, the value of social networking tech comes from content rather than the product itself.

The analyst firm recommends IT departments should think very carefully before committing to expensive "social networking white elephants".

Further bringing business and social networking together, business network LinkedIn this month said it will allow third parties to develop apps for its site and allow them to take LinkedIn content to other sites.

Tim Ferguson of Silicon.com reported from London.