Link into the latest trend

Sara Yirrell: Some businesses have sparked merger and acquisition talks through networking.

I have to admit I have been pretty slow off the starting blocks when it comes to using personal social networking sites.

Be it Facebook, Bebo or whatever sites ‘the youth’ are into nowadays; in the past I have been a little reluctant to start pasting up pictures and poking people I have not seen in years.

However, I now have a profile on a couple of them and occasionally I check out people to see what they are up to. I even have a couple of friends. And you cannot take away the success of these sites ­ they are making their founders millions.

Personal sites aside, the whole business networking phenomenon is a different kettle of fish. I eagerly signed up to LinkedIn ­ which I think is a great way of keeping in touch with former colleagues or contacts who have moved on to pastures new.

It is like personal social networking, but without the embarrassment factor thrown in.

This is also something that businesses can use to their advantage, either through making new contacts or re-establishing old ones. Some have even sparked merger and acquisition talks through their networking contacts.

That is why it is no surprise that Microsoft has launched a social networking site for its partners to help them share their skills and expertise with each other.

After all, as the old saying goes, two heads are better than one. It is inevitable that some partners will be more skilled than others in certain areas, and if partnering via a social networking site means they can secure a large contract, surely it is better than losing out altogether.

Several other vendors, including Cisco, have also launched their own version of social networking for their partners ­ and I am sure plenty more players are planning to follow suit.