Most people now understand the concept of Enterprise 2.0 as “Web 2.0 for business” – or social business as it is now being termed. There are three distinct application areas worthy of separate consideration – collaboration and networking internal to the business; external activity around user-generated content on customer and partner-facing websites; and business activity on public social sites and networks.

Regarding the potential benefits, few businesses could dispute the fact that increased knowledge sharing amongst employees, better collaboration with project teams and partners, and greater engagement with the customer base are positive outcomes. The debate is about whether this is indeed being achieved, what the returns are for the resources and cost involved, and whether the benefits outweigh the potential risks created by giving employees and customers a public voice.