How can social networking be utilised to help businesses to grow in ways that were not possible before the advent of this internet-based tool?  And what problems and pitfalls will they have to contend with on the way?

As an Australian website devoted to risks inherent in Facebook advertising has it: "The take-home warning is that a business can be responsible for third party generated content posted on its social media pages or accounts.  Categorisation as a “publisher” or “advertiser” opens the door on a wide range of risks, including claims of misleading and deceptive conduct, defamation, breach of privacy and intellectual property infringement. There are also wide ranging ramifications for organisations whose employees access and use social media."

Many firms that are experimenting with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs and other social media realise that these are communities composed of people, not companies, and share different attributes and characteristics from businesses that were formerly their major sales target.  Furthermore these online potential customers now number more than two billion that are, in effect , instantaneously available.  This demands a completely different approach and business philosophy than was needed in the past.