Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest technology news and information.

Companies continue investing in social media

By Mitch Betts

November 2, 2009 06:00 AM ET

Top Stories

Computerworld - Despite tight budgets, companies are continuing to support the social networking activities they've recently established. In a Deloitte LLP survey of 400 companies, 94% of the respondents said that they plan to maintain or increase their investments in social media tools and online communities, while only 6% said they plan to decrease such investments.

Businesses use metrics such as the number of active users and how many people post or comment to gauge the success of their social networking efforts. But Deloitte said they should consider other measures, too, such as increases in search engine rankings and referral links on other Web sites.

The study found that as social media efforts mature, companies are turning their attention to "lurkers" -- people who observe a community but don't participate. Twenty percent of the respondents said that their companies have set up formal "ambassador" programs, which give lurkers special treatment to encourage them to become more active.

Read more about networking and internet in Computerworld's Networking and Internet Knowledge Center.

Comment Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

social networking

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

EFD vs. HDD - What You Need to Know

Enterprise flash drives provide a new Tier 0 storage layer capable of delivering high I/O performance at a very low latency. Proper use of EFDs in an Oracle environment can deliver increased performance compared to fibre channel drives. Read the recommendations for identification of the best DB components for EFDs.

WHITE PAPER

Gartner Research Report: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009

The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing application problems have become the top players.

WHITE PAPER

Eight Criteria for Server Load Balancing

Server load balancers are a simple yet highly effective means to scale an application environment while ensuring its availability. Today's solutions should also address application performance and security. Read about the top eight criteria you should consider when choosing a server load balancer and how Citrix NetScaler meets those requirements.

What People Are Saying

0 comments | Add new

See all comments (0) | Add new

White Papers & Webcasts

Death to PST Files
Download Now

Business Process Framework Demo
Learn about Configurable Business Processes and Calculated Fields. Watch Now!

A Green Architectural Strategy That Puts IT in the Black
Levergage green computing across your data center. Read more now.

Manager Experience Demo
Go beyond self-service solutions to perform more effectively. Watch Now.

Quantifying the Business Value of VMware View
Learn why you should invest in a centralized virtual desktop.

WAN Optimization as a Managed Service: More than Network Cost Savings
View this Webcast Now!

Forrester Consulting Mobility Study: Taking Control of Enterprise Mobile Device Diversity
Download Now

Asia-Pacific Enterprise Network Solutions
Learn through this Webcast how your business can achieve reliability, performance and value in hard-to-reach locations within the Asia-Pacific region.

What IT Must Do to Support Employee-Owned BlackBerry, iPhone and Android Mobile Devices
Download Now

Mainsoft Webcast w/ Forrester Research: Drive SharePoint Adoption in Lotus Notes Shops
How can you drive mainstream user adoption of Microsoft SharePoint when your users rely on Lotus Notes?

All White Papers | All Webcasts

Computerworld Reports

8 Questions To Ask About Your Intrusion-Security Solution

Computerworld Technology Briefing: More than Business Value

Computerworld Briefing: Staffing for Intelligence

All Computerworld Reports

Disaster Recovery & Cost Savings Zone
Thousands of customers world-wide have turned to virtualization solutions from Riverbed as a way to reduce costs.