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Employers who have banned the use of social networking sites in the workplace may want to think again if they are looking to secure new business.
According to a recent survey over one in ten (11%) users of networking sites visit them for business purposes, with 8% of online networkers using social sites to contact clients or potential clients.
The survey, conducted by email research specialists, emedia, also indicates that 87% of all respondents think that social networking sites can be used for business purposes, including networking (65%), exchanging ideas (58%), getting advice (44%), recruitment (43%), research (35%) and selling (31%).
Users of social networking sites visit these sites on a regular basis and almost half of them (48%) admit using these websites at work. Nearly one in four (24%) users log in every day with half of them logging in several times a day. Up to 45% of users log in at least once a week.
Almost two thirds (62%) of users say they are worried about the safety of their personal data held on these sites. The concern is so high that nearly one third of users (31%) have already entered false information about themselves to protect their identity.
The research shows that 81% of those surveyed use networking sites. The top five websites respondents have heard off are MySpace (89%), YouTube (88%), Friends Reunited (81%), Facebook (73%) and Bebo (51%). But the most popular sites amongst users are Friends Reunited (47%), YouTube (42%), MySpace (39%), Facebook (26%) and LinkedIn (19%).
Respondents keep in touch with various contacts amongst their social network, including friends (46%) and colleagues (24%). Amongst those surveyed, 67% visit social networking sites to contact old friends and reinforce existing friendships.
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