Business impacts of social networking

AT&T have released a report the "Business impacts of socialnetworking". Corporations are being challenged to change the way they communicate both internally and externally, simply because the Internet and Web 2.0 have delivered new instruments and the audience – especially millennials – is expecting corporations to use them.
"Social networking fosters collective intelligence, collaborative work and support communities. Tools and behaviors from the consumer world are now making the transition to the corporate world, with diverse implications for changing the way businesses operate. This paper explores 10 opportunities presented by social networking, along with 10 associated challenges."
The white paper can be downloaded here.

Great Free Official Statistics site

We cannot compete with the University of Auckland Library's web site OFFSTATS.....!! This excellent free site provides information on Official Statistics by country and subject/industry. OFFSTATS was established by Rainer Wolcke in 1998, and has been updated since by the Business and Economics Information Services Team in the University of Auckland Library.

Information Literacy rules! in UK SMEs

The article by Martin De Saulles "Information Literacy amongst UK-SMEs" Aslib Proceedings : New Information Perspectives 59 (1) 68-79 tells of a survey of UK SMEs and how important it is to these companies! Also how much money may be wasted by these companies having employees who are not Information Literate!
We Librarians use the term "Information Literacy" for recognising when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, organise and use information effectively, as well as the abilities to create, package and present information effectively to the intended audience. Sometimes this has been confused with literature searching, learning to learn, information skills or IT skills.
In fact Information Literacy is exactly what Alan, I and the Academic Liaison Librarians at UB are about!! We want to make your students information literate because it will not only help them get a better degree here but it's also essential in the workplace!!

Web 2.0 in Business Schools

Came across a quick summary of how some business Schools are using Web 2.0 tools in their curriculum. Examples from Manchester Business School Worldwide using Facebook, Henley College blogs, Stockholm School of Economics and Duke Corporate Education on Second Life, Manchester Met and Newcastle Business School.

Entrepreneurship sites

This blog is more than just new technology! When we find out about new web sites we think are important we will include them. Intute is the major general subject gateway which we are always recommending to students. It is an alternative to Google! It contains sites which have been selected by subject experts, working in various Universities throughout the country. Therefore the sites chosen should all be up to date and reliable. They may not be relevant to a particular topic, but results are often below a hundred, in huge contrast to Google. Therefore it is possible to do a subject search, and there are also subject lists (bit like Yahoo).They have just added a new list of sites about innovation and entrepreneurship.

Digital Entertainment Survey 2008

Wiggin is an entertainment law firm and wanted to study what changes are ahppening in their market.They surveyed 1,600 UK consumers in January 2008 using media research company Entertainment Media Research. The survey questioned their attitdues and preferences and planned changes.
Some of the key findings of the survey were:
- 70% of illegal filesharers say they would stop if they receive a warning note from their ISP. - 27% of respondents say that social networks could become the main way they access music and video content. - Given the choice of accessing content on demand on a paid for basis or free with advertisements, 70% of respondents preferred the free route despite the ads. - There is a real appetite for on demand access to latest films (48%), comedy programmes (35%), live gigs (30%) and sporting events (28%) (figures are those definitely interested). - However, these figures do not necessarily translate into willingness to pay. For example, while over half would consider paying for films, less than a quarter would consider paying for comedy programmes. (from the press release)
This report is freely available on the Web and might be useful to first year Business students studying the changing music industry.

Social networks - here to stay?

How far should employers allow their staff to spend time on social networking sites like Facebook? Are they a good thing or a time waster? There are currently 2186 people in the University of Bedfordshire Network on Facebook. This cannot be ignored. How far should we use it to communicate with our students? Do they want staff on "their site"?
Some libraries provide direct access to their Library Catalogue via Facebook. We will be looking into this. COPAC (the catalogues of all the major research libraries in UK) can be accessed directly from inside Facebook if you add the application into your profile. It's very easy and the search works!
Anyone on Facebook?
I find it's great for talking to colleagues around the country who you dont see very often, and for picking up tips (some useless) about all kinds of things.

Returning to business : there are many articles which are available after free registration, e.g.

• Enterprise 2.0: How Companies Are Adopting the Newest Web 2.0 Technologies