Social Networking

Social networking can be used in a number of way in the business world. First, and most important, is basic networking. We can easily connect and communicate with others with so little as a name to search for. We can see resumes and all kinds of information about a person with just a click, and find people through them as well. We can create groups that pertain to a certain subject matter and invite people so we can meet them. The possibilities are endless. Online virtual worlds can also be used for many things. IBM's Virtual World for its Employees: IBM Learning Programs Get a 'Second Life' by Ed Frauenheim talks about how IBM trains employees using "second life" so that they don't have to come in for training. This way they can train tons of people no matter where they are in the world. This can allow for virtual meetings where one person can be in the U.S. and the other as far as China. IBM trains a bunch of people easily and cheaply. Another advantage of this technology is that the users can replay what they have learned, as many times as they want until they have learned it.
There does remain one "dark side" to this technology, which is the lack of real human interaction. Everything becomes virtual in the online world. We no longer have the regular social practices of seeing eachother and shaking hands, small talking, courtesy. Many will see this as a bad thing for society. We cannot lose the most basic of interactions between eachother or we will become a lifeless society.
I think the future will only bring more things to the internet world. Everything will be online from virtual shopping to eating to maybe even going clubbing and dating. It will be a very different but interesting world to live in.