Top Facebook Apps for Professionals
The Find: Facebook has more of a reputation for getting unwary recent graduates into trouble with less than professional pictures than for being a serious business tool, but one blog insists the problem is simply your choice of applications.- The Source: The Duct Tape Marketing blog.
If the professional ROI was sufficient, I might continue to risk having my inner ne'er-do-well exposed to my publishing colleagues. But I've given Facebook long enough to demonstrate any kind of tangible professional value for me. And, together, we have failed.To which Duct Tape Marketing's John Jantsch might reply: don't be so hasty. The problem may just be with your applications, not the site as a whole. Of course you don't want to add every widget, from the shaking hamster in the sombrero to the 'which Sex and the City character are you?' application, but with the right tools, Facebook can help you "communicate, achieve and amplify" your objectives.
Among Jantsch's list of must have business applications are:
- Slideshare - the world's largest community for sharing presentations
- CircleUp - a lightweight collaboration app for groups and events
- Free Conference Calls â€" self-explanatory
- Introductions - introduce your friends to each other
- Business Cards - personalize your card and attach it to your Facebook messages
The Question: Facebook: valuable business tool or invitation to professional embarrassment?