Industry researches and analysts Gartner claims with its latest research document, entitled "Top 10 Things Retailers Should Know About Social Networks, and What to Do" that the medium is NOT yet ready for commerce. The report (visit http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=633007&subref=simplesearch for more details) warns retailers about leading an attempt to commercialise social networks which could backfire by driving active participants away, with the retailers getting tarnished in the process.

No doubt in the back of the Gartner guys' minds was the experience of Facebook with its Beacon advertising platform, received with hostility from users who had privacy concerns. Advertising rates, expressed as a cost per thousand clicks, are much lower on sites like Facebook than they are on better established internet advertising media such as Google's search site. The perception is that many people are on sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo to socialise in the most basic sense and don't appreciate being sold to while doing it. Perhaps they feel a conversation with a friend is being rudely interrupted by a salesman and are reacting accordingly.

But whereas it may be true of companies and social networking sites targetting consumers, businesses are showing willing to do business with each other online. My own website at http://www.wecando.biz has business people broadcasting details of their most urgent business needs and then inviting contact from companies that can help them. More old-fashioned online marketplaces are very common on business-focused social networking sites and money frequently changes hands between business people who start dealing on the back of the introduction the site provides them. The technology and methods are well established.

I'd assert that social networks ARE ready for commerce, but you need to be sure you are in a community that WANTS to do commerce before you can expect to see success.

Ian Hendry
WeCanDo.BIZ
http://www.wecando.biz