With its adaptable applications that allow users to post video clips and interact with friends, it might seem to some that Facebook offers little more than a souped-up version of standard email.

Many chief executives are becoming hot under the collar as employees spend more time “poking” than working.

The reaction is often draconian, with firms issuing guidelines for use ­ or worse, total bans during work hours.

This seems odd, seeing as the whole world is apparently going Web 2.0. A quick Google News search shows there have been more than 16,000 news stories written about Facebook in the past month.

More to the point, digital natives: the next generation of workers to enter the workplace have grown up using social networking technologies and will expect to be able to use Facebook, Bebo and Second Life.

In an age when businesses are quick to spot a new online opportunity and thrash it to within an inch of its life, are chief executives being rather short-sighted when it comes to Facebook and Web 2.0 applications?

Lessons from past transgressions are not hard to find. After shying away from online commerce in the immediate aftermath of the dot com downturn, firms now see a strong web presence as a given.

So, maybe a little bit of patience and foresight is required, with technology leaders required to sell the benefits of social networking to the business.

Take storage space, for example. Consultancy Detica says that employees who chat over email and share photographs of their personal lives are creating the a risk of an information overload.

The answer lies with Facebook. Just as small firms are giving workers free Gmail accounts to save storage space, allowing employees to send messages and photographs through Facebook could stop workers hoarding data on business systems.

Technology leaders who are keen to adapt to the business options offered through social networking, meanwhile, will have a leading edge over their competitors.

Facebook launched Facebook Pages last month, allowing users to connect with specific businesses and to post restaurant reviews, buy tickets for a film or talk about a new promotion.

Such initiatives are just the start of an ongoing movement towards all things Facebook.

You can either join in with the natives, or be a social networking outcast. For the sake of your business, make the right choice.

What do you think? Read my blog at: http://theknowledge.computing.co.uk