Everyone is doing it, but no-one is allowed to do it at work. What are we talking about? Social networking, the addictive habit of the UK masses. Researcher Datamonitor says Britain has the highest membership of social networking sites in Europe.

Continent-wide, usage is predicted to more than double from 41.7 million to 107.4 million. But at the same time, companies remain sceptical about the benefits of social software, with 32 per cent of firms now choosing to block social networking sites, according to ScanSafe.

Time to wake up, says analyst Gartner - who suggest retailers, in particular, need to be more open to social networking - possibly creating a social community to gather feedback, or creating a marketing presence on large social networks.

The analyst has created a top ten tips for retailers considering a social network, summarised below (for full list, visit Gartner).

1. There are Social Sites, and Then There are Social Platforms - Social sites can include features such as discussion forums and consumer reviews. A social platform is a large public site that enables users to do the same things as on a social site, but also creates a platform that encourages and eases the development of applications, widgets and mashups.
2. Social Network Sites Go Way Beyond MySpace and Facebook But Reconsolidation Has Started - Gartner estimates that an individual is able to participate in one to three social networks in any meaningful way. Because there are only so many social networks to participate in, consumers are starting to shift to the large centres of gravity (for example, MySpace and Facebook in North America). Analysts believe that the social network market has not yet settled, so retailers should be cautious with their investments on any one social network.
3. Social Networks Are Rich in Word-of-Mouth Discussions About Retailers and Products - Retailers should view social networks as a lead-generation channel just as they would search engines, review sites, and price comparison sites. Lead-generation vehicles range from banners, to search term bidding, to application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable social networks to access the retailers’ consumers.
4. Social Graphs Make Word-of-Mouth Relationships Known and Usable - Social graphs describe how friends are formally linked to each other on a social network. Word of mouth is effectively amplified by making social graphs usable by friends and business entities on a social network.
5. Viral Propagation is Boosted in Social Networking - Viral marketing is the most obvious route to take with viral propagation but must be closely monitored and managed. Communication between friends about something as simple as a pricing or promotion mistake on a Web site can propagate very quickly in social networks.
6. Applications for Social Networks are Easier to Build - The latest push in the social network world has been the focus on creating a platform that allows individuals and companies alike to build applications (sometimes called widgets) that are designed to run on the social network. Social platforms, especially Facebook, have been providing a platform and technical guidelines to make building these applications easier.
7. Social Networks Are a Huge Source of Consumer Data, but Retailers Cannot Easily Access It - Already some people are regretting having made available so much information available on social networks and access to this information will decrease further over time. However, access to some of this data can be gained by building applications that require members to agree to share some of their data in exchange for using the application.
8. Communities, Groups and Networks Can Be Created By Anyone and Are Impossible to Control - If a social network provides corporations too many capabilities in interacting with members (for example, advertising and selling), there is a risk that members will leave the network. Gartner advises retailers to build their social network presence on content produced by members and create applications that engage members in providing feedback in areas such as product design.
9. Social Networks Are Not Capable of Commerce, Yet - Gartner advises retailers against becoming an early adopter of commerce capabilities on social networks. This lessens the chances of being part of a movement that may drive away social network participants because of the perceived commercialisation of the social network.
10. Social Networks Are Merging Into the Real-Time World - For now this remains an emerging consumer practice, but the ability to access social networks from mobile phones is being promoted by the wireless carriers.

Gartner's tips range from the obvious (social networking is more than just Facebook and MySpace), to the more interesting (social networks are not yet capable of supporting commerce).

The analyst says retailers should stay away from commerce-based social networking - a rule of thumb that might apply to all sectors. I guess the follow-up question might be: "How can you commercialise a successful social network?" After all, the security issues are so significant that most individuals are not keen to give away valuable personal information.

The continuing consolidation - which Gartner refers to as reconsolidation (has there been a previous consolidation stage, then?) - of social networking sites might help provide some clarity. As individuals find useful platforms and begin to trust the methods of operation, more firms should be able to create commercial operations.

Well, that's the theory anyway. If not, expect to be drowned by more and more social networking "opportunities" - most of which offer few benefits and little in the way of commercial viability.

Further reading

• How can a CIO make the most of Web 2.0?
• Social web is about improvement, not innovation
• Next generation social networking
• Finding useful Web 2.0 and social networking tools
• Web 2.0: Your business needs a strategy now
• Social networking creates waste and exclusion
• Facebook? LinkedIn? Social networking is rubbish

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Want to contact the writer? Email Mark Samuels