Facebook is one of the fastest growing social networking sites in the world. It has garnered over 200 million users to date and shows no signs of slowing down. Facebook serves many purposes for many people. It started as a way for college students to keep in touch. They could share information about each other, let each other know what they are doing, what they like and what they don’t like. It even became a kind of dating service. Facebook is the best contact and network management tool.

However, it is not a suitable environment for companies to behave. Given the success of Facebook, it is reasonable to explore a similar environment in the business world. Lotus Connections 2 is Facebook for the business world. Contains everything you need to develop your own version of the infamous social networking site.

Lotus Connections offers you the ability to create a personalized corporate experience. With your own logos and designs, the site becomes an extension of your own corporate identity. Users enter through a portal or home page from which they can link to the various components of the network. A profile system makes it easy to find co-workers in the organization. Communities are established on the basis of common interest or project assignment. Blogs can be managed within the system updating others on projects or for a wide range of other uses. Connections also maintains an integrated task management system for groups.

Unlike customer management systems like the MS CRM application, Connections offers an internal system of contacting, managing, maintaining, and growing relationships with coworkers. The use of two separate applications guarantees the separation of the internal activity of customer management. Many employees appreciate the virtual space where they can foster stronger business relationships. Colleagues who can easily interact with each other are more likely to experience higher productivity.

Configuration and administration are easy and have extensive support through the Lotus Connections 2.0 Infocenter. IBM provides you with a wealth of information through this dedicated web space. There’s little difficulty in getting the answers to configuring and ongoing management of your Connections space. You can progress at your own pace, activating areas as you need them. While you likely have people providing technical support for your Connections installations, the depth of the Infocenter can fill in the gaps and empower the techie.

Facebook exploded on the scene and quickly attracted millions of users. There is something to be said about this platform. Lotus Connections is your company’s own internal network system.