Web 2.0 Apps At Work May Bring Bigger Bucks

New research from FaceTime Communications has found that social sites such as FaceBook, LinkedIn and YouTube are now favorites at work, and not just for play. While 82 percent of those surveyed said they're on these sites just for the heck of it, 79 percent of employees surveyed said that they use the sites for work-related reasons.

The most common work-related purposes cited are professional networking (54 percent), research (52 percent) and learning about colleagues (52 percent). LinkedIn is the most commonly used site for professional purposes (62 percent). Following LinkedIn, in order of popularity other social sites used for professional reasons are: FaceBook; MySpace; YouTube; Twitter; Digg; and Second Life.

Just how in the world can these sites help you with your business? Think of it as a virtual networking cocktail hour, minus the booze and eats. The survey said that most people used the sites for engaging with colleagues, either via networking (54 percent) or simply learning more about them (52 percent). Other professional reasons to go social include conducting research; setting up meetings; sales prospecting; and sharing work-related project information.

That sounds about right with regard to LinkedIn, but Facebook? There's definitely professional benefits to show your face there as well, say professionals, which include creating and publicizing events; uploading, tagging and sharing pictures; and buying and giving gifts.