The term “social network” was coined in 1954 by Professor J. A. Barnes of the London School of Economics. He studied social ties in a Norwegian fishing village and concluded that the whole of social life could be seen as “a set of points, some of which are joined by lines” to form a “total network” of relations.

Little could Professor Barnes have foretold the Internet and the profound impact of that medium on social networks. Today, these online communities have moved beyond the realm of personal friendships; they attract corporate enterprises by offering ways to create online communities; and they certainly attract the advertisers who can target messages to specific demographic profiles. While Barnes defined the networks of the Norwegian fishing village as groupings of 100 to 150 people, online networks comprise millions of individuals.

These interconnected and interactive media have facilitated the growth of professional development and personal interactive skills in a way that simply wasn’t possible pre-Information Age. Learning to navigate the murky, sometimes dangerous waters of the social media isn’t easy.

Our authors provide specifics on the ethical and risk considerations for law firm employees, we take a lesson or two from other industries in the Enterprise 2.0 space, and we explore the social media tools in the context of traditional marketing methods. Many thanks to our panel of experts for their insights.