If you are one of the many firms trying to shut down the use of Facebook and Twitter at work stop and think. Do you really understand what social media is about or is the extent of your knowledge seeing teenagers on Facebook, celebrities on Twitter and blogs that verge on vanity publishing?

If so, you need to wake up and smell the coffee because there is nothing frivolous about social media. It all started with web 2.0 which allows people to add their own comments, photos and videos to a website. In the UK, it is finally starting to be used in the business-to-business market.