This is the second time this week that the idea of using social software in M&A’s has crossed my desk. First, was a social networking tool which was used a couple years ago to aid in the merger between Adobe & Macromedia.  I took the testdrive and found it interesting. You can find it at this link:http://www.intronetworks.com/testdrive.html

The second is a rather interesting post “How Can Social Software Help Mergers And Acquisitions?”  Blogger Laurisa is a IBM Social Software Specialist, focusing on Lotus Connections and enterprise social software business value, use case scenarios, and adoption techniques.  Her post looks at these issues as she prepares to make a presentation on the subject at IBM.

I would be careful to make sure that we keep the distinctions about what these social software tools are and are not. Social Networks are not Communities but can facilitate the development of a communities of interest. Similarly, connectivity tools are not necessarily collaborative by design but again “may” be used in collaborative ventures.

I’m finding that there is a lot of confusion between the concept of social media and the concept of community. They are often used interchangeably and they are not the same thing. Social media can help foster communities but social media can be limited to allowing a conversation around content…which is *not* community.  

While I believe that this movement towards online networking both socially and for business will continue to grow, I do not know if it will help to make us more connected or in reality more isolated.  (Thus perpetuating what Faith Popcorn coined years back as cocooning.)  There is the false sense of creating meaningful relationships which I don’t think is true but I have great hope that these mediums have tremendous potential for bringing us into contact with people and ideas from around the world.

For more of the growth of social networking check out this press release from The Conference Board.