What do CEOs have to say about Facebook?

A recent post at ZD Net lists the reactions to twelve CEOs and their view point on Facebook.

Nicholas Bellenberg says he doesn’t see it as a business tool:

“It doesn't strike me as being a business tool. I am signed up to LinkedIn and Plaxo. LinkedIn seems to be used most by the people I know, and does seem to generate useful connections or re-connections. Plaxo doesn't seem to do much for me, apart from provide the promise that my contacts are backed up somewhere."

The ICT manager at European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Studies, Floretin Albu uses many social networking sites, and Facebook has the lowest scores:

"The most useful tool for me is by far LinkedIn. The only drawback is that it is largely US and UK oriented. My business is pan-European, and for the EU space I found Xing [ex- OpenBC] to be more effective and popular than LinkedIn. The drawback of Xing is that it is also somewhat less flexible than LinkedIn.”

Paul Hopkins, who is the director of ISS at the University of Newcastle, had a different spin on the subject:

"For all of us 'oldies', Facebook et al seem awkward and don't fit our way of working but I would urge IT managers to persevere--because this is the environment that your new employees will be expecting to use. I would urge people to look at the possibility of developing some simple Facebook apps for their customers, suppliers or staff to use."

Personally, I feel that it is risky to mix business with this application. Personal lives should not be judged when it comes to business work. The new generation of employees grew up with this application through out college, and has a different view of how it is to be used. We’ve asked many times before, but do you feel Facebook should be used in corporate settings?