I am currently conducting ethnographic research on highly active professional networkers here in Berlin for my MSc in Design Ethnography and with Swisscom.  I recently put together a little summary of what I have done so far, including descriptions of my recruitment and field work stages.

Here’s the introduction from the summary slides pictured above:

“The use of social networking software by professionals is increasing dramatically. How it is used, whether it enhances or reduces productivity, and how enterprise-friendly design and use might evolve are open questions” (Skeels & Grudin, 2009) 

As new communication technologies, specifically Social Networking Sites (SNS), emerge and gain popularity, their use is becoming increasingly common in the workplace.  We are seeing the introduction of SNS tools into daily work life and with this the adaptation of SNS for professional goals.  Thus the ‘workplace communication ecology’ is becoming ever more complex.  Extensive research has been conducted on key SNS such as facebook and twitter for personal purposes, but little research has been aimed at specifically understanding the professional SNS ecology.

The aim of this project is to more fully understand how and why Lead Users (active professional social networkers) in Berlin use SNS for business purposes. 

Source above: 

Skeels, M. & Grudin, J. (2009). When Social Networks Cross Boundaries: A Case Study of Workplace Use of Facebook and LinkedIn. Proc. of GROUPS, 2009, 95-104.