ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of relevant findings for understanding how Online Social Networks (OSNs) can impact work contexts. It reviews the OSN literature placing an emphasis on how OSNs interface with occupational contexts. The chapter describes what OSNs are and how they work, explaining key features of Facebook and LinkedIn, the two OSNs with the greatest relevance to professional contexts. A distinction can be made between internal OSNs and public OSNs. Internal OSNs, such as SocialBlue at IBM, WaterCooler at HP, and D Street at Deloitte, are run by organizations for their own internal use. Public OSNs are predominantly run by commercial providers, with software and data residing in the providers' own servers. The chapter also reviews the numerous ways in which OSNs interface with work contexts, followed by a discussion of how OSNs are used by organizations for marketing purposes. It focuses on OSN profiles used by individuals to demonstrate the various uses of OSNs in the workplace.
