Australians like social networking, but they better not do it at work

Social network sites such Facebook and MySpace are growing in popularity, but most Australian small businesses ban their employees from using them.

Social network sites such Facebook and MySpace are growing in popularity, but most Australian small businesses ban their employees from using them.

According to the Sensis 2008 e-business report, a survey of 1800 business and 1500 consumers, 41% of Australians currently use social networking sites, with that number lifting to 70% among people in their 20s.

They may be copping a bit of flack if they’re looking at them at work, however. Three in four small business respondents to the survey say they have banned workers from visiting the sites.

In most other respects small businesses are getting more tech savvy. The number of businesses with a website increased from 51% to 54%, with a majority of those saying they believe it increases business effectiveness.

More businesses say they order and pay for products online, up 8% to 67%, while the number of businesses that receive orders and payments online also increased to 54% and 63% respectively.

More business owners have also bought themselves a laptop to play with – 60% say they now have one, a 10% jump on last year.

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