I am pleased to say that HRZone.co.uk has been registered with Twitter for a while now and I for one can certainly see the appeal. For those of you who have yet to come across the phenomenon that is Twitter, it is a social networking site, set up by US bloggers in 2006, that allows members to send and receive updates (known as 'tweets') to/from each other. Sounds simple, but it has really exploded in popularity in recent months, and can actually be used as a great business tool.

In fact, over at our sister site BusinessZone.co.uk, editor Dan Martin has posted a really helpful article on how employers can use Twitter to promote your business, which is definitely worth a read.

Now, as part of the global celebration of Twitter – and its tweeters – more than 100 cities across the world are holding their own party in February to raise money for charity and provide a networking event where people can 'tweet' up with each other. It is called the 'Twestival' and it is designed to demonstrate the power of social media. I am actually going to be attending the Twestival taking place in my own home town, Bristol, which will be a great chance to meet up with fellow tweeters face-to-face rather than virtually!

And that brings me to the point I was orginally going to make – the power of online social networking. Everywhere you go, people are talking about either Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, wikis, blogs, and so on. HRZone.co.uk published an article this week, looking at the productivity paradox that social networking can present to employers, which got a few of you talking about it!

I say that we should all be embracing this technological phenomenon, and not shy away from it. This is the world we now live in, and whilst I would never want to completely avoid face-to-face collaboration and communication, the possibilities of Web 2.0 and online social networking are endless – from recruitment through to brand promotion. These really are exciting times and if you haven't signed up to sites such as Twitter or LinkedIn yet, I would thoroughly recommend that you do!

Lucie Mitchell
Editor