RWR: "Today, if you're not staying current with Web 2.0 technologies' impact on business, then you're just not staying current. Period."

But a lot of companies are in denial about social media, even as they acknowledge their inevitable arrival. A study cited in this report from Avanade (a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft) shows that more than three-quarters of companies surveyed "admit that social networking will come into the business undetected if not proactively managed," yet only about 40% say integrating these tools is on their agenda, and fewer than 20% have "any kind of strategy in place to integrate these technologies within the company for employees."

"I was shocked at the head-in-the-sand position of a lot of senior executives," says Avanade's Anthone Withers.

There are reasonable, if perhaps overstated, reasons for this lack of preparation. Companies are concerned about security, and fear unproven technologies.

And there are lame reasons, too, including "Senior management apathy" (cited in 57% of responses). The report says that almost 60% of companies "agree that senior managers do not understand the potential that social networking offers both for employees and customers."

Another big barrier to adoption strikes me as lame, too, although it's couched in Very Serious Business Terms: "Half of companies fear a negative impact on productivity." Sure, people can goof off with social media...just as they do with telephones, email, instant messagine, PCs, and newspapers. If the value of the tools is real, then the answer lies in motivating employees and creating a healthy culture, not banning the technology.

While execs at some firms dither, says the report, "Two-thirds of companies see improved customer satisfaction from the adoption of social media and 64 percent report an improved reputation in the marketplace. Already 2 in 5 companies can directly associate an increase in sales with the move to using new forms of media."

Much of the value comes in the realm of Customer Relationship Management, says Withers. "Companies are asking, 'How can we make an offer relevant to the customer, how can we make it interactional rather than transactional?" Within companies, IM with video is the most popular application, with Gen Y workers driving adoption.

A lot of IT shops, he says, want products that integrate multiple 2.0 tools. Says Withers, "It's the role of senior management, not IT, to understand it and develop the strategy."