Those of you who don’t will be hearing a lot more of the US writer, consultant and all-round expert on the social and economic effects of the internet. Needless to say, he has a new book out.

Before you stop reading, Shirky doesn’t (over)use geek-speak. He deploys real-world examples of how organisations use social networks to further their aims ­ be they profit or politics.

Here comes everybody: the power of organising without organisations is all about ‘what happens when people are given the tools to do things together, without needing traditional organisational structures’. And it might just change the way you think about how you run your business.

By social networks Shirky doesn’t necessarily mean Facebook (if you haven’t heard of it, ask your grandchildren), Twitter (one for the IT department) or even blogs (try the nearest loudmouth). Face-to-face contact, in his eyes and in those of right-thinking people everywhere, remains the most effective social networking tool.

Shirky uses the example of a business he once worked with that was suffering from warring internal factions ­ two departments working on other sides of the world that were failing to cooperate.

Asked by the client what social networking technology could bring the two parties closer together, Shirky’s answer was simple: ‘Plane tickets and beer’. Shirky himself admits to once subscribing to the view that technology could solve everything. He acknowledges that too many commentators predicted the death of the traditional organisation yet it is no closer to being replaced.

Facebook introduced many of us to social networking but in business terms it has largely been a diversion. So far (Richard Boggis-Rolfe, the head of headhunters Odgers, encourages staff in a networking business like his own to develop networks ­ in person and online).

But the next generation of sites arriving offer the ability to connect with other people with the same specific interest or need. And that should matter to businesses.
The (virtual) social networking orthodoxy will spread, though it will never replace the compulsion for face-to-face contact, the desire to look someone in the eye and the need to kick the tyres of a business. And it was great to hear a technological evangelist say so.

Damian Wild is editor in chief of Accountancy Age and blogs at accountancymatters.accountancyage.com