Study Examines Security Risks of Social Media

One of the great things about Web 2.0 applications like Facebook, Twitter and online collaboration tools is that they make marketing and brand-building very affordable for small business. But it seems U.S. companies, and not just the small ones, have serious reservations about adopting social media into their marketing strategies and CRM applications.

The rest of the world doesn’t seem to share that particular reticence, and our sister site eCRMGuide.com has more detail on a recent Symantec study that weighs the risks and benefits of using social media.

The U.S. is among the countries least inclined to embrace Web 2.0 applications such as social media and content-sharing tools to drive sales and brand awareness, according to a new survey commissioned by security software vendor McAfee.

Meanwhile, businesses of all sizes in Brazil, Spain and India are actively integrating Facebook, Twitter and a variety of online collaboration apps into their customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing campaigns, a decision that's helping them grow their revenue but also creating a lot of expensive security headaches along the way.

Read the complete CEOs Weigh Web 2.0 CRM Benefits, Risks article