The Economist's special report on: Social networking

The Economist's January Special report on social networking argues that social networks are more robust than their critics think, though not every site will prosper, and that social-networking technologies are creating considerable benefits for the businesses that embrace them, whatever their size. It contends that this is just the beginning of an exciting new era of global interconnectedness that will spread ideas and innovations around the world faster than ever before.

Issues, which are discussed in this special report:

* A world of connections
* Why social networks have grown so fast
* Twitter's transmitters
* Profiting from social networks
* Small businesses and social networks
* Yammering away at the office
* Social contracts
* Privacy 2.0
* The future of social networking
* Sources and acknowledgments
* Offer to readers

Read the full story here.

Or listen to Martin Giles, The Economist's US technology correspondent, on the uses and business models of Twitter and Facebook