Social media for businesses is moving extremely fast.

• The challenge is to use social media effectively and put these productivity tools in place correctly.
   
• Managers are developing nonhierarchical cultures, where data and knowledge are exposed and shared.
   
• Companies are figuring  out ways to manage how customers view them.
   
• It is been a flood of social media acquisitions from companies like Oracle (Involver, Vitrue, Buddy Media), Salesforce (GoInstant) and Microsoft (Yammer). And publicity-traded business like Jive Software and Bazaarvoice have experienced a big value increase.
   

Why this fast adoption?

Basically, social media enables marketers to make and sell products more effectively hooking product information up with customers and observing behavior better.