It is definitely more than idle chatter for many companies, including Fortune 500 leaders, who have tapped into its marketing power. For those who are unfamiliar with the "new media," it can be difficult at first to see the business potential. Two key reasons are that the term itself, social networking, sounds frivolous and un-businesslike, and utilizing this medium is totally different from traditional marketing. It takes a new paradigm of interactive, relationship-based strategies that gain a much deeper understanding of customers, and then provides highly personalized responses. If you're under the impression that social networking is just MySpace, Facebook and a few others, Google the term and browse the many business sites, like LinkedIn, Plaxo, Spoke and countless others. When it comes to social networking, there's a lot to talk about.