A survey of 1,800 scientists and researchers finds that they are enamored of social network technologies not just for keeping up with friends, but for doing work. Over half said they think such tools will have an important role in how research is done going forward, and in fact, a lot of the younger respondents (ages 25-44) are already exploiting social networking for professional purposes, such as sharing findings. Security and other issues remain concerns, but not insurmountable ones.

The survey was conducted via Elsevier's 2collab research program. The top areas where respondents said social networking will have a role for them over the next 5 years (more than one response allowed):

1. Professional networking and collaboration (34.4%)

2. Career development (26.4%)

3. Critical analysis and evaluation of research data (25.3%)

4. Dissemination of research output (24.5%)

5. Conducting primary research (23.4%)

6. Grant application and funding (22.7%)