Those of us who have been in the workforce for a few decades now have been through our share of economic downturns.

One of the most common practical implications of a downward spiraling economy is the "travel freeze." Those growing weary of hopping on planes, eating room service, and living out of a suitcase may welcome the change.

But it doesn’t take long for reality to set in: The lack of in-person visits - particularly for virtual workers - can affect productivity, sales success, and customer satisfaction.

In the past, companies turned to videoconferencing. You may recall the spike in video after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. We will see another surge in videoconferencing. But we also will see a surge in social networking - with sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter, Linked In, and YouTube keeping people connected with videos, photos, and instant text messages.

Indeed, social networking sites have the potential to change the way the recession plays out among people who work virtually, and the customers who interact with them.

Slideshow: 12 tips for safe social networking
Slideshow: Virtualization tool box

Rather than relying on phone calls or e-mail, social-networking users can exchange videos, photos, messages, streaming audio/video, and more. This keeps people connected with their colleagues, prospects, and clients in a way that may be more personal (because they mix these sites with professional and personal contacts).

By knowing about someone’s family, friends, personal life, and political/religious/social views, companies may find mixed results. They may be able to increase sales because sales person and prospect find commonalities; or they may find a decrease because of differences.

Companies must develop policies about the use of these sites. Whether they are allowed at the workplace over employer-owned equipment or not, individuals will use these sites on their personal computers or mobile devices. Companies must have policies or guidelines as to how to integrate these sites with work contacts.

Facebook, for example, is expanding its “Facebook Connect” capabilities to integrate its identity and status services with third-party Web sites. This means users can share their activity on external Web sites with their Facebook contacts. Already, more than 54% of organizations are using, evaluating, or planning to deploy social-networking tools, according to Nemertes benchmark Unified Communications and Collaboration. Facebook Connect will allow for greater integration of internal and external social networks.

Robin Gareiss is executive vice president and senior founding partner of Nemertes Research. Click  here for the newsletter archive.