Though this is a common fear, Pontefract denies that social networking has generational gap consequences. "That's absolutely balderdash," he says.

Another problem is workers who will try to take over the conversation.

Enterprise social networking experts need to be wary of these potential pitfalls, but this doesn't mean that they should stop people from making critical comments about the company. At Eli Lilly, Williams worried that management would take a tough stance against an employee who posted critical comments.

As it happened, the critical comment received 88 replies. The issue quickly rose up the command chain to the vice president of human resources. Within four weeks, Eli Lilly responded positively to the issue. "It's the value of working out loud," Williams says.