The blurred line between social and business networking, createschallenges; the technology gives insurance agencies and companiesmarketing opportunities with a new base of clients, a panel ofusers said.

Demonstrating the strength of networking, a "secret session" on"Twitter and Social Networking" was held late on the final day ofthe 33^rd AMS User Group National Conference held herelast week.

The event was not listed on the agenda of meetings, though hintsabout it were dropped occasionally throughout the conference. Theonly way attendees found out about the meeting was either throughword of mouth or an online social network such as Facebook.com orTwitter.

No head count was taken, but an estimated 60 persons were onhand. April Feldt, education specialist for AMS Users Group, saidthe fact that so many attended the session, underscored thestrength of social networking.

The discussion, led by Steve Anderson, an independent agencytechnology consultant, touched on two main points: one, thebenefits of online social networking for generating business andproviding information to customers; two, the challenges incontrolling the message and potential security issues.

On the benefit side, Nibby Priest, vice president of VaughanInsurance Agency Company in Henderson, Ken., spoke about howimportant an agency blog was in putting out information for clientsseeking contractors to make repairs after the winter ice stormsthat hit the region.

The electronic networking, he noted, serves two purposes,getting information out to customers who need it, and at the sametime reinforcing the relationship between client and agency.

Strengthening that relationship, Mr. Anderson noted, also meansbeing honest with your customers. He noted in an answer to aquestion from one of Vaughan Insurance Agency's customers, that theagency honestly answered in its blog that the ice storms wouldincrease premiums, but the agency also added that while increasescan't be avoided the agency "can help you find more affordablecoverage."

Katie Herbst, senior marketing communications specialist,property-casualty marketing for Westfield Center, Ohio-basedWestfield Insurance, said it asked some of its experts to beginwriting a blog on topics that agents would be interested in. Oncethey got started, she said, they found it easy to expand andcontinue the blog and have come to love it.

She also noted how easy it was for the carrier experts to writethe blogs because it is a conversation that is being carried onwith agents anyway.

When it comes to writing blogs, Cindy Adams, vice president ofinformation technology for the independent broker Holmes Murphy& Associates in Des Moines, Iowa, said that few writers ofblogs start off well, but they expand the blogs and become betterat them as they gain experience.

As far as controlling the message, Ms. Herbst said anythingnegative written about the company by an employee is treated thesame way it is written in any public forum. Taking out thetechnology element, she said, the disciplinary issues were alreadyin the employee handbook. She added that whatever the rules theyneed to promote, not discourage web social networking access.

A newer form of social networking, Twitter, is a quick microblog of 140 characters, noted Mr. Priest. The benefit, said Mr.Anderson, is that people can quickly learn about topics that mightinterest them, such as the "secret session" did.

On the security side, one thing Ms. Adams recommended was toavoid putting links into the text of blogs that could lead toquestionable sites and to keep virus software current. The mainprotection, she said, is using common sense.

"The line is blurring between the business and the personal,"Ms. Herbst pointed out, recommending that companies need to "goslow" when starting these programs.

The panelists recommended that companies need to monitor thepostings and know what is being said about them. Google and Twitterhave feeds that allow users to keep informed of what is being saidabout them.

"It is worse not to know," said Ms. Herbst.

For online posters, Mr. Priest recommended that "before you saysomething, make it positive."