Younger generations intuitively use such media and members of the Chartered Management Institute discussed how the current business community should do the same with an expert panel at the Hilton Hotel.

Panel chairman Chris Gledhill, managing director of PDMS, said: 'We are talking about things like wikis, Facebook, Myspace and applications key to consumers. It is about people interacting and creating their own personality online.'

Mr Gledhill believes social sites such as Facebook are a popular form of communication because they are easy and informal.

He said: 'On a blog, people are not as worried about how the page looks. It is a bit like text messaging - people use it because it is about dialogue, not presentation.'

Business News Tech Talk columnist and managing partner of Strive PR Sherrilynne Starkie spoke about the importance of clear company and individual policy on social media and blog feedback mediation.

She believes the perception of risk comes from a shift in control from the provider to the consumer, saying: 'It is now a question of getting involved in the discussion, not controlling it.'

Andy Williams, head of the government's One Mann online services project, was positive about the possibilities of new media, but warned against technology for technology's sake.

'There is such a choice of communication at our disposal and people think they must have blogs, wikis, Facebook and such,' he said.

'We are in danger of creating things without having a reason for doing it.'

He said there were also risks involved with the increasing levels of transparency, adding: 'It is so easy to say something the whole world can see.'

Managing director of Manx Telecom Chris Hall said it was important that the use and misuse of these technologies were discussed at management level.

'This is not just about IT,' he said.

'These forms of communication will be intuitive for the next generation of consumers, so this needs to be on everyone's radar.'

Mr Hall believes the key lies in educating people about how to optimise use of applications.