BusinessWeek’s BusinessExchange lists the most active news topics that are tracked and shared. On October 7, the top five were:

1. Credit Crunch 580 new articles 164 users
2. AIG 187 new articles 51 users
3. 2008 Election 408 new articles 60 users
4. Social Networking 443 new articles 102 users
5. Lehman Bros. 389 new articles 23 users

In the midst of a contentious US election season combined with the uncertain financial crisis environment, people are tapping into the power of community by connecting to their social networks. The Economist’s article Facebook for suits confirms this observation and adds a point of exclamation:

AMONG the few firms benefiting from the upheaval in the financial markets are professional social networks—websites that help with business networking and job-hunting.

The article surmises that people are updating their profiles and looking for jobs. But there is also the global market momentum where the user bases of LinkedIn, Facebook, and dozens of others are growing rapidly to include more than hip North American Generation Y and the Millennials.

What does this mean for attracting and retaining talent? The socially networked community is expanding across generational and geographic lines to redefine the concept of connected. It has become core to an updated employment brand and making the right connections.