What's with all the chatter about Chatter?

With the recent launch of Salesforce’s Twitter-like tool, Chatter, over 10,000 users around the world have quickly incorporated the innovative, communication device into their CRM strategy. Salesforce Chatter promises to serve as a proactive application, encouraging employees to “stay on top of what matters most” and collaborate with other co-workers to share ideas and make well-informed decisions. Though these guarantees seem fruitful, there’s one question looming over my head: Is Chatter really a business tool or a major distraction?

Businesses, big or small, can attest to the fact that when email first launched in 1969, productivity levels would never be the same. Though many businesses thrived from sending and receiving emails, the truth was that it took precious time away from tasks at hand and ultimately served as a huge distraction. Now with new social media websites popping up every day, the internet has become a playground for business professionals.  Though some have successfully used these sites for lead generation and nurturing, others are captivated by its entertainment value and use it to pass the time.    Chatter is a brilliant concept and has definitely set the stage for future development of internally-focused business networks. However, does it serve the same purpose of being a collaborative tool for small businesses as it does for large enterprises? Do businesses with a small number of employees need an internal network to discuss business deals, or can they simply meet in the boardroom and communicate face-to-face? More importantly, if employees are busy “chattering” away all day, how do owners monitor the content of their conversations? Are they really discussing business plans or their plans for the weekend?  The answers to these questions are extremely subjective and as a competitor of Salesforce, I guess I won’t really ever know whether Chatter is a business solution or problem. For now, I remain curious as to whether the employees of an organization can optimize on using Chatter, or whether it is solely a tool for the marketing department.  For those Chatter-users out there, I want to know the answers to these questions. Has your experience with Chatter proven to be successful to the business or detrimental to your time?  I want to know your thoughts…