Social networking does seem to be the right term for how Web 2.0 tools are used for business to business communications. Socilalizing is not the goal of business people who seek value. They are looking for advice, information or insights and for this purpose blogs can be very effective.
Google, Microsoft and Sun, have thousands of corporate bloggers who reach developers and current or prospective business customers. The blogs allow interaction with the companies and their subject matter experts and are easily searchable.
Among other b-to-b companies that are using blogs effectively are GE Global Research, Boeing, Marriott, Emerson Process Management, the New York Stock Exchange, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Accenture. These are serious blogs with clear intentions to portray their authors as authorities in their fields.
Note that many company lawyers are still a bit nervous abut this uncontrolled communication and display disclaimers on their employee's blogs. Here's an example from Sun: "The individuals who post here work at Sun Microsystems. The opinions expressed here are their own, are not necessarily reviewed in advance by anyone but the individual authors, and neither Sun nor any other party necessarily agrees with them."
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