More than a year ago or so, I talked on this blogsite about the impact information technology and social networking would make on the economic downturn. (”If there is a recession, will be it be ‘Recession 2.0′?”) That is, people would be in better control of their destiny, and companies in better control of their costs, thanks to all the incredible online resources we now have at our disposal.

This downturn would not be a repeat of 1975, when all millions of helpless people could do is collect unemployment and scan truncated newspaper help-wanted sections. Nor is it even 2001 for that matter.

We’re now emerging from the other side of the downturn (things are looking up), and evidence is piling up that social networking and IT is making a huge difference in mitigating the pain, and even helping people and organizations to thrive in new ways. Through the tough times, social networking has been an empowering force. I call it the LIFT factor — LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter.

A recent article in The New York Times describes how one laid-off engineer turned to Facebook and LinkedIn, and soon found himself to be the object of a talent search by a hiring company.

For the engineer, the connection meant getting back to work and off the unemployment rolls. For the company, social networking is providing a valuable talent recruiting resource. “More personal pages, profiles and social networks are serving as fodder for companies looking to fill jobs,” the report states. To mine its employees’ social networking contacts for potential hires, a business can pay for services from companies like Appirio or Jobvite.”

Here’s how it works, as described in the article:

“A hiring company that uses Appirio’s product asks its employees to add an application to their Facebook pages. The tool will notify the employees when new jobs open and which of their friends might be a good fit. Appirio’s matching engine comes up with a list of friends whose job titles, geographic location and other keywords match their company’s available positions, and the employee can send them a referral in Facebook. The matching engine has access to the same information that a Facebook friend does. A friend who gets a referral can apply for the job if interested. If that person is hired, the company can use Appirio’s service to track which employee found the match and offer a referral bonus.”

Neat stuff. As we become more networked and connected, opportunities grow exponentially. Advice from a report in Microgeist urges active participation in social media to expand this range of opportunities:

“The continuing evolution of the Web comes not from immediate financial opportunities. The opportunity is the opportunity to participate and contribute. Those who provide research, insight and imagination will find themselves able to generate dependable traffic as and the consequent direct advertising opportunities. First and foremost, however is participation and contribution.”

Oh, and by the way, good riddance, Recession 2.0.