Facebook—Merging All Your Lives
by Miki SaxonI’ve written several times in the past on the longevity of anything posted on the Net as well as the likelihood of it being seen by the unexpected—recruiters, bosses, spouses, parents, etc.
But the age-old warnings not to mix business and pleasure seem to have gone by the wayside, as has any real meaning for the word “friend.”
It all rose to a new level when using Facebook for business became the topic du jour within some of my business groups.
The interest was confirmed in an August 20 article in Business Week that said, “The number of unique Facebook visitors 35 and older more than doubled in June from a year ago, to 11.5 million, according to market researcher comScore Media Metrix.”
“”The lines between what’s business and what’s personal have blurred,” says Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 23…but it’s likely Facebook’s new demographic will demand even more ways to differentiate between various levels of “friends.” (Level one: ex-dorm buddies, girlfriends. Level two: sales contacts, fantasy-league teammates. Level three: anyone who signs off on your performance review.)”
On September 17, Business Week’s MediaCentric columnist Jon Fine explored the potential conflicts you have when creating a mashup of the personal and professional, “You didn’t have to explain your more colorful old friends, the ones pursuing batik or semi-pro skateboarding, to your clueless, business-casual office frenemies. Now that social networking has grown up-or grown out, now that Facebook attracts practically everyone-you will.”
As a closet Luddite I don’t do a lot of social media, I’m on LinkedIn because it’s useful and offers a lot of control, but that’s about it. And I don’t accept all the invitations from people I’ve never heard of, who don’t even respond to a reply suggesting we get to know each other. Nor would I have much confidence in a recommendation from someone with thousands of connections. I’m sure they know some of them well enough, but there’s no way to tell if they actually know the person they’ve recommended.
But I’m not hard to reach, that’s why there’s both an email and a toll-free phone number in the right column. Go ahead, contact me and let’s get to know each other.
Finally, lest you think I’m judging all this, I’m not. I can only decide what works for me, not for anybody else. I just think that people need to give more thought, look before they leap, and always remember that there’s no delete key for stuff on the web.
