Someone very wise said business and pleasure shouldn’t mix. We could partially disagree and say a bit of fun never did any harm! However, in these online social networking days, this rule has become a true gem of traditional wisdom and should be applied when choosing a networking site (and, indeed, populating it with your personal information).
We have all heard about the infamous case of an employee being fired after posting party pictures in a networking site, after having called in sick. A documentary about Facebook currently being filmed by an Irish company will unveil some unusual situations suffered by networkers- such as the naïve wife who posted a picture of her husband covering his intimate parts with a screwdriver not realizing she wasn’t sending it as a private message.
When joining social networks, it is important to separate your personal life from your professional profile. Mistakes happen and, while you might have a good relationship with your business partners, clients, employees and/or employers, overexposing your personal life could damage your professional image and, therefore, your business.
Overall, online networking is an excellent business tool and so is a bit of fun in professional environments. However, we would recommend keeping Facebook/Hi5/Nimble for friends and family (unless your profile is embarrassment-proof and utterly respectable); but joining dedicated business online networks (such as LinkedIn) for professional purposes.