Earlier I blogged that I was in “social networking overload” and I meant it and mean it.  There is a definite series of advantages to Social Networking, and a definite series of DIS-advantages.  First and foremost is the control factor for PRIVACY.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/steering-between-unsocial-networks-and-social-spam/ The NYTimes Blog “Bits” talks about this eloquently.  And I will add a few of my pennies worth of opinion as well.

I do a lot of things, vocationally and alternatively, I do not always want all of my various skills and/or projects lumped together for the viewing pleasure of “whomever”.  My true circle of friends know that I am active in a variety of diverse interests, but a prospective client/employer may not want or need to know if I am an active amateur screenwriter or not. 

In fact it might hinder one’s employment possibilities if one was an avid skydiver and the firm looking at the profile was averse to risk-takers. (This is a hypothetical ONLY).  And believe me, many companies DO google and search on Social Network sites to see what you have been up to.  It would be good to be able to set up conditions for what people are able to see in the public arena, and levels of what people can see in the private arena. 

Some Social Networking Sites are looking in to how to do that, but just as for allowing communication – the whole ability to control who sees what and who can talk to whom, is a big issue.  And a techno-challenge.  Security is in the eye of the beholder, and we also have to figure out how to protect those who are too young to understand the predatory nature of some of our fellow humans.

It is a conundrum, and I am excited to see how it will be addressed.  In the meantime, remember “be careful out there”.