When I graduated from college we didn’t have Facebook. It was slowly entering other schools, yet hadn’t quite made it to my small university yet. The next year, Facebook was opened up to my school (myself included since I still had a .edu email address) and suddenly the word network(ing) took on a whole new meaning.

My Facebook Relationship

Through my own experience, I have found a love/hate relationship with Facebook. At first, I thought it was light years ahead of Friendster (although poor Friendster just missed the bubble on that development), yet seemed to be more calm and tame than MySpace (actually, more professional). Now though, I realize Facebook takes a lot of time and effort to maintain, particularly if you’re using it for business networking. It can also be annoying now with all of the added applications. The newsfeed that is supposed to bring new ideas and share your updates with your network, can be both informative and invasive.

Over time, I found I was logging in to Facebook less and less. I was annoyed by the changes in privacy settings, newsfeeds, and then the addition of applications and finally opening it up to the general public. I think that what made Facebook special and intriguing from the beginning was the fact that it was exclusive to college students, to their own university. At the core, it was set up to really look at social networks, develop communities, and share relationships and common interests, and that’s what I liked about it.

I’ve found that now that I am becoming more visible through the Buzz Bin and working at Livingston, I feel a need to go through my tagged photos and carefully proof my interests and groups to make sure nothing embarrassing pops up (although I haven’t, mostly because I’m too lazy). We all know of too many stories of sudden media frenzies over Facebook photos, whether it’s something provocative or just plain offensive. Maybe I’ve also grown up a little bit, and just don’t want that many people knowing everything about me, or feeling like they do from my Facebook profile.

Facebook and the Corporate World

As everyone knows by now, Facebook is also a useful tool for the 30+ and 40+ crowd, to be used not only for social fun but for business and marketing through the newsfeed and group memberships. In fact, even those over 40 have found Facebook. However, as more and more younger people are entering the workforce, and businesses either choose to embrace Facebook use, or reject it; how do these people who have essentially “grown up” with Facebook approach the professional use?

While more companies are turning to Facebook for internal use (some requiring employees to be a part of it) and recruiting purposes, others are using it to look up potential employees to make sure that there is nothing “distasteful” shown on their profile - whether it’s a picture or something else.

Personally, I think it’s kind of hypocritical that the same companies who are advocating Facebook use for recruiting and networking, may also be using it to judge potential candidates for jobs. How can you fully believe in something without accepting it for what it is?

Defining Networks

There is a difference between Facebook and LinkedIn, and MySpace and Facebook. I consider MySpace to be a lot more personal and private, and also annoying in its customization features and spastic pages. Although with Facebook applications now, the pages can become a bit cluttered - but the overall visual effect remains the same.

It seems however, that Facebook is turning into the new LinkedIn for professionals, and vice versa. In fact, LinkedIn announced a couple weeks ago that it would be allowing a photo upload feature. To me, that was the one differentiator between LinkedIn and the other social networking sites, the part that made it “professional.” But now, I think that the line between personal and professional is even more blurred - and I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not.

Jim Louderback at PCMag had a refreshing and witty piece the other day which really defines Facebook, among the other social networks. He points out that “crowds can be fickle” and although everyone is jumping on Facebook right now, we could soon have networks that are no longer updated and cared for with the same aggressive interest as we have now.

Facebook and You

On the Buzz Bin, we have discussed the issue of personal vs. professional life on Facebook, and also the idea that Facebook could just be at its peak through frenzied media coverage and rapid adoption by companies. In the meantime, it seems to be here to stay. Facebook is everywhere, even on your iphone. I have a feeling though, that the love affair will come to an end sooner or later, as the frenzy fizzles out and a new crush is found.

The question is, until (or if) that happens, how do YOU choose to use Facebook? As more businesses adopt Facebook, the lines between personal and professional are going to continue to be crossed and confused. How much you choose to reveal can affect your career. At the same time, are you missing out on forming key relationships and finding common ground with other professionals by not sharing your love of the Nationals or a well made Manhattan?

If anything, Facebook is something that everyone should try out, whether or not you choose to build your page, and relationships with it, is your call. Remember that with the correct audience, Facebook can build a better business tool than just about anything else. You just have to find that audience.