Social media/networking: Blessing or Curse?

Prior to the advent of social media/networking if you wanted to talk to someone you either had to call them, send a letter through snail mail or go and physically meet them. In today's world where you have facebook, You Tube, MySpace, Twitter and other social sites you can have a friendship entirely online without ever meeting the person you are "friends" with.

My first experience with social sites was shortly after I was divorced five years ago. I had not dated for ten years at that time. I had no idea of where to meet people other than bars, and after a few excursions to some local establishments that served adult beverages I realized that in most cases, I was a little old for the singles scene in Madison. So I turned to sites like Match.com and OKCupid. It was odd at first; however, as time went on I realized it was a very effective way to meet members of the opposite sex that had similar interests. Although, at times it could be a little weird (I could tell you stories). At first is was a little odd asking a total stranger out for a date in an e-mail, over time, I became thankful that I had a cloud of anonymity to hide behind.

Three years ago I joined facebook, and did my life ever change. Friends I had not heard from in years were coming out of the woodwork. I re-connected with a lot of people who were still in the area but for one reason or another we had gotten out of contact. When my Mom passed away earlier this year facebook was a great way to communicate with friends and family about funeral arrangements. Not having to call family members spread across the country gave my brother, sister and I time to grieve. The biggest plus of facebook was reconnecting with some old Army buddies. I love the idea of being able to stay connected with friends and family. It was a great way to let family members in far away places to see my son play his first song on his guitar.



It has also been a great way to share video with friends and family of my cousin and his band (Aaron Williams and the Hoodoo).



On facebook I am the admin of two groups and one fan page. One is the "Madison East High School Class of '85" group. A group that was instrumental in planning our 25th class reunion. The other group is "326th Engineer Battalion - 101st Airborne Division" which has led me to reconnect with some old Army buddies. I am also admin, along with another grad student from the MSTPC program, of "Word of the Day" page. Where I pluck a word out of the dictionary and then create a baconized sentence for it (BTW, Bacon Salt, is awesome!)

The downside of social media/networking is that you have no anonymity. Prior to hiring you most employers will do an Internet search for you. That photo of you sucking on a beer bong in college that your friend posted...your prospective employer can see it even if you have your profile locked down.

Many employers have policies for what you can and cannot do on the Internet while at work. I am lucky enough to work for an employer that does not block any part of the Internet. When it comes to facebook my employer actually encourages employees to be on facebook and to like the company page. The only thing we are banned from doing is commenting on anything on the company facebook page and it is a termination offense if you respond to a customer complaint or comment on the company facebook page.

There is a downside to being connected all the time. One problem is how much time can be sucked away by being on facebook. I have gotten to the point where I just show myself offline all of the time lest anyone think I want to chat. Another downside is people who you thought were safely secured in the dustbin of your past...show up here and now. Oftentimes there is a very good reason they were left in the past.

For the most part, facebook is really a good thing. I am not sure I would go as far as calling it a blessing. There are times when it can be a curse, hopefully those times are few and far between.