Fixing my facebook problem

With all the buzz in the news this week about FB* and their rights to what we post and all of that stuff**, I got to thinking about my online life. I go through this every few months or so, and last time I talked about it here on the blog so I thought I'd give a little update.

My main problem with facebook, twitter, and even this blog to some extent is the line between my personal and my professional life. The two do mix somewhat, sometimes, but I try very hard to keep them separate. I was good on twitter (using my dr. rini persona), and mostly good on this blog (the real life people who know me and my actual situation can be trusted to be discrete). Aside from that, I figure if someone does go through the trouble to put the pieces together, I haven't done anything actually wrong. I talk in vague terms about people and events and my own opinions, none of which can get me in too much trouble. Facebook on the other hand has always been a little bit of a gray area. Colleagues are on there, it's rude not to friend them, and it may actually have some uses in my professional life.

Today, my attention was brought to this article and I actually gained a little more confidence in the system. I've spent a little time on my profile tonight and by grouping my friends, family and colleagues and carefully choosing who can see what, I feel a little more comfortable with professional Rini and personal Rini exisiting in the same place and a little less like I'm being watched. Go read it, I thought that I was being pretty good about my settings, but even I didn't know about all of these tricks.

* I'm too lazy to find the links, google facebook TOS and you should be good.

**I'm not going to get into the debate on the good, the bad, and the legal of all of this. I have my own opinions and skeptism but I have come to terms with the fact that online social networking is a necessary evil in our lives. It's going to take the laws and licensing rules awhile to catch up with us. That's the beauty of a democracy, after many years we'll end up with a system that the majority of people feel comforatble with. The wheels of democracy move slower than those of innovators, always have, always will.