Last week I was in a blogger meet at B’lore. One of the speaker who is CEO of Social Networking website focussed on job applicants told us many positive aspect of social networking and how people are increasingly using the social media to connect with social and business contacts. In questions and answer session we discussed the darker side of Social networking. The same issue has been pointed by Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt.

Recently one of the Indian Govt. Minister was forced to resign becuase of his tweets. You are hired or fired just because of  your posts on your social networking sites. Think twice before you write anything bad about your comany or job or your boss.

You are not just sharing information with friends and family but also with entire world. Your real time update may become a breaking news in few seconds. Social networking is now a very powerful tool. You must learn how to use these media positively.

The power of social networking sites is the ability to connect, and interact, with networks of people whom we may or may not know to a greater or lesser degree. Now companies are increasingly using social media to promote brands and identity through social networks. If you have newly joined an organization, double check or ask HR dept to know the social media ploicy of  the company.

There are employers who are asking job applicants to share facebook profile, twitter id and other social networking information. It is now regarded as a very effective tool for screening potential employees by HR professional.

How can I protect my privacy and identity? Always try to check the privacy setting of your social netwotking sites. You need to decide how and with whom you want to share information. You can even make it private or password protected. Avoid sharing personal information, like your phone number, street address, or account information.

The social networking profiles are being used in ways beyond their original intent. Be aware of the facts that not all social networking sites have stringent privacy policy and settings to secure your identity.

You need to be aware of following issues as a user or owner of the social networking site. First, there is often a issue with the website itself. Second, many apps contain functionality which may helps the user but in reality allows data  leakage. Third, there may be apps that are malware, or at least contain it.