Back in the 2002 or there abouts being online was all about being anonymous and having fun using an alias or several aliases. Now in 2008 with the advent of Facebook and other similar social networks like Linkedn, anonimity is not an option. We go online using our real identities and real information about ourselves. We invite disaster to our lives.

Facebook requirements

To enjoy the feeling of companionship and comaradery in a social network like Facebook you are required to be the same person online as you are in real life. Otherwise the system stops working. To form groups and communicate with friends online, family members and co-workers they have to know who you are and you have to be able to recognize them. People gather their real names, addresses and other sensitive information and place it online for all to see.

Think twice

Before you get really involved in a social network you should first take a careful assesment of the type of information that you are going to be distributing. Ask yourself if your marital status, what you are doing at any given moment or your relationship to another person is really something that you want your friends to know about. Especially think about if the information is something that you might give to a close friend behind closed doors but not something that you would tell your mother or father.

It's easy with email

I have heard many say that Facebook will take the place of email. This is just not going to happen. With email you can be granular with the permissions to view and spread information about yourself. With a social network you can never be sure that some good detective work might not reveal some of the less pride filled moments in your life.

News feeds, status bars and comments

Be careful of the status feeds and comments. When you innocently change your status to a broken heart you might be telling your future ex and your co-workers something that you only want two or three close family members to know about. Don't make comments about a co-workers backside or their beautiful eyes unless you want to open yourself up for an harassment suit or even worse have a jealous argument with your significant other. Be aware that being friends online or in real-life can lead to conflicts. Don't allow yourself to become a victim. A comment area where someone that is not pleased with you can post despariging words might reach a 100 or so aquiantances before you log in and realize it's there.

Anonymous is best

Facebook will never take the place of a good set of open and anonymous communities. Anonomity gives us uncompromised freedom to think and interact in any manner we please. This is what attracts most to the internet. The fact that we can be just as incognito online as we are standing on a subway train is important. So important that we are not willing to give it all up for a few glimpses into someone elses life via an online social network.

Build it and they will come

The reason behind this blog post is just recently I was asked if it was smarter to start an online community using phpBB or should it be done on Facebook. After some questioning we came to the conclusion that Facebook was not an option. It would not provide the kind of control for community management that would be needed. It would be too hard to control information between members and to make sure that if mistakes are made the solutions could be implemented immediately.

The bottom line is that although social networking is a good thing in general it can be mean disaster if not handled properly. It is my feeling that the only way to do things is with a more personal touch using available open source community systems. Possibly a commercial one like vbulliten if you can afford it.

Happy Publishing!

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