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To you, it’s a fun way to keep in touch with friends, tell everyone the highlights of your weekend or meet new people. To an employer or college club advisor, Web sites like MySpace and Facebook are research tools used to level the playing field.

Keeping in touch
Social networking sites are a great way to keep in touch with friends, no matter where you live. Checking out online entries of friends who are going to school far from your hometown can make you feel like you’re still a part of their life. After all, you can post blog entries, pictures, video and music on the site so everyone knows what you’ve been up to lately and what your interested in now.

Meeting new people
Many people also use social networking sites to meet new people. They can search user profiles to find people that meet certain criteria such as age, location, relationship status and common interests. If you know someone’s full name, you can even search for their specific site.

A word to the wise
While these sites can be fun and entertaining, beware what you post. Something you might find amusing could be seen as distasteful by others. You never know who’ll be searching the Internet to find out more about you.

“There are a lot of different audiences out there who might be accessing the information you put out,” said Andy Schadwinkel, Assistant Director of the Office of Admissions at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “I think Facebook or myspace can be helpful or useful tools, but you have to be mindful of which audiences can use it and put your best face forward at all times.”

You never know when a college professor might check your Facebook page to verify that you really did miss class because you were at a family reunion and not just worn out from a long weekend of partying. Are you interested in getting into a prestigious college honor society? The group’s membership committee could check out your myspace to learn more about you. If you’ve posted items of a questionable nature, these organizations might not deem you worthy for membership.

In a conference this May, members of the Tennessee Association of Colleges spoke with employers who said they’ve used social networking sites to research potential employees. Inman Otey, Tennessee State University Career Center Director said employers reported that they didn’t continue the interview process and even decided not to offer jobs to candidates who had inappropriate content posted on their sites.

Use these powers for good, not evil
While its true that content posted on social networking sites can come back to haunt you, these sites can also help you get into highly competitive organizations or land a coveted internship.

Schadwinkle said these sites are a great way for organizations to gain positive information about students.

“They can show the way they interact with people,” he said. “It can show they care about friends and networks and enjoy getting involved with other people.”

Regardless of what you post on the Internet, just remember: what you post today can be accessed for years to come. If you would be embarrassed by your grandma or church pastor seeing something about you on Facebook or Bebo, you’re probably better off not posting it.

Sidebar
Work it! How to use social networking sites in your favor

Inman Otey, Career Center Director at Tennessee State University offers students the following advice about positive things students can post on their myspace of Facebook sites to help them get into top organizations or land awesome internships:

• Present a poised and put-together image through well written posts and appropriate photos.
• Showcase your skill sets and talents so college organizations and potential employers see you in a favorable light.
• Elaborate on extracurricular involvement in activities like athletics, theater, campus ministry, etc.
• Highlight involvement in community service and your work experience.