Radical Transparency

As more people dive into the social networking fray and fall deep into its time sinkhole (and we're all doing it no matter how much we resist) it leaves me to ponder this "radical transparency" that we are all faced with (sorry for using that awful term "radical transparency" which is just another annoying buzzword).

A decade ago we were all worried about online privacy and now we are just putting it all out there with no regard for privacy so it seems.

Over the past few months, I've been pondering whether or not I should have separate professional and personal online profiles because you never know when your personal life, whether it is a blog posting or a comment you write or a picture you post, is going to intersect with your professional life and damage your career or professional reputation.

Something that I may find funny and blog or comment on could be offensive to someone else, and that person just might be a potential client or colleague. I would like to think that never happens, but in reality, it does happen and it happens everyday to somebody somewhere.

As of now, my Facebook profile contains all personal content, but I've intersected it with my professional life by allowing colleagues and clients to be on my friends list with full access to my profile. Is this wise or foolish? I guess time will tell.

Others, such as Forrester Research Analyst Charlene Li, have two profiles, one for everyone and the other for close friends and family. Another option is changing your privacy settings and limiting access to certain people on your friends list. Frankly, I haven't done this. If you're on my friends list, you have full access to my profile.