Do employers check up on your
social networking sites?

Do you blog, tweet, post bulletins or inform people about your current moods and activities online? If so, then you’re part of the worldwide sensation known as social networking. Whether your social network of choice is MySpace, Facebook, Twitter or all of the above, anything you put on these sites says a lot about you – maybe more than you’d like.

A recent survey taken by thousands of social networkers revealed that a large number of people are embarrassed by their online profiles. Many of these people would not want coworkers or employers to find them on social networking sites, because their pictures, comments or other content may be inappropriate.  Anyone who is wary of a personal profile should be careful; it’s easy to find most anyone online these days. A Social Network Search locates the profiles anyone has all over the Web, and people are looking.

Every employer does a little research before hiring a new person, and one of the newest ways to find out more about prospective employees is to look at their social profiles. Modern hiring managers are scouring the web to see what they can find out about people who are being considered for any job. Many of these managers admit that if they don’t like what they see on your profiles, you may not get hired.

Job applicants aren’t the only ones being affected by their social networking habits. Major companies across the globe are participating in Network Monitoring; actively checking the online profiles their employees maintain. The general feeling is that people who work for a company represent it at all times, even when they’re off the clock.

Some companies, such as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) have published “Rules of Conduct” for their employees to follow when using sites like Facebook and Twitter. These rules are intended to ensure that no staff member posts anything that could be embarrassing or damaging to the company, and include comments such as “Business and pleasure should not be mixed on services like Twitter” and “Common sense should prevail, but if you are in doubt about the appropriateness of a Tweet or posting, discuss it with your editor before sending”.

WSJ is not alone. Other corporations and even government agencies are investigating people’s social networking habits. You have the right to post whatever you want about yourself on social networks, but the people you work for (or hope to work for) have the right to decide that the image you project is not right for their company. It’s a touchy subject, and one that we’ll be watching closely as personal and professional worlds start to collide in the social networking stratosphere. Just remember that when you update your profiles, friends and family may not be the only ones watching.

What do you think? Should employers have the right to judge people based on what they post to social network sites? Leave us a comment to share your opinions, and thank you for reading the PeopleFinders.com People Search blog.

At PeopleFinders.com we fully support the concept of reconnecting with people from your past. Seeing former classmates can be a fun and rewarding experience, but the days leading up to the big event often leave people feeling anxious and stressed. The thrill of reminiscing about school days and catching up with old friends can sometimes be overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety.

It’s normal to be nervous about reuniting with a group of people you spent most of your time with when you were younger. You may wonder what they look like now, how their lives have changed, how they will perceive the “new” you and if you will get along after so much time has passed. Luckily, modern technology makes it easy to cheat and get some of your questions answered in advance.

Want to find some classmates before your High School reunion? Try a People Search to find anyone instantly. Once you’ve found them, you can learn a lot about their lives today. Use a Social Network Search to see the profiles, blogs, photos and other personal details they have posted on popular sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

Finding classmates online allows you to contact them and enjoy some time catching up away from the rest of your graduating class. You may want to make plans to get together with one person or the whole gang in advance. This gives you an opportunity to reconnect with your former social group in a private and more relaxed setting.

Before you head off to your class reunion, take some time for yourself. Request a few days off work so you aren’t rushed and have more time to spend with old friends. Set up your travel arrangements well in advance so you don’t have to worry about your accommodations when you’re already nervous about the reunion. Get some rest before the big day, and consider meeting up with others on the way to your High School reunion so you can all go in together.

If your class reunion is this summer, have a great time reconnecting with faces that are very familiar, just a little bit older. Thank you for reading the PeopleFinders.com People Search blog.

MySpace Vs. Facebook
In the struggle to grab and keep the attention of the American public, MySpace and Facebook remain the 2 biggest warriors on the scene. MySpace had been the top dog of the social networking community, but in the last year Facebook closed the gap and gained an impressive lead. According to an analysis by The Nielsen Company, Facebook is now the #1 social network in the U.S., although MySpace still outranks them in one category. Nielsen statistics show that MySpace is around 3 times more popular than Facebook for online videos.

Facebook is currently considered to be the King of all social networks, but another site may soon be nipping at its heels:

Twitter Is The Word
Twitter me this: Are people excited about having a fun way to send and receive messages of 140 characters or less? The answer is an overwhelming yes. In the last year Twitter boasted a staggering 1,382 percent growth rate, and Neilsen places the site distinctly in the #1 spot for fastest growing social network of 2009. It seems everyone from the biggest celebrity to the new kid in town is sending tweets to anyone who is interested in following them.

People are constantly jumping on the Twitter bandwagon, but they aren’t always sticking around for the ride. More people are abandoning their Twitter accounts than continuing to use them. This type of networking may not be for everyone, but the figures show that this site continues to grow. At PeopleFinders.com, we love Twitter and invite you to follow our tweets.

Keep It All Together
People tweet, blog, post videos, upload pictures and express themselves on dozens of social networks all over the World Wide Web. It’s a great way to keep up with friends and family, but you could spend massive amounts of time trying to locate their accounts and watch for updates. There is an easier way; a Social Networks Search finds all the profiles people have on popular sites and shows you previews of each one. It’s quickly becoming the most popular way to stay connected online.

Social Networking sites continue to fight for dominance of the Internet community, but that may be an impossible goal in our ever-changing world. A few years ago Friendster was known as the leading social network, but since then several sites have enjoyed that distinction. Networkers can be enticed by something innovative and exciting, and when a large number of people jump on a new social networking site, many others are bound to follow.

Thank you for reading the PeopleFinders.com People Search blog!