Social Network Profiles Are the New Email

Remember the days when it meant you were a drug dealer if you were young and wearing a pager? The same thing went for cell phones at one point. Eventually everyone had one or the other and it became a normal thing to have. Email came about and at one point it became “uncool” to not have an email address. At this point it is no longer cool or uncool, you must have an email address if you are going to get a job.

I would argue that the same thing now goes for social network profiles. I stumbled across an article entitled “Attention Boomers: Generation Y Expects to Find You on Social Networks.” As a member of Generation Y I can definitely say that I agree with this. Whenever I touch base with a new contact, the first thing I do is look them up on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Having access to that individual’s profile helps me to learn more about them and helps me learn a little more about their personality. It also provides more of a human element. The only excuse for your company to not have your employees on Facebook or other social networks is if you are in intelligence and keeping information classified is of utmost importance.

The argument against employees having social network profiles is that new recruits should be able to interact with employees in a completely professional environment. While I agree with that, I think that it is possible to have a professional interaction over a social network. I for one do so on a daily basis. Do you think everyone in the company should have a social network profile? Do most people in your company have one?

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