Facebook, for hire

Ah, the 21st century. Where great technological advances have been bestowed upon us. Things such as HDTV, 1080P, the iPod and DVR have arisen. As far as web based goes, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, have all emerged as the 21st century's version of boy bands.

Not only can you keep in touch with old friends via the aforementioned web sites, but now you can tell people what you are doing, at the precise moment you are doing it. Grabbing some coffee? Twitter it. Miss an old friend? MySpace them. The possibilities are endless.

The primary reason for my writing this column is because a few articles I've read recently have touched on the topic of companies hiring, or for the most part, denying potential employees, based on what they see on their favorite social networking site. Occasionally, you hear of people getting into some form of trouble because of these. Whether it be a call-in at work because they're too hungover from partying but haphazardly placed drunken photos of themselves from the night before on their site or even those stupid enough to put photos of themselves doing/selling drugs.

But that's where this question arises: How can a company dictate whether or not that applicant will be a poor employee?

It's hard to imagine that anyone making this form of decision has never experienced a drunken night out them self, perhaps not as openly as some do in today's age, but at least one or two times is a definite. To deduce someones attributes and tendencies by judging what they see on their site seems rather rash, to say the least. Then again, perhaps the company would benefit from hiring someone who seems bland on their page, as they may have less of a chance to bring any negative connotations to them or the company as a whole.

However, this whole situation has me pondering: What if I have chosen not to partake in any of these social networking sites?

My brother and I had a discussion about this nearly a year ago. While I was getting in to the whole MySpace/Facebook thing, he elected not to. "They're stupid," he said. At first, I thought that he was missing out on staying connected with friends, old friends, family perhaps, but after I thought more about it, he was right. Inevitably, I stopped using Facebook/MySpace as it became extremely tedious and, to be frank, ridiculous.

But by ridding myself of these annoyances, did I do myself a disservice? If I'm applying for a potential career-type position, will I be examined differently because I've chosen this route?

For example, let's say you apply for a job at Thingamajig as a possible marketer. While reviewing my application they see everything that they would want in their potential hire. However, when they check to see what social networking site I use, and they come up empty handed, do they assume that I am not social? Do they say "Whoa, wait a minute, this guy's job is coming up with marketing plans, interacting with clients, be an extrovert...why doesn't he use MySpace or Facebook like everyone else? Hmm, he may not be the candidate we're looking for." To me, this scenario seems completely plausible, albeit hypothetical.

Maybe this is the world we live in now; where people you don't know have a better idea of who or what you are then those who are actually close to you. But I know one things for sure, I won't be a part of it...again.