A colleague and I were having an interesting chat about facebook in the workplace. I have my own rules (and practices) for facebook, given that my "friends" are a diverse mix of colleagues, friends + family (some even cross those lines) and drawn from the various areas and interests in my life.Given that I've articulated these verbally many times, I thought it might be worth a blog post... and these are subject to change at any time. ;-) I realize not everyone is going to agree with me and it does involve some level of self-editing (some might also call it censorship). However, I consider it all to be building my digital identity, the digital identity I want, the one I am crafting everyday. Because those of you who know me, know what I say ALOT "If you are not building your digital identity, someone will build it for you!"With that thought in mind, here are my 14 rules and practices for Facebook use:

1. You can control who sees your news feeds; however, I decided if I didn't want people to read my feeds, then I shouldn't "friend" them.
2. I keep part of profile public, so that those I meet at conferences or events can find me. I am careful about what displays as my public information, though.
3. I don't 'friend' anyone I supervise or any students from one of my workshops/presentations, but if they friend me, I accept the friendship.
4. I do think about what I write and if I wouldn't say it in public, it doesn't go on Facebook.
5. I don't friend (or accept friend requests) from strangers unless they have a very good reason (which they explain) for friending me.
6. I mostly watch my language. If I don't want my mom to read it (and she does), then it doesn't go on Facebook.
7. Only a few people can see my family photos and some notes. Everyone can see my artwork, blog posts, the majority of my notes.
8. I do not post any photos or video of my family without permission. I expect them to do the same.
9. I use Facebook for networking, promotional, and professional development. I push out technology posts and art updates. I follow several colleagues and artists who send me wonderful links and readings through facebook.
10. I don't spy using facebook.
11. I accept that my family, friends & colleagues use Facebook and unless they post something really inappropriate (like they were going to bring a gun to work tomorrow or they enjoy stealing from the company), then I wouldn't call them out on it. I may not agree with their politics or personal beliefs or work habits, but I understand that we are all human and have the right to our thoughts. It is really about respect. However, if I discovered that anyone I knew were abusing the internet (regardless of website), then I would question that.
12. I use it in place of email for almost all non-official email. There, I confess. I did a presentation with a group of freshman just a few months ago, and I discovered that about all they do on the 'net these days is facebook. No youtube, no delicious, no IM, no flickr -- everything is done via facebook and for several in the group, via their cell phones. If I need to archive or I need the email to represent me in an official capacity, then I use an "official" email address.
13. I don't let it interfere with my work, be it at home or here at the library. The web (regardless of what is it) can be a terrible time suck. The web is part of my work, so I am online an awfully lot (if you didn't notice). LOL
14. I turn off the services I don't use in Facebook, like IM. Sorry, message or email me instead. IM is too disruptive to me when I working, especially if it involves reading on the web, video editing, or coding (in other words, things which take a lot of brain power!)