Just when you figured out which fork to use with your salad and you are just now comfortable eating dinner at a nice restaurant, now you have to worry about how to socialize on Facebook, will it ever end, no I think not. Aside from online netiquette Facebook with its ability to take public just about anything in an millisecond requires some forethought and planning before blurting out your life story or posting your company’s plan to take over the world.

Since it is best practice to attach a Company Fan Page toyour own personal Facebook page, it is a good idea to first understand the rules of the road for your personal page. Since you are representing not only yourself but your company as well it is a good idea to show some discretion in what you post to your page. Also remember that your personal page will be not only accessed by friends and family it will also be seen by potential clients, employers (yes that is the first thing to do when hiring someone), and business associates.  

First thing is to do is to make sure and include your personal photo, preferable a recent one (that is really you not a model) and a good one. Secondly, (this is going to sting a little for some) but make sure the photo is just of you, not you and your spouse, child, dog etc. If you are married or in a relationship,Facebook has a place in your profile for communicating your relationship status with ample space to include pictures of your children, friends and family. If you use a picture of your child as your profile picture and a classmate from 30 years ago searches Facebook for you, they will have a hard time matching your name with your photo and may not find you. Also another reason for not using acouple in the picture is that some employers and clients see a Facebook profile picture of a couple and interpret it as a sign of instability in the relationship. If you are a dog lover sign him/her up on Dogbook or dedicate a whole page to them, see http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1125126793 for example. Also use your full name (including your maiden name) to help in the search to find you.

Remember that Facebook news travels globally (real time) faster than any other news media onthe planet so don’t post a relationship status change until you are ready for the world to discuss that change with you immediately. In other words it is best to let the other party know first before announcing your singletude.

Friend requests are like meeting someone at an event, which you wouldn’t just run up to everyone there and ask them to be your friend, so I guess I’m saying don’t go too friend happy. This is also known as friend poaching where you go to all your friends and the friend request their friends and so on. Start with your best friends, family, old classmates, and community groups,like interests, and take time look for folks that you share common interests in, read their profiles.

Watch out for tooting your own horn too often. It’s ok to share the good stuff more than occasionally, but life is about ups and downs use a little of both so that your friends have a good insight on your activities. Also remember everyone is listening even your boss, especially if you are bragging about that long weekend you took to the mountains, but actually called in sick on Friday

Watch out for befriending ex’s or a friends ex as this can get you into a frenzy of detrimental remarks for the whole world to share.  On this same topic don’t post pictures, video,comments etc about your own soured relationship as there could be someliability issues for trying to destroy someone’s character and also trigger an earthquake of posts from others that may not share the same feelings you have of what went down as the relationship crumbled.

Avoid political, religious, and ethical discussions because when it comes time to create your Company Fan Page you may polarize your personal beliefs with your company, which in turn is sure to not agree with your clients and customers. So in essence whatever platform you stand on personally will be directly associated with the company you have attached.

Too much information can be fatal, so use discretion, but all the while realizing that Facebook is a personable social environment and your friends expect some level of letting your hair down.

THIS IS IMPORTANT! Know the difference between a personal message (private) to someone and posting on the wall (public for the world tosee). I’m not shouting at you but just trying to emphasize the distinction betweenthe two and you can easily see what harm this could have.

Lastly be yourself and by all means do not create a fake page in someone else’s name, this is against Facebook rules, could have some legal liabilities, and is a good way in general to get you in trouble.