I often hear my clients tell me "I only use Facebook for family stuff and LinkedIn for business."
For sure that was the original intention of those social platforms. However, did you ever wonder how you make decisions on what is a personal contact and what is a business contact? Maybe that depends on your definition of friendship.
In the world of social networking it seems the lines are blurring somewhat. For example, I have a personal Facebook site where (for the most part) I try to keep it for personal friends and family content. But, what eventually happens is that business or networking contacts end up being part of my network. Some of the same folks in my network on LinkedIn are in fact also my "friends" on Facebook.
One of my Facebook friends sells cars and every so often he posts a deal on a car. I know when I am in the market for a car, he will be top of mind because he is now part of my online world. Is it because he is a friend, or a automotive salesperson? I guess in the end it really doesn't matter. The point here is to think about your social networking world in a more macro sense. Relationships rule the planet and the more folks you know (that you want to know), the better.
The only caveat is to know that each relationship online needs to be nurtured from time to time. Yes, the lines are blurred, but that may be a good thing...
