Should you add your work colleagues to Facebook?

Recently I have been reading a lot about Facebook and the privacy threats that it puts forward.

It actually got me concerned. The fact that friends of my friends would be able to view my data just because we had a common link was just not on.

This got me thinking, what is Facebook for again? It feels like years since it was launched and it has somehow become this place that I use nearly every 1-2 hours to get a piece of information. Whether it be to quickly get the mobile of a friend, send someone a message, have a 2 minute escape from work, the list goes on.

Facebook have won the battle of trying to get people to stay sticky, I am 100% glue when it comes to Facebook. In fact, I leave it open nearly all day on my iPhone or Google Chrome tab just in case someone needs me.

In turn, it is nearly common place to add just about anyone you have ever spent more then 5 minutes with to your Facebook. It is kind of fun to get that inside view of that person’s life, their photos, their friends and what they get up to. This is where I start to cringe slightly. I like to draw a line between my friends at work, friends at play and the other facets of my life.

This isn’t to say that I don’t consider people at work friends, I do indeed and spend more time with them than many other people close to me – though Facebook to me is a way to keep in touch with very close friends, not people I spend a day to day with in a working environment. I would say my guard is slightly higher around people I work with professionally compared to people I socialize with on a close friends basis. This is why I don’t particularly think it is wise to add work colleagues to Facebook. It isn’t a jab at you not liking them, it is merely the fact you want to keep your private life separate from your working life.

I maintained this rule for my past two roles – some people took it as an insult, some totally understood – either way it is a very hard bridge to cross.

I broke my own rule starting at Wiliam because I get on so well with everyone in the team, we are a close knit group of like minded people and I was welcomed very quickly. After the privacy discussion that was brought up yesterday on Facebook, I have now taken the next steps to remove all work people from Facebook along with people that were added just for the sake of it.

Do I really need 500 friends? Do I really need to have all people I work with on Facebook? Anyone I want to talk with will likely have my mobile number or email.

Facebook for me is something I want separate to my professional life. I doubt my inside jokes with mates are that funny to work people anyway so hopefully I won’t be missed!

Further reading / tools for Privacy on Facebook:

• Reclaim privacy – a tool that will scan your Facebook for vulnerabilities – very cool!
• 3 cool tools for restoring your privacy