Facebook: the new MySpace?

Last night I went to a PRSA Mixer in downtown Portland – I’d never been to one (and I’m not even a member of PRSA yet) so I thought I’d see what it was all about. To no surprise, social media was a prevalent topic of conversation throughout the night. The one thing that struck me most from my fellow young PRos was their stance on Facebook in the social media sphere.

Based on the general feedback, here’s the scale of where you should boast professionalism on social networks.

1. LinkedIn (100% Professional)

2. Twitter (Mix of Professional and Personal)

3. Facebook (Mostly Personal)

4. MySpace (Gross. Just delete it.)

I have no problem following friends, coworkers, and people in my industry on Twitter – I think it’s great to share ideas, network, as well as give an insight to your personality – but most of the feedback I got last night was that Facebook is just more personal – in general, 20-somethings don’t want their boss or their grandmother to friend them on Facebook – yes, you can alter your privacy settings, but seriously, it’s SO obvious when you block your photos or information, which only leaves us to wonder – what are you trying to hide? (Even if you’re not hiding anything).

So here’s what I think happened: Facebook was really the first social network that every college student went on. Nobody thought it would get this popular or really thought about what they were doing (it was only open to college students at first anyway) and the last thing an 18-year old freshman is thinking about is how to portray a professional image on a new network that people are basically using to post drunk pictures of each other. Twitter, on the other hand, came around later when people had more of an idea of what to expect and how to use social media to advance their professional careers. We 20-somethings are used to using Facebook in a personal (and often times) unprofessional way. I personally think opening it up to everyone was a mistake on Facebook – they are exploding and frankly, I don’t think college students (the people who started Facebook!) would stay if everyone found another site that was more exclusive.

So what do we do? Do we continue to block our pages? Do we delete and start from scratch, removing all trails of blasphemy? Do we create two profiles, one for professional use, and one for personal? Will Facebook survive, or is Facebook the new MySpace?

Do people outside of marketing care about social media?

There’s no doubt the benefits of social networking, blogging, etc. in the marketing realm. In my personal experience, I’ve been able to grow both personally and professionally through social media outlets. Because like everyone says, these days, you HAVE to be active online to keep up with your fellow PR, advertising, and marketing professionals.

But what about other industries? Very few of my friends who work in other industries see the significance of blogging or Twittering or anything related. When I’ve tried to explain the benefits and get them online, their interests fizzle.

“No one I KNOW is even on Twitter, and there’s nothing I need to blog about. It works for you because everyone in your industry does this kind of stuff, but it’s just not right for me.

This is a typical response I get from friends or family who give it a stab. Sure, most of my college friends are on Facebook or MySpace, but they typically use it to stay in touch with friends and post pictures. The number of people I know who actively participate in the online conversation by reading and hosting blogs, networking on LinkedIn, etc. – very, very few outside of the marketing industry.

I might just have cynical friends who are behind the technology wave, but I’m not sure. The fact that social networking has taken over email online makes me think I just have weird friends. How long will it take for everyone to join these networking sites, and if they do, will they see the benefit and use these sites to their advantage?