CONCERNS AND BENEFITS
MySpace and Facebook have both been in the news recently with stories about users who have suffered some consequence as a result of content they posted to their own profiles. Colleges and universities have charged stu- dents with violation of campus alcohol poli- cies based on photos found on the sites. Graduating students have cited Facebook pro- files as a factor in cases where the student was turned down for a professional position. It’s
not just your friends who are exploring these services: parents, potential employers, and university administrators are aware of the pop- ularity of MySpace and Facebook and the
kind of information that can be mined from profiles.
Concerns about MySpace and Facebook cen- ter on the nature of the content users are posting and the relatively open access of the sites. Parents are particularly concerned about who has access to their children’s profiles. Both services now allow users the option to restrict access to their profiles to their approved group of friends only. User educa-
tion is key to preventing problems. Users need