Facebook. MySpace. LinkedIn. Friendster. Twitter. Flickr. Social networking is all around us. Talking about the latest happening on Facebook, or the latest Tweet from Walt Mossberg on Twitter has just become normal conversation. In fact, I feel that people who aren’t “connected” are doing themselves a great injustice by missing out on numerous opportunities that networking brings – reuniting with old friends, connecting with industry leaders , job opportunities, etc., etc. That’s on the individual side of social networking…

Now, more and more companies are finally stepping into the twenty-first century and asking the same question – “should we be participating in these social sites?” And the answer is…. “Yes…but with caution.” Newsday‘s contributing business columnist, Jamie Herzlich, recently wrote “Online social networking sites not just for kids,” where she stated that “it’s time your small business started to look at ways to leverage these and other social networks to boost business.” I agree with her that business should start to take advantage of these opportunities, but they must proceed with caution.

Companies cannot start airing their dirty laundry or revealing personal employee knowledge, which could possibly eliminate their competitive advantage. Also, you have the question of who in the company should be able to participate in the social sites? Should only the CEO or president, or is everyone allowed? Sun Microsystems has an interesting take on the subject of blogging, where every Sun employee is allowed to participate, but with guidelines. I believe this is definitely the right approach for any established company or new startup who is thinking about breaking into the social networking and/or blogosphere.

We’ve had this company blog for years and have a BLAST Twitter account, and our account reps all utilize social media to make connections with members of the press and to keep a pulse on industry insiders. Companies should definitely “put a face to the name” and let their customers and clients into their world, but with restrictions. For the most part, companies do a good job of participating in the social networking world, but it only takes one idiotic comment or blog post to ruin a reputation. If you ever have a doubt whether you should leave a Tweet on Twitter, start a company page on Facebook, or put embarrassing photos on Flickr, remember this – the world is connected. Once something goes on the Internet, it’s out there for good. So, the next time you want to place your “virtual fingerprint” on Facebook or LinkedIn, just ask yourself, “How does this reflect on my business?” – and then ask your PR agency!