Worlds Colliding: My Mom's on Facebook!

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The nonbusiness origins of Facebook show up at this stage: My choices for answers to the question, "how do you know Joe?" include "worked together," but not any other business connection, such as "met through business connections" or "talked about doing business together, but didn't in the end." What's nice is that the question is so specific: "Are you guys friends, or not?" I don't feel bad answering "no" if Joe and I aren't friends. If we're connected in some vague way (belong to the same e-mail group, met at a conference once), he can try his luck with a LinkedIn invitation.

High School Reunion

Meanwhile, my teenager is aghast and I'm having fun exploring her world of online connecting. I created a group on Facebook for people from my high school and was tickled to find dozens of Facebook users who list Montclair High School in their profiles—for the good reason that they're attending classes there right now. I'd invite them to join my group, but they might be alarmed to know that my high school buddy George is chair of their history department these days. Very likely, some of these kids have parents who went to that high school with me, back when Son of Sam was in the news. When those parents find their way to Facebook, our high school group will be waiting for them.

Facebook also gives its users a "wall," a very clever announcement that greets people when they visit a profile page. If that feature existed on LinkedIn, a user could announce "I report spammers" or the like. The last time I checked out my daughter's profile (only prudent), I saw that on her wall she'd written, "I am bored with high school." That prompted me to send her a private message saying: "Pumpkin, if you're bored after one week, you may want to find some coping techniques—you've got a long way to go."

She wrote back: "PUMPKIN!?!?! God, Mom, whatever!"

There was also a hissing command to take down the photos that I'd added to my Facebook photo album; she didn't want her friends to get a glimpse of her touring the Smithsonian with her brothers. Whatever!

As worlds collide on Facebook, will networks unite? No telling. But I am pleased that not only the MBA students at our local university (whom I addressed at their orientation last week) but the music students as well (whom I know through this summer's production of Man of La Mancha) are friends of mine on Facebook. If I keep up this way, meeting my children's generation on Facebook (via conversations like those facilitated by a group called "B*tch Please, I'm From Colorado"), my average connection's age will drop like a stone. And, steeped as I am in the business world of my own generation, how can that be a bad thing?

Liz Ryan is an expert on the new-millennium workplace and a former Fortune 500 HR executive. She can be reached at liz@asklizryan.com.