A colleague of mine recently indicated that she refuses to associate herself with social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace because she is concerned that they can adversely affect her career and chances of ever getting a seat at the executive table. She cited Simon Dumenco and his article, “Facebook: Too Creepy, Childish for the Workplace” to support her apprehension.

Dumenco asserts that Bill Gates gave up his affiliation to Facebook because he was being bombarded by friend requests and finding too many “weird fan sites about him.” That argument is null and void because a man like Bill Gates will likely never be able to participate in normal activities, including those on social networks sites. He is too susceptible to fanaticism and criticism because of his status in the world.

The one of the first crucial steps in public relations planning is to conduct research. Dumenco fails to provide any empirical evidence to support his claims. Strategic decision should be supported by valid data, not generalizations derived from a few obscure incidences. Doing so is to fly in the face of public relations planning principles. And it’s that kind of flawed thinking that could be detrimental to your career. Continue reading →