By Anthony Balderrama
CareerBuilder.com writer
[online @ http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/01/28/cb.facebook.boss.friend/index.html]
Facebook's been around for almost five years -- a lifetime in the Internet world -- and by now it has become a mainstay of workers who want to kill a little (or a lot) of time updating their statuses and playing Scrabble.
Hidden deep beneath the site's fun, technological distractions, some people are actually using the site for its intended purpose: networking (social and professional).
You know, touching base and building relationships with people -- all things that used to be done in person with awkward phone calls and cocktail-party pleasantries.
At workplaces, online networking has become an effective way for co-workers within the same building or on different continents to connect. Bosses and employees are also friending each other, which can make balancing personality and professionalism difficult.
There are obvious drawbacks to letting the boss see too much of your non-work self, but do the positives compensate?