The dark side to social media

Is it my imagination, or is there a groundswell of opinion that social media is a force of ultimate evil in the universe? OK. I may be exaggerating a teeny bit, but social media is suddenly mainstream news. From spoof profiles set up by Oxford University students cruelly claiming a professor was a member of the Hitler Youth, to inappropriate photos taken unawares (this link has been duly censored!) on MySpace, education professionals are being harassed the world over. Then there was every parents' nightmare, the teen party advertised on MySpace that drew hundreds of party-goers who promptly trashed the house, swinging from light fittings and baracading themselves in against worried neighbours. Add to that the numerous stories of identity theft reported on social networking sites like FaceBook like the one reported on Canuckflack.com and the frankly, weird and illegal activies of some Second Lifers.  Clearly social media is acquiring a big image problem. Whilst many sites are, to some extent, policed by their members, who alert administrators to inappropriate material, social networking sites are struggling to police the chaos. So what does this all mean for corporations rushing to embrace social media? Well, an employment contract makes a big difference to what people are prepared to do online. The threat of dismissal is enough to make most people think twice. And organizations have an established course of action to bring order to private networks. Lawmakers are beginning to catch up and set legal precedents which will make prosecuting the offenders easier and deter the chancers. But until then, social networks are in danger of being the whipping boys of the tabloid press and social media the poor relation of the more established media. So, here's drawing a line under all this neg-head bull. Anyone know any human interest stories from the corporate world that can be told about how long-lost colleagues were reunited on LinkedIn or how social media 'saved my life'? Robin Crumby