Lately I have been getting more and more friend requests on Facebook. Now, I am not saying that I am a popular or even important person by any means. Most of these requests are from people in the magazine and writing industry whom I admire.

I have heard that Web sites like Facebook and My Space can harm potential intern and career opportunities, but my profile on Facebook has always been private. This means that in order to see my profile, you have to request to be my friend. Until recently, I have never really thought about the content on my page.

Most of the friend requests that I receive are from my friends and other people at my school—never from potential employers or anything of that nature. But now, one of the newer options under the “Looking For” section on Facebook is now networking. This is a great opportunity for people with the same career goals to get acquainted.

The only issue with this new feature is that it made me rethink my Facebook account. Is the image that I put forth on my page really who I am? Is there anything on my page that could be a turn off to an employer?

After thinking about this, and even deactivating my account for a week, I realized that I enjoyed having a Facebook account. Therefore, I made a limited profile. With this feature, I select what parts of my profile certain people are able to see.

The only section of my profile which could pose as a potential threat was all of my photos. Not that I have anything to hide, but the majority of pictures are from parties. Of course I like to go out and have a good time, but I do so in moderation. Regardless of this fact, I wouldn’t want my future boss to see these pictures. So, I limited the people who can see my pictures.

There are many options that you can control on your Facebook and My Space profiles. But now that these Web sites are really being used as networking tools, it is important that you put forth a positive image.