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Perhaps we should look at SM similar to a work place. Share funny stories like if you're eating lunch or around the water cooler and information that is useful to your friends whether its a new post or new SM tool. Maybe that would be easier to balance

I think if the world was able to see everything we did, we'd have to be more open minded and less judgmental.

1. Judgment: if someone has chosen to not set their privacy for Facebook wisely and then chooses to post inappropriate content that any potential employer can see? I will view that as a bad judgment call and it might make me think twice about hiring them. It is less about the content and more about their inability to proactively make good decisions.
2. Consistency: if I'm hiring someone to help with my social media I might not care as much about if they include personal info (I'm assuming they'll understand our company's social media policies for our company's social media) but rather for consistency. If you are applying for a position where you need to be knowledgeable about SM and you don't even consistently update your Twitter or blog then I will hardly consider you an “expert”.
3. Red Flags: of course like you mention Christina, if I see anyone being disrespectful or just hugely inappropriate then I might think about how those qualities would fit in with our culture. Hey in some org. culture posting about your fav cocktail would make you a shoo-in for the spot!

Great post – definitely got me thinking about my own uses of SM and what I might rethink or where I draw the line for myself as well.

If there are statements about keg parties, hating work and getting laid all over the place, I will think twice about hiring that person. It doesnt take a genius to find these profiles, but if you apply for a job and don't link your profiles, is it even fair to judge someone based on that? I don't link my twitter because that is my “personal” link, not my professional one. But it isn't private so what do I do?

Gary is right in the sense that this information is available for employers to see, but how far is too far when digging for info and hiring someone? No one is perfect and you are bound to find something you dont like on someones personal profile if you look hard enough.

If we're going to leave a comment on Facebook we should be aware of what others think and decide if it matters or not.

I'm all about having some time with your friends and getting a bit silly, but at the same time, we have to realize that absolutely everything we do is part of who we are. Every action is a piece of us, and just because we don't show it online doesn't mean it won't come back to bite us later. If you get in the habit of cursing at work, just not on Twitter, at some point you're still going to offend someone at work, right?

Maybe I'm being too narrow-minded here. I don't know. I just wish we could all get along! Ha.

The balance between expressing yourself and earning money is delicate. I suspect that most of us in favor of “being true to ourselves” would rein it in a little bit if we actually lost out on an opportunity.

Great post, CK!