Can Facebook grow-up without going to jail?

All things Considered, NPR's afternoon news show, featured this story today, April 7, 2008:

"Police in East Lansing, Mich., used tear gas to disperse thousands of out-of-hand partygoers near the Michigan State University campus at an event promoted as Cedar Fest on Facebook. Police are trying to determine whether the Facebook party organizers can be held accountable."

How does this news jive with the advice of business bloggers like Bob Gourley, who recently suggested that Executives should use LinkedIn and Facebook?

What will this mean for the cohort of professionals who are streaming over to the interactive Facebook from more static networking forums, like LinkedIn.com? 

Are the Facebook "natives" happy about the migration of more professional "immigrants" to the site that has been a place to plan parties, "poke" friends, and check-out fun connections? 

Should Facebook friends feel compelled to clean-up their profiles so recruiters and other professionals can use this tool as yet another way to vet candidates?   Should professionals be like rain, and go away....?

Will law enforcement authorities be able to hold Facebook members liable for the collateral damage and consequences of postings initiated through the social networking site?  Will Facebook's digital fingerprint and YouTube's video record of the event put the kibosh on the partying?  Will Facebook be able to "grow-up" without going to jail?   

Comments

[Max Hall]

This is a very interesting post! In my opinion, Facebook does not need to grow up. Facebook is place for young people, mostly students to express themselves and share information with other students. Why should Facebook grow up when it was originally meant for college kids who are currently in school. Facebook serves as a social networking site for kids, not professionals.

I find it ridiculous that professional organizations scan Facebook to check-out possible candidates for jobs. There is line divided by work and play. Facebook is for play, while a site like LinkedIN is for work. Just because a picture on Facebook shows someone at a party drinking beer should not influence a hiring decision. I mean come on, do you really like that the people you work with always appear as a professional? Professionals are people too. They lead normal lives.

Professional organizations need to realize that there are two sides to people, work and play. I agree that LinkedIN could serve as depiction of possible candidates for jobs but not Facebook. Facebook was developed by college kids for college kids. It is basically an off-shoot of college humor. So why should Facebook grow up when it is meant for kids who are not independently own their own as adults yet?