Raise your hand if you're on Facebook?

The popular social networking site has become a way of life for many around the world. Millions of people continue to flock to the site to see 'updates' on all their respective 'friends' that are allowed after invitation, to check your 'profile'. This profile consists of basically anything you'd like to add, whether it's pictures from your latest night out to various other bits and pieces about you. You can also 'chat' online with anyone you've made friends with.

I unfortunately succ-umbed to the pressure and signed up long ago. I consider myself to be somewhat of a private person, not wanting to reveal every little bit of information that is on my mind but considering I've used the site to my advantage for 'work' purposes, I consider myself a Facebook user.

I tend to try and restrain from adding too 'much' whether it's photos or anything else for that matter considering what I've learned about the site.

According to a report last Thursday from Reuters.com, a financial news website, Facebook is not doing its 'due diligence' in protecting personal information it gets from subscribers and that it gives 'confusing and incomplete' information about privacy matters.

“It's clear that privacy issues are top of mind for Facebook, and yet we found serious privacy gaps in the way the site operates,” said Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart in the report.

The report goes on to say that Facebook violates Canada's privacy laws by keeping the personal information of people who have 'deactivated their accounts' in its database indefinitely.

The report goes on to say that the site provides confusing information about privacy matters including showing users how to deactivate accounts but not how to delete them permanently.

Facebook fired back and said they needed to keep the personal data for those who shut down accounts because 'about half of the users' apparently reactivate accounts that they have deactivated.

Ok, so let me get this straight. If I were to 'deactivate' my account, not wanting it anymore, the personal data that is rightfully my own, is still somewhere within the Facebook system just because I may reactivate the account soon?

Yeah, that's not right.

I've never had a ton of info on my profile page to begin with, but I'm going to be very cautious as to what I put on the page from now on, I recommend to all you Facebook users, that you do the same thing.

Here's another nugget of information I've found out.

After talking to a colleague of mine last week, I happened to find out that Facebook is now being used as a way of 'checking you out' before an actual job interview.

Businesses are now beginning to check your Facebook profile to see how you're viewed by your peers so to speak.

They're wanting to see if you are an upstanding citizen, they want to see someone who doesn't have a page cluttered with indecent photos.

I learned a long time ago that perception really is everything. For Facebook users, that saying is beginning to really take effect.

So, in closing, be careful Facebook'ers, because you never know who may be looking at your profile, heck, it could very well be your next employer.