Facebook has gotten a lot of attention recently for their changes to the default security settings for user’s information, as well as comments made by founder Mark Zuckerberg. The most notable comment he’s made is that “the default is sharing, not privacy.” It does help to keep in mind that he runs a company that’s lifeblood is based on people sharing every aspect of their personal lives. In fact, much of Facebook’s value can be directly measured by how much personal information it’s users are comfortable sharing with each other and the world.

One of the problems that stems from sharing all of your personal information with the world is that it becomes very easy for identity theft scams to target you. Google has a long memory, and many password reset mechanisims ask for your email address, your birthday, your parent’s names, pet’s names, or favorite movie titles. This is exactly the sort of information people are scrambling to share on social networking sites. In many cases, it’s present on user’s main profile pages, which is often indexed by Google and other search engines unless you opt-out. It’s also, by default, available to anyone who creates an account, which are free and easy to get. It’s probably time to tighten down your security settings.

The other problem is the willingness of users to broadcast every detail of their lives online. Where they were last night, who they were hanging out with, what they think of their bosses, their friends, and their families are all online for anyone to see. This violates one of the cardinal rules of the Internet: everything you put online will be seen by everyone, especially people who you think shouldn’t. If you wouldn’t email the picture or the post directly to every member of your family, each of your bosses, your professors and the police, don’t post it to YouTube, Facebook or your personal blog. This is 2010 – they are all online, and they will eventually see it.

I’m not saying you should be paranoid and abandon social networking sites – just use reason when posting. A lot of employers now check Facebook for information on new hires. What will they see if they look for you?