Should clients be friends on Facebook - should we follow our boss on Twitter?

I have my ex-boss on facebook and we've just discussed me going back to them in the new year, and I will probably suggest de-friending as I don't think it's professional.

I know ny nanny uses FB, as do I, but we seem to have an unspoken agreement that we will not be friends with each other on it. Once she is no longer our nanny I expect that will change, but in the mean time I think we both appreciate that space. By the same token I'm not generally friends on FB with people who work for me in my office

I'm not 'friends' with my current or previous nanny on FB. My current nanny we have a strictly professional relationship which works great for both of us. Having been too heavily involved in my previous nannies personal problems and trying to sort her life out for her professional and friendly is the way to go!

My ex nanny was stupid enough to post messages on FB reflecting her status during her day at work 10-15+ postings per day?!! (I discovered post sacking her for other reasons). The children always commented that she was permanently texting something on her mobile. She however gave me plenty of evidence should she decide to pursue the termination of her contract for her attention to the job... or lack of.
Oh and she posted about how my son called her a 'prick', which is not a word that comes out of my or my DH's mouth!

Sadly I think that face to face and speech communication has got lost in light of text messaging FB, Twitter & email etc. However the power of speaking to a person betters the relationship and allows a level of communication and trust you can't get by FB or text message.

..steps down from the soapbox

anyone who has the time/inclination to 'update their face book status'(what ever that means) several times a day.. and is over 20 years of age should be sacked/ shot for wasting company time..

i have a fiend who lives overseas who is mad on facebook.. read her status at the insistence of a mutual friend it said.. 'mary is angry as there is a fly in her wine glass'... says it all really doesnt it,, sad sad sad..................

My boss sent me a friend invite - so it was catch 22. I wouldn't have added her as a friend myself, but couldn't really turn her invite down! However you CAN set privacy settings to screen out info/photos if you want to. As I rarely write stuff on facebook other than occasional family updates, I think I'm safe - and as she's the sort of person who updates her status several times a day I'm hardly likely to forget she's on there! It wouldn't have been my choice though.

I do facebook to keep in touch with friends as my DH works for Foreign Office, so we've got friends all around the world.... but I really don't like having my boss being friend on facebook unless i'm REALLY friendly with them in real life. I don't like to be hypocritical - plus i've seen some people get in right pickles as they've put a status update on facebook like "got hammered last night" - and then haven't turned up for work! Silly in my opinion - but everyone seems to find everything out on facebook!

I just stick to "simple" facebooking - nad pick friends carefully!

sorry i dont get this and i am under 40.. my teen age kids use face book and msm..

i have friends i call on the telephone, skype text or email!!! ffs thats enough communiction time!!

when i feel the need to tell the world i am eating a biscit/feeling sad/ getting on a train/ i hope the grim reaper will come for my sad life!!!!

as a cm definatly NOT communicating with parents.. to me uiprofessional

i dont need to fish for friends anyway,,, by my christmas credit card bill got bloody many anyway !!!!

the funny thing is we are not allowed to use Facebook or Twitter at work... yet, the company has their accounts and we're invited to join them?! seems as though social networking is only allowed if your promoting the company... and in your own time!

I'm not a c/m but I havent added my boss as a fb friend. I do occasionally update from work, and in the past he has pulled up colleugues in a "joke" manner about updating in work time... you could tell he was serious though

I have ex-bosses on FB. Don't use twitter at all.

Rarely put anything on FB tbh!

I don't use Facebook. I wouldn't be prepared to put anything personal on there, I'd only email people privately about things. So there's no point joining.

I'm on facebook, but would never add my boss as a friend. In my husband's old company, the bosses used to add all the colleagues as friends, and then used facebook to check up on them. (Ie, where they on facebook when they phoned in sick, or give status updates indicating they were going somewhere). I even know of one case where they used evidence from facebook as evidence as part of a disciplinary against someone.

I think the danger with facebook is that some people treat it as private, whereas even if you're friends are limited, it really is public communication and should be treated as such. My policy is that as my dad is my friend on FB, whenever I post something, I always ask myself, "would I be happy if my dad reads this?" So long as my dad would be happy reading that about his little girl, I won't go far wrong!

I teach 'A' levels and do allow students to add me as friends once they have left (and are usually at university). It can be a nice way to keep in touch with students that I have got to know quite well over the past two years. But even then, within my friends setting I do customise it, and limit what ex students can see - although my posts are never exciting - usually about my children. Oh and I never post anything negative about work. Ever!

I have a 'professional' Facebook & Twitter presence and a 'personal' one of each. It's useful to network with clients/businesses via social networking sites but I never have anyone currently connected with me via work on my personal sites. It does sometimes get confusing if I'm accidentally logged on to one & want to post on the other and I've almost mucked up once or twice but I try not to get unprofessional on either unless it's via a personal message! My job is to manage the social & viral profile of my workplace anyway: my current boss only has a vague idea of what it's all about! As an ex-teacher I've advised many colleagues not to 'friend' parents of pupils past or present (or pupils, for that matter!) on Facebook but I know lots who have. I think it's dangerous, no matter how well you seem to get on. I'd advise anyone who works with children or families to think very carefully about it. We are, after all, only human!

As a childminder my reputation is vital to the success of my business. If I chose to post personal comments like some of my friends do, it would affect my reputation just as if I got drunk and behaved inappropriately at the local pub.

I don't use twitter much, but thought it could be used as a promotional tool. I only use it to post things like discount codes, special offers, local events and things of interest to parents, occasionally very general comments about my activities as a childminder.

Facebook, again I am careful about the content I post. I do have mindees, ex mindees and parents I've worked with as facebook friends. There are MANY young children on facebook, having lied about their ages. This worries me no end, but it has enabled me to help a child who knew and trusted me enough to seek support.

Its nice to keep in touch with families who no longer use my service and have moved abroad. Its also useful to see photos and comments of what mindees are up to at home. It helps to give me ideas for future activities and conversation topics. It has helped me in my business to be more informed about children's lives.

Do not imagine that anything you email or post on the internet is private to the friends you have selected. One of your friends might forget to log out properly. Anything you post can be printed or cut & pasted to a different forum or email etc.

I am friends with the parents of my very 1st mindee, he sadly is no longer with me as they moved to another part of the country, and to be honest although I would never mention work on FB, and only post on there occasionaly, I felt uncomfortable posting anything at all on their when I knew they would be seeing it, and (I know they wouldnt)possibly judging me on it.
I now dont have any parents on my FB.

Avoid avoid avoid. Far too many people getting sacked and taken to court over Facebook and Twitter. Keep it for personal friends and family - NEVER work people or management.

I do have clients on my Facebook.

However, I have a strict policy of not discussing minded children on my Facebook and I asked parents to respect this by not discussing childminding matters on Facebook. I always have written permission from the parents if I would like to load up a photo that includes their children.

I have asked parents not to post childminding related problems or posts on the public part or the "wall". I would rather they came to me face-to-face, or on the 'phone or e-mail. If they use Facebook, I insist they write via the private message facility. As stomp says, I never make any remarks about children, parents or routines.

I only have 32 'friends' and most are very close friends or relatives. All my privacy settings are on "friends only." Many of my relatives are living in New Zealand. For example, there was recently an earthquake in Christchurch. My relative posted lots of photos, and we had a lengthy discussion regarding repairs to the property. It is that sort of conversation I have on Facebook (or 'boring stuff' as one of my clients called it!). Having said that, one of my clients did find it usefull in that she found out things about me that she would not have otherwise known - for example, that I have relatives living in New Zealand.

I rarely post any controversial stuff on Facebook. I try to keep my wall conversationally-neutral and of course, I do not have any photos of anyone in any compromising situation.

I have been on Facebook for over a year, and I have had no complaints or problems to date.
I do not use Twitter.

i use fb but would never have my current boss's as friends on it (tho both use it)

i get on very well with my boss's but we both need our privacy on things,im sure she doesnt moan about me, but if i did do something to piss her off, then she could have a moan to her friends - just as all us nannies/cm have an odd moan as well and neither of us would be wiser

i do have ex boss's on and ex dc on (if over 18) i have refused to add ex dc if under this and very annoyed to find one ex dc tried to add me, she is 9 and on her profile says she is 25

Not friends with MB and DB on facebook although I know they use it often (as they know I do) and we talk about it and show each other pictures and friends and things that are on there.

I'm a cm and wld never have any of my parents on my facebook or anything similar. I feels it really blurs the lines between us and not something i want to chance doing lol

x x x

LOL at the not posting when drunk!

I must add that the ones on my FB are after quite a while of knowing each other and becoming close, not just new ones who've not been with me that long.

I use facebook but never comment on my working day. I?m friends with many childminders as well as my other friends and family but keep my work very separate. I might comment on a training event or paperwork but I think there is always a danger of confidentiality issues arising so I never make any remarks about children, parents or our routine.

I'm not a nanny, but I work in a service industry, so have many clients.

I segregate social media. I use FB for personal things (although a couple of 'close' clients have ended up on there - so I make sure I never post anything too intimate, and don't ever, ever post when I'm pissed!)

I use Linked In for professional networking, so my clients are on there.

Re Twitter, I have 3 a/cs - one for my business, one for me in my real name, which some of my clients/colleagues/competitors are following, and one in a version of my MN name, to make sure that none of my clients ever sees the rubbish what I tweet using that name!

Nannyl - I only ever post photos of their children if they've asked me to so they can 'share' onto their profile :)

Nick - what I meant about the difference is that I can put things like 'oh god, what a day that was!' and they wouldn't know which child I'd had a nightmare with (IF it was to do with a child), that sort of thing. I hadn't thought about the other way round and thinking about it, it wouldn't bother me what the parents were up to whilst I'm being paid as per contract. Saltire's case is very different though and I fully understand why she was pee'd off!

For me, Facebook is more about keeping up to date with what we're doing (childminding wise) and for my family who are scattered over the country to be able to keep up to date/in touch and see pics of my kids etc. Everything is limited to friends only.