When I ask people about how they manage the convergence of their personal, professional and academic contacts in social media, I usually get one of four answers:

  1. Keep two sets of books. In this scenario, there’s one Facebook profile for friends, another for professional contacts, and maybe a third for family.
  2. Manage social media networks for different purposes. In this case, Facebook is only for friends, Linked In for professional contacts, etc.
  3. Manage an account under a public persona and use an alias for fun.
  4. Or, give up and let everyone mingle.

These approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, but each is a way of coping with the hot mess that social media has made of our discrete worlds. Which are you using?

Ever have those days when you need to vent about filling out TPS forms to a faceless but sympathetic bunch of strangers? It used to be easy to hop online and dash off an angry email or post to a forum. Back in the day you couldn’t drag anyone but your geekiest friends onto the Internet, so it was a sanctuary those on the cutting edge. You could blow off some steam and then get back to work without thinking about who might see your rant.

Now, everyone’s on that edge and there’s no safe place to complain online. Social media is a free-for-all where a whisper can become a shout within a very short time. Change your status on Facebook, and your mom will see your status and call. Post a Twitter, and your competitive co-worker reports back to the office. Update your blog, and find out exactly when the boss started subscribing to your feed.

I don’t want to start one of those diaries with the tiny padlock. But what’s a girl to do when she’s having a bad day online?

Trader Vic’s is a chain restaurant known for its extensive drink menu and Polynesian cuisine. When one opened up in Chicago recently, Bridget and I decided to chase our Winter blues away. It’s a fun show, go check it out.

Mixed drinks and tiki themes are the order of the day

Mixed drinks and tiki themes are the order of the day

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