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First it was Twitter. Then came Facebook.

Yes, my friends, at the urging of Buzz the Boss I am now firmly established in both of these social networking sites. I'm still not sure exactly why, but I did my duty as a loyal employee and now I'm with it. Hip. On the tech edge.

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be offended when one of my daughter's friends posted on her page that she saw I was now on Twitter: "So, I just went and read your mom's article and at the bottom it says that she is on Twitter ... I ... I just don't even know what to say ..."

Join the club, kid. Neither do I.

Oh, she knows I'm on Facebook. She is one of my friends. So is my daughter. Also several old friends from high school, from work (present and former), from the community. All sharing random thoughts and prayer requests and some not-so-nice comments, occasionally. You do have the option of hiding anything you don't want out there in front of God and everybody, thank goodness. Plus, you can ignore a friend request, which I do if I don't know who the person is. No offense intended. I'm just funny that way.

Remember the old party lines, where you had several other people sharing a telephone line with you? When you wanted to make a call, you had to ease the phone off its cradle and make sure no one else was talking first. If they were, well, you listened in for a moment to see what was going on with your neighbors until your mama caught you and made you hang up. The flip side was, others could listen in on you, too, so you had to be careful what you said. Facebook is like that. The difference is that people know everyone they've friended can read anything they post on their "walls," sort of like graffiti in cyberspace. In other words, you can choose the people on your party line. If a friend make a statement and someone not on your list comments, you can see that, too.

The different conversations can be fun to follow, but I would think someone with attention deficit disorder would be bouncing off the cyber-walls. Right now, for example, posts range from wondering if anyone saw or was a naked hiker on the summer solstice; bemoaning the end of a vacation; the results of one of the ubiquitous quizzes (which Beatles song are you?); your personal message from God; stories in The Daily Times (we do actually use this for work purposes, you know, which is why we must check on a regular basis); and comments on the latest storm, wild weekends, mission trips, county commission, the meaning of life and what food someone is having for supper.

I just want to caution anyone who uses this and other social networking sites that you have to be careful. Don't put your whole life out there for anyone to see. I cringe when a profile includes every detail of someone's life, from their birthday to their marital status to where they work, live and spend their time. It's like leaving your front door wide open with a big sign saying, "Welcome! Come on in and steal my identity."

Facebook can be fun, can be useful in your job and can give an opportunity to reconnect with friends you haven't seen in ages. Just remember that other eyes are watching, too.

Linda Albert is Women's Times editor and a staff writer for The Daily Times. Her column runs every Sunday in the Women's Times section. You may contact her at 981-1168 or linda.albert@thedailytimes.com, or follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lalbert_editor.