There is even an Internet term to describe the collapsing boundaries between a friend and a colleague. Frolleague—someone you add as your online friend without a thought just because he uses the terminal adjacent to you. “Ignoring friend requests of co-workers, specially bosses, could offend them and may affect your equations with them. On my part though, I only send requests to colleagues who are also friends,” says Sahil Kazmi, 29, a manager at an international NGO, who’s been on Orkut since 2004 and has over 300 friends in his network. At a time when opportunities are plenty and job-hopping a done thing, adding colleagues helps Kazmi keep in touch with them after they’ve left the organisation.

The LinkedIn study also said seven in 10 Britons believe it is important to protect personal information from professional contacts. Kazmi manages to do that by uploading limited personal data on his profile. But what about those who are smitten by the idea of the Internet as a personal showcase? How do they protect their privacy? Some like Shashwat Nagpal, 28, creative director with American MNC Astadia, have multiple profiles. His Orkut profile is “professional” and has no personal information since the site doesn’t have many privacy options. His profile on Facebook is “for fun” and focuses on his hobby—photography—as the site allows for more privacy. And if colleagues want to add him there, he has a ready excuse. “I tell them I am inactive on the network and pretend not to know of their requests. If that fails, I blame it on the snags”

... contd.