Do you wake up each morning, eager to post a status update on Facebook? You might be dying to tell your friends about what you did last night or what you will be doing this weekend, for example. As excited as you might be to let your friends know what is going on in your life, resist the temptation to update your status while you are at work, however, because an activity like this could cause you to lose your job. Your employer is not paying you to update your Facebook status. He is paying you to do the job that you were hired to do. You would be wise to stay off Facebook while you are on the clock. Instead, focus on your job. If you are supposed to write news stories and have them ready in time for a 5:00p.m. deadline, write them. If you are supposed to teach classes, teach. Outside of your work hours, there is plenty of time to post updates on Facebook.

You might decide to update your status in the early morning hours just before leaving for work, for example. As you savor a cup of coffee and watch the sun come up over the horizon, you might tell your friends that you are about to leave for work and that you will talk to them later. Your friends will then know where you are and what you are doing, and they will not worry when they do not see you online. This post is harmless and will not get you in trouble.

Likewise, you can also log on to Facebook at the end of the day to let your friends know that you are home from work and to find out what they have been up to. Since this post was also done on your own time, you should be safe.

Enjoy your job, and enjoy the social networks. Both are good, and both have their time and place. If you wish to post to the social networks while you are at work, however, sign up with a site, and begin publishing articles online from your home. You can then write articles and post them to sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Certain sites will pay you for your writing, and since you are your own boss, you can go online, and you will not get in trouble or risk being fired for your activity.