Facebook and MySpace

As a former student-athlete and now an assistant coach at the collegiate level, I have constantly heard stories of the negatives of networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace. Most recently, a football player at the University of Texas lost his scholarship due to a racial comment that he posted on his Facebook status: http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/buck-burnette-kicked-texas-football-team-racist-facebook-comment-about-barack-obama
I have also heard a story of a group of student-athletes who had their house broken into and items stolen while they were traveling with their team...their address was listed on Facebook and the criminals knew that they would be away on that particular weekend. Unfortunately, I've heard dozens of other stories about negative consequences that result from information and pictures posted by student-athletes on the internet.
As a coach (and for teachers/administrators) it is important to stress the importance of internet safety. While these websites get a bad reputation for the incidents that occur in relation with them, I try to stress to my players that it is not the websites themselves, but the decisions of the individuals of what they choose to share. It is about what situations you put yourself into, especially in this technological age where pictures and videos can be taken on phones and posted on the internet in a matter of minutes.
These networking websites can be used as positive if they are used in the way they are meant to be used....for networking. Students need to constantly monitor what they are sharing and who they allow to view that information.