Each social site has its own appeal, usefulness

Jeff Dwoskin uses the online social network Facebook mostly to connect with friends.

But it's his MySpace page - myspace.com/jeffisfunny - that Dwoskin, an executive for ePrize, has milked professionally for his side job as a stand-up comic.

"It makes me aware of things that are going on in the comedy community," said Dwoskin, 37, of West Bloomfield, Mich. "And yes, I've gotten gigs from it."

While the early buzz on social sites focused heavily on the dangers of sharing personal information online, such forums are helping professionals - and companies - network for business, career and job-search purposes. Employers are increasingly using networking sites to seek or screen talent.

With the popularity of such sites - particularly Facebook - taking off recently, some are now asking: Which one is best?

Experts say it depends on what users are looking for. If you're like Dwoskin, you may decide to use more than one site to connect with others.

Dwoskin, vice president of internal development for the marketing firm ePrize, posts clips of his skits on his MySpace page and uses it to promote his performance schedule. He uses Facebook to catch up with his pals.

Pablo Malavenda, associate dean of students at Purdue University, said he preferred Facebook over MySpace and LinkedIn - a business-oriented social site - as a place to network and look for work.

Facebook, he said, is well-organized and visually clean. It gives users the opportunity to post things about themselves such as the movies they watch, the books they read, and quotes they find meaningful.

"If you realize that people are out there on Facebook, especially employers or grad school admissions," he said, "you have the ability to create a really dynamic and powerful image."

Malavenda calls MySpace - which has more than 100 million members compared with Facebook's 48 million - the "Wild, Wild West" of networks. However, he said, he understood its appeal and power, adding that many entertainers got their start on MySpace.

"Unless you're a musician, artist or model, there is really not much use for MySpace beyond pure entertainment," Malavenda said.

Joe Serwach, a University of Michigan spokesman, said he opened his Facebook account months ago after hearing a presentation about the site. At first, he joined out of curiosity, but he said it has been a great way to network, particularly for business.

Serwach, 42, immediately put it to the test. He went looking for old college friends on his school's official alumni Web site and found 100 members. He went to Facebook and found 200.

"I find it pretty useful, and I check it at least once a day."

Steven Carter, who works at ePrize as an intern, said he was friends with many of his coworkers on Facebook.

The online network has allowed him to get to know his cubicle-mates in a more in-depth way, said Carter, 21, of Macomb Township, Mich.

"I was looking at pictures on Facebook, and found out that someone who I've worked with for a couple of months was really into photography," said Carter, an engineering student at Wayne State University. "It gave us something we can connect over."

Carter also knows ePrize checked him out on Facebook before offering him a job.

Malavenda said users looking for work should avoid posting their beliefs about politics, religion and sexual orientation on their pages.

A CareerBuilder survey of 1,150 hiring managers in 2006 found that 12 percent of the respondents said they have used social-networking sites to screen job candidates. Of these hiring managers, 63 percent said they did not hire the person based on what they found.