As the popularity of social networking sites grow, more individuals as well as businesses are joining the online community. Increasingly, employers and potential clients are searching social sites for background information.

Whether you are using social networking sites to promote your business, keep in touch with customers and colleagues, or network within the business community, you need to think carefully about what you post for the world to see. Recent news proves many people have learned this lesson the hard way, losing jobs or potential jobs, or getting expelled from school for information posted on social networking sites.

According to Microsoft’s Julie Inman-Grant, director of Internet privacy and safety, such high-profile troubles underscore a growing disconnect between people’s confidence in their online reputations and how information posted online is being used, for better or worse.

“While use of the Internet has evolved dramatically over the past decade, our understanding of how online personas can affect real-world prospects has not necessarily kept pace,” she says. “You really do need to be vigilant, but at the same time, there is a real opportunity here as well. Fortunately, some simple steps can help ensure your online reputation is an asset rather than a liability.”

Recent research shows many people are not aware of just how important their online reputation is. Projecting the right online profile can make the difference between getting hired and getting rejected by an employer, for example.

Microsoft gives 4 tips for managing your online reputation. They include:

1.       Think before you share personal information. Know the site’s privacy policy, don’t share more than you need to, and personalize the privacy settings of your page.

2.       Monitor what other’s post by searching for yourself on at least two search engines. Ask site administrators or posters to remove unflattering pictures and information of yourself.

3.       Guard your information by protecting your computer against hackers and malware, creating strong passwords that cannot be cracked with information that is available about you online.

4.       Protect yourself from fraud. Avoid suspicious links and websites.