Okay, I'll admit it. I have not fully embraced the internet-based social networking craze for two reasons: 1) it consumes too much time, and 2) I'm concerned about privacy.

It's the privacy concern that really keeps my social networking to a minimum. I just don't want to be posting all sorts of things about my life on the internet. Yes, I know, it's already there. But, why build a central repository for people to know all sorts of things about you.

Now comes Google Buzz, which just launched yesterday. Google wants in on some of the Facebook action. Fine. But, why did it have to automatically create accounts for Gmail users and then automatically populate user accounts with a handful of people with whom you might have exchanged an email in the recent past?

First, the logic of the selections is questionable. The contacts (or "followers" in Buzz-speak) in your Buzz account are supposedly people you've communicated frequently with recently. But, that does not seem to be the case, exactly.

But, more concerning is that it lets you see who is your followers' lists of followers. And, presumably, they can see who is in your list of followers. Now, if I want to remove someone (whom I did not select in the first place), they'll know!

The Google Buzz experience is yet another reminder that one needs to be careful about how they manage their social networking accounts. They have indeed become an important tool for socializing, and could be quite useful for people with disabilities who might find it difficult to get out into the real social world. Additionally, news coverage suggests that employers and job recruiters increasingly are using social networking sites like LinkedIn to find job candidates.

So, these social networking tools are serious business. They should be managed - by users and social networking providers - with very careful forethought about possible risks to privacy.