Facebook in the office

I thought of jacking one of the many Facebook threads on the board, but decided to start a new one instead.
Our EE (who spends most of his day in his office or in meetings, and only deals directly with us office-folk when absolutely necessary) has been trolling Facebook and making friend requests to everyone in the office. I don't Facebook, so it doesn't affect me, but this seems weird bordering on creepy to me. A lot of the people I've talked to said they're just ignoring it, but some have denied/blocked him.
I can't believe that he's that genuinely interested in our lives. If I had to guess, I'd say that he wants to make sure no one has "inappropriate" or "questionable" pictures posted on the Web.
Now, part of me can actually understand that concern, but another part of me says it's none of his business what anyone posts on his or her FB page.
Part of the problem, though, is you can't prove that his intentions are anything but genuine.
Has anyone else dealt with this?
I'm curious if anyone else thinks this crosses a line, or, at the very least, agrees that it is weird.

 

I'm friends with some folks in higher management positions, but only those I've worked closely with, and most were initiated by me. Tough call, but if you think he's doing it to keep an eye on you, I'd ignore/deny it. If he's sending them to everyone, I doubt he'd even realize you never made his friends list, esp. if he doesn't know you that well.

 

I've friended a couple current co-workers, and many, many former co-workers (including two former supervisors), but I'm not Facebook friends with my current supervisor, even though I get along with her very well. If she adds me, I'll confirm it, but I won't add her simply because she IS technically my boss and I don't want to cross that boundary.

You can always limit your profile, which I've done to plenty of high school classmates who added me -- and co-workers, too -- and you can always just ignore it.

 

I've friended maybe two co-workers, and definitely tons of former co-workers. I've, thankfully, never been added as a friend by a supervisor or management, though I've denied some co-workers' attempts at the same thing. I'm not going to add them just because we work together, and only add someone if I we get along, are actual friends, et cetera.

If my editor was to add me, though, I would confirm it.

 

My ME is on there, and so is our copy desk chief. Outside of two sports people, two copy deskers, a features writer, a slew of former co-workers and the education writer, those are the only people in the newsroom who are on Facebook.

I've added the copy desk chief, but she's on my limited profile list. I wasn't even aware our ME had a Facebook until a former co-worker pointed it out when my status was "KYSportsWriter is watching the House marathon" on a Saturday a few weeks back. He e-mailed me and said, "Do you know your boss is on Facebook?"

I checked his profile, and we're in different networks, so he can't see my profile. But I'm damn glad I dodged that bullet.

 

Everyone I work with is on limited profile, if I add them at all.

I don't want them knowing that I'm updating or posting things during work.

 

I have a couple co-workers on my Facebook, but I never post anything on Facebook that I wouldn't say in public to anyone, limited profile or not. As far as checking Facebook during work? Very rarely and then only on my Crackberry.

 

Bottom line, anyone who is in a management position shouldn't be friending those who report to him/her. ... If someone who reports to him/her initiates the friend request, that's fine. But I think it puts people in an awkward position if the manager initiates it.

 

Absolutely.

 

We're encouraged to link to our stories and videos via Facebook.

I've friended two of my three superiors.

I don't see the big deal.

 

I've also seen papers/editors/reporters link to their stuff on Facebook, though I've also entertained the idea of getting a "professional" page and also having a separate page for my personal life.

 

I've given thought to two profiles as well, but I think it's just too late for that for me. If you're just starting up on Facebook, by all means start separate profiles.

I'll echo those who say Facebook requests should always be a one-way street: subordinates should request to friend supervisors, not the other way around. I've made it clear in our office that friending me is fine, but not friending me is fine as well.

That said, if someone in your office violates that sphere, I see nothing wrong with "Please don't take it personally, but I'm using Facebook only to keep in touch with my family/college buddies/fantasy league peeps and not for work." You don't have to apologize or go into great detail, but establish that boundary politely. There is nothing wrong with wanting to keep your personal life personal.