The online social network, which describes itself as the seventh-most trafficked Web site with more than 9 million members, has expanded from simply a social site to a corporate one as well.,”The creepy guy down the hall is no longer the only one checking out your Facebook profile.

The online social network, which describes itself as the seventh-most trafficked Web site with more than 9 million members, has expanded from simply a social site to a corporate one as well.

Although only people with college e-mail accounts can use the site, many businesses are now using it as a recruitment tool. That, along with the fact that information, pictures and all other content on the site are available to the public, has many thinking twice about what they post.

According to Laura Kestner, director of the Career Services Center, Facebook opened its site up to American companies on April 26. By May 10, 1,855 companies had logged on to the Web site.

Facebook Director of Marketing Melanie Deitch said the site chose to expand to work-related networks because alumni want to keep accessing the site.

"As people graduate, they continue to use the site — 45 percent of alums were coming back daily," she said in an e-mail. "We realized that to make the site more useful to them, we would have to find ways for them to access the new people around them at work."

Kestner said she has spoken to the Employee Advisory Board for Marquette, which is made up of 27 organizations, about Facebook.

"About half said they had an intern look up the information of prospective employees on Facebook," she said.

While none of the companies have a policy requiring people to look each other up on Facebook, student interns often have profiles and can easily access others' information, Kestner said.

"An employer in the spring held interviews (at Marquette) for prospective interns and had current interns greet the interviewees," Kestner said.

"Then, while the interviewees waited, the interns looked up their information on laptops and shared that information with the interviewers." Kestner said she did not find out this had taken place until the interviews had concluded.

"The employer said the information found on Facebook did not influence her decision, but I don't know how it could not," Kestner said.

According to Deitch, students are ultimately in control over what they are going to share and can also control who they share it with through their privacy control settings that can be accessed from the "My Privacy" page.

"If you're concerned your employer won't like that you're interested in 'corporate sabotage,' you can always remove that as an interest," Deitch said.

According to Stephanie Quade, associate dean of student development, students are at risk because they fail to understand that information on Facebook is public.

"We do not want students to put their cell phone number, room number and class schedule on Facebook," Quade said. "Your room number and when you will not be there is public information on Facebook."A