From blogs to YouTube, Web 2.0 technology has completely renovated the Internet. Savvy businesses recognize that social networking and user-generated content are great for professionals, too. In fact, a recent study by the McKinsey Quarterly found that three-quarters of executives invest in Web 2.0 trends. How do you maintain your professional identity in a world of up-to-the-minute status updates, wildfire blog memes, and perpetually chattering podcasts?

It’s fun — and addictive — to broadcast your life with a Facebook, MySpace, or LinkedIn profile, a blog, or a Twitter feed. But Facebook’s not just for fun anymore. Potential employers review their applicants’ blogs and online profiles, and colleagues will eagerly “friend” each other on social networking sites. Embarrassing photos aside, the words you write you on the Internet will follow you. Let’s hope they’re all charming and prudent words. Some tips on writing for social-networking and user-generated web sites:

• Look around. Every community has a particular writing style. Avoid being either too formal, too informal, or just plain lost.
• Keep confidential, damaging, and offensive writing off the Internet. It may sound obvious, but people hurt each other and themselves all the time by posting unnecessary garbage.
• Write tidily. Sloppy, error-ridden profiles, posts, and messages make you look careless, no matter where they are on the Internet.
• Keep a professional blog. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can gather a portfolio of writing samples if you blog regularly.
• Choose your level of intimacy. You don’t have to be friends with your colleagues on Facebook. Tell them to link to you on LinkedIn if you’re trying to separate your professional and personal lives.