From what I hear, a few generations ago personal phone calls at work were an action which could bring down the boss' wrath. Nowadays most offices will tolerate the occasional personal phone call, especially with the prevalence of cell phones. However, it seems that Facebook and personal email have replaced the phone call as the scorn of office managers and company bean counters across the nation. As of November 2007 a survey showed that 25% of employers blocked Facebook access and 46% blocked access to MySpace mostly based on the idea that the sites are a productivity drain.

A recent survey of "young" employees found that a third of them would quit, yes leave their employer if their workplace blocked Facebook. Granted, severe internet restriction could be indicative of other environmental problems but still, leaving your job based on browsing restrictions seems a bit extreme.

Read Write Web reports on a survey recently performed by Worklight, a company specializing in web 2.0 services, regarding online banking. The survey of Facebook users found that 48% of them would make use of online widgets to manage finances if their bank offered the service. A more detailed response goes on to show that the most likely group to use these would be males in the 25-34 year old range. The use of online widgets to perform banking tasks or track spending levels have not been widely used to date due to security and compatibility issues.

Web 2.0 is a rather loose term which many people associate with social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook but in reality it can be used to describe tools which ease the flow of information as well as allow you to access it on a variety of devices. Ideally, users could take advantage of these web 2.0 widgets to track the balances of their checking, savings, and retirement accounts, all on one page, all while also viewing the amount due on any outstanding credit cards, student loans or mortgage payments. Right now you can achieve this one screen approach only with a dedicated program and the time it takes to constantly update the information.

When I was getting ready to finance my college education, (after hitting up my parents) I looked to Federal Pell grants and the beloved FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). But things have changed, and in the age of Facebook and online interconnectivity, it only makes sense that students are utilizing these new tools for borrowing.

Several companies have popped up in recent months that allow students to tap into cyber-resources. On Fynanz.com, students design a profile detailing goals, interests and financial need, and then non-institutional lenders can shop through profiles based on majors, academic institutions or other interests.

The terms are set by the student, who can choose to start paying it back immediately, pay only the interest, or wait up to 20 years. Rates are between 7% and 12%, a good chunk cheaper than the 16% that's more common for private loans.

GreenNote.com, which launches June 4, seeks to utilize a student's social network to solicit friends and family to contribute to a college fund. Much like Fynanz, the student creates a profile with personal details and academic interests. However, then the student invites friends and family to contribute, and hopefully, pass on the profile to other community members. There's something very encouraging about people being able to support young people they know, or who are in their circle, with small loans.

Read more about for College Money, Try a Microloan

Does it really surprise anyone that employers are cracking down on the use of social networking sites while at work? Much like pornography and eBay, those sites are best used when you're on your own time, not on your company's paid time.

I know, I know. Young workers need access to Facebook or Twitter like the rest of us need oxygen. It's essential to survival. How can you ever get through a day without knowing that your friend is on the way to the coffee shop to meet a friend or that your sister has just bought the cutest new shoes? Updates every few minutes are essential, because you are dying to know what everyone else is doing while you're... uh.... working. Yeah, working.

A survey in England found that employees are spending at least 30 minutes a day on Facebook or MySpace while they're supposed to be working. A couple of survey participants even admitted that they spend up to three hours a day on social networking sites while at work. Yikes.

Consumers need to be clear on the focus of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. It's not on protecting users. It's on getting more and more users. One of the ways that these sites attract more users is through the addition of features. Sounds great, right? You already like the site, and with more bells and whistles, you'll probably like it even more.

But have you ever stopped to consider what you're agreeing to when you let these applications become a part of your Facebook account? You're opening just another door to your information. Some users of these sites are very careful about what they publish on them, so letting another application access their data isn't a big deal.

Other users, however, end up opening up their entire lives on Facebook. And that's where things get sketchy. Around Christmas, I heard about the Facebook flap that had people's purchases from certain websites being visible to friends and family... that was a big no-no if you made one of those purchases as a holiday surprise for one of those family members or friends.

You signed up for FaceBook or MySpace and eagerly started filling in your profile. Name, check. City, check. Birth date, check. (Gotta have your friends send you happy wishes on your birthday, right?) Job history, check. Spouse, check. Throw in some pictures of yourself and the kids for good measure.

Except there's a catch. Every little bit of information that you add to your profile could be one more piece of the identity theft puzzle. And some information is more telling than you can imagine. Did you add your birth date? That's something that may be better left unpublished, as it is one critical piece of information that banks and credit card companies use to identify you.

Have you hooked up with some family members? That might give a clue to your maiden name, another potential identifier. Even worse... those socializing on genealogy websites might be sharing information like your mother's maiden name, another key piece of information for financial services companies.

Don't take my word for it. Computer security experts say that information shared on social networking sites leaves people very vulnerable to identity theft. And often they don't realize how much information they've shared until it's too late. Tread carefully when sharing information on any website. Before your share your life's story, ask yourself what an identity thief would be able to do with that information.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.