There are two main Internet “networks” where people with like interests can seek each other out: LinkedIn and Facebook. You might already be familiar with one or both of these.

Where do you fit in? SPSM (Senior Professional in Supply Management) groups have been set up on both LinkedIn and Facebook.

What’s required of you? You create a profile that outlines your professional accomplishments, so anyone else who has an interest in Purchasing will be able to find you and contact you.

If you haven’t already joined www.LinkedIn.com, you need to go there to sign up. Then:

• Select “groups” from the drop-down menu at the top-right of the screen
• key SPSM into the Search box, then Search
• you should see SPSM — Senior Professional in Supply Management Group
• click on “Join this group” and follow the next instructions

To gain access to your peers through www.Facebook.com, start by keying the address.

• If you haven’t already signed up for Facebook, follow the instructions to do so.
• in the Search area at the top-left of the screen, type in SPSM and hit Enter
• you should see SPSM — Senior Professional in Supply Management Group in the results
• click Join Group and follow the subsequent directions

The group is open to anyone in the profession.

One tip: But if you have earned the official SPSM certification, type it in with your last name: Smith, SPSM. This tells others right off the bat that you’re a certified expert.

In addition to networking with your peers, Facebook offers other features, such as a message board.

The moving force behind establishing an online presence for Purchasing and Supply Management professionals is Next Level Purchasing, an educational/certification business.

There’s MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn, just to name three of the most popular professional and social networking problems.

Problem: Two thirds of online networkers were confused or even frustrated about the etiquette that’s expected when interacting with others in the online world.

For example, how do you react when someone you don’t really know asks you to be his or her friend? Sure, saying “yes” seems innocent enough. But it’s still odd because you really don’t know very much about the person.

Better: Stick with the philosophy that these social networking sites are a good way of recognizing and hanging on to old friends, and avoid making unwanted new friends.

You’ve probably picked up on the various competitions to list as many so-called friends as possible on someone’s site. Online social networking is not a contest.

Four ways to keep you balance, and avoid falling on your Face(book):

• Think it over for a day. Whether it’s striking someone from your collection of friends or agreeing to become someone else’s friends, give yourself 24 hours to contemplate it.
• You’re not replacing Hallmark. Dropping one of your online friends a note about a birthday, anniversary, graduation does NOT excuse you from calling or sending a greeting card.
• Mug shot or glamor pic? Thinking about posting some photos of your friends on your social networking page? Think about how you’d feel if you were pictured in the same position — and the photo was available on the Internet.
• How do I look? Usually, you’re urged to post your own photo as part of your profile on the social networking site. Incredibly enough, there have been instances of people posting very embarrassing or compromising photos — of themselves. For guidance: Don’t post a picture you wouldn’t want your parents to see.