Much has been discussed about Facebook Privacy, with some going as far as to say you should just shut down your account. Or hide under a barrel and hope the bullets don't penetrate.

The key thing to remember when using a social network like Facebook is that you are going to be out there and exposed. You just have to accept this fact. However, that doesn't mean you have to walk around in your underwear. There is a balance and you can share the right things on Facebook to protect your privacy and still be accessible to old friends, new friends and potential business partners.

Your Image

Make sure you have a decent photo for your profile. Does it reflect well or poorly on you? Is it the photo you want 400 million people to see and connect with you? Use a photo that helps you promote yourself or remind others of the person they remember and know.

Control Your Bio

Edit your profile information below your picture to contain your current passions and include links. For instance, if you are a photographer, tell others and provide a link to your website. Introduce yourself and provide just enough information so that people will remember you or want to contact you.

Share Yourself

If you're a photographer, create a photo album that showcases your best work. Just remember that photos become public on Facebook, so again, if you have photos of that narly party in Cancun, it may not be something you want to share. (Unless, of course, you are seeking publicity, controversy or prison time.)

Showcase Your Passions

There is nothing wrong with adding your interests, favorite films or causes on your profile page. Just remember that this information can be used to lump you into Facebook's advertising square pegs. So if you don't want to receive information about certain things, then don't count them as individual interests and passions on your Facebook page.

Linking to interests shows others that you have a personality and are human. Just don't take it to extremes unless you are looking to be controversial or exciting. (See, this doesn't really have a concrete answer. The main thing is to realize these interests become data for Facebook to use to share and sell to advertisers.)

Privacy Settings

Here's the meat and potatoes of the debate: how to protect yourself online. Facebook by default makes all of your material posted on its pages public. So that photo of you standing naked on top of the building about to jump can be seen by everyone, and probably will be public, even if you tighten down Facebook's privacy settings.

Go to Account > Privacy Settings > Profile Information and ratchet down the settings to protect your content. I recommend only sharing information with friends, but that may be too restrictive for you. You may choose to hide photos from the public but share them with friends. One note: Sharing with Friends of Friends can extend the reach of your content. So again, if you don't want that photo shared with others, then only share with the people you are comfortable with sharing.

I would suggest you allow people to write on your wall, but you may find that opens the door to too many useless posting (my opinion) of lost pets and farm animals and other stuff. Just remember, those things reflect on your friends, so if you don't like them, well, you get the idea.

Under Privacy Settings > Search you need to decide if you want to be indexed in Google and share your Facebook postings with the world. If this doesn't bother you, then remain open, otherwise leave this box unchecked.

Games and Fun

If you're building a semi-professional or reputation-building profile, I would avoid playing all the games and posting endless notes about how your tomatoes were harvested or you found a lost cat or Uncle Fred just delivered a calf on your farm. But that's just me. If it doesn't add to your reputation, then dump it. You want your Facebook profile to be human, but not full of fun and games. You don't want folks to think all you have time to do is sit in a virtual farm.

Import Content

Set up your profile to import information from your blog or other social media sites. Under Options > Settings you can choose applications and other tools from which you can import content. If you activate the Notes Application, you can import your blog, Twitter feed, LinkedIn profile, or any other RSS feed address.

Search out applications that might enhance your profile page or help you share your passions. You can add applications as boxes on your profile page and share content from various other web sites across the Internet. Just realize that while some of your calendaring or other information may no longer be locked up from view.

Facebook Home Page

I recommend that you sort this page into various lists that help you keep track of your friends. For instance, Facebook used to dump everything here. Now it limits posts and you could end up seeing the same people all the time, especially if they are prolific posters. Set up lists so you can keep track of special friends, business partners, etc. Click Friends on the left-hand side of the homepage and click on Create a List. Then select those people you want in that particular list. Then save it. The new list will appear under Friends on the sidebar.

Facebook is a powerful place to network and share information with others. It allows you to engage in conversations and build relationships. If you share the right things on Facebook you will build a powerful network and still remain somewhat private in a rapidly-changing online world.