1 – Location, Location, Location – I work in downtown Minneapolis and I enjoy this a lot. It means I can take the bus in to work each day and use that time to read or just turn my brain off for a little while. I’m close to some of my favorite restaurants and I am a 5 minute walk from Barnes and Noble. I also just enjoy the higher energy level that exists downtown vs. the suburbs.

2 – It’s the People – I work with some great folks and I can honestly say I like every one on my team. We may not be great friends, but we all seem to share a similar sense of humor, which is pretty amazing if you think about it.

π – The Geek Factor – There is a fair number of geeks on the team and at the company, which I didn’t realize I was lacking at previous jobs. Being able to talk about Game of Thrones, Star Trek, and math jokes while our code is compiling is great. I’ve never managed to get into sports and if you can’t talk sports at some companies people assume you are mute. I also get to be a part of the weekly game of Settlers of Catan in the lunch room. (And because playing Settlers wasn’t geeky enough a short while back we switched to the Star Trek edition.)

4 – Training Budget – While I may not always agree with how they are allocated the company I work for does have a generous training budget. For instance all of the developers on my team are going to PASS Summit this year (very generous), except for me (which brings us into an area where I disagree.) I have attended two outside training courses in the last year, which is pretty good

5 – Flexible Schedule – I am allowed to work from home when I need to and the day-to-day schedule is not micromanaged. I work 40 hours a week, but I don’t get to work the same time every day and I can shift around my schedule as needed.

#Meme15 is a monthly blogging event set up by Jason Strate (B|T) to write about something that relates to our careers, and likely to have a twinge of social networking included. The assignment for August was  – List 5 things you like about your job. (I want to thank Jason and Kevin Conan (Blog | @ConanTheCDN) for giving me a topic to start up the blog again.)

My direct answer to this months question of managing mixing work, friends, and family on Facebook is simple. I don’t mix them.

I lead a divided online life. I have my work life, SQL Server, Twitter friends, work friends, and work blogs that I follow. I also have a Facebook account that I use to follow and share things with my family and non-work friends. Sometimes they overlap a little, but for the most part I keep them separate. I am not Facebook friends with any one that I work with. I will sometimes share things about my work life on Facebook, but only if I think it will interest people (or I am trying to promote my blog.)

I’ve been on Facebook since September 24th 2007 (Thank you Facebook Timeline for that information). I singed up mostly because I wanted to see what everyone was talking about. My account sat unused for a long time and then in 2009 I started using it to connect with old friends. Mixed in with the kid who sat behind me in Junior High history I also reconnected with some great people who I had lost touch with. It soon became the primary method of sending pictures and updates to family and friends. I admit that I had a brief Mafia Wars addiction, but I managed to kick that habit by spending all my extra time on Twitter. I still use Facebook, but mostly to see how others are doing and to share in-the-moment pictures. If more of my family was on Twitter I would probably leave Facebook behind.

As social media continues to grow I see more articles about maintaining a professional presence online. Usually these articles are targeted at Facebook and thinking twice about posting that picture of you and the gang at the bar which everyone will find hilarious…except your next boss (or in extreme cases your current boss.) Even though I try to keep these two worlds separate I still recognize that part of my online presence is what shows up on my Facebook account and I keep that in mind when posting comments and pictures. Also my kids see what I put up there which is really all the filter I need.

#Meme15 is a monthly blogging event set up by Jason Strate (B|T) to share how we use social networks to enhance our careers and professional development. The assignment for March is  – How do you balance mixing family, friends, peers, and co-workers on Facebook?