We all love social networking, and how it makes our lives easier. We can keep in touch with friends and family who are scattered across the globe, we can do research in the blink of an eye, and getting close to celebrities has never this easy!

When it works to our advantage, it’s a thing of beauty.

But there are also times when technology can lead us into trouble.

Fried by Facebook
Don’t ever say your job is boring on Facebook, because you might get fired. Yup, that’s what happened to Kimberley Swann, 16. Her employer, Ivell Marketing and Logistics of Clacton, England, gave her this update: “Following your comments made on Facebook about your job and the company we feel it is better that, as you are not happy and do not enjoy your work we end your employment with Ivell Marketing & Logistics with immediate effect.”

Implying that you're bored on Facebook during work hours is probably not a good thing to do.

The moral of this story is, keep your social networking site separate from your work life, and try not to say anything incriminating!

Friend stalker
In 2004, two telecommunications companies in Malaysia introduced “Friend Finder”, a service that allows you to know where your friends are at all times. Of course, you have to agree to let someone track you first, but this was not the case with Elaine Ng, whose possessive boyfriend secretly put a tracker on her phone.

“I told a little white lie about where I’d be, because I’d come to realise he was the jealous type. I went to see a friend, who is a guy, and I told him I was somewhere else,” said Elaine, 25.

As soon as she got out of her car and sat down to dinner with her friend, Elaine’s angry boyfriend called and demanded to know why she had lied to him.

She looked around and there he was, outside the restaurant – he had been following her the whole time! Eventually they broke up, after she called her service provider and found out that he had subscribed to the service without her knowledge.

SMS blunder
Check the number you are sending out your SMS to. Sending a nasty message to the very person you are complaining about is an easy mistake to make.

“I typed out an SMS to my mum, to complain about my boss. Somehow typing my boss’s name into the message programmed my brain to scroll for her name instead of my mum’s, and I sent it to her!” explained Mary Edward, 27.

“I realised the second the screen said ‘sent’ that I had made a huge blunder. I rushed to my boss’ room just as she was reading the message. Luckily all it said was ‘And now her fish died. It’s a sad day for our company,” added Mary, who thankfully only received a steely glare from her boss.

Webcam woes
It’s awesome to be able to speak to your partner who is studying abroad “face to face” or to prove to your parents back home that you’re home early and studying like you promised, but sometimes the wonderful world of webcam can get you into serious trouble.

GPS navigation is convenient and efficient, but when in doubt over directions, it is always good to ask somebody.

Remember what happened with English soccer star Ashley Young, and his pre-game ritual in front of a webcam as he chatted to beauty therapist Sarah Taylor, 21.

Somehow, those photos leaked onto the Internet, and soon enough, the whole world had seen Ashley’s “package”.

Blind directions
The wonderful invention of a system that tells you where to turn left or right at the exact point in time is a blessing – no longer do you have to unfold huge maps and fumble with them while you drive.

However, blindly following the path the computer has laid before you is not always a great idea. Many people have been led away from their destinations by GPS, showing that you still need a little brain to get you where you’re going. When in doubt, ask!

In Georgia, Atlanta in the United States, a demolition crew unfortunately demolished the wrong house after they used GPS to locate it. Fortunately, no one was living in the house at the time, but there were reportedly some pretty valuable family heirlooms in the now flattened property.

Over in New Zealand, an Australian couple on vacation ended up going on a 10-hour trip over mountain ranges instead of the three-hour drive they were expecting.

Apparently, the GPS unit had been set to take the shortest route and avoid urban traffic. Thankfully, no mountain goats got in their way.