Is there more to social networks than meets the eye?

In education social networks can be a touchy subject. As a teacher you hear horror stories about students misusing social networks for bullying and also teachers getting in legal trouble for inappropriately using networks to communicate with students. Last summer we even discussed social networks in our legal issues in education class. The professor told us even more stories about social networks that he has dealt with as a school superintendant. I have always been very cautious about combining school and any social network. When I first got my job I actually went on my Facebook account and changed all the privacy settings and deleted a lot of information that could be at all viewed negatively. My father to this day cautions me against posting anything dealing with school. I have only accepted friend requests from two former students in five years of teaching, and only after they have graduated.
After class last week I felt a little more optimistic about social networks and perhaps using them for education. I would actually feel better having a Twitter account for educational purposes than ever using my personal Facebook account. Twitter would be great for posting homework or club information for a class. I would be much more open to trying Twitter with students, especially in the upper levels. I will continue to separate my personal life from my work life with Facebook though. I don't think I'd ever want to create a class page on Facebook. Facebook is still a little to uncomfortable for me.
So I do believe that there is more than meets the eye with social networks, but an educator needs to fully understand the network before they even attempt to open up using one with the students. In most cases the students know more than teachers about the networks. Blogging could be used as with students but I don't think you should assess a blog except for participation. I never imagined that I would have a blog and/or a Twitter account, but I am warming up to them.