My parents always taught me that you can learn a lot about a person by looking at the people with whom they choose to associate. It's something I have always believed. It is, however, something that is being tossed on its ear by social networking sites.

My question has been, and remains, what do your MySpace or Facebook friends say about you? Will campaigns be judged on the people they publicly affiliate with via social networking sites? Will the media care?

The catalyst for my reservations about social networking was a call from a reporter the other day. He asked me to comment on candidates using social networking. He was interested more in the metrics of it.

I have noticed that seems to be the gist of TechPresident's concern as well (at least judging by the chart on the homepage). That seems to be the big question. How many friends does a candidate have? It is being talked about, in poli-tech circles, in the same way we ask "how many e-mail addresses does he have?"

But what about the people that make up that number?

In e-mail lists, the campaign knows almost nothing about the person on the other end of the address. They may have a bit of information regarding interests, but little else.

Social Networking friends, however, link through to a profile that may be unsuitable for children, often overshares personal information, and might make voters question a candidate's judgment about his/her associates.

Since John Edwards is probably doing more social network outreach than any other candidate, I pulled up his MySpace page. A quick click through to John Edwards' friends list reveals a porn photographer, a playboy model, a guy who calls himself "Sir Bitchmaster" and enough T & A to make Larry Flynt proud.

Just a very few short years ago, allegations that a candidate cavorted with playboy models, people in the porn industry or misogynists would have sunk a campaign. Today it seems to be written off as routine.

All of this makes me ask if that old adage my parents instilled holds true in the digital age. Can you judge a candidate by the company he keeps online?