Social Networking and Job Hunting....Good or Bad?

In the middle of all this writing, editing and marketing I am doing for my books, I am also having to tackle something fairly new for me....unemployment.  I have been unemployed for four months for the first time in my life in likely the most challenging times our country has seen since the Great Depression of the 1920's.  I have been incredibly enlightened to the financial condition of our great country in a very personal way.

My previous company filed bankruptcy and I became unemployed pretty abruptly.  When this happened, I had been accepted for my first book, but I had NO face book page, NO twitter account and had NO idea how to market myself on either.  Social networking was a term I had heard on television.  Man, did I have to learn fast.  It was suggested to me by the marketing guru at my romance publisher that I had to get over my fears or I was dead in the water.  So, I took a deep breath and waded in.  I think I've done pretty well.

Cut to two months later.  I now have one book out and two others being released with two different publishers.  One I have the cover for, one is in edit.  Additionally, I am editing the sequel for the first release to submit to my romance publisher in a week or two, making my fourth novel.  I am about to submit a series of short stories to a new short story e-zine.  I am active on facebook with a personal page and a fan page, and I have a Twitter account with followers on all.  I am also an admin on a facebook group with an active membership.  Not bad, right?  What, you may ask, does this have to do with employment?  Well, therein lies the rub.

I contend that one of the first things a prospective employer does is data-mine and google you after the interview.  And now, with my being uber-present on the web, I am seriously google-able.  I wonder if that internet-footprint does anything to hinder my employ-ability?  I have a question: On the applications, where they ask you your hobbies, do I put that I am a published author?  Does this enhance or detract from my attractiveness as a candidate?

There are two schools of thought here.  As an employer, I could go both ways.  I could think that the ability to put words together and sell them would increase the candidate's ability to communicate effectively in office presentations and with all levels of staff.  I could also think that the extracurricular hobby might intrude on the candidate's daily activities and eventually overshadow the daily priorities.  I worry that if I make protestations in the actual interview, it would be a case of "Me thinks he doth protest too much" and if I don't say anything, its a case of "deception by omission."

So, I open to floor to my readers.  If anyone of you are employers, and have the occasion to make hiring decisions, I would appreciate your opinion.  I have had two excellent interviews in the past few days and I am anticipating at least one call-back where I want to be amazing.  Even though you all know I only write at night after the kids are asleep, please weigh in on this topic.  I rarely ask for input, but this one is important.  Thank you!