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Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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How to get fired for blogging

The case of Ellen Simonetti, the Delta flight attendant fired for photos posted to her blog has been discussed far and wide. It’s not the only case, though, as an article in Wired News points out. It’s also happened to a Web designer in Utah, a FedEx Kinko’s staffer and even a Microsoft temp. The article quotes Wendy Seltzer, a intellectual property attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who articulates they key problem with employee blogging in the US: “If they didn’t like the way you talked one day, they could, absent a specific agreement otherwise, they could fire you on the spot.”

One expert, a Louisiana State University assistant communications professor who wrote her dissertation on blogs, doesn’t believe blog-specific policies are necessary. “I think whatever policies they have in place should be expanded to include blogs,” says Kaye Trammell. Legally, perhaps, but a clearly stated policy would clarify the company’s position and leave employees with little doubt about what’s allowed and what’s not. The Microsoft temp, for example, posted a photo on his blog that the company considered a security violation. The many Microsoft employees who do maintain blogs without losing their jobs do so by adhering to the company’s confidentiality policies.

12/22/04 | 0 Comments | How to get fired for blogging

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