Intranet Journal
The online resource for intranet professionals

The Dark Side of Blogging

Paul Chin
(www.paulchinonline.com)

1/2/2006

My boss is a total oddball. He has a tendency to howl at the moon, talks to a toy monkey while working, and has an irrational fear of clowns. I can say these things about my boss because … I work for myself.

But if you're an employee of an organization, think twice about writing these kinds of things about your employer on a company blog -- or even on a personal blog.

Corporate blogging is not a right,

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it's a responsibility. As fun as blogging may be to wannabe writers, breaking blog etiquette in a corporate environment -- whether implicitly or explicitly -- can be cause for dismissal or legal action.

The Consequences of Blogging

Blogging is an effective way of providing personality to companies that are increasingly seen as faceless corporate entities. Blogs, unlike most other forms of corporate communications, take on the voice of the blogger and is less likely to contain overly polished business speak churned out by a communications department. But blogging is susceptible to those innocent (and sometimes not so innocent) slips of the tongue because many bloggers approach it far too casually.

The case of Mark Jen -- a former Google employee who was fired for blogging about internal company information -- is a perfect example of the consequences of careless blogging. And this isn't an isolated case either. The rise in popularity of blogging has brought about numerous cases of corporate employees and politicians who have been dismissed for what their employers viewed as improper blog content.

Ellen Simonetti, also known as "Queen of Sky," was fired from her job as a flight attendant of Delta Air Lines (a position she held for 8 years) for posting what the company deemed inappropriate pictures of herself in uniform on her blog. And, in my neck of the woods, Canadian Conservative Member of Parliament, Garth Turner, was recently dismissed by his party for being critical of his government's policies on his blog. Turner later renounced his party membership and now sits as an independent in the House of Commons.

Whether or not what the bloggers and employers did in these cases was the right thing is up for debate; but corporate bloggers and their employers must be conscious of the dangers of a loose tongue and other inappropriate behaviors:

Divulging confidential information -- This is potentially the most harmful form of careless and irresponsible blogging. Disclosing corporate trade secrets, intellectual property, business strategies, in-house financial information, security infrastructure information, can cost a company millions of dollars and possibly its future operation. Even when there's no malicious intent, careless bloggers could simply get caught up in what they're writing and accidentally divulge something that's not meant for the public domain.

Defamation -- We all need to vent once in a while; but airing out your dirty laundry on a blog isn't isn't the smartest thing to do -- for the blogger or the employer. Making defamatory statements about an employer (not smart) or a company's competitors (really not smart) can be cause for dismissal and/or legal action. Not only could the blogger be fired for inappropriate content, but if an external third party is involved (such as blogging about a competitor), the company itself could be held liable for defamatory statements made by its employees -- even if it has little-to-no involvement in their blogs.

Harassment -- Some insensitive bloggers might think it's cute to make inappropriate comments of a racial, religious, or sexual nature directed at coworkers, or others in general. This can create an inhospitable working environment for those who don't share in the same views or sense of humor. The blogger can be brought up on charges of harassment and eventually terminated for inappropriate workplace behavior.

The Responsibility of Corporate Bloggers

Corporate blogging is a lot different than personal blogging. If you're a hobby blogger or a sole proprietor, you can say just about anything you want because you'll be the only person who suffers from the consequences of inappropriate content. You'll be damaging your own reputation and image. But when you're a corporate blogger, or when you're blogging about your company on a personal blog, you're representing (or misrepresenting) your company. And some readers may view a blog written by a company employee as tantamount to a company-sponsored blog. This is guilt by association.

Employers can't, and shouldn't, restrict the activities of its bloggers by creating a hostile police state, eliminating personal expression, or censoring blog content with the proverbial black marker. Doing so will simply provide blog fodder for the employee. Limiting personal expression can reduce employee morale. But if employees want to blog they need to follow an etiquette. Employers must make it known to all employees that, as representatives of the company, they must blog responsibly and not write anything that will devalue or impair the worth of the company's brand identity and reputation.

Bloggers, for their part, must understand their responsibilities as members of an organization. They can't bite the hand that feeds them without expecting consequences (bloggers, however, may be protected by whistleblower statutes under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act -- but this is a completely different issue). While every company will have a different response to employees who are critical of their employers, bloggers must be aware of the differences between professional discord and just plain dissing.

The Dos and Don'ts

Bloggers must conduct themselves on the blogosphere professionally and respectfully.

Bloggers must never divulge company secrets or post anything that will devalue the worth of the company's brand identity and reputation. Most companies already have confidentiality agreements and rules of conduct; these should extend to blogs.

Employers should include blogging etiquette and guidelines in the employee manual.

Depending on severity, bloggers who post inappropriate content about their company should be given a formal warning and asked to remove the content before more severe actions are taken.

It's up the employers to determine the degree to which employees will be reprimanded for inappropriate blogging behavior. While employers have ample justification for firing employees who divulge confidential information, they might face the court of public opinion when unduly censoring employees for minor criticisms.

Bloggers should place a clear disclaimer on their blog stating that the views and opinions expressed are theirs alone and don't reflect the views and opinions of their company.

Closing Thoughts

Bloggers need to realize that they're employees first and bloggers second. They shouldn't allow their enthusiasm for the latter be a detriment to the former. Bloggers must conduct themselves in the same manner as they would when performing their primary job. Using a blog as a brain dump and posting something haphazardly can jeopardize both their career and their company. Do you remember that saying about the pen being mightier than the sword? Well, if you're not careful, you might end up stabbing yourself with it.

Paul Chin (www.paulchinonline.com) is an IT consultant and a freelance writer. Previously, Paul worked as an intranet and content management specialist in the aerospace and competitive intelligence industries.

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