to blog or not to blog

after reading about the anonymous washingtonienne's blog that caused a riot at her workplace I keep coming back to the same question, why can't we keep a blog and keep a job too?

there was the microsoft employee that was fired for posting pictures of his office receiving apple computers, ok posting pictures, microsoft policy...

there was the guy that sent me a million emails to my work and personal addresses and posted them HIMSELF in the comments on my blog before calling my boss threatening something if they weren't removed. my boss not wanting to deal with the headache had me remove them.

there have been lots of people losing lots of jobs over blogs, too many to chronicle for their individual reasons but it seems unjust, are companies putting "no blogging" in their handbooks yet?
sugigrl: you can't write about your personal life and have a job too?
DrumLoopsBlow: i think it depends on the personal life and the job
sugigrl: you have to give up your life for a certain kind of ENTRY LEVEL career
DrumLoopsBlow: or at least give up writing a public blog about it.
sugigrl: yeah but she didn't use any names
DrumLoopsBlow: including her own?
sugigrl: I'm not sure, but for argument's sake? yes
DrumLoopsBlow: in that case, then there's no evidence linking the blog to her workplace, so there should be no problem
sugigrl: yeah her name was washingtonienne
DrumLoopsBlow: hm
sugigrl: "I have a "glamour job" on the Hill. That is, I could not care less about gov or politics, but working for a Senator looks good on my resume. And these marble hallways are such great places for meeting boys and showing off my outfits." haha
DrumLoopsBlow: heh
DrumLoopsBlow: that's not making it easier for me to sympathize
sugigrl: you shouldn't have to sympathize in order to defend free speech
DrumLoopsBlow: i'm all for blogging things that would get you fired, as long as nobody gets caught, but if you do, it's your own lookout. a *lot* of organizations have reputations to uphold with regards to the kind of person they hire. "that's not the kind of person we want here at the attorney offices of findum, fuckum, and flee"
DrumLoopsBlow: constitutional free speech only means the government can't stop you, not ... hmm, this sorta is the government, isn't it
DrumLoopsBlow: lemme think on that one on the way to work Posted by sugi_grl at May 21, 2004 10:17 AM