Living to tell the tale

Jun 25 2007 by Print This Article

While the traditional media might lead you to believe that blogging about your job, your manager or your company is a sure-fire way to find yourself heading for the exit in the company of a burly security guard and with the contents of your desk in a black bag, it IS possible to blog about work without losing your job.

For some tips on how to perform this miraculous act, head over to Random Acts Of Reality, a blog written by an emergency medical technician from London. More specifically, check out How to Blog And Not Lose Your Job.

Writer Tom Reynolds may stress that he's not an employment law, but despite this (or should that be "because of this") his advice is eminently sensible.

First up, "you are not anonymous". In today's world it can take only moments for someone determined to track down a blogger's identity. Even using pseudonyms and giving nicknames to bosses and co-workers may not save you - you will probably be read by people who know you. Just one slip-up can lead to your identity.

"You are not immune to the rule of law" is another thing to keep in mind. Your locality's laws of libel and slander and defamation DO apply to you even if you think there are no rules because you're posting on the internet.

Remember too, "the truth will find you out". Lies can – and will - come back to bite you.

In all, there are around fifteen different tips here, and if you're thinking about – or are – writing about your day job, you could do a lot worse than reading them all.

Finally, if you fall foul of a company that wants to devote time and resources to a witch-hunt against bloggers rather than doing something more constructive, remember this.

"If you do lose your job, you have a whole audience of people finding out about it, any of which might help you get a job. I know at least two people (people who I've met, not including people who I've read about), who have gotten jobs based on their blogging. In most cases people are happier with their new jobs than their old, if only because their new company understands and supports their blogging."

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