Bloggers Rights Bill

Over at my other site, I discuss Shannon Clark's reference to a proposal for a Blogger's Rights Bill that would ensure employers establish a blogging policy before sacking people for doing it. This gives fodder to TRC because the list of fired bloggers is getting longer.  But the propoents of the Bill have listed Microsoft among the companies who have fired, discouraged or denied employment for blogging-related reasons.  Approximately, 3 percent of Microsoft employees are currently blogging, nearly 1500 people, mostly at rank-and-file levels.  How can it be listed with Delta, Starbuck's and other legendary bad guys in this area?  Next week, someone's going to blame Redmond for the tsunami, I swear it.

Comments

[Simon Phipps]

Actually, Shel, the Microsoft-fires-blogger story is from MSNBC. Most of the stories I've read in the list of fired bloggers seem to be like this and show people fired not for blogging but for breaking rules of their employment with involvement from a blog.

I'm pretty sure it will happen at each company that encourages blogging sooner or later. We've got around 1,000 Sun employees blogging and so far no-one has done anything really dumb, but people do actionable things in meetings, over the phone and over e-mail so I see no reason why doing really dumb things over a blog should be exempt from action even when the company involved is a blogging pioneer.

[Jeremy C. Wright]

Sorry Robert, but I'll have to agree. He was fired for activities on his blog. Those activities WERE against company policy, so it was a justifiable firing (in my opinion). But, it is still a firing for blogging.

[shel israel]

First, Simon: I had no idea there were a thousand bloggers at Sun. We definitely wantt o talk to Jonathan, once we slog through this publisher's package. But, can you tell me more about blogging in general at Sun and how it has/hasn't moved the needle for your company.

To Jeremy, et al. It makes no sense to me to make an issue of employees who were fired for using blogging to behave in ways that would get them fired anyhow. To me that is playing games with statistics that taint the case of defending people like you who were apparently fired by narrow-minded, unjust or non-existant policies.

[Jeremy C. Wright]

Agreed. I'm not saying Microsoft is evil or in any way like my past employer (wow, that feels weird to say). However, why shouldn't Microsoft look at supporting something like this?

I don't think Microsoft deserves to be on any list for boycotting or any action. But, they did fire someone.

If nothing else, it draws the need for a Blogger's Intelligence Check.

Until recently bloggers didn't need to have any discretion. Now, quite obviously, we do. Things are changing. Maturing. Growing. Recent activities definitely denote the need for people to realise that discretion is part of blogging.

Not just what you post today, but even what you may have posted a year ago (like in my case).

See, now you've gone and gotten me fired up. Now I have to write a post about this.

[Simon Phipps]

Sure - I suggest we talk first, you have my e-mail :-) I think that our President's blog has moved the needle immeasurably and the Solaris bloggers are making waves too.