blogs the double-edged sword?

Michael Gartenberg from ComputerWorld (IDG) wrote a short item yesterday on business blogging. He provides 3 areas for all businesses and employees to consider when venturing into this space.

I feel that companies (and employees) should not fear blogging, however they should understand it and ensure that their employees understand the organisation’s view point. This can only be done through clear and consistent communication with employees. It is very hard to develop this clear communication “once the horse has bolted”, therefore all companies need to be developing and communicating guidelines to their employees, before they see a post by an employee via PubSub, Feedster, Technorati etc etc.

Jeremy Wright was fired and other notes on blogs and work

A couple of days ago Jeremy was fired for blogging, over a seemingly simple post, however it was probably more than just this one post as he says himself. The story is quite complex but should be a lesson for us all.

Over the past year or so Jeremy has been very active in the business blogging space, he sold his blog, he auctioned himself on eBay and has now set up a InsideBlogging with Darren Barefoot (another Canadian blogger). A couple of weeks ago he actually resigned from his job, his employer had paid relo and there was a claw back clause in his contract.

This adds to a number of thoughts I have been having over the last week or so about my new job. Going into a large corporate I wonder what the acceptance level will be for my blog. I very rarely talk about work here, I try to keep my posts to industry items and other items that catch my attention. However I do occasional post something. There are two parts to this whole issue. Does the new employer already know about the blog? If so what happens if I don’t mention it and continue, if not what happens if I do mention it? They should know about the blog, but I suspect they do not.

My thoughts here go further what about my extra activities with AHRI? (Which I am having to step down from as the SIG is only in NSW not Victoria but that is not the point.) Now this was on my resume, while it is slightly different the activities on the SIG include sourcing speakers, speaking at events, chairing events and generally being in the public eye over HRIS issues in NSW. Is this different to blogging on the industry, I think yes and no, but it does raise an interesting perspective. I think I will leave my ramblings here, but I DO need to resolve what I do about my blog and my new employer.

Internet abuse (shameless advertising)

2004 seemed to be covered with stories of people losing their jobs over what they did on the internet. Whether it was downloading inappropriate content at work, sending inappropriate emails, blogs and other items people all over the placed ended up in the unemployment queues.

To this end the AHRI NSW HRIS SIG (which I am currently on the organising committee for) will be running an even on February 24th for HR professionals to hear from Charles Heunemann the MD of SurfControl in Australia. While IT understand the technology, HR really need to be the people in the organisation developing policy around what is acceptable use and then ensuring that the policy is effectively communicated to their employees. Why? If (at least in Australia) someone is to be fired due to inappropriate usage then you want to make sure there is no call for a wrongfully dismissal suit.

Further on the whole subject CIO.com has commented on how podcasting enters the mix of potential online issues.

Wiki limitations

Jeremy Zawodny writes about what he sees as some of the limitations of Wiki’s. His perspective is correct, and the comments on his post raise further questions and ideas.

Interesting I have been trying to set up a Wiki on our home server and teach my wife how to use it. The whole process has just got way too hard so I stopped, which is embarrassing given my promotion of the technology in this blog. Maybe it is just too geeky for me?

A bit late returning

I am a bit late in returning to my blog, just can’t seem to shake the holiday feeling, I guess that is what happens when you have 10 days off.

While the break was good, there was a black cloud over most of it, I suspect for most people it was the same. The Tsunami has impacted so many people. I am amazed at the power of the Tsunami and now the power of people to rebuild.

January is shaping up to be very busy. I finish with EmployeeConnect on Friday 21st and start at WMC on Monday 31st Jan, in the meantime we are busy packing. The removalists that arrive Feb 7th, the day after my sister-in-law’s wedding, which I am flying back for. We then drive down to Melbourne on Feb 8th and I am back in the office Feb 9th.

My days at the moment are jam packed with knowledge transfer to others in the organisation. I am amazed at how much information there is to transfer, this process just hardens my belief that low level knowledge management is such an important requirement for businesses. While the tools are available, the culture within most organisations is not there to support the tools. To this end I have begun putting plans in place for what I can do in my new role, how can I start managing my knowledge from day one.

End of another year

Well it is really then end of another year, being 24th December and all. From today I will be taking a break until 3rd Jan, our holiday house has no telecommunications, besides a basic GSM mobile network (not even GPRS), which is fantastic as it forces you to take a break.

Happy Christmas everyone and see you all in the new year.