Corporate risk and the blogging phenomenon

Friendster, a company known for breaking new ground in online social networking and promoting self-expression among peers, has fired an employee for her personal blog. Joyce Park said managers had told her that she stepped over the line with her blog, Troutgirl. She said that she had only made three posts about Friendster on her blog and all the information posted was publicly available. Moreover, the company did not have any policy, nor did they give her a warning, Park said. This is the latest warning shot for employees who are participating in the blogging phenomenon, CNET News reports, and raises questions about how the new publishing medium changes roles of corporate communication, news media and the community online. Penny Cholmondeley, who maintained a personal Web log while employed with the Nunavut Tourism agency, is another person to get fired over material she posted to her blog, reports The Globe and Mail. According to lawyers trying to extrapolate dismissals laws into the online realm, the question of how a blogger\'s writing relates to his or her job is key. Lawyer Howard Levitt, and author of Law of Dismissal in Canada, said that the general rule is that you can get fired if your off-duty conduct reflects badly on your employer. Michael Karpeles, of Chicago law firm Goldberg Kohn Bell Black Rosenbloom & Moritz Ltd, said that employers would be wise to remind workers about what kind of online chatter would get them into trouble. These dismissals have highlighted the need for companies to have a clear policy on what employees can or cannot post on their personal blogs, ClickZ Network reports. Sun and Groove both do have policies but these are generally loosely worded. Groove\'s policy warns against disclosure of company information, being respectful and using a disclaimer. While Sun\'s policy calls bloggers to be \'interesting\' but not \'stupid\'. The report notes that producing blogging guidelines is easier said than done, as striking a casual tone and protecting the company\'s interests are inevitably in conflict. Other technologies used by employees also need to be scrutinised by employers for possible risk. The Washington Post reports that many employers are trying to get to grips with the use of instant messaging in the workplace. While some are outlawing the technology completely, others are attempting to rein it in by allowing only certain IM tools and/or monitoring communications. \'People are still figuring out what their corporate policy will be on IM,\' said Eric Rohy of Websense, which sells tools for monitoring instant messaging and Web surfing. A number of software tools are entering the marketplace to help businesses to manage instant messaging to ensure that it remains a useful business tool rather than a security risk and time-waster. Another worry for employers is the risk of employees introducing pirated software on corporate systems, writes E-Briefs. According to a Decima Research survey conducted for the Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft, one in 10 employees is installing software from outside sources without the knowledge of their IT department, reports The Globe and Mail. Unlicensed software poses serious the risk of consequences for companies, including legal liability, security risks and viruses, the association says. Under Canadian copyright law, each software program infringed can result in damages of up to $20 000 and businesses can be held liable for the actions of their employees. The underlying lesson for employers is to ensure that there is a comprehensive policy in place governing employee use of workplace equipment and that this is communicated effectively throughout the organisation. This will both help to define acceptable use of office equipment and resources but also safeguard employees against unintended transgressions. [url=http://www.clickz.com/features/insight/article.php/3404691 style=originalFull ClickZ Network report[/url] Full CNET News report Full report in The Globe and Mail Full report in The Washington Post