Ask PEP: Paranoid About Blogging

This is a new feature in which PEP answers questions from students and alums. Or anybody who actually asks her.

Tonight I stumbled across an excellent blog. I love everything about it, even this entry on her Aeron chair. (We have one in our office that's been orphaned -- quite the anomaly for an office of seasoned scavengers!) But probably my favorite reads were entries where she actually talked about her own job/employer [Time Inc].  But now I'm perplexed. Since when did blogging about work become an act a journalist need not fear getting fired for? And even more perplexing, when did employers begin not only sanctioning, but also actually sponsoring this type of activity?  As much as I would love to blog about my job, I wouldn't dare. I don't think I'm being overly paranoid, or am I? —Missouri Alum


PEP SAYS:  You are not being paranoid. People have been fired for blogging about their employers. The blog you mention, though, is in its own safe category for a few reasons.

First, The writer, Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, writes about workplace and business issues for Time magazine and Time.com, so her blog is a logical extension of her job. The sassy attitude and tone of the blog appeals to the younger readers Time so desperately needs.

Second, and most important, Cullen doesn’t write about Time Inc. all that often, but when she does, she's pretty soft on the company.  Yes, she criticized the SI swimsuit issue, but that is hardly a new complaint.  And in one of her first posts, she wrote about getting sick and having great insurance, then contrasted her experience with that of a friend who didn’t have coverage. Made Time look quite appealing. When she is critical, she usually refers to past jobs.

Employees get into trouble with blogs for the same reason they get into trouble elsewhere on the job: poor judgment and being at odds with the corporate culture. Employer-sanctioned blogs are seldom a problem because the standards and expectations are usually clear on those beforehand. Things can get dicey with a personal blog if you’re not careful, though. Some suggestions for keeping your professional self safe:

• Learn company policy. Blogging is getting common enough that those HR folks are often already there with a handy set of guidelines. If not, by asking about policy, you’re already out in the open, which gives you an edge in the honesty department. HR may try to discourage you, just out of their own sense or corporate conservatism, but assure them that you’ll be the professional online that you are in the office. If that causes them to shudder, you have bigger problems than a blog.

• Do it on your own time. Blogging while you’re supposed to be page editing the issue that closes tomorrow is just not wise, no matter how profound your blog might be. Blog it at home.

• Be professional. Don’t air company dirty laundry, and be careful about the clean stuff. Don’t mock people or policies—in blogs or elsewhere.

• Think twice—at least—before you mention the company name in a blog. Is it really necessary to your point?

• Remember that a blog is a public conversation. You may be sitting in your apartment with the cat on your lap, but folks around the world—and in the corporate suite—can read your words once you hit that “publish” button.