Fired for blogging?

I read Jeremy Zawodny's blog for several reasons, none of which typically has to do with HR or HR software or even the usage of technology within HR so I was interested to find his entry on someone being fired for blogging. I followed his links to read the story from the lady in question. Overall an interesting situation, I am sure it is not the first and will also not be the last. Although it has had me think, what I have written.....

I wrote briefly about this in July when talking about blogs in business although I did not go into the details of firing an employee because of what they wrote. People are fired for releasing confidential information all of the time, the issue now is that blogs make it very easy for someone to put their thoughts and opinions online for millions to read. The entry is then indexed and cached by search engines like Google and remain in the public domain for a very long time. Unlike the casual conversation at a BBQ on the weekend.

I guess the issue needs to be addressed by a more comprehensive Internet/Electronic communication policy. Most organisations have something, but how long did it take to develop? I remember the topic was very big in 1999/2000 and I even heard it discussed in 2002, several years after mainstream usage of the Internet at work begun. Hopefully organisations can move a little quicker this time.

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