Blogger (individual and not the company) gets the chop

I totally rushed to this thinking that google had ditched blogger.com lol

I did as well, zero303, so don't feel as if you were foolish in thinking so.

If possible, Red Wolf, could you change the headline to something a little more specific? It would be appreciated and bring efficiency to the news-reading process. (I know the original article's headline is the same as the one that you posted here to Newsvine, but that doesn't make it the best choice.)

That said, thank you for seeding this. This article once again shows how communication shapes our day-to-day lives in ways that we could not expect. Culture, both nationality-wise and workplace-wise, seem to be very slow on the uptake about new forms of communication, and blogging has been viewed by many in the older generation to be quite a detriment to the flow of life. It would be nice if they could understand that blogging is something that is merely a natural extension of societal human nature; As a species, we have grown to utilize various forms of communication to maintain understanding and camaraderie. Older forms included diaries and journals; Now, those form-factors have been adapted to the World Wide Web. It's simple, really.

Granted, this woman did sacrifice time on her work schedule to blog, which lowers the overall fluidity of the workplace, especially if she holds a crucial role of the workflow. Also, by publicly stating that she had abused her power by calling in sick days (Or nanny days, or whatever the case may be) falsely to get off work, the employer has the full right to at least chastise her, because the information she gave in her blog was under the principle of public domain and can be used as evidence, both in a legal and moral sense. I do not know whether the firing can be considered as a measured response, but punishment in and of itself is not beyond the jurisdiction that the employer carries.

I have little sympathy:

The unwritten rule of blogging: Don't blog about the place you work.

The unwritten rule of blogging about the place you work: Don't mention things that make you look bad or -worse yet- that make the place you work look bad. Bonus rule: Don't do it while at work if there's a chance in hell your decision to do so will be uncovered by a superior.

This woman (much like Heather Armstrong) has little to do except look in the mirror if she wishes to place blame.

A little misleading this article is.... (yoda)

Pretty harsh to be sacked over this. How they can claim she bought the firm into disrupte is just crazy given there was no mention of the company by name. Maybe there problem is actaully the use of the computer during work times to write some offher blogs. This is a delicate issue and there is always that fine line between "acceptable" personal use of a computer during work time and "too much" personal use. Maybe she overstepped that. Whatever the reason it's pretty harsh and hopefully she gets some good compensation out of it.

Despite it being well within the realm of free speech (here in the US, anyway) it is generally a bad idea to post stuff about your employer (good or bad) on a blog or anywhere for that matter. Even if you're doing it on your own time, it leaves a bad impression.

I don't think I'd sack someone off the bat for blogging, but I would definitely put them on notice that they may not discuss company affairs on their blog at the pain of their jobs.

I remember reading her blog ages ago and thought it was very good. Shame about the sacking - perhaps there's more to this story than either party are letting on?

Free speech in the US only protects you from the Government, not the private sector. Just had to clear that up.

That being the said..... Surely they must have given her a warning before the firing? One would hope.