Everyone has one… or two, a dozen? Chances are you read a few blogs each day, or that you write in one; either on a site like wordpress.com, or on a social site like myspace.com. Blogs can be a great way to get information on upcoming events, breaking news, keeping track of friends on vacation, etc. They allow you a way to express yourself and ideas. Hey, some bloggers are even replacing traditional journalists when it comes to reporting news stories. It’s an effective way of getting information from point A to point B quickly and efficiently.
Because of the great exposure that blogs get, and in some cases preferential treatment with search engine indexing, many businesses have hopped on to the bandwagon of blogging. They will use a blog to post their latest news releases, to talk about new projects or products, areas of expertise, and in some cases they utilize the blog format to distribute company memos, or inter-company newsletters.
Lately there have been a lot of stories (yes, some reported on blogs) that have involved companies or other institutions taking action against employees for the things they are saying on their private blogs. Most of these cases are based on sheer stupidity on the part of the employee; posting how much they hate their jobs, how stupid the customers are, or what they did to a pizza before delivering it. What these bloggers don’t realize is that as employees, they are representatives of their company, and even during off hours and personal time, any thing that is spoken or written about that company becomes a possible public relations nightmare, resulting in a possible visit to the HR department.
An unfortunate side effect of blogs is they tend to give an instant outlet for what you are thinking about at the moment. Sometimes it’s useful; sometimes it’s silly; sometimes it’s dangerous.
The blog is a very versatile form of communication, and works well in today’s multi-media technocratic society. However, I sometimes feel that blogs are the equivalent of picking your nose in your car. You feel safe to do it because you are encapsulated in your own private space… but you forget that there are windows and everyone can see in and knows what you are doing.
Blogger beware.
