Where do Digg articles go when they die? I track the shelf life of popular Digg.com articles and report my findings.   more »

Does "Digg-baited" traffic lead to legitimate traffic? Over the next few weeks, I'll be taking a closer look at Digg.com to find out what makes it tick.   more »

I'm continuing our experiment at identifying top Internet PR Resources in a variety of categories. This next week, we are asking for your suggestions for articles on "blog ethics" (we don't consider that an oxymoron).

We are looking for leads to intelligent articles on subjects such as:

- Should bloggers identify conflicting or vested interests?
- Guidelines for using ghost bloggers.
- Lessons from the Wal-Mart/Edelman blogging fiasco.
- Fake blogs.
- Transparency in blogging.
- Is it okay for bloggers to accept merchandise and other payola?
- Have blogs knocked down the wall between editorial content and advertising?

I've asked students in my Tulane Internet PR class to locate and review articles on Blogging Ethics this week. Please feel free to point them to articles you like -- or post your own reviews.

Thanks for your assistance!

STEVE O'KEEFE
IAOC Vice President

This week, we're asking for your picks for Best Articles or Resources for Blog PR. We're looking for article summaries or web site reviews, about 500 words maximum, that tell us exactly what was so helpful about the article or resource. Resources must be available for FREE online and should focus on strategic public relations blogging.

Students from my Internet PR class will be adding reviews of articles they find. They've also been reviewing articles and resources that people on IAOCblog.com point them to. So if you have a site or article you would like reviewed, post it here and see if one of my students takes the bait.

STEVE O'KEEFE
Vice President, IAOC

"A blog can be a great way to vent about work. It can also be an invitation to a pink slip."--New York Times

As executive director of The ePolicy Institute, www.epolicyinstitute.com, I spend a great deal of time traveling the country and training employees and executives on the risks and rules of blogs, e-mail, and other electronic business communications tools. 

Without doubt, the topic of greatest concern--and confusion--to employee-bloggers is that of employee privacy versus employer monitoring and management.

Understand Your Individual Risks, Rights and Responsibilities Before You Blog

As detailed in my new book Blog Rules (Amacom 2006), www.amanet.org, the biggest risk individual employee-bloggers face is being fired (or dooced, in blog parlance) for their blog content and usage.

According to the 2006 Workplace E-Mail, Instant Messaging & Blog Survey from American Management Association and The ePolicy Institute, 2% of U.S. employers have already terminated workers for offensive blog content--including posts written on employees' personal home-based blogs.  The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that 3% of employers have disciplined employee-bloggers. SHRM also warns job hunters that more and more bosses are taking time to read job candidates' blogs, right along with their resumes. 

Blog Rule #28:  Blogging can get you fired! Hundreds of employees have been fired, or dooced, for blogging about their employers. 

That's right: Whether you are blogging at the office on company time or at home on your own computer and your own free time--an inappropriate blog post can get you fired.

At the end of the day, an ill-conceived comment, inappropriate language, or a post that violates any company policy, including ethics rules and confidentiality policy among others, could cost you your current job or keep you from landing the job of your dreams.

The First Amendment Does Not Protect Bloggers:  How to Blog Without Getting Fired

Here are 4 tips, excerpted from my book Blog Rules, for bloggers who want to keep their jobs.

Tip #1. Blogging About Your Job or the Boss May Get You Fired. Unless management has authorized you to do so, never blog about your company, its people, products, or services. No photos of yourself in your company uniform. No gossip, rumors, or disparaging remarks about the boss or your coworkers. Blogging about your employer--negatively or positively--at work or home can get you fired. So don't do it!

Tip #2.  Familiarize Yourself With Your Employer's Policies First; Blog Second.  Don't blog until you've read (and understand) all of your organization's blog rules and policies. According to American Management Association/ePolicy Institute research, of organizations have policy governing employees' business blog use and content; 7% have rules governing the content employees may post on their personal home-based blogs; 6% have policy governing personal postings on corporate blogs; 9% have rules addressing the operation of personal blogs on company time; and 5% have a strict anti-blog policy. See www.amanet.org for complete survey results.

Tip #3. The First Amendment Does Not Protect Bloggers. Many U.S. bloggers mistakenly believe that the First Amendment protects their jobs, giving them the right to write whatever they want about whomever they want.  It does not.  The First Amendment only restricts government control of speech; it says nothing about private employers.

Tip #4. Employment at Will Means You Can Be Fired for Just About Any Reason--Including Blogging.  If you work for a private employer in an employment-at-will state, your employer is free to fire you for just about any reason (including blogging) as long as federal discrimination laws aren't violated. As attorney David M. Klein of Atlanta's Buckley & Klein told the New York Times:

"It doesn't matter if you blog about skydiving or pornography. If your employer feels the blog makes you a poor representative of their corporate values, the executives have the freedom to disassociate themselves from you."

Please join me tomorrow--and everyday this week--to learn more about the Blog Rules that can help keep you employed, your employer in business...and everyone out of court.