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How Not to get Fired for Blogging

10. Cats. Write about cats. A lot.
9. Always mispell your company's name, just in case someone else is savvy enough to use (a) a search engine or (b) a keyboard.
8. When you talk about your co-workers, pretend you're writing about a magical far away land of gnomes. Give them names such as “Whitey the Clumsy” or “Snitchbug.”
7. If you must post at work, find a blog template that looks a lot like a word processing document.
6. Should someone use the word “blog” in the office, tilt your head to the side and tell them that you don't speak German.
5. Require your readers to use the Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Badge to interpret your posts.
4. Learn to love garlic, as it will repel pesky co-workers (as well as the ocassional vampire).
3. At the water cooler, start talking about your Internet-savvy twin who has a similar job in a similar company in a similar city in a similar state in a similar country.
2. Through memes, avoid inadvertently constructing a comprehensive social profile from your string of likenesses. For instance, if you register as the “Rose” character from NBC's The Golden Girls, change your answers slightly so that you're more like “Sophie.” Anybody who knows you, knows you're more like “Rose.”
1. Don't host anything at ihatemyjobandmyboss.com.

2 Comments

Marlene Jaeckel

July 29th, 2005
at 3:37pm

11. When caught, emphasize that blog in question is actually used as a recruiting tool. Remind HR to add finder's fees to your next check.

Bloggers should remember that their workplaces own the hardware and the software, that they have the right to monitor your internet usage, and that you have no expectation of privacy in the workplace. And if you work in an “employee at will” state, you can be fired at any time for almost any reason My “rule of thumb” at work regarding e-mails is this: if I would be comfortable seeing it as part of a court case I will send it. Of course, those who know how to make themselves anonymous may have ways to get around these strictures.

I’m not a cat guy (never have been, never will be). Dogs rule… Related Content:How Not to get Fired for BloggingHow to Draw PeopleDraw or Draw NotHow to Draw CartoonsLockergnome Comic StripRock the VoteI’m on The Far SideAMD Cares About BloggersXM Versus Sirius

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