The Secret Lives of Bloggers and their Bosses

Posted on August 21, 2009 in Privacy The InterNet

Among the blogging crowd I associate myself with most strongly, hiding one’s identity is almost a given. Few of us — unless our lives have already been ruined — want the world to know that we suffer from bipolar disorder. It’s the kiss of death for employers, a reason for social ostracism.

Outside the clan of the mentally ill, I confess I have had problems with those who conceal their identity. But that reticense is on the decline as I read more and more stories about people getting screwed because of things that they say on their blog. The most recent victim is Pittgirl who was fired on Thursday after abandoning her anonymity.

The obsession of employers to know everything about their employees was fiercely underlined when the City of Bozeman, Montana asked applicants to give the account names and passwords for all of their social media accounts. This kind of paranoia is only mildly unusual. The tendency for employers to sweep the web for anything employees have said online is well-established and has cost some people their jobs. I feel for any of the other Joel Saxes out there who might find co-workers giving them the evil eye because they suspect their Joel Sax to be me.

Willingly we who blog give up a piece of our privacy. It does not follow, however, that it is fair play to fire people for the things they say on their blogs (except when giving away trade secrets as stipulated in a contract) or to out them without their permission. Some of the Founding Fathers (see the Federalist Papers for example) chose to write from behind the mask of anonymity. We should respect them for who they are except when a clear and present danger to society can be demonstrated. Being someone’s boss or political representative does not suffice as clear and present danger.

For a discussion of the pitfalls of anonymity, click here.