Fired Bloggers Out Their Ex-employers
As companies learn to do business in an environment where employees blog, some have responded by firing them when the coverage becomes unflattering. Employees have taken action by publicly outing what they call "blogophobic" companies. Some have even begun sponsoring boycotts.
Moving forward, more companies will have to adapt and make decisions as to how they will respond to employee bloggers. While there are examples where companies have developed guidelines as they openly encouraged blogging, others have prohibited it across the board. In the end, individual companies will have to learn how to balance the handful of free media that may come from an obscure employee blog against entrenched corporate interests that want to control the message.
THE LESSON: At least one of your employees is a blogger. Your company must decide what to do when the coverage becomes unfavorable.
