Work Related Blogging
As many of you already know I am a project manager for a software company. When I decided to start this blog I had to decide just how much of my work world I was going to combine with my personal world. I’m one of these people that believes in a work/life balance and my work is really part of who I am.
I did a quick search of our company policies and did not find anything about work related blogging. I know many companies have policies and I thought I better check just to be sure. (Something all of you bloggers should do before pulling your company into your blog.) I also know many companies have blogs that are run by them specifically for their employee and/or customer benefit. Our company is NOT one of them either although I believe there could be some real positive benefit in such an environment, particularly as it relates to the area of software support, and end users sharing of information.
From all outward appearances it would seem as if blogging related to company topics would be something that I would be able to do if I chose to do so. I thought about it for quite awhile and ultimately I made the decision that on MY blog I would talk about work related items only in the broadest sense. I would NOT discuss specific company names (including my own), and I would not discuss company specific products. So if I’m not going to talk about companies or products how can I have a blog with work related “stuff”?
As I’ve said I believe my work and life are blended together and there are a lot of things that I do and learn as part of my work that are incorporated into my life. For example, I probably would not be sitting in front of a computer at all if it wasn’t part of what I do for work. There are a lot of things that I do at work that are NOT company specific at all. I spend huge amounts of time in Outlook and have found some GREAT tools that make using that tool so much better. I have learned some great shortcuts in applications like Excel that could be beneficial for others are are not really company related. Also, over the years I have developed a business philosophy that is also not company related but really encompases how I do my job. These are the types of things that you will see on this blog. I’m not going to tell you how our software works, or for that matter even what it does… No software support… no discussion or debate about my company specific policy. I have absolutely no authority or desire to speak for my company in this type of a public forum… You just won’t see it here.
Some interesting articles can be found on various blogs about workplace blogging. Here are some links:
Employees Fired Over Personal Blogs Fight Back
How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)
So, for me the decision was based on:
- Legality – I didn’t want to get into a situation where my opinion or comment would cause a situation that would have to be tested by the legal system.
- Philosophy – This blog for me is a personal venture… It really isn’t about work. While I may include items related to things I’ve learned there really is NO benefit at all to including specific company references.
