I heard about it just a couple of hours ago and thought I should inform all fellow bloggers about it. A friend's friend had called up. On exploring him further, this friend told me that he was working with a $6 Billion international conglomerate and got fired for writing blogs. The reason - some of his blogs mentioned people from his work place and anecdotes on them. Now he is doing a job search.

I got really confused and shocked when I heard about it. Is it possible and moreover, legal to fire somebody for writing a blog? Or was the person really being insensitive to his company and colleagues when he published these blogs? Is writing a blog worth it when you might end up in job search.

After some discussions with my friends, I have reached to the conclusion that the company must have its own reasons and arguments for firing the employee in question. It is never good to take liberty with the norms and sensibilities of your company and colleagues. When you have to mention something about your company or colleagues on a blog, you have to be extremely careful. I hope following these practices may help you avoid a nasty job search experience.

1. Avoid blogging from office, specially office network. IT department in your office is very smart and can monitor your activities.

2. Do not reveal your personal details on a blogging website (e.g. name, address, telephone, homepage, company name etc)

3. When you talk about your employer, be extremely careful. Needless to say, refrain from mentioning the name of your company. Even hint should be given carefully. Avoid using phrases like "The top pharma company in world" or "Winner of the latest deming prize". Everybody would know which company you are referring to. Use more cryptic language like "A $6 billion company" or "a refrigerator major".

4. Do not mention the names of your colleagues when talking about them. Traditional Mr X and Mr Y will do. It is not imperative to use the actual name. Always make it a point to leave out proper nouns.

5. If possible, avoid criticising your company/colleagues/work culture.

6. If your are writing about a particular event, try to generalise it. For example, "A colleague of mine is fond of watching porn movies in office" can be written as "Some executives known to me are fond of watching porn movies in their offices." Avoid getting yourself attached to a controversial topic. If you generalize it, nobody can blame you for pointing towards a particular company/person/event.

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Please also see the next installment of this series which explores more dangerous territory of liability suits and legal actions on bloggers titled "Get Sued for Blogging."

Another hub that would relate to your sensibilities has also been one of the hottest hubs and joined together a lot of hubbers for a common cause. Must read Online Photo Galleries are Overshadowing Serious Writers