Intern? Bloggers Need Not Apply

westlake writes "Short, funny, and to the point, a good read from the NYT about the realities of blogging in the corporate world." From the article: "Most experienced employees know: Thou Shalt Not Blab About the Company's Internal Business. But the line between what is public and what is private is increasingly fuzzy for young people comfortable with broadcasting nearly every aspect of their lives on the Web, posting pictures of their grandmother at graduation next to one of them eating whipped cream off a woman's belly. For them, shifting from a like-minded audience of peers to an intergenerational, hierarchical workplace can be jarring."

Comments

This article summed up in ten words:

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't use your real name on your blog, you idiot!

Re:This article summed up in ten words:

[lottameez]

I disagree. You should use your real name 'cause it should keep you from saying something too stupid. Sooner or later you'll get outed anyways, and then you'll be wishing you hadn't bragged about doin' the football player's wife.

Also, written content never dies, it just defines you for life. Ask any politician (that can write).

Blackmail

[KefabiMe]

I determined a while ago that any private material that becomes public material can be used against you. In about 20 years I expect a metric shit-ton of blackmail material will be available for our future up-and-coming politicians. (Thank you MySpace for embarrassing our future politicians!)

Of course, because I'm smart enough to keep private matters private, I'm automatically disqualified from politics. (Yay!)

Hint: No matter how awesome that frat party was (I don't care *how* crazy those midgets where!), it's probably not a good idea to post those pics until your hangover is gone.

The problem is with extremes

[megla]

Anyone dumb enough to post their company's innermost secrets on their blog deserves exactly what they get.
Similarly, any boss who fires an employee simply on the basis that they have a blog, regardless of content, deserves some sort of dressing down - although this is harder to achieve.

People are too often pushed into very polarised positions on the matter, which helps no-one. There's plenty of acceptable middle ground, if only someone could bring reasonable discussion to the table.

Re:Reputations are forever...

[Castar]

In fact, I hope that the publishing of things like this helps to open our society a bit farther. The fact of the matter is that most people behave in "abnormal" ways, but keep it a secret. With the internet, and the publication of various things like this (college-age risky behavior, kinky fetishes, weakness for whipped cream) maybe we can finally recognize that *everyone* is a little bit weird, and the tyranny of the majority will cease to be such a factor in society.