September 29, 2004

Starting your next job successfully
Posted by Jason Butler at 10:26 AM

David St Lawrence writes some excellent suggestions for successfully starting your next job.

Joining a new company and repeating the actions that you used at the last company will turn out badly most of the time. You need a mental makeover.

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Congress to the rescue of Women's Business Centers
Posted by Diane Danielson at 9:29 AM

Bizjournals reports that Congress restored funding for about 50 women's business centers around the country, some of which had to slash services to entrepreneurs after their Small Business Administration grants expired in July. Locally, this is great news for the Center for Women and Enterprise, which operates three women's business centers in Boston, Worcester and Providence where they provide classes and counseling for aspiring small business owners.

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September 28, 2004

You go, girl!
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:08 AM

Wall Street's top woman made an even bigger splash. Sallie L. Krawcheck has been appointed CFO of Citigroup. That position also comes with another heady title: Head of Strategy. Not one to shrink from a challenge, this 39-year old is facing a 52-week low in stock price and continued battles with regulators.

On a side note, I got to hear Ms. Krawcheck speak last year and she told a hilarious story about her brief attempt to be a stay-at-home mom. Apparently, she realized that when she caught herself trying to teach her 3-month old to crawl, that her over-achieving personality would undoubtedly do more damage at home than at the office. Let's hope her career at Citigroup lasts much longer than her maternity leave! Sallie, you go, girl!
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LSD approach to de-stress on the job
Posted by at 9:21 AM

No, not that one. The Cape Cod Times is running a week-long series of articles to help workers "just relax" which of course, is always easier said than done. The Long, Slow, Deep approach is a hypnotic technique which anyone can do to let the steam out from a stressful situation.

[ Hypnotherapist Nancy Canning ] prefers the LSD approach (no, not that one) which involves taking periodic breaths that are Long, Slow and Deep.

"You literally have to feel yourself breathing and think about inhaling and exhaling and nothing else," she said.

Here's how:

• Close your eyes and draw a deep breath until you can feel it in your stomach.
  At the apex of the inhale, hold your breath for a few seconds while relaxing your head and neck muscles.


• Push all of the air out of your body.


• "If you do this for just 10 seconds a couple times a day, you'll be able to feel the pressure lift off your shoulders, which is the main area where tension builds," she said. "It sounds so simple, but it really helps."

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No expectation of privacy
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:30 AM

Sometimes it's important to "go behind enemy lines." Here is another interesting article on workplace privacy, but it's from corporate lawyers interested in protecting the interests of the company.

There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in electronic mail ("e-mail") sent, stored or received at work. Smyth v. The Pillsbury Co., 914 F. Supp. 97 (E.D. Pa. 1996). The computer hardware and software belong to the employer, and so does all the information stored on it. Id. at 101. The Smyth court noted that the e-mail communications were made voluntarily over the company e-mail system and that the company was not requiring the employee to disclose any personal information about himself. Id. Notwithstanding any assurances by the employer that such communications would not be intercepted, no reasonable expectation of privacy could be found. Id. Moreover, the court held that the company's interest in preventing inappropriate and unprofessional comments or even illegal activity over its e-mail system outweighs any privacy interest the employee may have had in comments made over e-mail. Id.

Short version: you have no rights, according to the laws of the land. It is what it is.

The only right you have is to take your talents to employers less invasive. As the market turns, talented people are less likely to tolerate corporate BS, especially on matters of principle like personal privacy.
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September 27, 2004

What's in a "non" agreement?
Posted by Jason Butler at 7:54 PM

Lawyer Anthony Cerminaro explains what all those clauses in your employment agreement actually mean.

Make sure you know what you're doing when you're signing your life away.
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The decline of Welfare Capitalism
Posted by at 1:55 PM

Slate's Daniel Gross writes today on the "Europe-ification" of the American worker, and how the globalization of our economy is hastening the demise of Welfare Capitalism.

Welfare capitalism is a term used by historians and economists to define the distinctive style of capitalism that emerged in the 20th century. Until the turn of the 20th century, fringe benefits, insurance, retirement plans, and health benefits—the perks we have come to define as essential to employment—simply didn't exist. Employers had compensated employees solely with wages.

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Job seeker hangover
Posted by at 1:45 PM

From today's Globe, a story on how a derth of middle and working-class
Americans are still struggling, despite improving jobs numbers.

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Women-owned businesses by the numbers
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:32 AM

The Center for Women's Business Research just released their 2004 rankings for women-owned business which pretty much confirm earlier findings that the Top 10 Fastest Growing Metropolitan areas for women-owned firms are South of the Mason Dixon line and West of the Mississippi.

The Rankings:

1. Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT


2. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ


3. Las Vegas, NV-AZ


4. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC


5. Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock hill, NC


6. Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC


7. Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA


8. Nashville, TN


9. Denver, CO


10. Miami, FL, and St. Louis, MO-IL (tied)

So where does good old Boston fit into this list? Try 45th! But at least we beat out Washington, DC (46), Bergen-Passaic, NJ (47), Pittsburgh, PA (48), Philadelphia, PA (49) and Newark, NJ (also 49th). The rest of the bottom ten were areas in and around NYC.
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September 24, 2004

Big Boss is watching you
Posted by Jason Butler at 1:19 PM

News.com reports on a disturbing new worker-privacy threat: tracking employee movement via the GPS on employee cellphones.

[M]obile tracking firm Xora showed off the latest version of its Nextel GPS (global positioning system) phone software. The company says 1,600 corporate customers have signed up for its services, including "geofences" technology that sets off an alarm at the office when field workers go to preprogrammed off-limits sites, such as a bar or a park.

"There's no electro shock--yet," Xora CEO Sanjay Shirole said.

Just because something is possible doesn't mean it's a good idea.
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September 23, 2004

High-tech start-ups feel push to outsource
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 4:33 PM

As Beth Healy reports in today's Boston Globe, it is not just mature firms that are looking to keep expenses down by outsourcing work overseas. Now it's a demand in the entrepreneurial world, as well, which is not welcome news for those looking to start-ups as an employment option in the economic rebound:

While large American companies have drawn the most attention for shifting jobs to cheaper overseas markets, the practice has quietly taken hold among start-ups as well. It's a trend that financiers of young technology companies say is inevitable. But they also admit it's controversial, and likely to rock a sector that Boston relies on for jobs and a vibrant economy.
- - - - -
Speaking to a group of venture capitalists and business executives at a Harvard Club dinner on Tuesday evening, [TH Lee managing director Ramanan] Raghavendran said that Boston-based TH Lee is urging the companies it invests in to ''build offshoring into the business plan from day one." If management doesn't ''get it," Raghavendran said, ''venture firms need to drive the thinking" about hiring offshore.

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Deep down, we're all incompetent
Posted by Jason Butler at 1:11 PM

George Lucas is one of the most successful filmmakers of all time, but he had a tough time directing Star Wars, as Wired describes in its review of Empire of Dreams, the documentary accompanying the Star Wars trilogy this week.

Star Wars was a messy production. Nothing worked -- the costumes were flimsy, the British crew back-talked Lucas, and the studio, frustrated by the rising budget and missed deadlines, pressured him to wrap things up. The young Lucas was no great communicator -- "He lost his voice and we didn't realize it for several days," Carrie Fisher says in the film -- and the footage shows him looking completely defeated, shoulders slumped, worry lines etched in his face.

"George looked like he was ready to burst into tears," actor Mark Hamill says in the film, "and so we tried to cheer him up."

As we muddle through our jobs, it's good to know that even the best have their struggles.

If you don't want to buy the DVDs, a truncated version of the documentary is on A&E Saturday at 1pm.
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September 22, 2004

Fewer women seen in Harvard's Yard
Posted by at 10:27 AM

In today's Globe, a report based on the university's own figures, says that fewer and fewer top faculty positions are going to women.

During the 2000-2001 academic year, the last of former president Neil L. Rudenstine's term, 36 percent of Harvard's offers of tenured jobs were made to women. Last year, 2003-2004, women received only 13 percent of the tenured job offers. Out of a total of 32 offers last year, just four were made to women, and of the 22 candidates who accepted, only one was a woman.

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September 21, 2004

Wanted: Proud men & women in uniform
Posted by at 8:54 AM

Home Depot is expected to announce today a plan to hire 10,000 veterans this year to work in their stores nationwide.

A Home Depot spokesperson declined to comment but CEO Bob Nardelli told Fortune magazine that the world's largest home-improvement chain expects to hire more than 10,000 veterans this year. "Military men and women are well-disciplined," Nardelli said in an interview in the magazine's Sept. 20 issue. "We've had tremendous success with them."

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No Swedish zombies at the wheel, please
Posted by at 8:37 AM

A recent survey found that 40 percent of Swedes believe it's okay to bang out sick from work because they feel tired or are too stressed about getting along with colleagues.

The survey, presented Friday by the National Social Insurance Board, showed that Swedes manifestly take advantage of the country's liberal sick leave system, officials said. Sixty-five percent of the 1,002 people interviewed also said that a stressful work situation is also a valid reason for calling in sick.

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September 17, 2004

A new tool for staff shortages
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:49 AM

A piece from yesterday's Globe looks at a new web-based tool that is helping a local hospital deal with gaps in nursing shifts:

Registered nurses at Nashoba Valley Medical Center are doing what few of their counterparts anywhere can do: logging on to their computers and bidding on working shifts that have openings.

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The quarter-life crisis
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:24 AM

So you're 20-something and life is all wine and roses, your career and its myriad possibilities ahead of you, your time free and no dependents to tie you down, and you've got it all over those hordes of aging, graying, soon-to-be-retired baby boomers. Right? Well, sort of. . .:

There is a new movement afoot of professionals studying today's 20-somethings. They maintain that there's a phase of life - quarter-life - which, like adolescence and midlife, has its own set of challenges and characteristics. People get married later and have more transient careers than before. They are in debt longer, sometimes in school longer. The early to late 20s represents a time of extreme instability.

Striking a chord? Then you may also want to check out the story's sidebar, "Surviving a quarter-life crisis", which provides some coping tools.
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Cool job of the week
Posted by Douglas Eisenhart at 9:19 AM

From yesterday's Boston Globe:

Meet Kelly Barons, possessor of one of the more enviable jobs in Red Sox Nation. Barons, 19, a Lexington native and catcher for the Regis College softball team, is a ball girl, er, ball attendant, for the Boston Red Sox. Her job is one part team ambassador, one part ball chaser, and one part wish fulfiller to drop-jawed 7-year-olds.

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Running an efficient board meeting
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:52 AM

Ed Sim, a New York venture capitalist, details what he looks for in a board meeting.

Even if you're not at the executive level yet, you should pay close attention to his suggestions on best ways to prepare for the big meetings.

1. Be prepared: Board meetings are like theater. Like any play, I expect the CEO to have a well thought out and scripted agenda for the meeting. The most efficient way to do so is to lay out an agenda and get feedback pre-meeting from the other board members to ensure that the board covers appropriate topics and allocates the right amount of time for each one. From an update and preparedness perspective, the CEO should always go into the meeting having a complete understanding of where the various board members stand in terms of any major decisions. There should be no surprises. This means that the CEO should have individual meetings and calls in advance of the board meeting to walk each director through any decisions that need to be made and the accompanying analyses behind them.

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September 16, 2004

Let's not forget the home front
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:20 AM

As one of my friends likes to put it, "women fought for equality in the workplace, but we forgot to fight for it at home." She's not alone in thinking this and now has some statistical support. CBSnews.com reports on a recent study by the Labor Department that found that employed women averaged about an hour more on housework and nearly and an hour-and-a-half more on child-care activities per day than their employed male counterparts. This probably explains the other findings: that men have more leisure time; are able to work a little bit longer at the office; and are more likely to participate in sports.

How do the men manage this? Must be because they have wives .... Hmmmmmm. I gotta get me one of those someday.

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September 15, 2004

Follow your heart
Posted by at 10:37 AM

Corny as the headline may read, there is a kernel of truth to such a statement as Meg Hourihan, the co-founder of Pyra (the company that invented Blogger) has found by retiring from technology to become a chef on Nantucket.

This past May, when I decided to go on sabbatical I wrote that I needed a break because: I had no perspective on anything, I was so deep into my world of weblogs and tech that I didn't have much sense of what was going on outside of my geek circles... I've been burning my candle at both ends for years now, and decided it was time to stop. Emotionally I was drained. Physically I was drained...I've learned a lot this summer during my sabbatical but it all can be summarized in three words: follow your heart.

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September 14, 2004

Summers over - back to job search basics
Posted by Colin Moor at 7:15 PM

If you enjoyed some time off from your job search for the last few months, congratulations. However, the Autumnal Equinox, or end of summer, is now rapidly approaching (officially on September 22nd) and it is time to refocus your activities around the all important task of finding that new job! The job search process has been around for centuries, but when it comes to doing it right, stick to an approach that emphasizes well executed basic strategies.

#1. Know what you want to do and "who" you want to be. You wouldn't believe the number of people who start their job search and begin sending out resumes when they have no idea what they want to do for a living. If you don't know, then how is anyone else to know? You must be clear about your objectives - type of position, type of company, geographic preference - before you ever begin your search. If you're uncertain about your career goals and job objectives, consider taking a few career assessments that will help you identify your top skills, motivators and career preferences.

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Toot your horn with hard facts and figures
Posted by at 4:52 PM

Throughout my professional life I've had co-workers remark that "their work should speak for itself" when it comes time to demonstrate their value at annual performance reviews. It's true that it should be enough but the truth is that when you're talking about promotions and raises, these things rarely come easily no matter how valued you may feel you are. Because what could be a career growth meeting could just as easily turn into a career limiting one, and going in requires you to uphold a high degree of decorum and professionalism, apply a good dose of verbal tact and perhaps most importantly, provide hard data to back up your proven results.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Headhunter" Nick Corcodilos has some advice on how to best manage your performance review.

Some readers might believe your record should speak for itself. But, it's important to remember that your boss has more to think about than your record. To get the boss to do what you want, it's up to you to tactfully exert some influence.

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Writing skills wanted
Posted by at 2:31 PM

E-mailing, instant messaging, and text messaging have allowed people to communicate a lot by writing very little. However, employers are finding it difficult to find the key skill of being able to write well. While being able to write well is important for salaried positions, it is also important for hourly/part-time jobs. Read more in: No Hemingways here: Employers say workers need help to improve writing ability

In a fast-paced workplace, precision and brevity are essential. For e-mails, reports and presentations, the commission found that accuracy, clarity, spelling, punctuation, grammar and conciseness ranked among the most sought-after skills....

A majority of survey respondents said about two-thirds of employees both current workers and new hires meet writing requirements. While lackluster writing skills do not necessarily impede success in all realms, more than half of the companies surveyed reported that they assess writing in hiring and promoting salaried employees.

What's the key take-away for employers? Provide training for those employees with less than stellar writing capabilities.
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Q4 jobs report
Posted by at 10:32 AM

From CNN/Money, Manpower, Inc. an employment services firm, puts out their seasonally-adjusted survey of 16,000 employers hiring intentions for October through December, and indications are somewhat on the brighter side.

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September 13, 2004

When job requests go wrong
Posted by at 11:28 AM

Apparently writers of the MyDoom computer virus are inserting pleas for work in their malicious code. Anti-virus professionals who uncovered the plea, are none too impressed.

"It's hard to tell if the creators of these new versions of the MyDoom worm are being serious, but there is no way that anybody in the anti-virus industry would touch them with a barge pole," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, a British anti-virus firm.

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Study supports women's business centers
Posted by at 11:03 AM

A new study by The National Women's Business Council finds that women's business centers trained and counseled nearly twice as many clients in 2003 as they did two years earlier, and provides support for those who are trying to restore funding for more than 50 centers due to close for lack of funding.
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Sometimes "Y" chromosomes just aren't enough
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:44 AM

ChicagoBusiness.com takes a look at the ongoing battle to get more "X" chromosomes in the board room.

When Cheryl Francis walked into her first board meeting at Lands' End Inc. three years ago, she was the only woman in the room. The topic that day: how to attract the working-woman shopper.

It was the first time the Wisconsin-based direct merchant, which sold mostly to women, had a woman on the board. Ms. Francis sat back and listened.

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September 10, 2004

Conditions are deteriorating, Dwight
Posted by at 4:14 PM

If anyone out there job hunting is considering a career in Broadcast Journalism, you may inevitably be asked to cover a weather-related story. This year Hurricanes Charley, Frances and now Ivan are making headlines and it's becoming a cottage industry unto itself if you took notice of CNN or the Weather Channel these past few weeks.

In case you're lucky enough to make it as a member of the elite Fifth Estate, and haven't the foggiest idea how to cover a storm, here's a Hurricane Reporting Primer to help you out.

What you should televise: The first rule of hurricane coverage is that every broadcast must begin with palm trees bending in the wind. Never mind that the puniest summer squall can send a coconut palm into convulsions, your producer will demand this meaningless shot.

Once the storm begins, you can forget about swaying palm trees and concentrate on ficus, banyans, oaks and Austrialian pines -- the ones that actually go down.

Fallen-tree video is absolutely essential to hurricane broadcasts. The most sought-after footage is, in order of ratings:

1. Big tree on strip mall.
2. Big tree on house.
3. Big tree on car.
4. Small tree on car.
5. Assorted shrubbery on car.

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Overtime wars and soaring healthcare costs
Posted by at 11:41 AM

In today's Globe, two stories of interest relating to workers and employers. The House yesterday voted to block the DOL from implementing the new overtime laws. Meanwhile, the cost of staying healthy continues to climb.
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Shake your money maker
Posted by at 10:32 AM

Some Boston area temp agencies are seeing a significant bump in temporary hiring by area employers. Can a permanent hiring wave be far off?

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TV to teaching to TV
Posted by Jason Butler at 8:39 AM

Former ESPN reporter Steve Cyphers left the network a couple of years ago to teach at the Colorado Catholic school his children attend.

Here is a really interesting article explaining why he left ESPN, what it was like teaching, and why, ultimately, he's going back to television.

Cyphers returns as an ESPN staffer, but not because of any dissatisfaction with teaching. "To quote my kids, 'Dude, it was awesome! It was unbelievable!'" Cyphers says. Rather, he's heading back to the tube, just in time to celebrate ESPN's 25th anniversary, because his wages didn't go nearly as far as he thought they would.

"This last year, I made $1,509 a month," he reveals, "and that was a raise from the year before."

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September 9, 2004

Hey girls, it's time to put on your game face!
Posted by Diane Danielson at 11:34 AM

Why is it that video games feature guns, tanks, car crashes and bodacious babes? Probably because that's what their designers like. If there is one industry that may actually be more testosterone-driven than Venture Capital, it's the video game making industry. Today's Globe reports on the efforts being made to lure more women to the field like the first Women Game Conference taking place this week in Austin.

The $10 billion industry may have entered the mainstream, but with a few exceptions, the target audience for big-budget video games is the same as it ever was: teenage boys gripped with visions of dragons, space ships, and voluptuous virtual babes.

It doesn't help that less than 10 percent of all game developers are women, Guildhall executive director Peter Raad said. Men design games that appeal more to men.

My guess is that it's going to take some Title IX-type effort to make this an even playing field, but if our women's soccer team can bring home the gold, perhaps sometime in the future we may be able to purchase a Game Girl.

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September 8, 2004

And winner of the next pink slip goes to...
Posted by at 4:02 PM

I was briefly out of the country last week, but apparently there was a silent protest in New York City where nearly 8,000 people formed a three-mile long symbolic unemployment line to "draw attention to failed economic policies that have left 8.2 million Americans unemployed." Blue Jake has a first-hand photo essay of the protest.

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Trade off
Posted by at 3:38 PM

A recent survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas asserts that employers increased both hiring and layoff plans in August, and that many of the new jobs added to the economy last month, are likely to be seasonal and temporary.

Employers also announced plans to hire 132,105 in the weeks and months ahead. But John Challenger, president of the firm, said most of those new jobs are likely seasonal and temporary. The survey said 83,450 of the new hiring plans announced came from retailers.

"These expectations probably include the typical hiring surge that coincides with the coming of the holiday selling season," he said in a statement Tuesday. "While all hiring is good for the economy, it must be noted that many of the retail jobs added over the next few months may disappear by February."

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Shrinking paychecks?
Posted by at 1:11 PM

According to a recent report, Mass. workers may be still ranking higher on the payscale but the growth of higher paying jobs has shrunk.

In the wake of the recession, the quality of jobs in Massachusetts eroded as low-paying industries grew and high-paying ones contracted, says a new report on the state's workforce....
The loss of high-paying jobs contributed to a drop in the median income of all Massachusetts households, to an average $50,976 in 2002 and 2003, down from $52,649 in 2001-02. That was barely higher than incomes prior to the state's high-tech contraction in the early 1990s.

Read more in the Globe article: Losing ground: High-paying jobs shrink, lower-wage ones grow in state
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September 7, 2004

Another resource for US-based technical jobs
Posted by at 4:23 PM

Take a look at ITonshore.com. They specialize in placing contractors. I don't have any direct experience, but it's worth a look. (This is not an endorsement; this is information :-)
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To brag or not to brag, that is the question
Posted by Diane Danielson at 1:15 PM

This weekend's BostonWorks section focused on "Brag Queen," Peggy Klaus, who runs workshops and seminars for women on how to brag to get ahead.

Peggy Klaus raced down the aisle, exhorting the 150 or so women professionals and business owners packed into a meeting room at Citizens Bank to stand up, speak up -- and brag.

''Women have been hit over the head with the idea that if they talk about themselves, people won't like them,'' said Klaus. ''But if you don't talk about your accomplishments, who will?''

It's worth reading the whole article, because there are some experts at the end who question whether this is the best strategy for women in the workplace. Their fear is that women may unintentionally cross over the line and be seen as too pushy. So what's a woman to do? I suppose one solution would be to have an unofficial "Take your Grandma to Work Day" and let her do your bragging for you!

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September 6, 2004

Always on the job, employees pay with health
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:38 AM

Just in time for Labor Day, the New York Times reports on ways workplace stress is harming Americans' health.

Sixty-two percent [of American workers] say their workload has increased over the last six months; 53 percent say work leaves them "overtired and overwhelmed."

Even at home, in the soccer bleachers or at the Labor Day picnic, workers are never really off the clock, bound to BlackBerries, cellphones and laptops. Add iffy job security, rising health care costs, ailing pension plans and the fear that a financial setback could put mortgage payments out of reach, and the office has become, for many, an echo chamber of angst.

It is enough to make workers sick - and it does.

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September 2, 2004

Me talk guyspeak someday
Posted by Diane Danielson at 10:03 AM

Interesting article yesterday in the Houston Chronicle about the communication gap between genders.

Imagine a typical meeting. A problem has come up with, say, the making of a new type of paper cup, and the team has to get together to fix it.

The problem is described, and discussion begins about cost, efficiency, sales and the like.

Finally, one of the women in the room brings up other concerns — environmental pitfalls, consumer preferences and cultural issues.

The men stare. What is she talking about? What does the environment have to do with the cost per cup?

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September 1, 2004

Three essential interview skills
Posted by at 3:20 PM

In Win Your Next Job With Three Essential Interview Skills, Deborah Walker suggests candidates make sure to

• Prepare for the interview
  
• Find and use the interviewer's hot buttons
  
• Close to the next step
  

I agree that preparing for the interview is necessary. Look at the company and see how to relate your work to what you can discover about the company, the job, the manager, and anyone you may know there.

I'm not so sure about finding and using the interviewer's hot buttons. Candidates should explain what they stand for and why -- and not parrot back to a hiring manager what they think the manager wants to hear. One technique I can recommend here is to ask about specific deliverables or responsibilities and then explain how you could fulfill them.

If you're interviewing with someone who's slow to move onto the next steps, the closing part of Walker's advice is spot-on. In any case, you can always ask what the next steps are, "Can you tell me who I should expect to hear from regarding the second interview?"

Whether you like all of Walker's advice or not, make sure you consider when and how to use it.
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Checking in from 20,000 feet
Posted by Diane Danielson at 2:27 PM

August's issue of Fast Company interviews six high-flying, high-ranking women re: the status of the glass ceiling. Each one provides some interesting insights. However, the general theme is that while young women of today should appreciate the strides that have been taken, it's still a little bit lonely being a woman (and/or minority) at the top.

It was another promise of the new economy: We'd finally move from the old-time rules of the old boys' network to a workplace based on merit, performance, and skill -- a workplace that would be more open to women. Forget about breaking the glass ceiling, the logic went, the new economy would break out of the whole box. That was the promise. Just how well has it been kept? To find out, Fast Company surveyed six successful women, high achievers in industries as diverse as autos, packaged goods, finance, and medicine. The question: Are we living in a meritocracy or a machotocracy?

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Corporate blogging vs. personal blogging
Posted by Jason Butler at 1:47 PM

Continuing today's discussion of personal blogs and corporate responsibility, here's a colorful description from well-known blogger and IBM employee Mark Pilgrim of the difference between corporate blogging and personal blogging.

A corporate blog is just like a personal blog, except you don’t get to use the word “[bad person with an Oedipus complex].”

He does make a good serious point on what it's like to blog on behalf of your employer:

[C]orporate blogging involves a fair amount of common sense, and by “common sense,” I mean “self-censorship.” I will not be writing about unannounced products, internal policy, or juicy corporate secrets. There is no editorial approval process to guarantee this; once I click “Post,” it’s live to the world. But really, if you haven’t learned how to censor yourself by now, you have no business starting a blog anywhere, much less one on your company’s domain.

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My irony-o-meter just melted
Posted by Jason Butler at 9:03 AM

Stop me if you've heard this before.

It's one thing for a Canadian tourism board to fire someone over their blog, but a social-networking company? Friendster fired Joyce Park for postings she made on her weblog.

Park, who posts under the name Troutgirl, tells her side of the story.

So I was terminated from Friendster today. The reason given was blogging.

The levels of irony on this are pretty deep. For one thing, I wrote a fairly well-known paper last year about the need for semi-permeable blogging. For another thing, by all accounts the particular posts that led to my termination were this one and this one (although feel free to check my archives for any other incriminating information). I try really hard not to blog about anything that is not a matter of public record... but I guess that's not protection any more. You get Slashdotted, make Udell's column, lose your job. And finally, it's especially ironic because Friendster, of course, is a company that is all about getting people to reveal information about themselves...

Friendster responded to ZDNet that it "does not comment about employee matters."

Jeremy Zawodny rounds up other links on this story.

Caveat: we're only getting one side of the story. But, even given that, this story bothers me tremendously. Friendster's actions go against the entire ethos of the Internet and its community promise. Had Park revealed trade secrets, I'd understand Friendster's reaction, though even in that case firing is a severe punishment. She didn't reveal trade secrets; she commented on publicly-available information.

In the Internet space, generously sharing your learnings with the larger community is the expected thing to do, the right thing to do. In new Friendster CEO Scott Sassa's world, it gets you fired.

Sassa is not an Internet guy; his background is in television. Welcome to Silicon Valley; it's not the same world as Hollywood.

Maybe we should all chip in and send him a copy of the Cluetrain Manifesto.
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