Why employers should care about blogging
05-Jul-06
by Winnipeg lawyer Brian Bowman
It can be an inexpensive way to generate positive online chatter about a business.
This makes sense considering that people are reading blogs. Last year, Ipsos-Reid reported that four in 10 Canadians (42 per cent) have read a blog at least once.
Other blogs, however, can have deeply damaging impacts on affected individuals and businesses. That’s because some bloggers use the online platform as a launching pad for virtual assaults against others.
Employers should be highly concerned about the blogging activities of employees. That’s because employees who use blogs can, among other things, engage in copyright infringement and defamation.
Employees who write blogs in the course of their employment activities are easier to manage with company policies and procedures. Employees that write their own personal blogs, outside of work, can raise more challenging issues for employers.
Conclusion it seems to me-a professional blogger (I’m leaning to calling the role commentator or colour guy (a la sports) : Employees from the ceo on downward should be encouraged to blog on behalf of the company so corporate standards can be imposed. The company should also be active with various theme or lines of business blogs written by professional bloggers on contract or full time.
