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There are lots of reasons to be careful about using the Internet. Here’s
one more – the stuff you publish on your personal website could cost
you your job. Michael Hanscom learned the hard way. Hanscom worked
at a printing shop in the Redmond, Wash., headquarters of Microsoft
Corp.
Last October, Hanscom published
in his blog a photo of a pallet of Apple Macintosh computers being
delivered to Microsoft headquarters. The following week Hanscom was
fired for allegedly violating a confidentiality agreement he’d signed
when Microsoft hired him.
Even as Microsoft fires a blogger like Hanscom for going too far, it
tolerates others like Robert Scoble, treating their hobby as a way
to build a more personal relationship with its customers. The two cases
show
how the rise of blogging has created new opportunities and perils for
workers and employers alike.
A Microsoft spokesman confirmed Hanscom’s firing but declined to
provide further details. The company said it does not have a blog
policy.
from
the Boston Globe
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