Alison Wheeler › Comments

exactly - what if you know that the question is really - 'you do it, or you leave' type of speech? what can you refer to to protect your interest, and your freedom of speech? - Sylwia Presley

good question - Marietta Le

I'd ask them why they felt so threatened by the truth. - Alison Wheeler

I agree, but I also think it's a question of legalities - disclaimer on your blog, social media policy of the company - if this in not in place general law applies and you should negotiate. Problem arrises when you are laid off for a different, made up reason;)! - Sylwia Presley

There are, of course, also differences in law between countries. Libel law in UK is very different to that in USA. Danger of 'sour grapes' in your latter case! - Alison Wheeler

Truth, but the more you have written down on paper, the better, I think companies are moving towards social media policies for their own sake, don't you think? - Sylwia Presley

I agree with you Sylwia. - Marietta Le

Isn't this a typical case of mismatch between professional and personal values? Aren't we seeing a gradual bridging of this gap though, more so in progressive companies ofcourse? - Kedar Iyer

I think so, I think due to few unpleasant cases (Domino Pizza employees etc) it's in the interest of companies to define - on paper - what their social media policy is. This makes blogging more transparent too. However, there still will be cases of people fired/discouraged from work with excuses, but really, indirectly for their blogging, I think. - Sylwia Presley

For me, currently, the professional is personal as freelance, but issue still remains as I have to 'double-think' the effect of a post/comment/blog/tweet on the views of a prospective or current client doing due diligence on me. Shades of 1984 somehow! - Alison Wheeler

I know a cool researcher for Human Rights Watch in the Middle East who was pressured to stop blogging by HRW. So much for free speech :) - dan

In Germany blogging is perceived as profession, so people Google your name before inviting you for interview to check potential client conflict... my German friend living in the UK blogs anonymously... - Sylwia Presley

Dan - that is very bad, unless they were releasing privileged or otherwise ;dangerous' information by doing so. Which is, of course, the ethics question itself! - Alison Wheeler

it sounds horrible indeed... - Sylwia Presley

Sylwia: for employers it's almost 'normal' to check applicants via Google or, try to check their profile on FB - Marietta Le

yes, but if I am not friendly with - let's say Mac - today, why would it mean I cannot work for them in the future? my opinions can change in time... - Sylwia Presley

Marietta - I certainly check out (stalk?) possible lovers online to check their politics, ethics, etc! - Alison Wheeler

Nothing to do with privileged info. This guy is ultra-careful; he's a human rights researcher. It had everything to do with 'message control' - a sympton of all centralised bureaucracies, only a bit more shocking when they are supposedly 'for' human rights. So does social media simultaneously reveal the limits of hierarchical NGOs and offer an alternative e.g. the social startup? - dan

so we can say it's okay that everybody checks everybody online, the problem is that the information found there may limit our opinion on the person checked, it's for the companies too, they just decided that they won't take Sylwia because she is not familiar with Mac and that's all :) - Marietta Le

Dan, I think it's better to somehow cooperate because both NGOs and social startups have their limits and use different practices in lobbying - Marietta Le

oh, well, I do intend to get an iPhone next weekend:) so maybe I stand the chance:) but seriously - I think people should have more insights and check if the opinions we share once have been related to our work at the time - which proves loyalty or it's lack... - Sylwia Presley

or check if you are open-minded enough to change your mind :) - Marietta Le

indeed:) - Sylwia Presley

although I can't control what others write about me online (ie which may be discoverable by others) I can *to an extent* manage the likelihood of something getting disclosed which I might not want seen by others by not discussing it under my real name and only pseudonym. I see this as ethical; not all will. - Alison Wheeler

yes, but the two types of content differ so much - what you write is genuinely truth - it's your words; what other write is their opinion - basically speculations, no? - Sylwia Presley

I'm reminded of a long from a song: "We all have truths - are mine the same as yours". My words are my truth; your words are your truth. Different standpoints though. - Alison Wheeler

I am sorry, you are right - Zoe was disclosed by media, not government - but I guess the effects are similiar. I would like to -at least to have the option - to blog anonymously, if I want. - Sylwia Presley

I saw no point in the court case to disclose the police inspector though. Court seemed to presume against anonymity as a matter of course, thus making (ensuring?) activism is more difficult - Alison Wheeler

exactly - but I think this is the general UK gov tendency - the panic, fear of the unknown - and trying to restrict whatever possible.:/ - Sylwia Presley

Yep, it's the assumption that if you are hiding something then you must be up to no good. - Chris Rimmer

I think if curtains were invented today the government would denounce them as a tool for crime. - Chris Rimmer

never thought of it this way, but you are right...no one even considers the personal reasons - maybe I would simply be not happy for my mother to read my blog - that's all...(well, i wouldn't, but sitill) - Sylwia Presley

APOLOGIES - first sentence was meant to be a quote:./ - Sylwia Presley

(no prob!) I believe this comes down to a 'body of work' argument. Anonymous is a great writer/composer, as were various women writing under men's names in order to get published. Similar argument imho - Alison Wheeler

isn't dangerous to trust a voice like this on-line though? - Sylwia Presley

of course, hence the length of time is important. years not days. example: how many 'fake' twitterers there hae been unmasked - Alison Wheeler

truth, I agree...I just wait to see one of the leading voices (Tweeterer, blogger etc) to be disclosed as a governmental spy or something similiar - I read to many Clancy books as a kid;) (joke) - Sylwia Presley

some of my favourite blogs are pseudonymous, and I'm glad they are as I've grown to trust them more. Sometimes it is ok when they are unmasked - NeeNaw, Random, etc - but not always - Alison Wheeler

I am actually worried about them - I remember what Zoe Margolis and Salam Pax went through and how it changed their life...ok, some - like them- are strong and turn it all around - but what if they are not?:/ - Sylwia Presley

I suspect it depends on how your output (blog/tweets/identity) are seen. whistleblower or naughty-but-nice-really. - Alison Wheeler

you admit openly what you need?:) - Sylwia Presley

No matter what you call it, it still boils down to effective marketing... creating a meme that spreads - Marcus Povey

yes, but as meme is different than a campaign - which has a message, narrative, goals, no? - Sylwia Presley

I just enjoyed reading Re:Imagining Change, by a bunch called smartMeme http://smartmeme.org/. Lots of ideas for 'meme campaiging'. - dan

I like it, thx! - Sylwia Presley

I always wondered if for example internet is the ultimate source of free speech or we can't let everything appear on the web - Marietta Le

it's not so much what the ethics _are_ (not a given) but what we want them to be. can social media amplify certain kinds of ethics e.g. peer to peer - dan

I'm not sure it *is* "free speech" though .. like most things said with your own name on you take some care. Only anonymous can be truly 'free' I would suggest - Alison Wheeler

Dan, i think it can - by the dynamics of the venue (FB, Twitter, blog) and by the reactions of the users. from that point of view web is a perfect democracy...unless you pretend who you are;) - Sylwia Presley

Sllwia ... thing is, though, I have another identity to this (realname) one which in one sense is 'pretend' yet its longevity has imbued it with 'realness' in the eyes of others - Alison Wheeler

Most service providers have a stated policy of co-operating with the authorities, and hackers... well... - Marcus Povey

oh, no, i am fine with my photos, very very personal information on the bilboards, what I do not want is to loose all my content (imagine someone hacking your blog!) because of my activist involvement. I mean ok, I can build up a presence on Twitter easily, as I recently did, but the fact my original feed is hacked due to let's say being located in Iran today - would not only piss me off, but also make me feel uneasy... - Sylwia Presley

So your question is regarding how you would stop from becoming victim of a vigilante or state sponsored attack through your activist involvement? - Marcus Povey

well, a hacker supported by a state policy really - but it's not about the fact of being taken off - my question is - what motivates activist bloggers, web users to actually risk it...when I was in Cairo this spring a blogger mentioned it's better to blog under real name, in case if you face arrest, you can prove relation to your blog - if you blog anonymously - it's hard to prove why you were detained...I never thought of it this way... - Sylwia Presley

there are times I ponder a 'secure retweet' service ideal to protect the original poster and have the 'public' source someone not able to be got at by the 'bad people' in the conflict area - Alison Wheeler

Interestingly enough many govts, including ours are considering blogger registration - under the guise of protecting against defamation... - Marcus Povey

I think what you say, Alison, depends on a governance too - in the UK, you would probably be allowed to write whatever you want - in Syria not so - and there, I would be for a tool you are suggesting - it actually is the only way to encourage people to share their thoughts safely. They risk their lives... - Sylwia Presley

I'm not sure it's true that you can write whatever you want in the UK - Marcus Povey

what do you mean? - Sylwia Presley