Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Waterstone's versus the written word
A bookseller has become the first blogger in Britain to be sacked from his job because he kept an online diary in which he occasionally mentioned bad days at work and satirised his "sandal-wearing" boss.
Blogger sacked for sounding off, The Guardian 12th January, 2005 ad
Yes, Waterstone's, purveyors of the written word and extremely over-priced coffee to the gentry, have sacked an employee of some 11 years standing for "satirical comments" published on his blog. For the full story click on the link above to The Guardian. To see how far Waterstone's hatred of blogging extends, you have only to head for www.waterstones.co.uk and stick "blog" in the search bar.
That's right, there's no problem with blogging, so long as they're making a fat pile of money out of it; it's only a problem if they're getting trashed by some pseudo-intellectual with a silly beard.
Having looked at the site in question, I didn't see anything too offensive, apart from the colour scheme which made my eyes water as if I'd just received a bowling ball in the kneecap. If Waterstone's had sacked him for atrocities to the retina, I would have wholeheartedly applauded their stance. Anyway, for this reason and because of the generally tame and pedestrian nature of the site, I opt not to include a link here. At the moment, it's just the author bashing on about freedom of speech because he can't be asked to haul himself down to the employment office. Get a job, hippy!
Nevertheless, the implications of a company bestowing instant dismissal on an apparently competent employee for comments included in their blog are profoundly worrying. I'm not sure if I've included anything in my own page that would incur the wrath of my employers, but, just to be on the safe side, I would like to make the following statement:
I shall, of course, be boycotting Waterstone's (not hard to do in Japan.) I urge all who read this to do the same.
Blogger sacked for sounding off, The Guardian 12th January, 2005 ad
Yes, Waterstone's, purveyors of the written word and extremely over-priced coffee to the gentry, have sacked an employee of some 11 years standing for "satirical comments" published on his blog. For the full story click on the link above to The Guardian. To see how far Waterstone's hatred of blogging extends, you have only to head for www.waterstones.co.uk and stick "blog" in the search bar.
That's right, there's no problem with blogging, so long as they're making a fat pile of money out of it; it's only a problem if they're getting trashed by some pseudo-intellectual with a silly beard.
Having looked at the site in question, I didn't see anything too offensive, apart from the colour scheme which made my eyes water as if I'd just received a bowling ball in the kneecap. If Waterstone's had sacked him for atrocities to the retina, I would have wholeheartedly applauded their stance. Anyway, for this reason and because of the generally tame and pedestrian nature of the site, I opt not to include a link here. At the moment, it's just the author bashing on about freedom of speech because he can't be asked to haul himself down to the employment office. Get a job, hippy!
Nevertheless, the implications of a company bestowing instant dismissal on an apparently competent employee for comments included in their blog are profoundly worrying. I'm not sure if I've included anything in my own page that would incur the wrath of my employers, but, just to be on the safe side, I would like to make the following statement:
- I have never been tempted to beat sense out of (or into) another employee.
- I do not find the clause in my contract which prohibits meeting any of the students socially to be a glaring breach of my human rights.
- I do not endorse the drinking of White Russians on work time.
- Nobody saw me.
- You can't prove anything.
I shall, of course, be boycotting Waterstone's (not hard to do in Japan.) I urge all who read this to do the same.
Labels: NEWS
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hippie is the correct spelling, you fascist. by the way, read the paper today? prince william(?) dressed in nazi garb?--the korien cowboy
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