Lessons from the Mark Jen Episode

John Foley at InformationWeek interviewed fired Google blogger Mark Jen and summed up the episode into five takeaways for corporate bloggers...

Lesson #1: Know your company's corporate culture before you blog about it.

Lesson #2: Blogs may feel like a whispered conversation with a few close friends, but they're more akin to speaking aloud in a crowded public place.

Lesson #3: If you post sensitive content on your blog, it may not be enough to revise or remove it. Content gets cached on the Web. It may already be too late.

Lesson #4: If your company doesn't provide a blogging policy, ask for one. At a minimum, have an open discussion with your manager and maybe even an HR person before getting started.

Lesson #5: When it comes to blogging about work, don't make the same mistake twice.