The reason for writing this entry is that I am seeing a major surge in the number of people maintaining a blog and that number is growing at a phenomenal rate. There have been instances where people take their blog a little too seriously that he/she have been fired from their jobs. In fact various organisations have also formulated a blog policy, there goes my freedom of speech. Sigh!!! I would just like to take my readers - hope that’s rising too - jokes apart, through some interesting piece of information on blogs, which is causing so much of excitement and a bit of worry in certain sections of the society.

What is a Blog?

A weblog, which is shortened to blog, is a type of website where entries are made such as in a journal or diary. It provides news, information on a particular subject or some also function as a personal journal diaries. The modern blog evolved from the online diary where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such writers called themselves diarists, journalists, or journalers. A few called themselves
escribitionists…phew!! heavy term that.

An American freelance journalist, Justin Hall, is recognised as one of the pioneer blogger. In fact, it won him great rewards. In 2004, New York Times magazine referred to him as the ‘founding father of personal blogging’ (mind you, he is just 32 years old). He began personal blogging eleven years ago, when computers weren’t even considered a necessity in India. Things have undergone a major transformation since then.

FIRED

There have been several instances where people have been fired because of this internet revolution. Sad, isn’t it! A very famous incident that comes to mind is of an American blogger, Heather Armstrong, who sparked off a debate over privacy issues when she was fired from her job because she had written satirical accounts of her work place on her blog Dooce. She did not challenge her termination, and warned bloggers all around the world –
“I started this website in February 2001. A year later I was fired from my job for this website because I had written stories that included people in my workplace. My advice to you is BE YE NOT SO STUPID.”

Armstrong's domain name has since become a new media neologism: to be "dooced" is to lose one's job as a result of something one wrote on the Internet. Isn’t that crazy??? Her name also features on wikipedia. Well, she is not the only one to have faced the axe, here’s the list of people I obtained from the blog Morpheme Tales

Take a look -
Catherine Sanderson (Petite Anglaise) — 07/06; Dixon Wilson, Paris, France

"A Microbiology Grad Student" (The (Former) Life of a Microbiology Grad Student) — 06/06; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin

"LWKnitter" (MySpace) — 05/06; KGET TV, Bakersfield, CA

27 employees (MySpace) — Automobile Club of Southern Californai; 8/05; San Diego, CA

Nadine Haobsh (Jolie in NYC) — Ladies Home Journal; 7/05; New York, NY

"Romiustexis" (Self Help Center) — Maricopa County Superior Court of Arizona Self Help Center and Library, 11/04; Tempe, Arizona

Joyce Park (Troutgirl) — Friendster, 8/04

[name and blog withheld by request] — Nunavut Tourism, 7/04; Nunavut/Vancouver, BC, Canada

Jessica Cutler (Washingtonienne/archive) — staffer for Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), 5/04; Washington, DC

Amy Norah Burch — (What is Sparky?) Committee on Degrees in Social Studies at Harvard University, 5/04

Rachel Mosteller (The Sarcastic Journalist) — Durham Herald-Sun, 4/04; Durham, NC / Houston, TX

Iain Murray (The Edge of England's Sword) — Statistical Assessment Service (DC nonprofit), 1/03; Washington, DC

Steve Olafson (Brazosport News) — Houston Chronicle, 08/02; Houston, TX

Heather Armstrong (Dooce) — 2/02; Salt Lake City, Utah

Ian Lind (ILind) — Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 3/01; Honolulu, HI

The list is endlesss, in fact I had to cut it short. Recently, a British secretary working in Paris was fired because her Paris employer objected to her Weblog had provoked an old and new media storm. This immediately pops a question in my mind, has there been any Indian bloggers fired from their workplace?

Well, I would like to end on a meaningful note, one should be careful with publishing these days, and it's a mistake to think that blogging, because it is so easy, is any different. Online communication carries the same degree of responsibility as any other form of communication. So be careful, you never know who is READING!!!

In a recent violation of human rights, in Alexandria, Egypt, sits a soft-spoken 22- year-old student. Kareem Amer was sent to prison for over a month for allegedly "defaming the president of Egypt" and "highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt." Where did Amer commit these supposed felonies? On his weblog.

Kareem Amer was sent to prison for over a month for allegedly "defaming the president of Egypt" and "highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt." Where did Amer commit these supposed felonies? On his weblog.

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