So tomorrow is my first day of work in about 4.5 months. Not only was I unemployed for three months, I had to burn through a month's backlog of vacation with The Express. So here's hoping I remember how to do that whole "work" thing. It's also my longest run of being unemployed since 1996, so I'm glad it's coming to an end, even if it might not be perminent. By the way, thanks to everyone who posted or e-mailed me their congratualtions. I really appreciate it.
It's also going to have an effect on the blog. Obviously, since I'm about to have a lot less spare time on my hands, the amount of blogging might drop a bit. I try to post something everyday, but it was common for me to post three or four things a day if I was in the mood. I think those days are gone, but I will still try and get at least one thing up every day.
Also, and perhaps Ed has advice on this, I'm about to enter a slightly higher profile position. I'm hardly C.J. Cregg from The West Wing, but I will be doing communications work for a government department. It won't take much for an enterprising reporter to do some poking around online and find this blog. That means being more cautious with regards to what I write about in certain fields.
So while I haven't talked a lot about Nunavut politics or the environment, I think you shall find that I will now not be speaking about it at all. This is a casual position. They can dump me pretty easily if they so choose.
Also, it doesn't require much digging online to find people who get into trouble posting things to their blog that employer or educators later find. This story about a 16-year-old girl getting suspended for teasing a classmate on a blog is just one example. In Newfoundland Blue Kaffee has had run-ins with teachers, principals and parents over content on the site, despite their best efforts to explain things.
And least you think, "Craig, it's Iqaluit. That kind of thing won't happen there" it has already. This exerpt from a story that ran in the Nunatsiaq News reports that Penny Cholmondeley, who used to work with Nunavut Tourism, was fired after an anonymous complaint was received about her blog.
This is a small town. It's about 6,500 people. I've worked in small towns before. It doesn't take long for word to spread. Sometimes that can be a good thing. When I worked with The Packet in Clarenville, I had people stop me all the time - getting mail or groceries - to comment on something I wrote. It's nice when they praise you. Not so nice when they feel compelled to call you an asshole in the middle of the cereal aisle.
So yeah, for the next few months, I shall exercise some discretion. I shall still try to be entertaining and I see no reason why I can't comment on federal or Newfoundland politics. But as for Nunavut, I think it's best that I err on the side of caution for a bit.
Last 5 on iPod
1. 'Til I am myself again - Blue Rodeo (Greatest Hits)
2. October - U2 (October)
3. The one that got away - Tom Waits (Small Change)
4. Luno - The Bloc Party (Silent Alarm)
5. Strange days - Matthew Good Band (Beautiful Midnight)
4 comments:
Smart plan, your explanation is the main reason I would never have a blog page. Because it would come back to bite me in the ass, from all sides. Stick with the geeky,and irreverent, and you'll be fine. And learn some Inuktitut,have you gone "off" on a snowmobile?
Dups - drunk, I though his name was Sri Lankian for "Girly man who gets drunk on apple cider"?
Actually sadly Jason, previous blog comment was entered by me in an inebriated state. Good God man, I wrote "hole" for "whole".
Craig, good luck.
Also you might need to make those funky letters a bit harder to read at 4am in the morning after a night on the town...
Jason, you also happen to work in a country that isn't exactly democratic, so that whole blogging thing might not be for you.
And no, I haven't been off on a snowmobile yet. We're still getting to know people in the community, so no one has invited us out on one yet, although we do have an invite for Christmas supper. I won't be buying one either, as I'm not exactly an outdoor person and I can think of much better ways to spend money - ie trips to Australia.
And Dups, funky letters or no, just remember the first rule of the Internet...never post anything when either drunk or exhausted.
There is a degree of common sense that comes with blogging about certain topics. I'm always amazed that Ed gets away with what he does, considering his field. But I suspect there's a lot more going on there that I know about.
I mean, there's already stuff at work that I could write about, and it would be funny and interesting and really, really stupid of me to write about.
Oh, as for the person I sited who got tanked from Nunavut Tourism for her blog? I did a little more digging. Among the things she put on her blog were pictures of the area featuring litter and car wrecks. Maybe, just maybe, if you're in Tourism and have a lot of people visiting your blog looking for information about coming to Nunavut, this isn't want you put up and get to keep your job.
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