August 2, 2005
Editor’s Note As you’ve probably noticed, this issue of Astronology arrived a day later than usual. No, your mailbox or firewall isn’t playing tricks on you. We’ve switched our publication day from Monday to Tuesday. We hope the new delivery day helps you find Astronology easier in your inbox. We welcome your feedback on our new publication day, as well as Astronology in general. Don’t be shy – we love to hear from our readers!
Happy Birthday, Sharon! On August 13th, Astron’s Writer / Marketing Specialist will be celebrating her birthday! We hope the weather is great for her long weekend celebration at the Jersey Shore. Enjoy, Sharon!
How I Spent My Summer Vacation It’s been a scorching summer so far here in New York City, but the members of the Astron team have managed to find their own ways to stay cool and have fun. National Director, Jennifer Loftus, headed to South Dakota, where she visited national memorial Mt. Rushmore (which, according to Jennifer, looked much smaller in person) and historic Deadwood, SD. Besides being a birthplace of the Wild West, Deadwood is currently the setting of a new show on HBO. Jennifer also explored spectacular Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. True to her New Jersey roots, she also made a point to head down the shore to try her luck on the boardwalk games in Point Pleasant and Seaside Heights. Rumor has it she’s a pro at skee-ball and those games where players maneuver a metal claw to pick up prizes. Mike Maciekowich, National Director, spent time this summer exploring his new home town of Raleigh, NC and taking numerous weekend getaways to nearby destinations like Atlanta and the south coast of NC. Mike can easily give a “thumbs-up” or a “thumbs-down” to what’s currently on the silver screen since he made a point of seeing many of this summer’s popular movies. One movie that received high-marks from Mike was Batman Begins, while the new Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory received "thumbs down." Mike suggests renting the 1971 original version featuring Gene Wilder in the starring role. Writer/Marketing Specialist, Sharon Terry, welcomed summer by attending the annual Mermaid Parade, truly a “you have to see it to believe it” event, in Coney Island. She also headed down the shore for the Red Bank, NJ Fourth of July fireworks display, listened to some great live music from local bands like The Upwelling and Paul Mahos and New Life Crisis, and explored the “greatest city in the world” conveniently located right outside her front door. Sharon is also looking forward to celebrating her upcoming birthday on beautiful Long Beach Island, NJ. John Sazaklis, Astron’s Automation Expert, enjoyed the opportunity to visit San Diego and Orlando during Astron’s recent road show appearances. John has an even bigger trip coming up. After a two-year hiatus, he is traveling back to Greece and is excited to finally have the opportunity to stay in his family’s newly constructed house in the village of Kardamyla on the island of Xios. He is looking forward to relaxing on Greece’s pristine beaches, catching up with friends and family, and enjoying authentic Greek cuisine. Statistical Analyst, Frank Greco, made the most of living near one of New York City’s most beautiful parklands, Queens’ Astoria Park where he treated his dog, Snoop, to many long walks, and viewed an impressive Fourth of July fireworks display. Frank also enjoyed catching some sun on Robert Moses Beach at the tip of Long Island. According to Frank, it’s well worth the extra drive to swim in the beach’s clean water. He also met with friends at the historic Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria, Queens. An avid Yankees fan, Frank enjoyed cheering the Bronx Bombers to victory at a few home games this summer. We, here at Astron, hope you are enjoying your summer too! Even though it’s only the start of August, September will be here before we know it!
Employee Blogs - Do You Know What They're Saying About You? It all started out innocently enough. After landing a dream job as an associate product manager at Google Inc., Mark Jen began writing a web log named “99 Zeros” as an online diary for his friends and family. However, his candid postings revealed too much about his new employer. Soon after Jen posted his opinions regarding confidential compensation and benefits information, he was let go from his position. “Either directly or indirectly, my blog was the reason,” said Jen in the Workforce Management article, “Bloggers Find the Ax is Mightier than the Pen.” “People ask me if I’m bitter. Funny thing is, despite all this, at the end of the day, I can see where Google is coming from – but I don’t agree with their stances and I wish they had executed a little differently.” Since Jen’s incident, numerous other bloggers have found themselves in hot water with their employers. Many of those fired didn’t realize the impact of their blog, wrongly assuming that no one but friends and family would actually read it. However, blogs are far from private. Like any website, they can be easily located online via a simple search for a company or employee name. As stated in the USA today article, “Warning: Your clever little blog could get you fired,” there are approximately 20,000 new blogs created daily, and an estimated 10 million U.S. blogs will exist by the end of 2005. Together, these blogs create what is known as a blogosphere, one of the fastest-growing areas of new content on the Internet. As the blogosphere grows, so does concern among employers. Many worry that postings in personal employee blogs may reveal trade secrets, confidential product launch info, or other confidential employer information as in Mark Jen’s case. There is also a concern that employees may use their blogs as a venue to defame their supervisors, co-workers, or organization as a whole, giving fodder for gossip and ultimately hurting reputations. To protect against these types of blog misuse, many employers are instituting blogging policies. “Policies should particularly address employee blogs or postings that reflect badly on the company or its employees. Make sure your employees understand that writing anything that can be construed as harassment or discrimination based on gender, race, religion, age, national origin, disability or other protected characteristics, regardless of whether or not the company name is included, can open them up to disciplinary action,” explains Vincent Alfieri and Gregg Lemley in the Workforce Management article, “What Employers Should Know About Blogs.” It’s also important for employers to remember that not all blogging is negative. Certain organizations actually encourage their employees to write personal blogs that support an organization by encouraging client relationships, offering a complimentary view of the work environment, assisting in recruitment, and allowing employees an alternative way to offer vital feedback to management. "Individual blog entries about a company can humanize it, instead of making it seem like a monolithic organization," said Mike Masnick, chief executive of Techdirt, a technology and business news blog, in The New York Times article “Write All About It (at Your Own Risk).” For Mark Jen there is life after Google Inc. He now has a new position at Plaxo, a consumer Internet service, where he helped create the Plaxo Public Internet Communication Policy. One of the main guidelines included in the policy is about …you guessed it…employee blogging.
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