Why on-line informers are dangerous?

[Tropicana]

A BRITISH marketing rep .......has been suspended after expressing her grief on Facebook about her father’s murder on the Caribbean island.


____-- made the comments after discovering that _______, had bled to death after being attacked by machete-wielding intruders while on holiday.


____ , who has worked for seven years as a rep travelling across the UK promoting Jamaica, posted three messages on the social networking site.



But instead of sending flowers and their sympathies, her bosses suspended her and launched an investigation into the comments.
Her brother _______ yesterday said: ‘She has been devastated by this....

‘She has had so much to think about – our dad’s killers are still out there...



....they were just emotional comments made about Dad’s killer hours after he was murdered. The page is personal to her and nothing to do with the  . . . it is despicable.’

Retired _______, also from Preston, was attacked on December 17 while on a winter break at his villa in the parish of Hector’s River on the east coast of Jamaica.

She then logged on to her Facebook account to contact relatives in America.


___ also wrote: ‘I will always love you. My daddy RIP I will always love you. I will avenge you, mark my words.’
She then wrote: ‘All I want is justice. But the police are slow on the uptake even though they have a witness statement.’ Later in the day, she posted on Facebook: ‘Heading off to Jamaica in the morning.


‘The _______ can try and kill me too – but _____ them. I will have my eyes open.’

....on December 19, she was told that officials had seen the Facebook comments and she would be spoken to about them on her return.

On January 5, she received a letter......telling her that she had been suspended due to ‘comments on Facebook’ and that it had launched an investigation.

She has been told the disciplinary investigation will also cover ‘breaches of confidence’ after her suspension was reported in a local newspaper.

____ also from Preston, told The Mail on Sunday yesterday: ‘She was unable to attend the disciplinary hearing because she had only just buried her dad.’

[bonita83]

My her father RIP. When will people understand that nothing on FB is really private?? I think what they are doing is a bit harsh considering she just lost her father. I know 2 people that lost their job because of facebook and making rude comments about the company and co workers.

[Tropicana]

The bottom line and a commentator pointed this out....if someone hadn't alerted the employer to the post, there is no way they would have just stumbled upon it. I am sure they don't fritter their day away reading the posts of all of their employees.

[kia027]

The bottom line and a commentator pointed this out....if someone hadn't alerted the employer to the post, there is no way they would have just stumbled upon it. I am sure they don't fritter their day away reading the posts of all of their employees.

That someone could be in the company's IT department. If the company has a no facebook policy, it is not hard for a report to be generated showing the facebook postings coming from the company's network

[Tropicana]

For sure if someone is posting from work that could be the case. IT departments do monitor abuse of their network. In this article, where did the article say that she was posting from the company's network?

[kia027]

my bad i was reading your extract of the article.

In this case she worked with the Jamaica Tourist Board in Britain and they may have some rules about negative postings about jamaica
question #1? why is her fb page not private.. Why would officials be able to view her page unless she made the mistake of friending work officials.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086825/Daughter-attacked-Jamaican-fathers-killers-Facebook-suspended-countrys-tourist-board.html

[Tropicana]

If it was a public posting, anyone could have read it.

My extract said nothing about her making postings from work.

I deliberately did not include the employer or the link as I did not want to get bogged down into the specifics of the case but focus on the broader issue of potentional consequences and risks for employees when buttinskis and imformahs make mischief.

In this specific instance, the story did not indicate how the employer found the posting.

[missus_vegas]

The issue here isn't how the company found out, but rather, why are they taking this action. Lets face it, a lot of ppl are friends with coworkers, and or other work related colleagues, so it's the easiest thing for news from your Facebook to reach bakkrah aize.

This article state she is a marketing rep. I wonder if perhaps she is an active poster (under her name) on the company page, thus seen as a voice for the company. If that is the case, anything she then post on her personal page is and can be seen as a reflection on the company, especially if her page is also public.

The comments seem harmless enough but we don't know the story. This little tid bit tell us nothing.

[Tropicana]

There are 3 issues:

- 1. how the company found out.
- 2. the action taken by the employer.
- 3. potential consequences when bad mind people inform - in this case, consequences were potentially very severe as she was 7 months pregnant.

Not sure about this part. She does have a right to freedom of expression on her personal page.

This article state she is a marketing rep. I wonder if perhaps she is an active poster (under her name) on the company page, thus seen as a voice for the company. If that is the case, anything she then post on her personal page is and can be seen as a reflection on the company, especially if her page is also public.

[missus_vegas]

If it was a public posting, anyone could have read it.

My extract said nothing about her making postings from work.

I deliberately did not include the employer or the link as I did not want to get bogged down into the specifics of the case but focus on the broader issue of potentional consequences and risks for employees when buttinskis and imformahs make mischief.

In this specific instance, the story did not indicate how the employer found the posting.

Tropi u trying hard to mek yuh point ei.

listen a no today nor yes sides ppl a a carry news. Ppl use to carry news pan other long before ravens were being used much less.

You know oonuch time ppl call in sick and another employee buss pan dem say dem no sick and dem see dem at xyz place.

Do u really think ppl care about "consequences" wen dem carry news to ur boss. The whole point is to get u fired etc.
CYOA is a term I think everybody in they work place know and live by.

[Tropicana]

You raise a vaild point. I wonder in how many of these cases when someone gets disciplined for what they post on-line it's a jealous or bad minded co-worker who reports them.

[missus_vegas]

There are 3 issues:

- 1. how the company found out.
- 2. the action taken by the employer.
- 3. potential consequences when bad mind people inform - in this case, consequences were potentially very severe as she was 7 months pregnant.

Not sure about this part. She does have a right to freedom of expression on her personal page.

Well ppl get fired and suspended fi soliciting prostitues, having affairs etc etc. if dem can get in ur bedroom mi no see y dem won't business with ur fb page.

[missus_vegas]

You raise a vaild point. I wonder in how many of these cases when someone gets disciplined for what they post on-line it's a jealous or bad minded co-worker who reports them.

Den a coulda who else.

Work place is full so snakes. I never had coworkers in my page while we still worked at the same company.

[WitchyOoman]

This little tid bit tell us nothing.

Exactly. Without more information, we cannot intelligently discuss any of the following (but only speculate):

There are 3 issues:

- 1. how the company found out.
- 2. the action taken by the employer.
- 3. potential consequences when bad mind people inform - in this case, consequences were potentially very severe as she was 7 months pregnant.

Speculation is not only useless, but also stupid because it solves nothing.
IF, THEN, OR MAYBE, BUT WHAT IF, HOW ABOUT... DO WE KNOW. All flapping gums and air.

Not sure about this part. She does have a right to freedom of expression on her personal page.

And this ^ is totally untrue in some countries. I don't know about British law.

[Tropicana]

Den a coulda who else.

Work place is full so snakes. I never had coworkers in my page while we still worked at the same company.

Agreed, in view of that, this seems like sound advice:

WHY CO-WORKERS DON’T MAKE GOOD FACEBOOK FRIENDS


Do you consciously think about every single thing you put on Facebook taking into consideration exactly who will be reading what you write? Do you have co-workers as Facebook friends? If so, there are many things to consider in regards to your personal and career brand when it comes to Facebook. The lack of considering anything at all can absolutely cause you to lose your job.
Yet, so many people are either unaware of them or do not fully understand the ramifications of the content they might share online. For millions of people, this includes sharing their page and their personal lives with their co-workers. Many people feel that co-workers are just “buddies from work” and all is well as long as the bosses aren’t their Facebook friends. If this describes your thoughts about co-workers as Facebook friends, you may be in for a rude awakening.
As a general rule of thumb, I advise people to not invite or accept co-workers as Facebook friends unless their posts, pictures, and videos are not deeply personal and are always clean, upbeat, and in good taste. Some people do choose to invite co-workers, managers, and other professionals because they are intentionally using Facebook to leverage their career brand. This is a great way to use Facebook and I highly encourage it.
However, this general rule applies to those who use Facebook for more personal use – which seems to be the majority of people. It is for those who typically friend their co-workers without much thought. I recognize that your best friend and someone you trust with your life might be your co-worker and Facebook friend. I am not necessarily talking about those people, just any co-worker who does not fall in that “best friend” category.
Does Your Facebook Content Look Like This?

• “I hate Mondays,” “Why am I at work when I would rather be somewhere else,” “What a long day… wish it was over,” “Not looking forward to going back to the grind tomorrow,” “Can’t wait to the head to the bar to get my drunk on,” “Sometimes I just want to beat the crap out of people,” “I swear my life sucks,” “Why is everyone a backstabber,” or anything even remotely similar.
• Drama related content – telling everyone about issues going on in your life.
• Arguing or using profane language.
• Videos, photos, and articles that are in bad taste (profane or sexually explicit content).
• “Liking” pages that are in bad taste (ex: Yourname likes “I hate my job!”)

Consider The Ramifications:

Many employees talk and gossip on a regular basis. They can’t help themselves. Who are they sharing your content with? Your boss? Another co-worker who might share it with your boss? Maybe. How do you know they aren’t?
A co-worker might not intentionally share what you post but it gets out anyway due to frustration on his or her part. Typical scenario: Boss asks your co-worker to stay late to work on a project and to ask for your help. Co-worker inadvertently says, “She won’t help, she’s been posting all over Facebook how she can’t wait to get out of here to go to happy hour.” The boss makes a mental note of it and considers that and other things he might have heard when evaluating your potential for advancement in the company.
If you want to ever advance in a company, you should not be posting statements like that on Facebook! It gives the impression that you don’t really like your job and if you can’t tell your boss about what you just posted, don’t give anyone who can, the ability to read it.
What if a co-worker Facebook friend gets promoted and now is your boss or is a manager elsewhere in the company – a person who might now have a say about your future potential with the company? The facts are, you can be a model employee at work but people typically cannot separate what they learn about on you on Facebook from your great work on the job. Careless postings on Facebook can shatter your strong career brand no matter how great your performance is at work.
What if you take a sick day but you go out to lunch and then check in at the restaurant on Facebook or Foursquare, which subsequently posts on your page? Or maybe you just mention your lunch in an unrelated Facebook conversation that evening. Either way, your integrity is now in question. Situations like this can also cause you to be fired!
First of all, you should never call in sick when you are not and then go somewhere. Somehow, people tend to always get caught. But if no one spotted you out there eating and shopping on your sick day, you just confessed to lying about being sick right on Facebook for all your co-worker “friends” to see.
Lastly, let’s say you are at work “doing your job.” But throughout the day, your Facebook page is somehow publishing a stream of updates from various games like Mafia Wars, Cityville or other games. Your co-worker Facebook friend notices this and talks about it at the water cooler. It eventually gets back to your boss. These kinds of things really do happen and this is another example of a situation that can cause you to be terminated from employment.
It’s Time For Damage Control

Regardless of this, I can’t stress enough how important it is to always act with the highest level of integrity when it comes to your work. Then, you don’t even have to read an article such as this because it would not apply to you.
But outside of that, be cautious about adding co-workers to your Facebook page because if you have not yet noticed, what you do on your own time is not your own personal business anymore because when you add co-workers to your friend list, the lines between work and your personal life become blurred. And please make sure that your page is visible to friends “only.” If your page is public, anyone can read it and then it doesn’t even matter if you add co-workers to your page or not.
If you have not been careful about the quality of your content and you have co-workers as Facebook friends, you should start doing a bit of damage repair. Remove controversial content and start posting good quality content on your page so the perception others have of you begins to change.
After a month or two of that, I’d remove them all or simply block them from your wall and if asked, just state you want to keep your personal and professional life separate. You can put all your co-workers in a list and try to block them from individual updates as you see fit, but trust me, the time will come when you forget to do it. And, it really is much more important to have your co-workers trust and respect you than to have them as Facebook friends.