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Computerworld - Business lawyers have a standard line to warn clients about undisciplined employee conversation about a pending lawsuit: "Avoid all water-cooler chatter." Oh, how the Internet has changed things. First, e-mail changed the speed and synchronicity of communications. And now, many companies allow employees to express opinions on just about any subject through corporate blogging.
Corporate decision-makers who wonder whether blogs present new legal challenges should know that there are a number of points to think through. And there are some differences, legally speaking, between internal and external blogs. Here's a look at some of the issues.
Inside the Company
Internal blogs -- those that aren't published to anyone outside the company -- are just another form of internal electronic communication. As such, they present issues similar to those surrounding e-mail and instant messaging.
One of the most important concerns blogging raises is that, like message boards, it presents the opportunity for anonymous communication.
It's probably a good idea not to allow truly anonymous use of an internal blog. (IT professionals can configure internal blogs so that all users can be identified, at least by the company.) Anonymous speech has certain advantages for would-be whistle-blowers, but there are other ways to report things anonymously without resorting to blogs. As a general matter, the potential for anonymous speech creates an atmosphere that can encourage irresponsible behavior, such as harassment, defamation and gossip. Except where there's a clearly identifiable benefit, anonymous speech in the workplace should be avoided.
The only legal action that most companies need to take with respect to internal blogging is to review their existing electronic communications and document-retention policies to ensure that they are broad enough to cover blogging.

IT Mentor John P. Hutchins Image Credit: John Dale

As a matter of good business practice, it's wise to review these policies about once a year, whether you permit blogging or not. But it's especially worth noting that any such policy is only as good as a company's willingness to consistently enforce it. Policies that are published but not enforced can cause more harm than good.
For example, if a company enforces the policy by taking adverse action against one employee but not another, it can create problems if the employee against whom adverse action is taken is in a "protected class" under federal employment laws. Delta Air Lines Inc. is facing that very allegation in a suit recently filed by a former flight attendant who blogged. This is just one example of the potential problems that can arise through inconsistent enforcement.