Comments on: Public servants must blog, despite Civil Serf

By: Public Service is a difficult thing - but is great!! | Al Kags

Public Service is a difficult thing - but is great!! | Al Kags — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:41:06 +0000

[...] PS: Communication is one of the key areas that public servants may need to improve in. I found this article that speaks to the next level of public service comminication: Public Servants must blog [...]

By: Mine’s a coComment #4 | content to be different

Mine’s a coComment #4 | content to be different — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:04:17 +0000

[...] Dave’s: If Control Freak inc (aka Microsoft) can get by on a Blogging Policy of ‘Blog [...]

By: Dr John Cameron

Dr John Cameron — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:41:04 +0000

I was at university with Gordon Brown and knew quite a number of the present (and some of the now dead) New Labour politicians. I loved the Civil Serf’s comments. I absolutely recognize the Brown she describes. It will have driven him totally bonkers. He was nothing like as brilliant an academic as he encourages his minions to infer. There were lots of bright people at Edinburgh University and if he was so fabulous why could he only find a teaching post in Caly Poly by far the worst new university in Scotland. Willie Haig does not need staffers to make claims about his intellectual ability. He only has top open his mouth to make it quite obvious he is razor sharp. Brown is a strange, damaged individual who seriously believes he has a cosmic significance. Maybe that is what is needed to become Prime Minister and make millions of people unhappy but it unsettling to know such a weird guy is in charge.

By: Humaniform » How to Blog about your employer: let me count the ways: Civil Serf

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:02:17 +0000

[...] slightly) from some commentators when they say that there is no place for anonymity. For example, Dave Briggs says (among other excellent points that I do agree with): Anonymity is A Bad Thing, and only [...]

By: How to Blog about your employer: let me count the ways: Civil Serf | The Wardman Wire

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:01:39 +0000

By: Jenny Brown

Jenny Brown — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:14:35 +0000

@davebriggs

What if the issue *had* been taken up internally and nothing was done about it.

Not saying that happened in this case and of course this is hypothetical anyway.

Perhaps it raises the question ‘when is it (if ever) acceptable to break the code?’

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:22:06 +0000

@ Jenny - but is it the place of the civil servant to make it public in this way? I think there is an issue of respect here - and the need to always remember who it is that pays their salary!

I think that if any employee has an issue with the ways things are done, then they must take it up internally. I think discussing such things on a public blog is actually a pretty arrogant thing to do.

By: Jenny Brown

Jenny Brown — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:50:26 +0000

One of the examples used on Newsnight last night as a possible reason why this blog ran into trouble was the criticism of working practices (meetings that ran on for several hours). It made me wonder whether criticising departmental systems was breaking the code. Does anyone know?

Surely if there *are* systems in place that are less than effective - therefore increasing department costs, the tax payer deserves to know about them.

By: Civil serf: part of the problem? |

Civil serf: part of the problem? | — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:03:47 +0000

[...] weekend I’m a little late jumping on this particular bandwagon. There are dozens of ‘my take on civil serf‘ posts out there already, but I might as well add my [...]

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:38:39 +0000

@theinternationale

I agree with you - but if you look at some of the revisions to blogging guidance that is occuring in the US (http://www.dailytech.com/US+Air+Force+Censors+Blogs/article10901.htm)

and that most people dont want to lose their jobs… a ‘do this and it’s ok’ and ‘do this and it’s not’ set of rules seems appropriate.