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Blogging in the workplace can have some serious consequences, particularly with the employees. Many times, and as can be shown by numerous cases, employees become frustrated with their working atmosphere or their bosses or co-workers, and they use the blogs and write vulgarities about them. This then escalates when the person who is having the insults on them becomes angry. From there it simply becomes worse and worse. Eventually, and how it usually happens, the person who made fun of the other usually ends up being fired from their job. Whether the person who made the vulgarities was right or wrong, they usually become the ones at fault.

Employees and non-employees don't have the same legal protections when it comes to blogging. Workers who rant or rave about bosses online -- whether it's done on the company clock or at home -- generally don't have a strong defense. In most states, employees who don't have a contract are considered "at-will". This means they can quit at any time and for any reason. Employers then have the right to fire them at any time and for any reason (except for well-known exceptions like race, age, or gender).

Whether a supervisor discovers an underling ridiculing his thinning hair at the company elevator bank, at a local bar after work, or on the worker's personal blog, it doesn't matter. In either instance, the boss can turn around and say, " 'We don't need you. Why don't you go work for someone else?' " (Crawford). So follow the tips below to be sure not to get stuck in those sticky situations!

Everyday hundreds of new users are introduced to the world of online public writing. While this may be a great way for some to relieve stress, have some personal time by expressing their thoughts, or even for fun, public blogging has its dangers, too. Two extremely common online public blogging sites are MySpace and Facebook. These websites were mainly used by teenagers and young adults; however, rapidly enough, it attracted many young children as well as many adults. The users in the social networking world are not always who they seem to be. There are many predators on these sites with false identities looking for their next victims.

Predators come in all forms: fat, skinny, tall, short, young, old, and so on. Users of sites such as MySpace and Facebook should become more aware of the dangers that are connected with the thrill of making new friends and exhibiting their lives for the whole world to see. Numerous cases have occurred when users have been stalked, sexually harassed, or even killed due to predators from online public writing. Parents have become a lot more aware of these dangers which have alerted them into taking more action in monitoring their childrens' internet usage. Many predators start off by communication through a message or a comment, then move on to an illegal relationship online, which then leads to a secret meeting. During this secret meeting, the predator will attack his or her first or next victim. Many predators don’t attack once, but they do it over and over again, each time with a different victim.

There are not just a few of these sick and malicious people online, there are hundreds of them. Since there have been so many cases filed and so many attacks that have come about, authorities have started to search for them online and try to capture as many as they can. Users have to be aware of whom they are communicating with and must know all their friends have real identities, not phony ones. There are many predators out there, and you should protect yourself to ensure you aren't their next victim.

In today’s day and age life seems to move along a lot quicker and at a faster pace than ever before. However, because we are moving so quickly through this time period it is easy to forget to look over some things which may not seem like a big deal, but actually are. For example, let’s focus on an ever growing topic known as public writing online. Everything you put on the internet is and can very possibly be seen by everyone and anyone. That is why there are a few safety guidelines which I would like to go over so you can better protect yourself from the people who abuse the internet as a gateway to fulfill their evil deeds.

First and foremost, there is no such thing as being too safe for your own good. This may seem like a silly thing to say, however most people tend to forget that there are people out there who are sick and crazed, who will use any means to do their wrongdoings. For example, it would not be wise to put up some things which can be deemed as very personal. What do I mean by this? I mean do not put up your home address, home and cell phone number, address of employment, address of your school, etc. It is already bad enough that people post up over 100 different pictures of themselves and their friends. The reason why this is so important is because should you fail to protect yourself adequately and something does happen to you, there will be no one to point a finger at and blame, but yourself.

This next tip goes out to the parents. Parents, there are millions of your teenagers on the internet through social networks like Facebook or Myspace, be aware of what they are putting up. It is more than just the right thing to do; it is your duty as a parent to know what is going on so you can provide a safe and healthy well being for your child. However, do not get on their case about each little detail they post because you must not forget that they are their own unique individuals. I say this because setting off a confrontation when this is supposed to be about safety will turn off your son/daughter to the real lesson at hand. So, if you approach them about safety and in a logical manner it should not be difficult at all for them to see the importance of public writing online.

Being safe can help protect you from the many dangers of public writing online. Here are some safety tips to keep you safe on these public writing sites:

Don't put too much personal information on your page; such as putting what town you live in or your address, where you go to school, your first and last name, where you hang out with your friends, and your phone number.

Be careful with what you write on blogs and comments, because you never know who will read these and you don't want to get in trouble with your school or even boss for something you wrote online.

If you have a MySpace set your profile settings so that you have to approve of comments before they go on your profile and be sure to set your entire profile on private so that only your friends can view your profile.

Dont accept friend requests from anyone you do not know.

Never give out your real name or any personal information about yourself online! You never know who is at the other side of the computer.

If you are under 15 years of age ask your parents before getting a networking site such as MySpace or Facebook.

Never open an e-mail attachment from a stranger.

Never give out your bank account or credit card information unless you are shopping with a well known or highly rated online business.

Don't click on pop ups that say things such as "You Are A Winner" as they may be viruses or may lead to sites with offensive materials. Get a good anti-viruse program to stay away from these.

If you do decide to meet someone from a networking site be sure to meet in a public place where lots of people are and let friends and family know your plans.

Moniter young childrens activities closely and use parental controls when available.

MySpace Safety Tips

MySpace Tips for Parents