Of blogging and unemployment

by
This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on October 27, 2003). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

UPDATE: Please take the time to read my followup post, Fifteen Minutes of Fame, for my thoughts on what happened after I posted the picture, why it happened — and most importantly, why I don’t blame Microsoft for their actions. Thanks!

The day started like any other day — get up, dink around for a bit, bus into work, and start working through the stack of jobs. Just shy of an hour after I got in, my manager came in and asked me to step into his office when I had a chance. Sure, no biggie, and I headed over as soon as I finished the job I was setting up.

“Okay, here’s the first question. Is this page,” and here he turned his monitor towards me, letting me see my “Even Microsoft wants G5s” post from last Thursday, “hosted on any Microsoft computer? Or is it on your own?”

“It’s on mine. Well, it’s on a hosted site that I pay for, but no, it’s not on anything of Microsoft’s.”

“Good. That means that as it’s your site on your own server, you have the right to say anything you want. Unfortunately, Microsoft has the right to decide that because of what you said, you’re no longer welcome on the Microsoft campus.”

And that simply, as of about 2pm today, I once again joined the ranks of the unemployed.

It seems that my post is seen by Microsoft Security as being a security violation. The picture itself might have been permissible, but because I also mentioned that I worked at the MSCopy print shop, and which building it was in, it pushed me over the line. Merely removing the post was also not an option — I offered, and my manager said that he had asked the same thing — but the only option afforded me was to collect any personal belongings I had at my workstation and be escorted out the door. They were at least kind enough to let me be escorted out by one of my co-workers, rather than sending security over to usher me out, but the end result is the same.

More frustrating for me is that, having read stories here and there on the ‘net about people who had for one reason or another lost their jobs due to something on their weblogs, I thought that I had done what I could to avoid that possibility. To my mind, it’s an innocuous post. The presence of Macs on the Microsoft campus isn’t a secret (for everything from graphic design work to the Mac Business Unit), and when I took the picture, I made sure to stand with my back to the building so that nothing other than the computers and the truck would be shown — no building features, no security measures, and no Microsoft personnel. However, it obviously wasn’t enough.

So, I’m unemployed. I am somewhat lucky in that I’m not technically unemployed — I am still on the roster for my temp agency, who has been very good to me so far (and hopefully will continue to be), but as their ability to place me anywhere does depend on the current job market, it’s not a foolproof guarantee of employment coming in quickly. I’ve put a call into them and let them know of the situation and that I’m available and willing for whatever can be found, so with any luck, they’ll be able to find a placement for me. However, it appears that it’s also time for me to start hitting the streets and shopping my resume around again.

Wish me luck.

369 thoughts on “Of blogging and unemployment”

  2. Sounds like you have a case of wrongful termination on the basis of the following. That fact that Mac users are notoriously avid supporters of the platform, your personal expression should be expected by Microsoft management. Your actions are not unexpected.

    I think if you get yourself a lawyer you can win a claim against wrongful termination.

  7. I wonder if anyone at Micro$oft thought to do a cost/benefit analysis of the impact on their security of just blowing off this non-issue versus over reacting, firing the guy and bringing down even more fear, loathing and outright hatred upon themselves when the story hit the press? Maybe if they didn’t act like this in the first place, perhaps security on the Micro$oft Campus wouldn’t be such an issue.

  8. Dude! Totally send your qualifications to Apple and say, “This is why Microsoft fired me! Do you have any job openings available?” Apple probably has more of a sense of humor, especially about these sorts of things, than Microsoft. And, besides it never hurts to try. Good luck!

  9. The posts about this being no different if it had occured at virtually any company are spot on. If this same scene had taken place at One Infinite Loop, the results would have been identical.

    This guy obviously doesn’t have a clue, based on his blog. Further, those who are using this to bash Microsoft (an often worthy target) don’t have a clue either. This guy will be asking, “would you like fries with that,” in his next job, as Burger King is likely the only remaining source of employment for a moron of this magnitude.

  10. Thats really bad news mate. Microsoft have just proved once again, and in a very public way, how much they suck. I wish you luck in finding a better employer.

  12. First off, sorry you lost your job over this; sux. However, for those saying watch what you blog, I give the big middle finger! In other words what they’re saying is, watch what you say, cuz someone might do something bad to you; i.e., you have no free speech.

    Last time I looked, we live in America, home to the brave, free speech, and many tax skating corporate offices located in the Bahamas. The last thing you should be doing is censoring yourself every second of every day. Am I saying don’t employ common sense? No, not at all. When the entry was posted, you took good measure to make sure none of the surrounding buildings or outright anything m$ was visible. For all we know, that truck could have existed somewhere else in the universe and the only thing connecting it with the m$ campus was your words.

    Your personal life – including blogging – is (for now) totally your own thing and completely separate from m$ the uber-company. I’m sure this story will get more legs and someone will offer you a better position, or something good will come around regardless. Or maybe, even as some people said, someone at Apple will glance over.

    Anyway, good luck.

  13. Things could have changed, but when I worked at Microsoft a few years back I remember there being a policy banning employees from taking pictures inside MS buildings with out permission. It is common knowledge that MS makes software for the mac so it shouldn’t be a big suprise that they took delivery of some macs.

  14. Sucks to hear of the unemployment. No loss really though… it was only Microsoft. It’s not like they’re an innovative company anyhow. Nothing to show for, except for a subpar OS. You’ll find another job, one where you don’t have to work for the enemy.

    Slightly off-topic, but a good friend of mine (we’ll just call him JRD) who used to live near me in California moved to Washington (yes, the state, not the capital) to work for Macro$haft. The funny thing is that he seems to have turned on his friends. It’s as though he has become some sort of secret service agent or some clandestine crap like that. I think that the Macro$haft lifestyle has ruined him. Poor sap!

    -he who stacks pork

  15. So sad, so sad, so sad. It is such a stupid measure to take. They are clearly shooting themselves in the big Corprate MS foot for doing this. I wish you the best of luck, If you have any thoughts about moving to the French Riviera, answer this posting, I can probably find you a job over here. But I agree with several other posters here, if Apple wishes to get some seriously good publicity, they should hire you immediately. The very best of luck! We are keeping our fingers crossed for you!

    Sincerely,

    Svinto

  16. Perhaps John Doe (from a post above) needs to think about what he’s saying before he ends up looking like a Moron (too late in this case). Think about this John Doe (Moron), perhaps the answer is to have employees of corporations of this type/magnitude to sign agreements not to take photos in and/or around the work place/parking lot/loading bay, etc…

    Is this really necessary? Obviously John Doe (Moron). There is nothing wrong with the photograph in question. It does not violate any security issues what so ever. What does it show? Nothing. The description of the photo given does not give anything away either. It simply says they are being delivered to Microsoft. Embarrasing for MS, but nothing to fire someone over.

    Think before you post John Doe (Moron). Thanks a lot, dumb ass.

  18. I can really sympathize with you over this situation. I too was fired due to inappropriate blogging that wasn’t done with malice, but simply a lack of forethought. But the good news is that I was forced to leave a job I hate, and got one that I love. It will all work out, and you will always have the awesome story of the time you were fired for outing Microsoft’s love for macs. Good luck.

  19. I feel for you. The job market is tough these days and employers seem able to do pretty much anything they want, for any reason. You may have had some recourse as an employee but as a temp…

    I was laid off from another big company (though not quite as big as Microsoft–but then, who is) when I returned from disability from treatment for breast cancer. Apparently, I increased their premiums or something. With no insurance and no money, I can’t even afford follow-up to make sure it’s still gone. People have become merely a commodity, it seems. Very sad.

    I’ve been looking for another job for almost a year. Sure hope you have better luck than I’ve been having! (I did have two interviews in the last week so am keeping my fingers crossed.)

    As popular as this blog appears to be, maybe you can turn it into a money-making venture. At least until you find another gig. Good luck to you!

  20. Well, this is yet ANOTHER problem with America. I love this country, don’t get me wrong. But capitalizm and corperate greed is becoming such a huge problem. With the economy the way it is, every corperation that was already greedy has gotten worse and doesn’t seem to really give a @%#@$ about their customers. I’m a small business owner (ISP and onsite work)and in the course of the past 3 years I’ve had to break long term relationships with alot of companies we dealt with and more on the way. Things such as my notebook supplier (Chembook) sent me a faulty notebook and refused to fix/resolve the problem so I had to pay for the hardware to repair a 4 month old notebook. What made it worse is, it was the motherboard requiring a $700 part.

    My advise to everyone right now is do as little dealings as possible with “public” companies. If they are on the stock market, their concern is the bottom line. NOT taking care of their customers. Small businesses might be a bit more expensive but you can just about bet you’re going to get taken care of and not just have your wallet thinned out.

  21. this really does suck. microsoft should really be aware of the bad press this is causing them. screw microsoft. screw their lousy software.

  22. Oh boy. Any press is good press, eh? Not really.

    Let’s face facts here: You are a high school graduate with no college degree (or attendance as far as I can tell from your resume), with what seems to be very limited job experience as well. You were a temp contract employee for a large corporation, and you took pictures inside that corporation’s campus. It doesn’t matter at all that the large corporation in this case is Microsoft, and it doesn’t matter whatsoever that Apple is involved.

    The fact that people are using this as an excuse to bash Microsoft is just another example of the Apple community embarrassing itself with its oft-blinded hatred of Microsoft or anything related thereto. And, since people will automatically respond to what I’ve just written with ignorant “M$ Lover!!” statements, I think I should mention that I own a Power Mac G5.

    Sorry, pal, that you got fired. It’s always a bad thing. But, in this case, it is understandable. I’m sure you’ll get some donations, which is good for you since you’ll need to pay bills, but I honestly don’t think they’re deserved. Due to the names involved in this firing, you’re getting tons of press in the Mac community (a community that tends to be both willing to help each other and willing to do anything, it seems, if they think it hurts Microsoft), and you’ll no doubt receive money and possibly a new job because of this. That’s unfortunate for everyone out there with money trouble or job trouble who are qualified and understand how large companies work, but who do not have weblogs and/or get fired for things like this.

    I’ll leave you with this: you’re really, really lucky. Ten years ago, you would simply be SOL. No questions asked. But now you’re going to get help. Help you really don’t deserve. I just hope you learn a valuable lesson and help others when the opportunity arises.

  23. Now the whole world knows. Congratulations Microsoft! You’d think that companies would learn that whenever they do something stupid like this, they are just BEGGING to get lots of publicity. Essentially, Microsoft fired you because they don’t want their purchase of G5s to be known. However, in doing so, they’ve attracted more attention to the issue than could possibly have been gotten otherwise. Glad I don’t work for Microsoft. They’re absolute bastards in so many ways.

  24. As much as I disagree with what has happened to you, Michael, I am very suprised with the comments I have read here and responses on other blogger-websites. I have read posts of people that are afraid to tell the name of the company they work for, and seen comments like “If in doubt, don’t post”, “Always be careful when posting”. That is utterly ridiculous! Are you scared to do anything that makes your boss think you’re anything else than a mindless drone? Are you not allowed to live your own life? From my (european) point of view this shows the hypocrisy of Amercia when it comes to their favorite right: FREEDOM.

  25. This is the letter I sent to Microshifty.

    Dear sir madam,

    I read on the internet that you’ve fired this poor chap who blogged about the presence of Macintosh G5 computers on the Microsoft premises.

    Here’s the

    Isn’t it a bit rigorous to fire him over such a trifle matter? Because of this I bought a Macintosh today and this will be the last E-mail using a Microsoft product to send it. As we speak I am downloading another program to replace this one. As from today I will make every effort to replace any Microsoft program on any computer in my company for concurring company’s software, including the OS’es. This means I will switch to Linux and shout it of the rooftops too. I am considering writing something about it in my own column on my own site (now a Unix system running apache) and it will certainly not be pleasant for you. That is the consequence for your actions. I also crossposted references to the poor man’s blog on numerous forums throughout the world. I dare you to respond!

    Mr. Leendert V** G****** III, CEO VG****.NL WebDesign, The Netherlands

  27. Wow, it’s amazing how corporate culture behaves. Good luck, man… Big D slipped you a lil somethin in your PayPal account.

    CMON FOLKS, chip in a little (or more if you got too much)!

  28. That’s too bad. Too bad a business has to worry about the individuals they hire might be untrustworthy and may violate the security necessary to maintain a competitive advantage. It’s too bad that a company has to pay for legal services to aviod the circumstance in which a former righfully dismissed employee may sue because they feel they were unjustly let go. That’s too bad.

    Attention America: Grow up, and take responsibility for your own actions. There are no seconds chances in life.

  30. Good luck finding a new job, bummer mate. Wish we Mac guys culd do more to help you. . . Although I did find it extremely funny: Redmond using Macs! . . .kinda like the Coke guy drinking Pepsi!

  31. Although I do find this circumstance somewhat disturbing, I have to ask, are you really suprised? Microsoft is notoriously security sensitive and you were publishing inside information. It could be considered that same as though you were doing undercover reporting. Taking photos inside your workplace can be considered, not only unporfessional, but possibly illegal. I work for an A/E firm and I must say that taking photos of plans or even models, no matter how inocuous the post was, would be totally inappropriate. I had a very active blog for three years and managed to keep my workplace out of it and I was still worried about prospective employers finding personal information that would rule me out of the running. Everyone has a right to privacy, absolutely, but when you post your “private” thoughts, comments, photos, etcetera on an electronic version of a flashing billboard on a major interstate – people are going to read it, those people are going to react to it, and those people may include your employer. They must naturally consider what their clients or target audience would think if they stumbled upon it too. Microsoft, due to many factors, are one of my very least favorite business entities, but I wouldn’t want an employee taking photos and yacking about my business online either.

  32. efforts, and what little notoriety I may gain in my fifteen minutes of fame, …. errr ..
    little is the understatement of the decade if not the century.All the same MS never could accept criticism and never will.From the famous presentation where they
    missed power and the Apple logo showed on the large screens to this new incident it’s bad for MS to see the Apple logo on it’s grounds, presentations etc.IT’s not a matter of security, it’s a matter of having people saying that MS is not as good an OS to do stuff like you do on an Apple.Graphics and music particularly.Personally i think it sucks you lost your job.. but that’s the nature of the beast.You will find
    another job.No doubt.And then be free from the tyrants that try to control every aspects of our lives.
    Good luck in your future endeavours
    and take care :)

  34. “I’d be willing to bet that somewhere in the labyrinthine red tape of contracts among my temp agency, the vendor, and Microsoft, this situation is probably covered in one form or another.”

    You shouldn’t have accepted that Windows95 EULA eight years ago.

  37. We have the “Bill of Rights” in these United States but however, they do not apply in Corporate Amerika. Food for thought. We workers have a little more freedom today but I talked to people who worked for Corporate America back in the 1940′ & 50’s had their hands tied not only in the workplace but outside as well. Depending what level you were at, you were expected to fulfill social expectations such as avoiding nice resturaunts (5 Star) if you were on the lower part of the food chain or expected to belong to some high society type of clubs if you were higher up such as being an executive.

    With the job market being in the toilet, a lot of employers are attempting to take back some of the freedoms that we had before such as stricter dress codes, less flex time for example. If the job market gets as bad to where there is high unemployment like in the 1930’s, we could see companies being much more intrusive again.

    What Microsoft did was wrong and besides, sounds like they don’t have much of a sense of humor. I have worked at places like them before and if someone pissed off a manager, even outside of work, there were repercussions that were swift such as getting terminated, escorted oout without being allowed to get your personal effects. They were sent to mailed to you within a couple of month

  38. Sorry to read about this. As a Mac user who cannot stand M$, they really are overreacting to this. Go apply for a job with Apple. Good Luck

  39. Speaking from a certain amount of experience, I wouldn’t expect much help from whichever Temp Agency you were contracting with. In all likelyhood you will never be placed anywhere by them or any other tech agency in the area again. Even though it is illegal for them to share information about thier employee’s, it is highly rumored that they do. I know from personal experience that once you have been terminated from a contract, none of the agencies will touch you again, for any contract, MS or otherwise. I wouldn’t expect any support from them in trying to rectify this either. They may tell you that they are “doing everything they can”, but it’s just a line to keep you pacified. Their contract with MS is much much more important to them than you (or any other contractor) will ever be. Also, MS has most of the good law firms here in Seattle on retainer so they won’t even speak with you about this incident. I feel really badly for you, as this is about as stupid as what happened to me.
    Point in case about the difference between FT and CSG: The “incident” that resulted in my contract being terminated was instigated by a FT. We were both terminated for it, but 2 weeks later he was back as CSG with full permission to go FT as soon as he was able. I was CSG when the incident occured, was mostly a bystander in it all, and I have been banned for life from MS. Six months later I have not recieved a SINGLE listing from the “temp agency” and do not expect to. Good Luck man because you are going to need it. :(

  40. I think Microsoft did the right thing by firing this person. If he took one photo of some Macs on a dock it doesn’t appear harmful. How would we know he wouldn’t be taking photos of somehting more harmful to the company? I hope he will learn from his mistake. My concern would be with him securing future employment. I wouldn’t be bragging about all the traffic and support I got for taking pictures. That would be a red flag if I was in a position to hire him. “Hey I violated one of the terms of my employment. Can I have a job?” He should let it go and move on.

    1. Even though we have a printshop you are physically a bit far from the Netherlands to offer you a job.
    2. Even though you have a (financially) hard / tough time, I believe you will grow because of this type of experiences.
    3. I knew Microsoft was narrowminded but they still are able to surprise the world…..
    4. Yet another GOOD reason not to buy MS products, fortunately I am in a position (as a Manager of a Datacenter) to contribute on that one…..

  44. hmm Security issue of a temp employee with less than .0000005% influence or other on MS of us knowing where you work as physical location..

    I call total bullshit!

    This was a PR issue pure and simple nothing more nothing less..

  45. The interesting and odd thing about this overreaction is how sensitive Microsoft administration is to this revelation.

    They certainly are liberalizing the concept of a “security violation”. Usually that’s reserved for either an actual revelation of proprietary (or government classified) information or, more commonly, of a rule that’s intended to prevent such a revelation.

    Was there an actual rule posted somewhere saying this was prohibited?

    Would Redmond prohibit labor union picketers from marching on their “campus” because it also constitutes a “security violation”?

  46. You might be able to “move up the food chain” and get your issue addressed–at least if you haven’t burned any bridges yet. It sounds like security is doing a “stupid reflex action”, to ensure that people know that they are serious about security, but in the end provides no benefit whatsoever.

    Usually you find these sorts of mindless, reflexive beaurocrats at companies that have a broken management structure (people protecting jobs rather than innovating). It is pretty obvious to anyone that MS gets worse PR from the firing than from the post.

    Then again, if it may really be a security issue if they are using the G5s to authenticate and actually provide security within MS. If they were agnostic and serious about security it would be a smart thing to do. So the hubbub over the firing may have actually caused more of a leak than the photos. Buying Macs for testing wouldn’t involve security… but buying macs for login and mail (postfix) would improve security. Besides, they’ll save money on the unlimited license ;-)

  48. Hoooo, boy.

    Yes, it would have been nice if they had just fired whatever Security idiot let a non-Shipping&Receiving person into the area. Do you realize how the photo shows that there is NO ONE around and the doors are WIDE OPEN? “Come on in and steal computers! We don’t even post a guard! Wanna replace a computer with a bomb? No sweat!”

    Maybe this was your first experience with a big corporation…in my experience they’re all paranoid.

  50. You’re in Seattle. Apply at Adobe. If you have print shop AND software developer experience it might be worth your time.

Comments are closed.