If you do any blog reading you have probably come across a fair share of “disclaimers”. They basically say…”the things written on this blog are my own views and thoughts…they do not reflect the views of my (church, school, family, business…etc).”
For a while I kept a nice little disclaimer in the “about” section of my blog. I thought, “hey why not tell people that my views are my own, not somebody else’s.” Then I started thinking about it and I read this by Fred McKinnon and it made a lot of sense to me. He said:
“All that stuff about the disclaimer you have on your blog, and how it’s your own, and you can say what you want, and it doesn’t reflect the views of your church … BULL CRAP (sorry) … if you use your blog as a forum to discuss the specifics of your job and role at your church, and you do it by name, you are linking the two, I think your leadership has a right to speak to you about how you represent your employer.”
I totally agree with Fred. Here are some of my thoughts on it.
- Anyone can figure out that what I write on my blog is reflective of my views.
- Anyone who blogs about their job/school/church is reflecting it. I am on staff at a church and what I write is reflective of what my church is and stands for. People who read my blog not only get to know me but it lends insight into my school, my family, and my job.
- As far as I know a disclaimer doesn’t stop an employer from firing you over your blog.
- A blog is reflective of who you are and your job is part of who you are.
- A disclaimer communicates that you only want judgment to fall on yourself but that is never the way it works in life.
- People are going to think whatever they want and a disclaimer definitely does not stop that.
