Private Twitter updates and the workplace

March 5, 2008 / Filed under: Twitter, Workplace, Internet

I use Twitter for posting quick thoughts on just about anything. Some things just aren't worthy of a blog post, or I just feel the need to gripe.

I worry about workplace confidentiality and how much employers watch what their workers are doing online. I tend to post Twitter updates throughout the day, so it's natural to be concerned that if my employer was watching, I could easily be in trouble (although the argument could be made that most of my tweets are centered around my passion for the exact thing I get paid to do: programming, technical stuff, etc.).

Twitter updates have a time-stamp associated with them, so it's easy to tell exactly when an update occurred. This could give an employer indisputable evidence if a question ever arose as to my obligation to the company's internet usage policy. (Or, heaven forbid, confidentiality agreement, if I was stupid enough to post sensitive information.)

Because I worry too much, I'm considering making my Twitter updates private.

The benefit is I would no longer have prying eyes seeing what I post. My content would also remain out of search engines, I hope.

The bad news is anybody wishing to follow me would have to request that I allow them to follow me. This is an extra step that could easily scare people off.

Also, I believe the point of Twitter is to meet as many new, like-minded people as possible. It's all about expanding your network of contacts. Making your Twitter stream private could limit the amount of new people I meet.

Part of me also thinks, "What's the point?" My entire life is practically online, anyway. What good will it do to hide just one aspect? If my employer cares that much about it, it's probably not an employer worth working for.

The way I look at it - the time I spend Twittering at work is time that others in my office spend smoking, talking about things unrelated to work, and whatever else. A good employer should respect that people have lives and other interests. We spend so many hours in the office - it's OK every once in a while to do something unrelated to your job.

And there you have it. By simply writing this blog post, I think I've almost talked myself out of making my Twitter updates private.

I'd be curious to hear feedback from others who have switched to private after a long time being public.

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