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Wow. Bozeman, MT, is requiring city job applicants to provide their user names -- and passwords -- for their social networking sites, including Facebook and MySpace. What do you think? tk

[URL]http://montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=10551414[/URL]

Comments

  • 30 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • I just read about this on another HR site I visit, and all I can say is....wow. I can understand wanting to find applicants of the highest integrity, etc. but this just goes way beyond making any kind of sense to me. Having been thoroughly trained since we first started using computers to never give my user ID or passwords to anyone else, I guess I won't be applying for a job with the City of Bozeman any time soon!
  • Unbelievable. Mindboggling. My guess is this policy will be hastily modified by next week.

    Passwords?? Are you kidding me? Is the city of Bozo-man going to peruse the inbox of applicants?

    If I was a transgender, disabled, pregant minority I would APPLY IMMEDIATELY and begin searching for a competent employment attorney and a great vacation destination to celebrate my settlement.
  • I always wondered what city Parks & Recreation was modeled on.
  • I predict a short, but extremely active, future with this employer for the person who decided this was the way to go.

    Public Facebook or Myspace pages are up for grabs. Private areas are just that, private. Even if I were willing to share them with a prospective employer (and that is a big IF), I would not be willing to share my password. How could I trust them NOT to post something in my stead? Their policy inspires a lack of trust in me. I wonder why?
  • Bozeman is already backpeddling.

    "Since the application policy has been released, Bozeman City Attorney Greg Sullivan said in The Daily Chronicle that the policy may change – instead of asking applicants for login information, applicants would be required to “friend” officials on Facebook so the city could see the individual’s profile, for example."

    I am guessing that Bozeman did not want to become the poster child of the internet privacy debate. This policy is truly unbelievable. I cannot imagine asking applicants to provide log-in passwords nor would I WANT such information.

    What were they thinking???
  • I've got it.....it was a test to see if the applicants would be willing to share their passwords, and if they did then they could say "well, we can't hire you because if you shared your password with us then you would probably share your work passwords with just anybody who'd ask".

    Or maybe it was a test to see how well they followed orders..."we didn't really want to use your passwords for anything, we were just seeing if you'd give them to us if we told you that you had to".

    Sounds like Bozeman is already realizing what a stupid idea this was, and rightfully so.
  • I found the e-mail address for the HR Director. We could ask her? :)
  • Maybe you could just email her this thread. :p
  • Not that I would know about such things but here is a wild guess. . .Neither the HR Director nor the City attorney had a clue about this.. .some commissioner or PTB came up with this brilliant idea without running it by anyone.. Again, not that I would have a clue about such things.
  • I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the Bozeman city hall today. I can only imagine a group of forty somethings huddled around a computer trying to figure out what a "Facebook" is and what bookstore sells them.

    Meanwhile, the phones are ringing off the hook from reporters asking for a comment about the media firestorm their policy has created.
  • Probably because of the media firestorm that Paul mentioned, the city late Friday apparently decided to stop asking job applicants for their social networking site passwords. tk
    [B][URL]http://tinyurl.com/pr5rt9[/URL][/B]
  • Did I call it or what?? I'm so good.
  • Great article about the Bozeman/Facebook controversy and the fallout inside the city leadership afterwards here:

    [url]http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=10577236[/url]

    Contrary to what Sonny suggested, it WAS the HR person who suggested this policy. They are now looking at a 30 day review for changes to hiring policies. :)

    They could save 30 days and just post their crazy ideas here for our comments and feedback.

    Bozeman learned very quickly how fast a story can spread in the internet age. It took just hours for their policy to gain worldwide notice from news agencies, bloggers, and privacy advocates.

    Hopefully the adage "all publicity is good publicity" is true.
  • 2008? This has been going on since early 2008? Outrageous!

    The article said they should run all major changes through the commission, but would the HR person (Berg) have considered this major?

    TK: please contact Berg and tell her she NEEDS us and to sign up right away!
  • Can you say "short leash" for the HR person now?
  • The City of Bozeman will be glad to know that now the Associated Press has garnered attention for its aggressive Facebook policies which include 1) dont say anything bad about the AP and 2) delete anything your friends say that "violates AP standards".

    They also ask supervisors not to request to be "friends" with subordinates and personal profiles should have no political statements. So much for free speech.

    You would think the AP would be more media savvy but even they seem befuddled by how to respond to the rise of social networking.

    Link here: [url]http://mashable.com/2009/06/23/ap-social-media-policy/[/url]
  • The AP has been tripping all over itself for quite awhile now. It's understandable, given the difficulty the entire 'old media' industry has had coping with the Internet.

    AP has even threatened to sue Google, for example, because Google searches link to AP articles. Umm... I thought that was the goal - to be listed as high as possible in every search result. Most large organizations actually pay someone to make sure that happens, and AP is complaining.

    I received no reply to the formal inquiry I completed and submitted a few months ago to AP, questioning their ability to use their standard "This AP article may not be reproduced etc. etc." on the transcript of an Obama speech. I mean, they didn't write the speech. There was no analysis accompanying the speech. It was just the transcript. How can AP copyright the transcript of a speech delivered over the public airwaves?

    [I]Disclaimer: When I was a newspaper editor in the '80s, AP routinely ripped me off without attribution. I may still harbor some resentment... I leave that to you to decide. ;) [/I]
  • I haven't verified these but they were listed in an article about AP's fumblings of Facebook:

    A stadium employee with the Philadelphia Eagles was fired in March after a Facebook post calling the team “retarded” for trading a star player. A North Carolina teacher was suspended in November for posting on Facebook, “I hate my students.” Three Harrison, New York, police officers were suspended in February after making untoward Facebook comments about their mayor.

    I am a little suprised that people are getting terminated for Facebook comments. That seems heavy handed. On the other hand, I think people need to understand that you may be held accountable for what you post online in a public medium.
  • [QUOTE=ACU Frank;716518]The AP has been tripping all over itself for quite awhile now. It's understandable, given the difficulty the entire 'old media' industry has had coping with the Internet.

    AP has even threatened to sue Google, for example, because Google searches link to AP articles. Umm... I thought that was the goal - to be listed as high as possible in every search result. Most large organizations actually pay someone to make sure that happens, and AP is complaining.

    I received no reply to the formal inquiry I completed and submitted a few months ago to AP, questioning their ability to use their standard "This AP article may not be reproduced etc. etc." on the transcript of an Obama speech. I mean, they didn't write the speech. There was no analysis accompanying the speech. It was just the transcript. How can AP copyright the transcript of a speech delivered over the public airwaves?

    [I]Disclaimer: When I was a newspaper editor in the '80s, AP routinely ripped me off without attribution. I may still harbor some resentment... I leave that to you to decide. ;) [/I][/QUOTE]

    As a newspaper reporter in a past professional incarnation, I feel both your pain and resentment. My editor had worked for AP before coming to our small town paper, and he didn't have many good stories to tell about working there. Tony might be able to chime in, too . . .
  • Do we need to start a thread/support group for embittered ex-reporters?
  • Sounds like it. . I wonder what other former life careers we've had . .maybe that should be a thread.

    And, I stand corrected on my wrong guess. Figures.
  • Sorry Sonny. I thought your guess sounded pretty accurate (and based on some past experience perhaps???) but suprisingly it was an HR person who crafted this policy.
  • [quote=Paul in Cannon Beach;716525]Do we need to start a thread/support group for [B][I]embittered ex-reporters?[/I][/B][/quote]



    Is there any other kind? I loved the job, but job fulfillment doesn't pay the bills, and after a while it's pretty easy to become disillusioned with it all (especially after the AP picks up your story but doesn't include a byline or even credit your paper).

    But Sonny brings up an interesting point. . .what other careers/jobs did you work at before coming to HR? If you have any good (or better yet, bad) stories, please join us in the "What Did You Do Before HR?" thread in the "Har-de-har-har" forum. Now . . .:back to topic:
  • No bitterness here. I actually feel AP's pain. It spends a lot of money to hire reporters and stringers and collect and distribute news to newspapers, TV and radio stations, etc. AP is essentially a news wholesaler. Unfortunately, it's trying to operate its traditional business in a climate that increasingly (1) wants all such info to be free and (2) therefore lets the lines blur when it comes to the proper reuse (or non-reuse) of its copyrighted materials. It probably doesn't care about getting hits on its articles unless those analytics lead back to news outlets that have properly paid for its articles and photos. Keeping tabs on all of the various new "news" outlets -- blogs, ezines, news-talk stations, various kinds of alerts, etc. -- must keep the AP cop-shop quite busy. tk

    P.S. Time to get back to non-newspaper stuff! :back to topic:
  • I'm showing my age with this, but I remember the annual debate over whether we wanted to stay with AP or move to UPI.
  • Here is a question. Would it bother you to find out that one of your employees was posting "Bored at work" on their Facebook or Twitter page?

    It bothered one employer enough to fire the employee.
  • Nope, as long as their work is being completed and they are not rushing through. Everyone will have days/times when they are bored. I consistently see things on FB from ee's that I jokingly reply to with - 'aren't you at work'? Such as "Blank just scored whatever in Mafia Wars" or something similar. But our ee's are all good workers and if they choose to slack for 15 minutes here and there it is not a problem. I see alot of "Is is 5 yet" as well. I like to reply to that one with a post about how I am already at home, lounging by the pool - since I get off at 2!
  • Everyone is bored sometimes, even if you are in a top position. The only problem I would have with public remarks online about the company is if they were damaging to our reputation and business. Otherwise...

    Of course, if they are sitting around or playing around they should currently have a lighter work load. If they are swamped and are playing, then I would have to take action.
  • An acquaintance of mine recently left a hotel here to work for a hotel in Portland that belongs to the same company. Since she started there she has posted several comments about how dirty the place is. I think she is referring to the front desk area but it could easily be misconstrued as a comment about the hotel. My guess is that if her employer ever saw those comments they would not be happy.

    A general rule is don't post anything publicly if you dont want EVERYONE to see it.
  • And what if it gets on twitter and gets retweeted? Such remarks could close the hotel and throw people out of work. On the other hand, if it (the hotel) is dirty the employees and management need to step up and get it cleaned up or close it down.
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