Trisha, thanks very much for following up on this story. I'm, also, glad to hear that Anina found the support she deserves in persuing her goals.

I do, however, think that this incident raises some larger questions about employer/employee relations and responsibilities especially around the topic of blogging and media sharing. Will employees be forced into ultimatums over their professional employment over their passions? Will more of these conflicts arise as individuals build individual brands. And what are the implications of those individual brands on the corporate brand?

We have much to figure out in these areas, yet.

I very much agree that these larger questions need to be addressed, and I predict that we'll have much more clarity surrounding these issues within the next year or so.

It's certainly an interesting time to be a blogger.

My .02 on this - with ZERO cred, btw - is that it depends on what you're blogging about.

Anina has a very public persona, so her blogging reflected on her company. But check out Elyse Sewell, blogging her heart out from the runway. She's workin' it, baby.

As for little folks like me, well, my blogging about travel is going to have little to no impact on the Corporate Entity that helps me pay my bills.

Why wouldn't blogging be like any other non-work pursuit? If it doesn't conflict with your day job, it's not relevent. When you're a public persona like a fashion model - witness Kate Moss, busted for blow - your activities are subject to your employer's scrutiny. But when you're not...

Replace the "blogging" verb and ponder the implications. Yes, blogging is a public pursuit, but so is, say, community theater. Or political activism. I recently met some pro athletes with day jobs, what about them?

Questions. Questions. Questions.

www.nerdseyeview.com

Excellent point--relevance to one's job is certainly a key factor here.

Having a public persona has its good points and bad. One of the downsides, as we see from celebrities who complain that they can't even eat a meal in peace, is that everything you do is scrutinized.

Is Anina, as a public figure, being held to a different standard? Absolutely.

But should that be right (or even legal)? I'm not so sure. I don't pretend to have the answers here...but I encourage others to weigh in on this issue.

There's also the issue of what they are blogging about...and who they are in the heirarchy of their industry...of Anna Wintour decided to blog about the fashion industry, she's not going to get the swing of the axe...if the CEO of a company blogged about his industry or company nobody would do anything about it, provided that in the case of blogging about one's own company no proprietary info is released....

I blog on life in venture capital as an assistant and I have to remain anonymous. I don't name names or release confidential info, but I know that most likely I would get shit canned if I was outed.

I feel bad for Anina- like disruptive technology, disruptive people are a huge threat to industries.....

Sand Hill Slave
http://www.sandhillslave.com
Rants on VC Life through the eyes of an assistant-