Again, a social software manufacturer is causing a stir: Technorati censoring employee blogs? - of course, an employee can potentially harm a company if they speak negatively about the company or the business. That's one reason why there's nothing about my employer on my blog and nothing about our customers - you have to draw the line somewhere. But would I accept if my employer wanted to dictate what I think? If I were no longer allowed to report negatively about the nonsense of the IT industry because my employer is in the industry? I don't think so - that goes way too far.
Even as an employee of a company, one should be allowed to express one's opinion freely - within the limits of what is legally permitted, of course. Recently, I was even insulted as a German because we supposedly don't know what free speech is - we are all censored, regulated, and brainwashed. And then I read from the land of unlimited idiocy how free speech is trampled on there, lands you in jail, or gets you fired. Strange idea of free speech. And when I read the blogger's reaction - who was brainwashed there?
What kind of light this sheds on manufacturers of so-called social software is a whole different topic. It's not the first time that such a company has stood out extremely negatively (I spontaneously think of friendster) - communication seems to be a terrible threat to the communication experts.