3 ms·

I can imagine 99% of customers never putting two and two together in the first place. I talk to salespeople all the time, and not once have I thought to inquire

I can imagine 99% of customers never putting two and two together in the first place. I talk to salespeople all the time, and not once have I thought to inquire about their personal interests, side projects, etc.

PommeDeTerre 13y ago
That may be true for you and the other 99% of customers. However, if that 1% of customers who do consider such things to matter are the most important of a given firm's customers, then their opinions on such issues can have an astronomical impact on the business.
- soneca 13y ago
  An advise like "please put a hold on your side project or at least creat a different name to deal with that" would have solved the problem. Or at least would be transparent. Sure, we only listened to one side, but this sounds like creating absurd reasoning to try to justify what the company did.
  - blisterpeanuts 13y ago
    But once it's out there, it's connected to him -- in the cache, in people's memory, etc. Changing the name might help a bit, but then this is all speculation since he didn't find out whether his comedy work was a factor.
- FDpod 13y ago
  Hi there. I'm the author of the piece (my friend just emailed me to tell me I'm on here - which is all sorts of cool and weird). I didn't run the Full Disclosure site at the time but I was doing standup comedy, which certainly could've been one of the reasons. Comedians have to have a web presence, so if you were to google my name, videos of me doing standup may have appeared. But to tell someone not to pursue their extracurricular passions while bludgeoning their soul during the day for a paycheck, just sucks. Maybe it's a reality, but it did not leave a good taste in my mouth about my employer.
  - brianmcconnell 13y ago
    The way I see it, what you do off the clock is exactly none of your employer's business. Unless you are the CEO of the company, customers don't much care either.
  - blisterpeanuts 13y ago
    Sorry for what happened to you, but in reality what you do off the clock does indeed matter. Companies have an image to maintain, not least startups which are trying to woo more venture capital, and you can bet that the VC's staff will be researching each and every employee. And if it's not VC, it's a potential purchaser or a broker that's going to take you public. It sounds like your CEO was probably a jerk, but in his mind he may have had his company's welfare as top priority. Now as for sacrificing one's soul for a paycheck, well, that's a personal choice. Maybe you should be up front with your next employer about your stand-up stuff and see how they respond. Once it's out in the open, you will at least know where they stand. Best of luck.
    - VexXtreme 13y ago
      > Maybe you should be up front with your next employer about your stand-up stuff and see how they respond. What someone does off the clock with their own time, unless they're a public figure representing their company 24/7 (such as various high profile CEOs) should have no bearing on how they're perceived either by their employer or clients. As long as you are performing your work duties efficiently and doing your job, you are holding up your end of the bargain and that should be the end of it. If your employment contract doesn't stipulate that you are not allowed to engage into certain activities outside your working hours, then you can do as you please and your employer has opened themselves up for a gigantic lawsuit by pulling these kinds of shenanings. I for one would sue the hell out of you if you fired me based on what I do on my own time, if you can't prove that I was underperforming or damaging the company in any way.
      - blisterpeanuts 13y ago
        "I for one would sue the hell out of you..." No, you wouldn't. It's incredibly expensive and without a really blatant reason like "We're firing you because you're black, old, and gay", no lawyer's going to do the work on contingency. Anyway, the company is never going to say they fired you for running a knitting website, or whatever it is you do. They'd just say they're downsizing, sorry, and while they're grateful for your contributions, market conditions necessitate an occasional reorganization.
elmuchoprez 13y ago
I talk to a lot of tech sales people and I often find myself doing some casual Google research on them. I've had problems with sales people over-promising because they didn't understand the product they were selling, so I'm often interested in how long they've been with the company they are repping. And the answer is usually one Linkedin request away. I can also get their eduction and previous work history from there, which is useful in framing how well they know the industry as a whole and whether they have any technical background to understand what they are selling. From there, a lot of people link to personal projects or blogs. I don't know why; in a professional context, most personal blogs make you look like an idiot.
- wyclif 13y ago
  > most personal blogs make you look like an idiot That depends on what kind of blog we're talking about. If it's someone's Tumblr where they're posting selfies, concert photos, and "deep thoughts", that's one thing. But it's certainly possible to have your front-facing, top-level-domain, professional blog showing off your work and getting you jobs.

PommeDeTerre 13y ago

That may be true for you and the other 99% of customers. However, if that 1% of customers who do consider such things to matter are the most important of a given firm's customers, then their opinions on such issues can have an astronomical impact on the business.

soneca 13y ago
An advise like "please put a hold on your side project or at least creat a different name to deal with that" would have solved the problem. Or at least would be transparent. Sure, we only listened to one side, but this sounds like creating absurd reasoning to try to justify what the company did.
- blisterpeanuts 13y ago
  But once it's out there, it's connected to him -- in the cache, in people's memory, etc. Changing the name might help a bit, but then this is all speculation since he didn't find out whether his comedy work was a factor.
FDpod 13y ago
Hi there. I'm the author of the piece (my friend just emailed me to tell me I'm on here - which is all sorts of cool and weird). I didn't run the Full Disclosure site at the time but I was doing standup comedy, which certainly could've been one of the reasons. Comedians have to have a web presence, so if you were to google my name, videos of me doing standup may have appeared. But to tell someone not to pursue their extracurricular passions while bludgeoning their soul during the day for a paycheck, just sucks. Maybe it's a reality, but it did not leave a good taste in my mouth about my employer.
- brianmcconnell 13y ago
  The way I see it, what you do off the clock is exactly none of your employer's business. Unless you are the CEO of the company, customers don't much care either.
- blisterpeanuts 13y ago
  Sorry for what happened to you, but in reality what you do off the clock does indeed matter. Companies have an image to maintain, not least startups which are trying to woo more venture capital, and you can bet that the VC's staff will be researching each and every employee. And if it's not VC, it's a potential purchaser or a broker that's going to take you public. It sounds like your CEO was probably a jerk, but in his mind he may have had his company's welfare as top priority. Now as for sacrificing one's soul for a paycheck, well, that's a personal choice. Maybe you should be up front with your next employer about your stand-up stuff and see how they respond. Once it's out in the open, you will at least know where they stand. Best of luck.
  - VexXtreme 13y ago
    > Maybe you should be up front with your next employer about your stand-up stuff and see how they respond. What someone does off the clock with their own time, unless they're a public figure representing their company 24/7 (such as various high profile CEOs) should have no bearing on how they're perceived either by their employer or clients. As long as you are performing your work duties efficiently and doing your job, you are holding up your end of the bargain and that should be the end of it. If your employment contract doesn't stipulate that you are not allowed to engage into certain activities outside your working hours, then you can do as you please and your employer has opened themselves up for a gigantic lawsuit by pulling these kinds of shenanings. I for one would sue the hell out of you if you fired me based on what I do on my own time, if you can't prove that I was underperforming or damaging the company in any way.
    - blisterpeanuts 13y ago
      "I for one would sue the hell out of you..." No, you wouldn't. It's incredibly expensive and without a really blatant reason like "We're firing you because you're black, old, and gay", no lawyer's going to do the work on contingency. Anyway, the company is never going to say they fired you for running a knitting website, or whatever it is you do. They'd just say they're downsizing, sorry, and while they're grateful for your contributions, market conditions necessitate an occasional reorganization.

elmuchoprez 13y ago

I talk to a lot of tech sales people and I often find myself doing some casual Google research on them. I've had problems with sales people over-promising because they didn't understand the product they were selling, so I'm often interested in how long they've been with the company they are repping. And the answer is usually one Linkedin request away. I can also get their eduction and previous work history from there, which is useful in framing how well they know the industry as a whole and whether they have any technical background to understand what they are selling. From there, a lot of people link to personal projects or blogs. I don't know why; in a professional context, most personal blogs make you look like an idiot.

wyclif 13y ago
> most personal blogs make you look like an idiot That depends on what kind of blog we're talking about. If it's someone's Tumblr where they're posting selfies, concert photos, and "deep thoughts", that's one thing. But it's certainly possible to have your front-facing, top-level-domain, professional blog showing off your work and getting you jobs.