Monday, August 15, 2005

Awaking the monster...

I've had a couple really crazy days lately... here is the brief rundown.

Thursday, ~9AM
I got a call from the Ethics department. Apparently someone "reported" this blog as a potential ethics violation. Honestly... who reads this and goes: "You know... I think this site is unethical". Bad grammar, poor spelling, and ignorant ramblings don't usually constitute an ethical problem. But apparently it is.
Anyways this is the jist of the phone conversation with the Ethics Dept:
Ethics: This is from Ethics. Someone reported your blog to us.
Adam: OK.
Ethics: You know you can't post limited or proprietary information on there, right?
Adam: Yeah. Is there anything questionable on the site?
Ethics: Well... no. Just be careful. No limited or proprietary information.
I guess they just wanted to call me to tell me to "keep on keepin on." *shrug*

10AM
I told my manager about my website, and about the call I got from ethics. He warned me that Boeing can be sensitive to stuff like this... and on his personal website, he makes NO references to Boeing. This seemed like overkill to me. So, I called a guy in PR. He said I what I was doing was fine. He gave me the name of the guy in charge of PR for my division.

10:30AM
A man with a security clearance shows up at my desk. This isn't a normal occurrence in the DBA world. Again, here is a wholly inaccurate but jistful description of the conversation:
Man: Are you Adam?
Adam: Yeah.
Man: Can I talk to you over here for a little bit?
Adam: Sure... Am I in trouble again?
Man: You've already been in trouble today? Anyways... Ethics called the Security department after your blog was reported to them.
Adam: Yeah. I've already talked to Ethics. I thought everything was OK.
Man: I just wanted to come visit, and have a little talk with you.
Adam: OK. Talk away.
[I'm going to abbreviate this, because I'm lazy. He said he read the entire site and could only find possible problem... but it was no big deal.]
He just wanted to stop by, and tell me to "keep on keepin on"

Then I made a couple of other calls to some folks around Boeing. They all thought I was safe to keep doing what I've been doing. And, most people think what I'm doing is cool.

I thought the whole situation was dead. My job was safe (for the time being).


Monday, 7:30
I get a couple of emails of congratulations from some friends for making BNN. BNN is the internal news organization for Boeing; they publish a few news stories about stuff going on around Boeing every day. One of the stories on BNN this morning was a warning to employees about the dangers of blogging. I'll spare you the details, but basically it cited all the company rules that could apply to blogging. All of which I've been complying with through the entirety of this blog.

Conclusion
Sometimes working for a big company can be annoying.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

As a loyal reader of this blog, I must speak. I can no longer be silent as Adam is being hassled by Ethics. Number one, I’m shocked that more than 3 people have viewed this blog. Honestly. Number two, as a new employee to The Boeing Company©, I appreciate the fresh insights this blog brings. For instance, the July 5th post “Interns” was an instant classic. Number three, since when does an employer have the right to tell its employees what to write on their own personal, external blogs on their free time? (I must have been on vacation when that PRO was written)

It seems as though Boeing might be a little sensitive about the use of its name. You’d think the company would be excited that an employee would have a website promoting the company’s programs and products.

Final Thought: Can’t we all just lighten up? After all, it’s just a blog.

Anonymous Employee (I don't want to get in trouble like Adam)

Anonymous said...

I'm laughing at the person that reported this site as a "potential ethical violation" right now..... I don't think I'm going to be able to stop.

Anonymous said...

Ha Ha Ha...
Thats about all I can say after reading the 'ethics violation'. As a new Boeing employee, I find this all to be freakin rediculous. But then again, I've come to expect crap like this...
Good blog

Anonymous said...

Hilarious. What exactly was the point of reporting this blog to Ethics? Does someone have a bone to pick with you? You obviously aren't revealing great company secrets, so it strikes me as no more than pettiness.

-- Another Boeing person who finds this a tedious waste of time

Anonymous said...

I read that BNN warning!
Hilarious. Well done sir.