I’m not into the whole let’s be anonymous on the internet and bash our employer scene. Pardon the French, but being anonymous and posting about challenges in your workplace is just being a gigantic pussy.

You work for somebody, even if you are self-employed like me you have clients and customers that you work for — and IMO, you owe them an honest hard day’s work for an honest day’s wages. Your best effort for that day. Some days maybe you aren’t up to it (yesterday I had one of those days on a number of fronts) but that doesn’t mean you are given some cosmic right to use a blog as a sword of truth to anonymously get even with your employer. Or attempt to expose your employer for things you don’t like or disagree with. I think that’s depriving the company of receiving that information directly through the proper channels. It’s no more right than it would be right for your employer to anonymously draw money randomly out of your account because they didn’t like what you were saying on your blog about them.

Skewering your employer behind their back — and that’s what you are doing if you can’t face them with your honest feelings — for your own agenda, however pure it might be for the greater good, is very questionable ethically from my POV.

Summarized, that’s what I think this Mini-Microsoft “guy” (?) is doing. If you want to read and stay up with this guy’s supposed insider views on what it is really like working at Microsoft, add his blogspot blog to your RSS reader and follow him directly. I will admit he’s in my aggregator but the majority of what he writes I have serious credibility doubts before the first word hits my screen. And he’s already admitted to throwing off false clues about who he is, just to keep The Powers That Be off his trail. If you are a fellow blogger, then keep this in mind so you don’t get burned.

Just as deep throat was exposed, Mini will be exposed someday, too and I’m fairly confident (maybe 80 percent) that the truth about Mini’s motivations will be more interesting than what he blogs about. For all we know this could be PR spin … and wouldn’t that be ironic?. The fact that he hasn’t already been exposed is one of the few curious things about him, actually. In fact, part of the allure of people like this is the sleuthing aspect. I can get with that part of the fun.

I’ll take Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Candlestick.

What if Mini-Microsoft says something worthwhile?
I’ve been thinking about that for a little while now and it’s a fair question. Yeah, if he breaks something big or significant and it can be verified, sure it’s worth talking about. Ever since I first heard and looked at Mini Microsoft’s blog, actually, I’ve been pondering this very question. I don’t think sources that refuse to show their biases and disclose the bias of their opinions are, with few exceptions, very credible.

For all we know, Mini Microsoft is a janitor with an axe to grind for some totally bogus reason and not even a Microsoft employee. We don’t know the amount and/or degree of spin being applied to the facts. Maybe he’s married to a bitter Microsoft employee and getting the juice that way? Whatever and however he is really getting the information, we don’t truly know as readers through what glasses the story is being spun and that puts a huge cloud of suspicion and doubt around the information.

I’m also not buying Scoble’s thinking for why he “likes” Mini:

Cause I want to work for a company that constantly is looking at itself to see how it can improve and Mini-Microsoft certainly gives employees a way to surface problems and get attention on those issues. Some might argue about whether or not hanging our dirty laundry in public is a good thing, but to me it is. I’d far prefer dealing with the negative feelings that brings around than dealing with a Worldcom or an Enron (or a bankruptcy like two airlines are going through this week).

Sometimes it’s easy to see why Scoble is an employee and not an employer by comments like this. Nobody that I’ve heard is suggesting employees should stay quiet about illegal activity, that’s illegal in itself and makes them an accessory to the crime — duh, Scoble. Go to the authorities immediately on that activity. I’m saying why does Mini need to remain anonymous to air out the dirty laundry that isn’t illegal?

And how do we know, as readers, that Mini doesn’t have plenty of his own dirty laundry? It’s not terribly difficult to slant a story one way or another based on bias and the fact that Mini is going the anon route, immediately indicates he has something to hide.

As a reader I feel cheated by that perspective. I don’t like being cheated as a reader so I’m not going to consider that a reliable, credible source. It doesn’t mean that I won’t use Mini as a source — if his information can be backed up by somebody more credible. The point is, from a credibility standpoint, sources like Mini Microsoft require more work and I’m not envious of sources that cost me more work. I’d be more likely to write about something less interesting than risk posting about something Mini says that turns out to be unfounded or extremely biased and without significant merit. Sure, I’m curious about (tech-related, mostly) rumours, but I prefer to follow and comment on rumours from sources with a more proven, track record.

I suppose Mini has time to prove that his information, however cowardly obtained, can be relied upon. Currently I visit Mini’s blog carrying a huge shovel.

Consider the source.
That’s the cliche we’ve all heard before and it is true in many cases. Yesterday I wrote about BusinessWeek not linking back and darkmoon pointed out in the comments that others have called out mainstream media on their unwillingness (it’s not inability of course) to link back to blogs as sources. Many times these days bloggers are breaking stories and if it’s the blogger that breaks the story and/or that person is being quoted, then a link should be attributed. As many have noted on the web: links are currency on the web (I think Jeff Jarvis was the last one I read that said that, so I’m linking him), so one way to pay respect is to link to sources. Yeah, even if you don’t like the source material. So if I do quote Mini-Microsoft here in the future, he will always get a link, even though IMO he is a coward.

But if Mini-Microsoft identifies himself, he’ll be fired
I guess it’s a valid perspective that by staying the Microsoft deepthroat, he avoids getting canned, but again, as someone who relies from time to time on the information being shared as accurate (and readers know that I will derive very passionate opinions based on said information one way or another) — and someone who has been duped by bogus information before — I just can’t see relying on someone that won’t tell us who they really are. That’s what cowards do.

What about anonymous commenters who flame, haven’t you done that?
Honestly, no. I’ve never left an anonymous comment either praising or flaming or making any kind of comment unless the system didn’t allow me a space to put my name, OR if the system required registration and I was in a hurry, but even in those cases I still signed my name in the body of the comment. There have been times on the web when I haven’t used my handle “TDavid” or used some derivitive of course. That’s not because I’m trying to mask my identity but because:

a) the username wasn’t available in the system
b) I used some other name that closer fit the website (like in some places I’ve used “MakeYouGoHmm”)
c) it’s a character blog. I have already admitted that I have at least one character blog. Part of the fun of a character blog is being anonymous.
d) have to use company information. Some sites require company details and of course “TDavid” is not our company name. Our company name is KMR Enterprises.
e) other, which includes a situation in the past that is not immediately coming to mind here. I’m sure there is some other situation I’m leaving out, but it’s not there as of this writing.

Yeah, what about character blogs? Aren’t they real people being anonymous
Mini-Microsoft isn’t a fictional character. I think there is a fundamental difference between being a fictional character who doesn’t work for Microsoft in any capacity that bashes on Microsoft versus being a real person who refuses to reveal their identity. Am I waffling on a technicality here? Perhaps.

So what’s the point of this blog entry?
Just something relatively timely recently that made me go hmm. Might not make you go hmm, which in case means I’ve let at least one reader down, but it did make me go hmm.

Now, if so inclined, you have an opportunity to give your take on Mini-Microsoft. Is he a coward or is that too harsh? How credible a source is Mini-Microsoft?

Did this post make you go hmm?

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