First Amendment Applies to Internet, Appeals Court Rules - New York Times

US First Amendment Applies to Internet, Appeals Court Rules

A very interesting ruling out of the US court system. In the eyes of the US legal system:

The appeals court said online and offline journalists are equally protected under the First Amendment. "We can think of no workable test or principle that would distinguish 'legitimate' from 'illegitimate' news," the opinion states. "Any attempt by courts to draw such a distinction would imperil a fundamental purpose of the First Amendment."

The case that spanwed this judgement was brought forward by Apple Computer. Apple was upset with a blog that was publishing leaked information from Apple and wanted to root out the source of the leak.

The loss for Apple is a big win for the blogging community. But it also creates a precident that every company and organization must note. I think with blogger jouralists being placed legally on par with traditional media it formalizes the developing growth of blogging and journalism. The two have been migrating closer and closer, and this judgement places them fully on the same playing field.

What does that mean for Canada? Well, since Canada is lagging behind the blogging growth the US has seen, not a lot yet. However, it should not surprise anyone that as the US community continues to mature and the Canadian blogging community grows into its own, companies will have to pay closer attention to the impact blogs have on the news, and more importantly on the views and opinions of their customers and stakeholders.

As always, the first step Canadians organizations need to take is to become aware of what is being said about them. It's not enough to just track the Globe and Mail anymore. Many companies will find they don't have a robust blog or web discussion happening about them. But as with managing any corporate issue, it's best to stay alert - lest you be broadsided by a medium of which you aren't fully aware.

Technorati tags: bloggers, journalists, Apple, media, public relations, PR

Figure out what you want

Came across this article at oreillynet.com about a Fortune 500 company's quest to find a new IT contractor. This link will take you to the article. Here's the job description they've written:

Responsible for installing, configuring, and maintaining operating system workstations and servers, including web servers, in support of business processing requirements. Performs software installations and upgrades to operating systems and layered software packages. Schedules installations and upgrades and maintains them in accordance with established IT policies and procedures. Monitors and tunes the system to achieve optimum performance levels. Ensures workstation/server data integrity by evaluating, implementing, and managing appropriate software and hardware solutions. Ensures data/media recoverability by implementing a schedule of system backups and database archive operations. Supports media management through internal methods and procedures or through offsite storage and retrieval services. Develops and promotes standard operating procedures. Conducts routine hardware and software audits of servers to ensure compliance with established standards, policies, and configurations as defined by Customer.

You may or may not know what all that means, but there's no need for throwing a net this wide. You're definitely confusing a lot of your potential candidates and perhaps missing out on some good ones. The advice the author of this article gives is bang on:

Here’s some advice from someone who lives and breathes this business. Figure out in a sentence what you want a candidate to do and ask that. Stop sending out form letters and make a call. You stand a better chance of finding the person you want.

Yes! Take this advice, please. Not only for job posting, for just about anything you do. If you can't clearly communicate what you're looking for in one sentence, then you've got some work to do. It might take more time and it might be more difficult, but the excercise will help you focus. Perhaps you'll actually get what you're looking for!

Technorati tags: writing, PR, communications, human resources, internal communcations