Surveillance of blogs isn't always high tech

Surveillance of blogs may not always be the result of high-tech capabilities. Blogs can come to the attention of management through the personal association of colleagues with the blogger. Once the blog is thus brought to the attention of management then a variety of methods might be used to keep watch on the blog.

Importantly blogs can come under retrospective surveillance. Internet archives often reveal the complete contents of a blog despite attempts by the author to delete the blog. As an example a quick Google search can locate the archive of the Washingtonienne; a blog that resulted in the dismissal of its author despite it being deleted prior to the dismissal.

Surveillance technologies in the work place: ETHICOMP 2004

ETHICOMP 2004:

"Surveillance-capable technologies in the workplace: some evidence of the views of the next generation of computer professionals"

PRIVACY AND SURVEILLANCE IN COMPUTER SUPPORTED COOPERATIVE WORK

PRIVACY AND SURVEILLANCE IN COMPUTER SUPPORTED COOPERATIVE WORK:

"Whenever individuals are being informally watched or listened to, they are somewhat inhibited by what they imagine others' reactions to be. This is how informal social control works in groups. We tend to try not to upset the people around us, especially if they have the means to retaliate in some way. Gossip and other private communications are an ordinary part of both group and organizational office politics. In informal conversation it's one person's word against another's as to what was said and by whom. A private comment can be publicly denied. However, once a conversation gets recorded (for example in a paper memo or in an e-mail message) it assumes a more formal existence. As people begin to suspect they'll be held accountable for their spontaneous utterances, their freedom to express themselves is inhibited. While this may be an improvement in the case of malicious gossip, it also destroys the backstage area where so much of group work is actually done."

This may give us a clue as to why so many organisations are keen for people to blog. Once a blog post is published, it is almost impossible to delete any trace of it from the net, and when people know their comments are "permanent" and they believe they are being read and watched, they tend to normalise their behaviour. Blogs, while being a powerful tool for democracy may also become a Deleuzian "society of control."