The blog world is still the something like the wild, wild west as it relates to employer policy on blogging about work. Talking about your employer, or co-workers, even in generic terms can get you sacked, as several people found out in 2004. It stands to reason that most of these folks were doing things that they shouldn't have been doing, saying things they shouldn't have been saying or just being plain stupid. I feel a gap widening here between the individual, the corporation and the media. The gap can only be filled, in my opinion, by a strong dosage of media awareness on the part of the individual.

To that end, I submit that it corporations would be well served to include a brief segment on 'media awareness' or 'interacting in an Internet-induced consumer generated media world' in the onboarding of each and every new hire. Further, existing employees should be required to at least view a video or go through an online tutorial on the subject, similar to how we have to go through sexual harassment training.

I think that this is required for several reasons:

1. The average employee still does not understand the power of the Internet and does not fully grasp the power of the media in today's climate
   
2. Most people have never dealt with the media, and the media are only getting more savvy - everyone in your company should know how to deflect media inquiries and handle themselves in front of the media
   
3. Google, archived newsgroups, and social networking sites are not yet understood by the masses and they're being used, right or wrong, to make decisions in the corporate and media world - people need to know about these things.
   
4. People can loose their jobs over something that they didn't know was an issue (granted, stupidity usually plays a part, but the innocent can be affected to...unless they're educated)
   

In relation to blogging, it may make sense to include a specific reference to this or include a prohibition on miscalling the employer outside work in a public forum.

Whilst some might think that this would be obvious, it might do no harm to spell it out in plain language to cut down on the possibilities for misunderstandings. From [Scotsman.com - Avoid getting blogged down in e-etiquette]

See also - Write & wrongs: Bloggers run into trouble

I agree 100%. I think it is incumbent on companies to give employees some base level of communications training, particularly if they intend to hold the employee to some higher level of discretion (a la a product manager or engineering employee) than they do the mass group of employees.