Until very recently,
Joe Gordon was a senior bookseller at a Waterstones branch in Edinburgh, where he had worked since 1993. Waterstones is one of the major U.K. bookchains, with multiple branches in most major towns and cities.
Like most booksellers, Gordon is passionate about books, as a casual perusal of the archives of his blog, The Woolamaloo Gazette shows. He's also quite fond of films, writes the odd bit of political stuff (he likes Al Franken!) and took some nice photos of snow on Christmas Day.
In recent days, however, the Woolamaloo Gazette has been preoccupied with other more personally pressing matters: a few days ago, Joe Gordon has became the first known employee in the U.K. to be sacked (without notice, no less) for the content of his blog.
SFAIK, Joe Gordon did not publish company secrets on the Woolamaloo Gazette -- indeed he didn't even identify the branch for which he worked. Occasionally -- as you can see from reading through his archives -- he blew off steam from a bad day at work by indulging in a bit of mild satire. An unpleasant (and unnamed) manager was nicknamed the 'Evil Boss'
a la Dilbert. Waterstones occasionally became Bastardstones. But more usually it's 'my bookstore.' And more often, he's writing about books he loves.
What's really at stake here is freedom of expression.
As Gordon puts it:
Long before full universal suffrage in this country we still had stinging satire (recall those Punch cartoons among many others) - it is an accepted part of our culture and one of the ways individuals have to remind large organisations, be they companies or governments that we too have a voice and a right to use it. People have used satire, sarcasm and humour to make points for centuries. Today that freedom is enshrined in law.
Waterstone's decision to sack Joe Gordon may signify little more than a breathtaking demonstration of corporate stupidity. As Gordon points out, the bad publicity being generated for Waterstones far exceeds that caused by a small, rather obscure (though eminently readable) blog. But if left unchallenged, Waterstone's decision may take on the force of precedent. Must other booksellers now fear to write freely online, lest they also lose their jobs?
For myself, I think there's something pretty heinous in a company snooping on its employees in this way.
And I think it's particularly sick for a bookselling company to be trying to limit freedom of expression. In my opinion, Waterstone's actions have done far more than Joe Gordon ever did to bring the company into disrepute.
That's why this weekend, I'll be heading into the main Manchester branch of Waterstone's, where I've spent more money on books than I like to think about, and explaining to their floor-manager, accompanying letter in hand, why I won't be shopping there again, despite their glorious range and their friendly, helpful booksellers.
If you don't approve of Joe Gordon's sacking, you can let Waterstone's know by dropping them a line at
Waterstone's Booksellers Ltd
Capital Court
Capital Interchange Way
Brentford
Middlesex
TW8 0EX
Since there's the odd U.K. person here, you can also reach then by calling their Head Office at +44 020 8742 3800
The best email info I have is onlineenquires@waterstones.co.uk.
Wanna bet they've already written a form letter about it?
Finally I'm curious -- especially in light of a few diaries I've seen talking about the possibility that the U.S. government may seek to curb online freedom of speech -- have any of you come across examples of employees in the U.S. being sacked or hassled because of their blogging?
Also, what do you make of Gordon's sacking?