eHarmony Blog.com

Question

There are a few discussions in this blog that I’d like to participate in. However, I’m an eHarmony employee and I want to be sure my contribution won’t jeopardize my employment. What would be your suggestion?

Answer

Your question is much more relevant today because we are currently hosted on United States jurisdiction. All it takes is a local court order to our interim hosting company and the hosting company would give out the IP addresses and the email addresses you used in your contributions. Yes, we know that the blog is in a risky state right now, and, that said, we are doing our best to remedy the situation as quickly as we can. (As you know, your company also runs business in the United Kingdom, so it became equally risky being hosted there, as we were for a couple of years.)

Nonetheless, do not let this stop you from writing about eHarmony, in this site or elsewhere. There are many ways to preserve your privacy and protect your identity. The Electronic Frontier Foundation published must-read advice on this topic. Here is an excerpt:

Here we offer a few simple precautions to help you maintain control of your personal privacy so that you can express yourself without facing unjust retaliation. If followed correctly, these protections can save you from embarrassment or just plain weirdness in front of your friends and coworkers. …

1. Use a Pseudonym and Don’t Give Away Any Identifying Details

When you write about your workplace, be sure not to give away telling details. These include things like where you’re located, how many employees there are, and the specific sort of business you do. Even general details can give away a lot. If, for example, you write, “I work at an unnamed weekly newspaper in Seattle,” it’s clear that you work in one of two places. So be smart. Instead, you might say that you work at a media outlet in a mid-sized city. Obviously, don’t use real names or post pictures of yourself. And don’t use pseudonyms that sound like the real names they’re based on–so, for instance, don’t anonymize the name “Annalee” by using the name “Leanne.” And remember that almost any kind of personal information can give your identity away–you may be the only one at your workplace with a particular birthday, or with an orange tabby.

Also, if you are concerned about your colleagues finding out about your blog, do not blog while you are at work. Period. You could get in trouble for using company resources like an Internet connection to maintain your blog, and it will be very hard for you to argue that the blog is a work-related activity. It will also be much more difficult for you to hide your blogging from officemates and IT operators who observe traffic over the office network.

2. Use Anonymizing Technologies

There are a number of technical solutions for the blogger who wishes to remain anonymous. …

If you are worried that your blog-hosting service may be logging your unique IP address and thus tracking what computer you’re blogging from, you can use the anonymous network Tor to edit your blog. Tor routes your Internet traffic through what’s called an “overlay network” that hides your IP address. More importantly, Tor makes it difficult for snoops on the Internet to follow the path your data takes and trace it back to you.

For people who want something very user-friendly, Anonymizer.com offers a product called “Anonymous Surfing,” which routes your Internet traffic through an anonymizing server and can hide your IP address from the services hosting your blog.

Be sure to read the “Blog Without Getting Fired” section of the above-mentioned resource http://www.eff.org/wp/blog-safely.

Your rights

The UK government and the State of California offer legal protection and procedures to employees who blog about their employers.

• The UK government page on the protection of whistleblowers (such as from unfair dismissal): http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/DG_10026552
• A Whistleblower’s guide to California’s False Claims Act: http://quitamguide.com/california-false-claims-act-12650-12655

Still unconvinced?

Why eHarmony Blog is the #1 place for eHarmony staff to write for

• Key industry experts read us daily via RSS, Twitter and Facebook. Your post will get appropriate, relevant and immediate industry and media attention.
• Representatives of other dating sites and services read us regularly as well.
• Your post’s title appears #1 in Google search results in just a few hours.
• eHarmony Blog is committed to protecting the identities of our contributors.
• We will do our best to receive, welcome and publish your contribution.

For more information, including how to contact us, read our About eHarmony Blog page.