The PR guru and longtime correspondent Fraser Seitel has a good piece today at Ragan.com self-explanatorily titled, "Like your PR job? Then keep your Twitter trap shut."
Lamenting the fate of several PR pros who have recently Tweeted their jobs away, Sad & Wise Seitel elaborates:
"… you want to keep your job, especially in the practice of public relations, then you must subordinate your right to tweet or blog to the interests of your client. If what you would like to tweet or blog won’t reflect well on your client, then you simply shouldn’t do it—unless, of course, you are willing to part with that portion of your income."
Impossible to disagree with that, but another obvious point goes unmade: The foolproof way to avoid saying something that would cross your client is to find clients whose interests generally don't disagree with your beliefs and whose brand matches your communication style.
Find clients whose interest generally don’t disagree with my beliefs – that is going to be tough since not a single US company that I know supports the 6-week vacation policy of Eupoean companies. But I have not stopped searching.
Mike, you’re going to have to come to work for Murray’s Freelance Writing.
We’re all about naps and mid-day workouts, too.
We start work at 6:30 a.m., and we occasionally work until 2:00 a.m. (though admittedly, that work is often done in the tavern).
During the work day, we’re expected to switch laundry, fight with our mortgage company, tell short dummies how to spell “excited” and other simple words, and take the dog out.
And our vacations aren’t really vacations, more like death marches to the ends of the earth and back.
Are you up for it?
David: If shooting hoops is also part of the workday, I am in.
Hoops Tuesdays and Thursdays, running Mondays and Fridays, sparring on Wednesdays.
I hate to ask, but does any part of the word freelance describe the pay at this job?
Yes, Mike. At the end of every year of unpaid service, each employee receives a sword.
A sword. Now that makes it tempting. I am afraid I might fall on it so I will have to pass this year. Maybe next year.