28 January 2007

Office Gossip Mill

I would have thought that as I quit my job to prepare for this move back at the end of August that I would no longer be involved in the Office Gossip.

This weekend I found out that I was wrong.

It all started a few months ago, shortly before we left Kansas City. I started to notice some unusual hits and keyword searches on my StatCounter. One person spent more than an hour searching my blog for a few different words in multiple combinations. I noticed that all of these hits were coming from an IP address I identified as my former place of employment.

Huh.

I mentioned it to a couple of friends who still work there. None of us could figure out why this would happen. We then forgot all about it.

But I did notice that periodically the searches would happen again, either from an office IP address or from another Kansas City internet provider. However, I didn't pay much attention because what did it matter to me?

This weekend a friend told me that she had just heard what this was all about. Apparently there is a rumor going around that I had blogged some gossip about an individual with whom I used to work. She was astounded to hear it and told the person who told her that it simply was not true. But they insisted that it was true, even though they never actually saw it or even read my blog at any stage. My friend has now heard the same rumor from other people as well.

This amazes me for a couple of reasons.

Anybody who actually reads my blog would know that I have never mentioned my former place of employment in any way, shape or form. Indeed, I've been careful to not mention either my former job or my husband's current job because that is not what this blog is about. And besides, people get in serious trouble for that kind of thing. Just ask those bloggers who have been fired for it!

At my going away party for work I told anybody who wanted to be notified when my blog was up and running to put their name on a list. The individual I supposedly gossiped about was one of those people. Why would I then post gossip about them knowing they may read it? Really not logical.

And most importantly, I've been exceptionally busy for the last few months and very much focused first on moving preparations then on settling into our new life. I didn't have time to care about what might be going on where I once worked, much less blog about it!

Ah well. Such is life. People will talk about what they choose, regardless of facts or truth. In the end, it doesn't matter.

But it is still very, very strange.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Office gossip sucks. So glad you called that one!

Global Librarian said...

Thanks, Beth.

I have to admit that I'm a bit hurt by this. People who know me, know that I am a very direct and open person. I do not talk maliciously about people behind their backs.

Anonymous said...

Don't know if this has anything to do with it, Gretchen, but I did use you as an example of a blogger for our Library 2.0 project we are doing for Staff Day (introducing people to blogs, Runescape, and a few other things). So, more people are aware of your blog... I hope that didn't cause the rumor, but if so, mea culpa.

Global Librarian said...

No worries, Angie. More people reading the blog would only help to dispel the rumors. Not a lick of malicious gossip to be seen!

Just our day to day life and what we are experiencing in Switzerland.