Apparently, employers who lurk around MySpace is yesterday’s news.  In USA Today this week, Stephanie Armour reports on employees who making videos of the workplace and posting them on well-trafficked Internet sites like YouTube.  Some companies consider this a PR crisis, while others view it as an opportunity.  The majority, however, are concerned that vehicles like YouTube will be used to  reveal company trade secrets or embarrassing employee behavior to an online audience of millions.

One of Armour’s subjects is uber-defense contractor Lockheed Martin.  An engineer, Michael De Kort, posted a video in which he claimed some patrol boats the company had delivered were defective.  He told USA Today that he posted the video after getting no response to his concerns from the company. After the video went up, De Kort was immediately fired. He is now seeking to create a Web site where employee whistle-blowers can post similar videos.

Now folks, in case you were wondering, posting job-related videos on a site like YouTube is NOT a good idea.  I’ve never understood the psychology of whistle-blowers to begin with (how many companies are committing such gross injustices that an individual feels compelled to sacrifice the future of his career and financial well-being?), but the fact that technology like YouTube is making it so easy for people to rat out their companies is pretty scary.  You might post a video as an innocent joke designed to get a few laughs around the water cooler, and the next thing you know, you’ll be paying a lawyer to defend your actions – out of your unemployment check.

The Internet is a great tool for free speech – I get that.  And if you have to get out your workplace frustrations by ranting anonymously on a bulletin board, then so be it.  But the complications that could arise from posting a homemade video on the Web are too numerous to count.  Don’t do it to be funny, because your company’s PR and legal folks won’t see the humor in the situation.  And don’t do it to get even, because your company is bigger and has deeper pockets than you – and you will lose.  If you feel that you must report an ethical violation, do it in the privacy of an HR executive’s office.  Don’t ever be tempted to make this type of statement.  It’s just not worth it.