When you put bloggers, business and the sack together you’ve normally got a good story, but has a recent survey from Croner over-exaggerated the risk that blogging employees pose to business and their own job security? 

According to the research from YouGov commissioned by Croner, 39% of employees who have personal blogs are risking the sack by posting sensitive information about their employer, workplace or colleagues. 

Gillian Dowling, technical consultant at Croner, makes some good points about being circumspect:

An employee can be lulled into a false sense of security and sound offs about his bad day at work on a blog without fully considering the impact such a posting may have.

But … what not many in mainstream media appear to have asked, is how many employees are bloggers and therefore how many have actually admitted posting indiscreetly about their employer?

The BBC, which covered the story first suggests wrongly that 2,000 bloggers were interviewed.  The stats that I’ve seen from Croner show that only 8% (185) of a sample of 2,315 said they had a blog. 

Therefore only just over one in three of that 8% admitted posting anything sensitive that could get them the sack.  If my maths is correct, that’s just 72 our of a total of 185.  Hardly a statistically valid sample on which to base a story. 

Rule 101 of PR-led surveys - always check the sample.  Unless of course the facts get in the way of a good story!