HR Nightmare - Web 2.0 Meets Layoffs...

There's nothing cool about layoffs.  Whether you are an impacted employee or an HR person charged with holding meetings, there's not much positive to be found.

Leave it to Web 2.0 to liven up layoffs.  Or to take it to the next level of desperation.  All depends on your perspective.

Ryan Kuder lost his job at Yahoo on Tuesday. He was senior manager of integrated campaign strategy at Yahoo.   The Web 2.0 twist?   He Twittered how he was feeling throughout his last day.

For my 1.0 friends, Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send "updates" (or "tweets"; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via short message service, instant messaging, or a third-party application such as Twitterrific.

Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and instantly delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them.

Ryan apparently loves Twitter, because he Twittered throughout the day he was laid-off.  I don't know whether to laugh or cry, but I'm erring with the mantra "transparency is good".  From the rundown at Valleywag:

"Lots of whispered conversations. Like people are afraid to ask who's gone. about 4 hours ago

Dear Blackberry, What great times we had. I'll miss you. At least until tonight when I stop on my way home and buy an iPhone. Love, Me about 4 hours ago

Oh...and my badge. He's going to take that too. Will I be able to get a latte for the road still? about 4 hours ago

I'm going dark in a few minutes. The HR guy is on his way over to confiscate my laptop. about 4 hours ago

Last free triple non-fat latte from Beantrees. Sniff. about 3 hours ago

Signing off from Yahoo!. Fade to black... about 3 hours ago

Celebrating unemployment with a giant margarita at Chevy's. 5 minutes ago"

Comments

[Paul Hebert]

I saw that yesterday and thought the same thing - laugh or cry? While I like the concept of transparency it has its negatives.

Twitter (and its ilk) are double-edge swords. Imagine you get Ryan's resume tomorrow - you saw his tweets so now you know as much about Ryan's reactions as everyone else knows about Yahoo's layoffs.

All this new fangled 2.0 stuff is seems cool and somewhat subversive as long as the "establishment" doesn't know about it. Unfortunately for some of these folks, the establishment is rapidly being filled by people that use these services.

Once that happens, all this transparency will get a bit more opaque.

[HR Wench]

Ew, I hate Chevy's.

[Kris Dunn]

Paul -

Agree with your thoughts - as the establishment types become more aware of the 2.0 tracks people lay down, it will all come back to judgement and whether people can use the new media to add value....

Thanks - KD