City Council Member Fired for Playing Farmville Game at Work More than 80 million Facebook users are obsessed with Farmville, and one of the more devoted players is Bulgaria's Plovidv City Council member Dimitar Kerin.
During council meetings, Kerin would take advantage of the city hall's laptops and wireless connection to tend to his farm. This caught the attention of the council chair, who many times scolded Kerin for his virtual farming, warning him that the game was not allowed during meetings. Kerin kept on, arguing that he had to catch up with other council members, who achieved higher levels on the game. Kerin pointed out logically that many other members used city hall for their Farmville pleasures, and he cited the fact that one councilman had reached level 46, whereas Kerin was stuck at level 40.
Shockingly, council members voted Kerin off the board in a split 20-19 decision, suggesting that perhaps half the council members in Bulgaria's secondlargest city are committed to the Facebook application. Do you agree with the firing of Dimitar Kerin? Do you agree that it is inappropriate to use social networking applications at work?
If Dimitar Kerin was fired for playing Farmville, should all other council members who use social networking applications at work be fired? Have you ever been reprimanded for playing a game while at school or at work? What could you do differently to ensure this situation does not happen to you?