A Morgan Stanley software developer who tried to set up an offline social network on his commute to work has been fired after his enterprise was picked up on and reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Solomon Lederer's experiement in human social interaction started last month when he handed out fliers to fellow communters on the New York subway system inviting them to contact him with ideas and advice in setting up an informal and offline underground social movement.
The Wall Street Journal's Metropolitan Blog got hold of one of the fliers and ran a piece in which they interviewed Lederer about his idea, contrasting it with online social networks, and mentioned his job as a Morgan Stanley employee.
According to Lederer, a week after the story appeared he was hauled before a company director and told that he'd "exhibited poor judgement" in contravening the company's corporate comms policy on speaking to the media. He said he believed the matter was closed, until later in the week, when he was formally dismissed.
Morgan Stanley says the young idealist was not fired for talking to the press, but has refused to disclose any other reason for his termination.
Deal Book suggests Lederer was fired for 'poor judgement', "not so much for the story, but for talking to strangers on the subway and weirding them out by saying things like,
"I could walk your dog, or organize your closet..." - even if it was well-intentioned."
Who knows? maybe one of his new undergound 'friends' will offer the man a job.