We like to think we’re forward thinking, don’t we? I’m mean, just look at us all Tweeting away as if we’ve used it all our lives.  We’ve even managed to master scanning to email direct from the new printer

But there was uproar all around Speed Towers yesterday when we found out that our beloved tube map had been changed!

Oh yes, we love our innovation and gadgets…but don’t mistake that for us liking change. Luckily for us, it would seem the mayor is rethinking his actions  if the @MayorofLondon Twitter feed is to be believed. We may be able to sleep soundly once again.

We can only hope people, we can only hope.

The news today has been focused on privacy with calls to shut down Google’s new Street View service and for websites to ban Phorm.

We’re in a funny place right now. On the one hand we’re using the internet to share information about ourselves and build networks using tools like Twitter and Facebook, yet when the choice is taken away from us about what we share – like Facebook allowing Google to have access to users information and Street View clearly showing faces and registration plates on cars – then we are not so happy.

However, as @Wadds pointed out on Twitter this morning, Google holds far more potent data about each of us in its search history than just an unpixelated face – why aren’t people concerned about this?

This is certainly going to be an interesting time for both Phorm and Google and the way these cases play out will no doubt set a precedent for future technology developments that require user information to function.

At the end of February one story dominated the news – a young girl was sacked from her job after she complained her job was “boring” on her Facebook page. This stirred up a debate, not only between users and non-users of Facebook, but amongst managers in business of all kinds. Of course this isn’t the first time opinion expressed on technology has led to a sacking.

Ellen Simonetti was fired from Delta Airlines after posting suggestive pictures of herself in her uniform on her blog. Whilst Mark Jen speculated about his employer, Google’s finances.

It’s not just employees’ social media interaction that companies have to consider. Technology and legislation have also led to organisations offering more flexible working options and they therefore have more remote workers to manage.

At Speed we’re encouraged to embrace both flexible working and social media, the latter being a key part of our interaction with both the media and our clients, but there are clear guidelines in place.

It’s important that managers set up a viable structure to enable staff to get the most out of new and exciting technologies, without putting their business and reputation at risk.

News reached us at the start of March that Sky is going to appoint a Twitter reporter. Unsurprisingly this has met with a mixed reception with many people likening it to Reuters appointing a Second Life reporter when the platform was hitting the headlines on a regular basis – and then subsequently went pretty quiet.

Jemima Kiss a journalist at the Guardian sums up the appointment. It is Jemima’s last point that really struck a chord “You need a pack of responsive, quick-to-learn journalists who use these tools instinctively.”

This really carries over into tech PR as well. Many companies have chosen to create specialist digital arms of their agencies, with staff who know social media inside out and focus on pushing campaigns through these mediums.

But why limit yourself in this way? A central part of PR is knowing and understanding the media and how it works. That should include emerging media. All staff should know digital inside out and be able to use it effectively and instinctively for the benefit of clients.