Is your tech life suffering at home?

If you're a neophyte like myself and countless others in this day and age, the answer is probably yes. In the days before I had to have the newest electronic device or the latest phone capability, life seemed to be much simpler. But, given that those days are very much over, I am compelled now to receive information however I can get it.

What's that mean? It means that I can access a news story online, through an RSS feed, on my mobile phone, in an email alert, possibly in a videocast or podcast...and the list goes on and on. In the new media PR world, it means that we have that much more research to do in locating coverage for our clients, but there seems to be somewhat of a disconnect in how we can achieve that level of client satisfaction at home, versus in the office.

With all these new ways to access news for clients, companies --for the most part-- are still functioning at a controlled and highly apprehensive level. The point is, we as consumers and professionals have more at our fingertips outside the office than inside.

Now, that's not to say that companies are blind to the information revolution. There are obvious security issues that arise when allowing employees to use different technologies like IM or RSS, but that's a whole other issue. Those of us communicators who rely on new media and want to use new consumer technologies may have to wait a considerable amount of time before they're allowed in the office, but I think we're on a collision course with the future. The time for companies to open the doors, at least partially, is now.