Today we look at the world of technology PR, and discuss what the most important trends in terms of the digital will be during 2010. This is the area of communications most suited to embracing all things online, and many early adopters of new social technologies fall within this group. But is it really all about the applications, or is changing the way people think still going to be more important?

Chris Reed, Managing Partner at Brew, believes it will be the latter, saying that 2010 is not so much about how tech PRs use digital, but how PR fits into the corporate structure. “Every online member of staff is now an online PR. Social media policies will become much more widespread (and difficult to enforce) and being a good tech PR becomes less about the timing of announcements and more about how best to let others – both inside your company and outside – tell your stories for you.”

Jon Silk, senior digital strategist at Waggener Edstrom also picked up on this point. “The main change we’re seeing is the crossover of consumer and B2B comms. While previous marketing has been segmented, digital channels – particularly social media – have turned the audience, once nicely partitioned, into one homogenous blob. As a business buyer, you’re probably on Twitter or LinkedIn, and you’re just as likely to use them for personal reasons are you are to go fact finding or make purchasing decisions. In 2010 strategies will shift quickly.”

Both Silk and Reed also spoke about the best professionals being able to lead the blurring of structures within a company, which contrasted with some of the views of Jennifer Janson, Managing Director at Six Degrees, who sees increased segmentation becoming more apparent. Her main thoughts however, leaned towards the ability to communicate directly with specific audiences. “We think there are going to be some exciting developments around engagement within social networks in 2010. Particularly with the growth of influential online groups, we are convinced that brands will better engage with these groups in a way that makes commercial sense, but also offers compelling and topical content to social network users.”

Daljit Bhurji,  Managing Director of Diffusion, talked about one such way to achieve this kind of engagement by talking us through a personal insight into the mobile web. “My local Curry’s on Boxing Day was a busy place, which bodes well for the retail sales. But what really struck me during the visit was the number of people who were online while shopping. The proliferation of smart-phones is giving consumers the power to instantly price-check technology products, but just as importantly to quickly source customer reviews. A huge amount of spend on technology products is still conducted on the High Street, so the challenge for brands is to be aware that online information is no longer just being consumed in the home or at work but also on the move.”

Social media, video content and the mobile space are not the be all and end all, but all are changing the media landscape. Technology PRs have a natural advantage in terms of understanding this ecosystem and can therefore become connectors between teams within a company, as well as customers to a brand. As Silk finished by saying, as tech PR tracks consumer preference, it’s going to boost creativity and surprise in technology campaigns – which can only be a good thing.