Losing a laptop doesn’t seem like front-page news, but when its a BP executive who lost one with the records of some 13,000 people with claims arising from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the story changed.  But the story isn’t just about the absent-minded at best, shabby at worst behavior of the petroleum giant.  It is that when it comes to identity theft, it is not all the Internet’s fault.

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This morning’s New York Times carried word of fresh outrage over the collection of personal information.  In this instance, Deutsche Telekom was outed by a German Green Party politician who discovered the mobile carrier tracks and stores his every move.  To paraphrase the classic line of dialog from “Casablanca,” he was shocked, shocked to find data being collected.  He shouldn’t have been, but the fault is not his, it is Deutsche Telekom’s.

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The conflicting yet co-existing anxiety and enthusiasm in support of expanded Internet territory – those new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) we have heard so much about – may be misplaced. If the economic reports commissioned by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN are to be believed (nod, nod, wink, wink), top level domains fall flat because they are either too tightly defined (.museum?) or lightly marketed (.aero?).

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No business has been as disrupted by the disruptive technology represented by the Internet as much as journalism.  A recent report suggests the trend may have slowed, but only when pegged against the 13,500 newsroom jobs lost in the last four years.  Everyone should hope that journalism’s late embrace of digital distribution can turn that tide.

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A conversation with a long-time professional colleague and sometimes client, confirmed the essential link between who we are and how effectively we communicate.  This holds not just for people, but for companies, too.

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Recent executive changes at Hill and Knowlton prompted a blog post from Steve Cody, a former staffer at the agency who now runs his own.  No doubt, the public relations business has seen a fair bit of turmoil in the last 25 years — some technological, some economic but a lot of it was self-inflicted.  But the patient lives and may soon be up and around.

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PRWeek has just released its list of the top ten technology stories in 2010 carried in the trade publication.  It is understandable that the list would reflect PRWeek’s focus on accounts, executives and program successes or failures.  But even a cursory review of the publication over the course of the last year reveals a list of other stories that will have even longer-lasting effect on the public relations business.

1.  The rise of the smartphone app.  Led by the iPhone, the link between consumers and the companies they trust is embedded in a represented by a simple “tap.”  It will be essential for public relations to develop such connections for their clients.

2.  Privacy as a product attribute.  The primary focus was on Facebook’s changes and Google’s Street View, but the growing scrutiny from governments in the U.S. and elsewhere is evidence that as much as form factor, speed and design, privacy needs to be built in to products and promoted to consumers.

3. Success has many parents, failure is an orphan.  This story really isn’t really new, but Google’s Nexus One cellphone made it fresh.  In an attempt to unilaterally remake the way mobile phones are sold, Google overlooked the need to build and nurture the kind of ecosystem that is essential for success.

4. New ground rules emerge for dealing with the media — especially if you are the media.  When Techcrunch and Fortune got into a row over whose excerpt of David Kirkpatrick’s book, “The Facebook Effect,” was longer, they eliminated the last vestiges of collaborative niceties that used to underscore embargoes, exclusives and background briefings.  For public relations people, not only is there no news cycle, there is no time to think.  It has to be right, right away.

5. Net neutrality rules create business model arbitrage.  Whether the rules proposed by the federal government will ever be implemented, they usher in a new era of network management that will affect the ability of companies to maximize their reach, product availability, customer service and revenue.

6.  New gTLDs are set to expand the landscape of the World Wide Web.  The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers — ICANN — is about to begin taking applications for hundreds of new top level domains — the registry of names akin to .com, .net and .co.  Canon has already said it will apply for .canon.  It will either be a boon to customer loyalty or a loss leader.  It will be up to marketing and communications to help tell the tale.

7. Streaming movies.  For Netflix, 2010 was a breakout year.  In moving from the ubiquitous red mailing envelopes to streaming movies to almost any Internet-connected device (think Xbox), it spelled the end of video rental stores.  It also is remaking the relationship between the studios and all distribution companies — and those that aspire to be.  For communications professionals, it will be important to understand which industries are next.

8. Tech spending increases in Washington, D.C.  As government increases its oversight of technology companies, most are learning now what Microsoft learned nearly 15 years ago — being active in the Nation’s Capital is as essential as spending on research & development.  Public affairs and public relations are important tools for delivering on the lessons learned.

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One of the leading trade press venues for public relations is Jack O’Dwyer’s newsletter, magazine and website.  It carried a recent commentary on how making a commitment to privacy can be a competitive advantage.

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The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN (“eye-can”) has a hard-to-remember name and a easy-to-overlook mission.  It is to “coordinate, at the overall level, the global Internet’s systems of unique identifiers; and ensure the stable and secure operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems.”  This has just been restated in the organization’s draft strategic plan.

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The Federal Trade Commission has issued its long-awaited report on consumer privacy, its findings summed up well by Commissioner Jon Leibowitz.  He said: “We deserve far better.”

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