Oh dear, Pc Rob Ward – what a silly boy you’ve been…

Among the variety of Facebook fuelled stories in the media over the past few years, I’ve now seen all three emergency services, the Army, MPs and banks stung by investigative ’social network’ journalism.

Do people and businesses not realise how easy it is to find information about themselves or their staff on the web?!

Granted, Pc Ward may have taken the necessary security measures and the Met may have even advised him to do so – but it seems that where there’s a will there’s a way when it comes to social networks and finding information, pictures or video.

Whether they get to you under a hoax name, or through a friend, or by bribing a follower – they’ll get you. And hats off to them.

But not everyone hack is there yet, in fact, the other day I had a journalist call me and ask  for a picture of an ex-client. Once I’d done my due diligence I said I’d look for it and send it through. I couldn’t find it in the end but suggested, seeing as he was at the end of his tether, that he looked him up on LinkedIn.

Five minutes later he emailed me: “Thanks. I would never had thought of that – way too new age. Brilliant!”

As with him, I am all for new age journalism – just hope it does not bite me one day…