Professionals 2.0. Are professionals using new social networking technologies?

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1 Professionals 2.0 Are professionals using new social networking technologies? PARN Fast Facts Member Networks Research 2009

2 Content 01 Foreword 02 Usage of internet & social networking sites 04 Top social media sites used for work & leisure 06 Importance of social media sites 07 Anonymity & communities 08 Respondent demographics 09 Conclusion

3 Foreword It may be last year s most used word, but do professionals give a Tweet about Twitter? Facebook now boasts 350 million active users. Wikipedia hit the 3 million article mark in August Twitter prepares itself for a billion searches per day in There s no doubt that Web 2.0 is being used, but the tantalising question of by who? has never been wholly answered. There have been studies on usage by the general public, on groups of interest such as the young or disadvantaged, but what about the average professional the engineer, the lawyer, the dentist who just finished filling your teeth? In 2009, the Professional Associations Research Network (PARN) embarked on an ambitious research project gathering the views of thousands of professionals on social networking technologies. In this Fast Facts report, we present a selection of our findings from data collected on 7,338 professionals use and perception of Web 2.0. The research sought to understand how today s professionals are really engaging with these technologies, with a particular interest in how these technologies translate from the home to work environment. We were surprised to find a rather low take-up amongst professionals; perhaps this is a function of their age, or, more interestingly, an indication that the general hype about Web 2.0 is miscalculated. It could be simply that businesses and membership organisations are failing to engage professionals because they have yet to demonstrate to them the value of social networking in a professional context. Whatever the explanation, these statistics raise interesting questions for businesses and other organisations considering the value of these technologies. Sarah Ellis Research Project Leader Andy Friedman Director PARN

4 Usage of internet & social networking sites How often do professionals use the internet and where do they access it? How often do you use the internet? For leisure/non-work To support your work 0 Several times a day Daily Weekly Monthly or less Never *percentages based on 6,863 responses for leisure/non-work and 6,768 responses to support your work Means of accessing the internet from most to least common: 1. Home computer (98% often or sometimes) 2. Work computer (94% often or sometimes) 3. Mobile phone (36% often or sometimes) 4. Internet café/library (35% often or sometimes) 5. Mobile device e.g. a Blackberry/PDA (28% often or sometimes) *percentages based on 6852, 6666, 5465, 5469 and 5371 responses respectively PARN

5 What activities do professionals use the internet for? Only 28% of professionals use the Internet to share knowledge to support their work Researching and learning (including continuing professional development) To support your work For leisure/nonwork 84% 51% ing 81% 84% Searching for information (e.g. train times) 76% 86% Reading news (e.g. RSS news feeds) 41% 59% Shopping (from books to travel) 30% 79% 28% 33% Sharing knowledge (e.g. updating Wikipedia, writing blogs, commenting on websites and forums) Accessing media (e.g. video, photos, music, etc.) 27% 64% Instant Messaging 16% 29% Banking 15% 73% Networking (e.g. Facebook, bebo, LinkedIn) 15% 46% Sharing media (e.g. video, photos, music, etc.) 15% 44% 15% 28% Phone and video over-internet communication (e.g. Skype) *percentages based on 7,169 responses Except for researching and learning (including continuing professional development), the internet is used to perform these activities more frequently for leisure than work. ing, searching for information (e.g. train times) and shopping (from books to travel) are among the top activities performed for both work and leisure. Web 2.0 activities and social networking are amongst the least frequently performed for both leisure and work. PARN

6 Top social media sites used for work & leisure Top 10 social media sites used for leisure 1. Wikipedia (79%) 2. YouTube (66%) 3. Facebook (51%) 4. Other Wikis (44%) 5. Individuals blogs (42%) 6. National media blogs (41%) 7. Photo-sharing sites (29%) 8. Friends Reunited (28%) 9. Flickr (24%) 10. LinkedIn (22%) *percentages based on an average of 6,445 responses (ranging from 6338 to 6744), and indicate professionals who use these sites at least monthly. Twitter is NOT among the top 10 sites used for leisure. 87% of respondents stated they NEVER use Twitter for leisure. PARN

7 Top 10 social media sites used for work 1. Wikipedia (66%) 2. Other wikis (33%) 3. Individuals' blogs (26%) = 3 National media blogs (26%) 4. YouTube (19%) 5. LinkedIn (16%) 6. Facebook (14%) 7. Photo-sharing sites (7%) 8. Twitter (6%) =8 Flickr (6%) =8 Delicious (6%) 9. Other (4%) 10.Music-sharing sites (3%) *percentages based on an average of 6,506 responses (ranging from 6228 to 6615), and indicate professionals who visit these sites at least monthly. Wikipedia, other wikis, individuals blogs, national media blogs, YouTube and Facebook are the top social media sites used both for leisure and work. These sites are also amongst those that are used several times a day or daily for both leisure and work. Overall social media sites are used more frequently for leisure than for work. Wikipedia is by far the social media site most used for both work and leisure. PARN

8 Importance of social media sites How important are social media sites to professionals? 58% of professionals rate social media sites as NOT AT ALL IMPORTANT in supporting their work For leisure/non-work To support your work *percentages based on 6774 responses for leisure and 6714 for to support your work The importance of social networking sites both for leisure and work was on average rated in the region of not important (2), though the rating was lower for work than for leisure (1.9 compared with 2.3). PARN

9 Anonymity & communities Do professionals care who they re networking with? How important to you is being able to post/comment anonymously? For leisure/non-work To support your work *percentages based on 6,707 responses for leisure/non-work and 6,658 responses to support your work How important is it that you have some knowledge of the people you are interacting with online? For leisure/non-work To support your work *percentages based on 6,676 responses for leisure/non-work and 6,619 responses to support your work PARN

10 Respondent demographics Who are these professionals? Gender Female 41% Male 59% The survey collected data from 7,338 professionals from 26 professional bodies 24 in the UK, 1 in Canada and 1 in Australia. For a full list of participating professional bodies, see Appendix A. *percentages based on 6509 responses Age Under 25 3% Over 60 11% % % % % *percentages based on 6644 responses PARN

11 Conclusion So if the professionals aren t using it, why should businesses? Anything that gets invented after you re thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it until it s been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really. Douglas Adams, On the face of it this low take up by professionals is surprising. However, PARN believes that social media is here to stay and that for younger generations it is an indispensible part of their lives. So to conclude from the results of this survey that social networking is not required by professionals is to ignore both the new generation of professionals and to miss the opportunities that the Web 2.0 technologies offer businesses and membership organisations in communication and delivery of services. Low take up may be a function of a lack of understanding among professionals of how social media can function in the work environment. Through our research focus groups, we noticed a predominant feeling among professionals that social networking should not cross the line between leisure and work: I don t accept invites from work colleagues. I would have issues about colleagues seeing my private Facebook. (PARN Focus Group 2009) We believe these facts from our research will be of interest to the general public, and add to the body of knowledge that exists on the real implications and use of Web 2.0. This data will also inform a comprehensive publication and event on 24 March 2010, focusing specifically on how membership organisations can make use of this information and the general benefits and challenges these technologies present. More information on further development of this research can be found at PARN

12 About PARN The Professional Associations Research Network (PARN) is a fast growing member-led organisation providing a research enriched network for professional bodies. We have around 130 members in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and Kenya, and offer specialist knowledge-based services and events on subjects such as governance, CPD, ethics and standards and member relations. Visit for further information.

13 Appendix A List of professional bodies participating in PARN Member Networks research Organisation Association for Project Management (APM) Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Association of International Accountants (AIA) Association of University Administrators (AUA) Australian Institute of Radiography (AIR) British Association for Women in Policing (BAWP) British Computer Society (BCS) British Dental Association (BDA) British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors (CIEA) Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) General Teaching Council of England (GTCE) Institute for Archaeologists (IfA) Institute of Careers Guidance (ICG) Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC) Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT) Society and College of Radiographers (SOR) Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) Society of Indexers (SI) Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM) For more queries on the research, PARN s methodology or the publication, contact PARN Research Project Leader Sarah Ellis by sarah@parnglobal.com or telephone