In this post, I'd like to share my findings for a preliminary study as a partial requirement of a paper to be published. It is related to the use of some popular online tools for business and professional purposes.
Study Approach: I selected 10 active online profiles from my networks. These are the co-networkers whom I established personal trust via a number of correspondence over 12 months. The sample is gender agnostic, representing only English speaking countries (USA, UK, Australia, and New Zealand) with business and professional background. I interviewed these 10 people via Google, MSN, Skype, Yahoo, and Facebook chat tools in an informal way approximately half an hour. I also confirmed some of conflicting and contradictory views via email follow-ups. My key questions were about their current beliefs on Ecademy, Facebook, Google, Linked, Twitter, Yasni and Youtube in terms of the contribution of these tools to their business or profession.
Findings: There were a number of interesting views that I will make available in a paper progressing on these tools. However I'd like to share the key common findings for each online tool related to their profession and business as of 7 April 2010 to validate my findings with a wider sample:
1. Google is the main source of information for their profession and business. They use it everyday.
2. Youtube is secondary source of information for their business. They use it everyday.
3. Twitter has done nothing for their business as yet. However they see it as third important source of information.
4. They all are in Facebook. They believe to have some potential for their profession and business even though they haven't used it for business purpose as yet.
5. Linkedin is seen as a business card or CV collection and they sometimes use it to check some contact references.
6. Ecademy is only known to them by the blogs they saw in Twitter and some email invitations. They have no idea so far how Ecademy can help their profession but they all are interested to explore the possibilities further.
7. Yasni was heard by 4 of them in various online sites but none of them knew its scope and contribution for their profession and business. They all indicated interest to explore the possibilities further.
I have some impressions, perceptions and personal views established based on my experience but what do these findings tell or mean to you? Can you comment on the points you are familiar with? If you prefer your views to be kept confidential; please send me a personal mail linked to my Google profile.
Regards,
Mehmet Yildiz
I agree, the advantage of smaller communities like Yasni or Ecademy is they can be more personal. Like one's favourite bar in a large town, the latter being Facebook.
ReplyDeleteBut we are still at an early stage of this development. It would be interesting to do this poll annually for the next few years to try and establish a trend.
Hello Mehmet,
ReplyDeleteYour preliminary findings don't surprise me at all. You did the right thing by choosing people you knew were active. Even then you get results that show that people are experimenting by investing TIME, on the internet. Very few people can report any strong positive outcome, although what is happening is interesting enough to keep the experiment going.
What we all get from the Internet is new knowledge, about the world, about other people, and about ourselves. We see who we are and we understand better our role in the world, by the way other people respond to what we say. Those of us who keep blogs, who have the confidence to make comments in public forums, are engaged in an online conversation that is transforming the world. However, we are very few. Less than 5% of all those who are online certainly.
There are some useful statistics from my own research here. http://www.ate.co.nz/survey2009.html
The general conclusion is that most people are not yet making extensive use of the internet. There is potential for the Internet to transform individual lives, but 3 email's a day and a Facebook page you visit once a week won't do it.
John,
ReplyDeletequite right - however there is also one other aspect. Established brands using the internet as another marketing channel have an advantage. UK's "Easyjet" is looking at online reservations via Facebook. For me, it shows the enormous power that this platform is beginning to have.
It takes more leg work for non established brands to secure a position in the internet, unless they are in the IT/Entertainment/Youth oriented segment.
Face to face, person to person contact still seems to secure a more lasting impression and lead to sales lead conversions - the internet may make it easier.
But, as you say, we are still at the beginning of this process.