Social Media Index: Wave IV Survey Results

The 2009 Toolbox.com/PJA IT Social Media Index, Wave IV, was conducted between June 3 and June 17, 2009. The goal of the Wave IV survey was to confirm the ongoing use of social media tools and user-generated content by global IT decision-makers and influencers. Additionally, the survey examined attitudes about vendor participation in online communities among these professionals, as well as the value that they place on emerging communities like Twitter for sharing knowledge and solving problems in the workplace.The survey respondent distribution was 64.6% North America, 12.7% Asia, 14.7% Europe, and 8.0% rest of world.

The survey revealed the following:

-- The majority of executives and professionals value vendor participation in online communities. 34.7% responded that vendors must have a presence in online communities, and 42.0% responded that it is important that vendors listen to their audience and engage in conversation.

--Being transparent and open, posting interesting and relevant content, and responding to members’ questions ranked among the most important contributions that vendors can make in an online community.

--More than 90% of executives and professionals rated topic-based communities and knowledge-sharing communities as most appropriate for vendor participation.

--Among the executives and professionals who use Twitter, more than 72% have less than 50 followers, and 62% described Twitter as becoming more useful for sharing and finding content and expertise.

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