Latest News › PARN Member Networks Fast Facts report

PARN's Member Networks Fast Facts report, "Professionals 2.0: Are professionals using new social networking technologies?", presents a selection of our findings from data collected on 7,338 professionals' use and perception of Web 2.0.

PARN's research on social networking sought to understand how today's professionals are really engaging with these technologies. We were surprised to find a rather low take-up amongst professionals - 87% stated they had never used Twitter. 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 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 organisations considering the value of these technologies.

This data is only a part of PARN's larger research on Member Networks, which will inform an event, The Future of Member Networks, on 24 March and a book, to be released at the event, on how membership organisations can use these technologies effectively. The event and book will further analyse the data collected in PARN's survey of professionals, as well as explore its implications for membership organisations.

Posted on 02 Feb 2010