By Chris Lee

While the ongoing decline of the print media is not news, the influence of online news, blogs, social media and other means of sourcing information requires some analysis to put them into context. According to a study unveiled this month of IT managers, most company IT bosses prefer to get their technology news and information via online publications and blogs, with print magazines playing less of a role.

Two thirds (64 per cent) of the 300 UK-based IT managers surveyed by tech marketing consultancy CloudNine PR said they found online news and news blogs either ‘very useful’ or ‘useful’. Industry-specific blogs were also popular but interestingly just one in five (20 per cent) said they found Twitter useful, less than business social network LinkedIn.

Human touch

According to Uday Radia, managing director of CloudNine PR, many IT executives still have a healthy cynicism towards the information they are consuming, with just half (50 per cent) agreeing or strongly agreeing with the notion that having more sources of industry information has actually made it easier to find information they can trust.

The rising influence of specialist bloggers presents a challenge for digital marketers, Radia added.

"The fact that independent IT blogs are now so influential may present a challenge,” he told NMK. “Many bloggers will not tolerate poorly targeted marketing approaches. And you have to respect that some of them just don't want to be pitched by companies.  There's a lot of research and thinking involved before you approach a blogger.”

Despite the growing influence of online news, blogs and social networks, the value of face-to-face communication should not be ignored, Radia warned.

"Trade shows and events came in at numbers three and five in our list of ways IT bosses find useful for staying informed. It's definitely not all about online and digital," he concluded.   

The key methods UK IT chiefs find 'useful' or 'very useful' for keeping up-to-date on IT industry developments include:

1              Online publications (64 per cent)
2              IT blogs (52 per cent)
3              Trade shows (50 per cent)
4              Printed publications (47 per cent)
5              Vendor Events (44 per cent)
6              IT Analyst blogs (40 per cent)
7              IT analyst events (38 per cent)
8              Vendor emails (31 per cent), LinkedIn (31 per cent)  
9              Twitter (20 per cent)
10            YouTube (19 per cent)
11            Facebook (13 per cent)
12            SlideShare (12 per cent)