Despite the hype surrounding 'Web 2.0', calls for the demise of print publications may have been a little premature, as print remains the information source of choice for electronics engineers.
This is a conclusion from a worldwide survey run by CMP Technology's Electronics Group, which found that electronics engineers rely on four core forms of media for their information needs, with print the beating heart:
Print continues to be one of the most widely used formats in all markets, regions and age groups for three reasons: credibility, readability and news analysis.
Alongside print, engineers make heavy use of publication websites, vendor websites and search engines.
The tight inter-relationships among these "Core 4" is what makes these types of media so powerful
Beyond these four key sources of information, formats such as email, events, white papers and Webinars are gaining ground, particularly when allied around the Core 4, said CMP.
For the younger engineers - those under the age of 35 - Web 2.0 media formats (blogs, mash-ups etc) are beginning to gain ground in some regions.
There's more information (for a price presumably) from Christian Fahlen, group manager of business strategy at CMP Technology, at cfahlen@cmp.com
Comments (2)
Richard, we also recently completed the same type of survey and found that fab engineers still prefer technical content in print format by a big margin. The web has become an important part of news and general state of the industry info gathering though. Though the credibility issue was not significant for our readers, author/contributors placed print credibility as a key element in preferring print over the web.
Mark
Editor-in-Chief, Semiconductor Fabtech
Posted by Mark Osborne | March 15, 2007 1:03 PM
Posted on March 15, 2007 13:03
Yep - some good points Mark. My view is that there's just so much dross and plainly inaccurate crap on the Internet that everything gets tainted.
It's a shame, because the web has so much more to offer than it currently provides.
Rich
Posted by Bally | March 15, 2007 4:30 PM
Posted on March 15, 2007 16:30