According to a recently released study by PR agency Creamer Dickson Basford, nearly half of Internet users doubt the reliability of the information they come across on the World Wide Web.
And for PR practitioners testing the Internet as a communications medium, that's worth jotting down.
The study, which was conducted by CDB Research and Consulting Inc., Boston, shows that although professionals are becoming more familiar with online technology and its capabilities, 47 percent "fear" that the information they come across isn't reliable.
That finding was based on telephone interviews conducted during the last week of November 1996 when 500 adults were questioned about their reliance on the Internet.
But the findings also show that when people go online, they tend to do so frequently: Forty-four percent of respondents reported going online everyday.
The challenge for communicators is to figure out what kinds of professionals are prone to trust the Internet as a primary source for information.
And they'll also have to decide whether or not people will turn to the online world to access the information - press releases, product launches, crisis services, brand campaigns and financial data - that PR professionals are charged with releasing on a day-to-day basis.
Other findings were:
- The average Internet user is more likely to be male than female and between the ages of 35 and 44 (62 percent male versus 38 percent female);
- Almost half (48 percent) of Internet users have at least a college education;
- Eight out of 10 users (83 percent) are employed; and
The majority (53 percent) of those employed earn over $55,000 per year and are likely to own their own home (73 percent). (Creamer Dickson Basford, 617/467-1519)