Executives erode techno-phobia

12:55 14th October 2008

Senior executives in the UK are increasingly adopting the use of new media in a bid to improve their IT skills, a new survey has revealed.

The poll of 1,087 directors and managers, conducted by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), discovered that despite the current economic climate new media learning is growing in popularity.

The study revealed that 51 per cent of the directors questioned now use online video to develop new skills, while 34 per cent use social networking sites to boost their knowledge and 27 per cent actively seek advice through discussion forums.

Jo Causon, director of marketing and corporate affairs at CMI, believes that these results show that the techno-phobia long associated with online learning is being eroded.

She said: "There are still technical and cultural issues to overcome, but the biggest challenge is whether organisations will seriously examine the powerful tools at their disposal or let their competitors build an advantage."

Despite this, Forrester Research forecasted earlier this week that spending on Web 2.0 applications is set to fall, amid increasing competition and a weak economy.