The value of free, online

A recent study by Forbes Insights in association with Google has found evidence of the Internet’s growing importance as an information resource for business executives (Rise of the Digital C-Suite).

The ‘C-Suite’ in question, if you don’t already know, comprises the most senior executives in a company (i.e. suits with a C-word in their title. No, not that one-  like CEO).

Anyway, Forbes conducted a survey of 354 top US C-worders and found three quarters (74%) of respondents ranked the internet as a ‘very valuable resource’, topping all other sources including work and personal contacts, trade publications, newspapers and magazines.

The most critical information executives searched for online was ‘competitor analysis’ (53% of respondents gave this answer), followed by ‘customer trends’ (41%) and ‘corporate developments such as news about mergers, acquisitions or joint ventures’ (39%).

The study also found variations in the way the internet is used and valued for business purposes, and according to the report these depend ‘a great deal on the executive’s age and work experience’.

‘This study identifies the differences between those top executives whose careers have coincided with the rise of the PC and the Internet with their older counterparts. These younger executives, who are leading the charge into the C-suite, locate information for decision-making themselves, search online frequently, are interested in video, and are open to the latest online technologies.’

For further detail you can download the report from the Forbes Insight page, or catch a summary with charts over at emarketer.com.

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is one of the online sources of information I use with some regularity, and in the last twenty four hours or so the Amazon-owned company has been forced to back down from plans to relegate writers' credits to a subordinate position in their film listings. IMDb had planned to move writers’ names from their current spot at the top of a film’s home page (alongside the Director and first billed cast) to the ‘Additional Details’ spot lower down.

Nikki Finke, of Deadline Hollywood Daily, got wind of the change from suitably outraged scribes and sparked on impromptu online campaign against the move. This was picked up on Twitter and within a matter of hours IMDb had responded to the ‘constructive criticism’ and rescinded its decision.

It’s another fascinating example of the power of online collective action, the speed and intensity of which can be quite breath-taking. But it’s also instructive for any regular IMDb users to look through the comments logged on Finke’s blog, as there are plenty of examples given of the unreliability of IMDb’s information; a salutary reminder (to C-worders and everyone else for that matter) that the internet may be awash with free information, but it’s not always of value. Caveat lector…