LONDON, April 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey of IT professionals by The IT Job Board revealed that whilst political parties are attracting younger voters using social networking and online media sites, the majority of IT professionals are relying on the mainstream media to follow the election campaign.
70% of respondents said all political parties have become more web savvy and used Twitter and Facebook effectively to engage a younger audience. However, whilst they advocate a greater use of these sites by the Parties, the majority of respondents prefer to read newspapers and online news and follow the debates on TV (68%).
Whilst they recognised clear advantages of using social networking including gaining instant news updates, reading diverse viewpoints and interacting in live discussion, 80% said they did not believe what they were reading on Twitter and in online forums. The consensus was that news sites written by a third party are not subject to any direct agenda from the main political parties.
When asked if the General Election will have a positive effect on the IT and technology industry, views were mixed. Almost one-third (32%) said that the elected party kept the promises made in their election manifestos, it would boost the IT industry, 24% said it wouldn't make any difference to the industry and 34% were unsure. Equally, just under half (45%) said the election wouldn't necessarily have a positive impact on the number of jobs available for IT professionals.
Alex Farrell, managing director of The IT Job Board said: Although IT professionals are users of social networking sites, they still prefer to engage in a combination of online and more traditional offline mediums to follow the election campaign. However, online mediums are growing fast in popularity and social networking sites are playing an important role in information gathering.
Notes to editors
About The IT Job Board:
The IT Job Board group of companies was set up in April 2002 in recognition that recruitment in the IT sector was increasingly dominated by the internet.
Today, The IT Job Board (http://www.theitjobboard.co.uk) is the UK's biggest IT specialist recruitment website with over 23383 vacancies advertised (as at April 2010).
Online technology enables sophisticated targeting - for example by skill, region or experience - of The IT Job Board's database of 800,000 IT professionals. The company always tries to get closer to candidates either via planned content campaigns, or through the use of social networks.
The site also offers employers services such as branded job postings, a featured employer zone, targeted email campaigns and guidance on advertising copy. The managed campaign service filters responses to provide companies with a shortlist of applicants most suitable for the advertised position.
http://www.theitjobboard.co.uk's clients include The Co-Op Financial Services, Accenture, DG Group, Sky, Onelan Digital Signage, BP, The Legal Ombudsman and The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital (NHS).
For further information, interviews and photography please contact: Lisa Whiting/Kathryn Hughes Publicite Ltd T: +44(0)20-8543-6582 E: l.whiting@publicite.co.uk
SOURCE: IT Job Board
CONTACT: For further information, interviews and photography pleasecontact: Lisa Whiting/Kathryn Hughes, Publicite Ltd, T: +44(0)20-8543-6582,E: l.whiting@publicite.co.uk
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