Are social networks overrated?

There is an interesting report this morning on a study by Harris Interactive that looks at the influence of various sources of information on consumer purchase decisions.  Before I get to the most surprising finding I should note that while the press release does not say the study was done online I am assuming that it was (after all, it is Harris Interactive) and leave it to readers to judge how that might impact the study findings.  The result of greatest interest: just eight percent of respondents said that they turned either to social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn or to customer community sites for information about products prior to purchase.  The most common way (36 percent) that consumers reported finding information about a product prior to purchase was to consult the company's Web site.  Twenty two percent reported getting information from a sales person and 21 percent from "someone not affiliated with the company." 

But the news may not be as disconcerting at it sounds for Research 2.0 enthusiasts.  About one in five respondents said they consulted independent sites with product reviews (such as TripAdvisor or Amazon) and 11 percent said they looked at online message boards.  So while social networks per se don't look all that popular, user generated online content is an important source of information.  It's also worth noting that social networks are used the most by the 18-24 group where 16 percent report consulting social media sources prior to product purchases.  No surprise there.

On the one hand, as both a Facebook and LinkedIn user I don't find this all that surprising.  But as a researcher who listens to the industry buzz about where research is headed I am very surprised indeed.  It seems that things don't change as fast we think or perhaps wish they do.  And as with online research in general, it's always important to try to distinguish the hype from the reality.