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The Social Life of Information

The Social Life of Information. Chapter 1 – Limits to Information. Topics. Introduction Could Less be More? Drowning and Didn’t Know It Origin Myths Hammering Information. Topics (cont.). Refining, or Merely Redefining? 6-D Vision More Dimensions The Myth of Information. Introduction.

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The Social Life of Information

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  1. The Social Life of Information Chapter 1 – Limits to Information William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  2. Topics • Introduction • Could Less be More? • Drowning and Didn’t Know It • Origin Myths • Hammering Information William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  3. Topics (cont.) • Refining, or Merely Redefining? • 6-D Vision • More Dimensions • The Myth of Information William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  4. Introduction • Information shortage used to be a problem • Data vs. information • Internet supports information glut • We are fascinated by quantity • Information overload becoming problem William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  5. Could Less be More? • Easy to decry modern complexity • Yearn for simpler times • Would we really want to step back 50, 100 or 150 years? • Even those who complain about technology benefit from it William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  6. Could Less be More? • We add information to explain information • Application hard to understand? • Add help system • Help hard to use? • Add help about help system • Moore’s Law – IT doubles every 18 months William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  7. Could Less be More? • We expect more to solve problems • More information • Faster processing speed • More capacity (memory, disk) • Wider bandwidth • Stronger cryptography William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  8. Drowning and Didn’t Know It • Consider bits like atoms • Industrial Revolution (Physical items) • Process • Sort • Rearrange • Recombine • Transport William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  9. Drowning and Didn’t Know It • Industrial Revolution • People didn’t complain about ‘atom overload’ • Didn’t perceive it as atom processing • Saw it as products and goods William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  10. Drowning and Didn’t Know It • Information Revolution • Not perceived as bits of data • Perceived as • Knowledge • Meaning • Documents • Diagrams William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  11. Drowning and Didn’t Know It • ‘Endism’ – predicted end of • Traditional press, TV, mass media • Brokers and intermediaries • Firms, bureaucracies • Universities • Politics and government • Resurgence of individual power William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  12. Origin Myths • Information originally traveled and the same speed as people • Visual signals were faster than travel • Telegraph was first method of information being substantially faster than physical travel • Information transmission dependent on human generation William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  13. Origin Myths • IT allows information to be generated without human intervention • Information is somewhat self-breeding • Logic of information vs. logic of humanity • IT supports human needs and ends • Prediction of demise of the pencil (New York Times 1938) • ‘Paperless office’ (Business Week 1975) William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  14. Hammering Information • More or better information can solve everything • Microsoft – “Where do you want to go today” • Suggests all answers can be produced by computing • Information can bring you anything William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  15. Refining, or Merely Redefining? • Value lies in information • Everything else can be left behind • Books become information containers • Libraries, information warehouses • Universities, information providers • Learning, information absorption • Discussion, information exchange William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  16. Refining, or Merely Redefining? • Information leads to ‘info’ prefix • Infotainment • Infomediary • ‘Info’ prefix multiples company’s value • InfoAmerica • InfoUSA William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  17. 6-D Vision • Demassification • Decentralization • Denationalization • Despacialization • Disintermediation • Disaggregation • Not twice as good as 3-D William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  18. 6-D Vision • Transaction costs • Searching • Evaluating • Contracting • Enforcing • If costs are high, organizations are required • IT is driving down these costs William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  19. More Dimensions • Organizations not always flattening • Fewer intermediaries with broader grasp • Managers are not just information processors • Growth of nonproduction employees is actually increasing William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  20. More Dimensions • IT can enable information and decision centralization (Wal-Mart, FedEx) • Rapid communication previously had the same effect • Management, not technology is the controlling factor William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  21. The Myth of Information • 6-D vision oversimplifies things • Isolates information and IT • Ignores other societal forces • The Industrial Revolution was not just based on the train • The Information Revolution is more than just IT William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

  22. Questions & Discussion William H. Bowers – whb108@psu.edu

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