Because information is something valuable, and at the right time can alter people’s life it is essential to define information and to identify what part of it can be really valuable.
“Information is data endowed with relevance and purpose. Converting data into information thus requires knowledge. And knowledge is by definition specialised.” Drucker (1990) p. 202
“Anything that can be digitized, encoded as a stream of bits is information.” Shapiro, Varian (1999) p.3
The need for introducing methods, that would help Internet redeem from the chaotic flow of information are some certain tools, which would be a great assistance for individuals to track easily the available information in the net. Also people that wish to spend a certain amount of money to purchase information through internet must be very careful, as they would be if they purchase off line.
- Ways that Internet has affected Information
Internet has affected information in many ways the most essential ones are mentioned below:
- Internet provides fast and quality information
- Easy access from everywhere (e.g. Home, Business)
- Materials available at any time, that can be modified or altered
- Up-to-date resources
- Comparison of information provided in the Internet in a wide range of areas.
- Specialized information related to science and research.
- Technology infrastructure makes information more accessible and more valuable.
- Different point of views that can be declared and published anonymously
- Most of the information available is free.
One of the major advantages that Internet can provide is that the materials that are available can be accessed with no time consuming, can be distributed easily, in any time and in any place. Research in scientific subjects or the inquiry of certain information can be done anywhere a computer and a connection are available.
The Internet now is in such a way constructed, that it can provide activities in many things. Like purchasing, provide knowledge and information, Commercial and Marketing trends and other valuable resources which before internet was introduced, would be very difficult for the individuals to access them. In addition professionals and scientists are able to make comparisons between different ideas, that will help them, improve their point of view in specific subjects, without dedicate great deal of time. Information found on the web can also be printed or saved in a directory, for easy access in the future
The Internet literally offers information, from every part of the world, which is difficult to find in any other location. It’s essentially easy to publish individually, work anonymously expressing judgments, opinions and ideas that can influence people and at the same time not being judged. In other words Internet can offer freedom of ideas to anyone that wants to express them. Nowadays, access to information has brought consumers in a position of “power” than the producers because they can make easily comparisons of the different products and the different prices that Internet provides in order to have alternative solutions before they purchase a particular product.
Nevertheless, Internet caused some problems concerning information that are becoming vital for the future use of the net and also for its efficiency towards the public.
From the one hand there is too much information on certain topics, causing superfluity and overlap. “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention” Shapiro, Varian (1999) p.6. From the other hand there is limited and inefficient information in certain topics causing information to be inaccurate and misleading. In many cases there is no imposed order and checks concerning quality are not performed.
A lot of information on the web is free, free of charge, and free of distributing it. Colleges and Universities put plenty of free information. So does the government for financial and statistical purposes. Nowadays free information is easier to access than it was before, because it is part of individual’s life. Communication along with information is part of how a specific task is being accomplished by people that belong in a business environment. The majority of information that is distributed with no cost is being provided by advertising and commercial organizations who want to promote their products. As a result the contents of this kind of information isn’t objective, it does not contain logical explanation or sufficient evidence. This information provides more of an attracting attention rather than quality information that will be a good reference for scientific research. However many commercial organizations provide quality information because they belong to the information industry, but this oblige them, to offer information in high standards because this is the only way to survive commercially. But also another part of information is only permitted when a fee is paid to the publisher or the website that the information is derived. Some organizations pay for these fees for specific information concerning business matters in order to be used by its employees. This is done for the reason that the organization expects that through the usage of this information by the employees, the company will be directly benefit.
All of the above lead us to the question where can we found good and relevant information on the internet? Probably a possible answer could be that it depends on our personal ability to distinguish and differentiate the kind of information that exists on the net. But how this can be done among thousands of search engines and websites that contain either an overload of information or insufficient resources, that they may produce undesirable results? A possible solution could be that in order to find potentially interesting documents is the usage of some certain manuals and guides that are offered through the net.
The printed guides though suffer from certain constraints. For example it’s not always possible to get a copy in a particular period of time and many times may be costly and time consuming. In addition to that a major disadvantage that the printed guides have is that they soon get out of date. However the retrieval systems offered on the net have many advantages. They are directly available in any microcomputer, they include tools that make the resource easier to find. Also they are accessible, easy to find, free of charge and continuously updated. But an increasing amount of information is becoming available, creating a need of discovering new systems that will ensure the accuracy and availability of quality information.
The variety of material on the Internet is ranging in its value accuracy and reliability. This is the one of the main differences with the most traditional informational media (books, newspapers, magazines) that no one has to approve the content before it is made public.
Internet contains information that can be found everywhere, in large quantities and that’s why is difficult to be revised. The information can be found as facts, opinions or experiences that individuals have, in order to convince, to sell, to inform or to create an attitude or a belief. For each of these kinds and purposes, information has levels in terms of quality and reliability. It has a range, from a sustain quality information to an irrelevant, low quality and includes every shade in between.
It is true that knowledge is some kind of power and “that information resides not in artifacts but in the minds of individuals” Wei Choo, Detlor Turnbull (2001) p.3 .But a specific kind of information can provide truth knowledge and power. The one that is reliable that will serve beliefs, judgments and choices.
The determination of information quality depends on the individual’s point of view. There is no perfect indicator that can provide an excellence in reliability truthfulness or value. Instead the creation of some clues or indicators will be based on the particular use of the source. If for example what is needed is a reasonable argument, then information with a well-argued position can be enough without the need of an author to support the particular argument. However if the need of a judgment is necessary to support a certain attitude then the judgment will be empowered, if it’s created from a source that is known for the credibility and accuracy of its content.
There are some factors that are essential for the user in order the information is being found, to be useful and be characterized as quality information.
- Credibility: A source that supplies good evidence and the content can allow the individual to trust and use it for further analysis.
- Accuracy: An up-to-date source that will be correct, and express the contents of the source as they are in present and not as they were in the past. A source that gives to the user the whole truth and intensions of completeness.
- Reasonableness: To present information reasonably thoughtfully with purpose to inform and to persuade or convince.
- Support: Listed sources where the user can find additional information that can be used for comparisons or even supportive evidence that the source is based on truth. Also some contact information could be available for possible queries.
4. Conclusion
It’s obvious that technology nowadays is playing a dominant role. It can influence information because it makes it more accessible and at the same time more valuable. In other words technology is the package that allows information to be delivered to end users. Internet has made information easy to find in a variety of subjects, but as it is explained above information might be insufficient or overloaded, making the user careful in the selection process looking for some certain parameters that will ensure that the information provided will be based on supportive evidence. Indeed Internet hides many implications and bottlenecks concerning information. For that reason the user has to be extremely careful during the selection of the resource that will absorb the information.
All in all, a fuller understanding of information seeking as a social behavior will provide great assistance in order to design better information processes and better information systems
Bibliography
Dector, B & Turnbull D, & Wei Choo, C. (2000). Web Work: Information seeking and Knowledge Work on the World Wide Web. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Shapiro, C. & Varian, H. (1999). “Information Rules”: A strategic guide to the network Economy. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
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