Jonathan Spira
Encyclopedia
Jonathan B. Spira is a researcher
and industry analyst
known for his work in the area of collaboration and knowledge sharing and the problem of information overload
.
, the son of photographic pioneer Fred Spira and his wife Marilyn (née Hacker). He studied Central European History at the University of Pennsylvania
where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi
fraternity and the University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians Universität)
, a company founded and run by Fred Spira. After completing his studies in 1983, he founded a research and IT advisory firm, Basex
(originally called The Basex Group) in 1983, that focused on helping organizations understand how knowledge workers work and what they can do to manage them more effectively. He has been associated with the firm ever since.
and what managers can do to remain competitive. According to Knowledge Management in the Public Sector, the main thrust of Spira's arguments is that software companies should develop new systems that are designed from the beginning for knowledge and information work but collaboration and knowledge sharing are "less a question of technology than of systems that facilitate people working together."
Spira started researching the problem of information overload in the early 1990s and was interviewed in March 1993 by CNBC
on the topic. In 2003, he published research that assigned specific costs to components of the problem of information overload and in 2008 published an estimate of the cost of information overload to the U.S. economy ($900 billion per annum). In 2008, he helped found the Information Overload Research Group, a business and academic consortium that is working to bring attention to the problem and potential solutions.
including Information Overload: We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us. He is regularly quoted by publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times
, Business Week, among others.
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
and industry analyst
Industry analyst
An industry analyst performs primary and secondary market research within an industry such as information technology, consulting or insurance. Analysts assess sector trends, create segment taxonomies, size markets, prepare forecasts, and develop industry models...
known for his work in the area of collaboration and knowledge sharing and the problem of information overload
Information overload
"Information overload" is a term popularized by Alvin Toffler in his bestselling 1970 book Future Shock. It refers to the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much information...
.
Early life
Spira was born and grew up in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the son of photographic pioneer Fred Spira and his wife Marilyn (née Hacker). He studied Central European History at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi
Pi Lambda Phi
Pi Lambda Phi International Fraternity Inc. is a college social fraternity with 35 active chapters and four colonies in the United States and Canada....
fraternity and the University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians Universität)
Career
Spira began his career in business and technology while still in high school when he became involved in the management of office systems at SpiratoneSpiratone
Spiratone was a company specializing in low-cost lenses and filters for cameras, lighting, and darkroom equipment.The company was started by Fred Spira in 1941 in the bathroom of his parents' apartment where he developed film. In 1946, it relocated to a large loft on West 27th Street in Manhattan...
, a company founded and run by Fred Spira. After completing his studies in 1983, he founded a research and IT advisory firm, Basex
Basex
Basex is an IT research and consulting firm that focuses on knowledge management, information management, and collaboration issues and technologies within larger organizations...
(originally called The Basex Group) in 1983, that focused on helping organizations understand how knowledge workers work and what they can do to manage them more effectively. He has been associated with the firm ever since.
Research
Spira's research focuses on the problems organizations are having as they migrate from the industrial age to the knowledge economyKnowledge economy
The knowledge economy is a term that refers either to an economy of knowledge focused on the production and management of knowledge in the frame of economic constraints, or to a knowledge-based economy. In the second meaning, more frequently used, it refers to the use of knowledge technologies to...
and what managers can do to remain competitive. According to Knowledge Management in the Public Sector, the main thrust of Spira's arguments is that software companies should develop new systems that are designed from the beginning for knowledge and information work but collaboration and knowledge sharing are "less a question of technology than of systems that facilitate people working together."
Spira started researching the problem of information overload in the early 1990s and was interviewed in March 1993 by CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
on the topic. In 2003, he published research that assigned specific costs to components of the problem of information overload and in 2008 published an estimate of the cost of information overload to the U.S. economy ($900 billion per annum). In 2008, he helped found the Information Overload Research Group, a business and academic consortium that is working to bring attention to the problem and potential solutions.
Books and Publications
Spira is the author of Overload! How Too Much Information Is Bad For Your Organization, to be published by Wiley in the Spring of 2011. He is also the co-author of The History of Photography (Aperture, 2001), named a "best book of the year" by the New York Times when it came out. He is the author of Managing the Knowledge Workforce: Understanding the Information Revolution That's Changing the Business World (Mercury Business Press, 2005). He has also written several major reports on information overloadInformation overload
"Information overload" is a term popularized by Alvin Toffler in his bestselling 1970 book Future Shock. It refers to the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much information...
including Information Overload: We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us. He is regularly quoted by publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, Business Week, among others.