The Social Life of Information
Encyclopedia
In their 2000 book The Social Life of Information, John Seely Brown
(the former Chief Scientist of Xerox Corporation and director of Xerox PARC
) and Paul Duguid, (Adjunct professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information
) discuss recently developed practices in the transmission of information in social and business context.
As the introduction states, the authors argue that developing effects information practices need to be more thoroughly weighed than the sometimes tunnel-vision mentality of technological enthusiasts. That is, it shouldn't be taken for granted that increased digitization ultimately and flawlessly lead to an incontrovertibly better future. The text deals with examples of the office world's adoption of technology in part, and the provides a less affirmative view of the benefits to be had.
s which manipulate information. Different forms of such agents include information broker
, product brokering, merchant brokering, and negotiation. The authors use an example of information brokering using the Macintosh program named Sherlock that searched for the word "knobot" via the Internet. Product brokering would be an example of an online bookstore sending a person an email about a book for sale based on the previous types of books the customer bought. Merchant brokering, now widely practiced, consists of finding the best price for a product. For example, Ebay
allows users, not necessarily in the same location, to buy new, used, or refurbished products through an auction, at a fixed price, or through negotiation.
This book has been republished in 2002 with a new introduction, by the Harvard Business School Press
.
, a peer-reviewed online journal in Library and information science
:
Other reviews of the book from professional journals include:
John Seely Brown
John Seely Brown is a researcher who specializes in organizational studies with a particular bent towards the organizational implications of computer-supported activities....
(the former Chief Scientist of Xerox Corporation and director of Xerox PARC
Xerox PARC
PARC , formerly Xerox PARC, is a research and co-development company in Palo Alto, California, with a distinguished reputation for its contributions to information technology and hardware systems....
) and Paul Duguid, (Adjunct professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information
UC Berkeley School of Information
The UC Berkeley School of Information or the iSchool is a graduate school offering both a professional master's degree and a research-oriented Ph.D. degree at the University of California, Berkeley. The school was created in 1994 and was known as the School of Information Management and Systems ...
) discuss recently developed practices in the transmission of information in social and business context.
As the introduction states, the authors argue that developing effects information practices need to be more thoroughly weighed than the sometimes tunnel-vision mentality of technological enthusiasts. That is, it shouldn't be taken for granted that increased digitization ultimately and flawlessly lead to an incontrovertibly better future. The text deals with examples of the office world's adoption of technology in part, and the provides a less affirmative view of the benefits to be had.
User Agents
Serving as an early example of the ambiguous utility of software to human, the authors discuss software known as autonomous agentAutonomous agent
An autonomous agent is an intelligent agent operating on an owner's behalf but without any interference of that ownership entity. An intelligent agent, however appears according to a multiply cited statement in a no longer accessible IBM white paper as follows:Intelligent agents are software...
s which manipulate information. Different forms of such agents include information broker
Information broker
An information broker, also known as an independent information professional or information consultant, is a person or business that researches information for clients...
, product brokering, merchant brokering, and negotiation. The authors use an example of information brokering using the Macintosh program named Sherlock that searched for the word "knobot" via the Internet. Product brokering would be an example of an online bookstore sending a person an email about a book for sale based on the previous types of books the customer bought. Merchant brokering, now widely practiced, consists of finding the best price for a product. For example, Ebay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
allows users, not necessarily in the same location, to buy new, used, or refurbished products through an auction, at a fixed price, or through negotiation.
This book has been republished in 2002 with a new introduction, by the Harvard Business School Press
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
.
Reviews
The book has been favorably reviewed by First MondayFirst Monday (journal)
First Monday is an open-access electronic peer-reviewed scientific journal for articles about the Internet.-Publication:First Monday is sponsored and hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago...
, a peer-reviewed online journal in Library and information science
Library and information science
Library and information science is a merging of the two fields library science and information science...
:
[The book helps] us see through frenetic visions of the future to the real forces for change in society. Arguing elegantly for the important role that human sociability plays in the world of bits, this book ... gives us an optimistic look beyond the simplicities of information and individuals. The authors show how a better understanding of the contribution that communities, organizations, and institutions make to learning, knowledge, and judgement can lead to the richest possible use of technology in our work and everyday lives.
Other reviews of the book from professional journals include:
- Journal of Marketing (2002, 66(4): 124-127)
- Planning for Higher Education (2001, Summer, 38-39)
- Portal: Libraries and the Academy (2001 1(2) pp 180-12).
- Library Quarterly (2001 71(1) pp 94-95)
See also
- Knowledge managementKnowledge managementKnowledge management comprises a range of strategies and practices used in an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption of insights and experiences...
- John Seely BrownJohn Seely BrownJohn Seely Brown is a researcher who specializes in organizational studies with a particular bent towards the organizational implications of computer-supported activities....
- Information ecologyInformation ecologyIn the context of an evolving information society, the term information ecology marks a connection between ecological ideas with the dynamics and properties of the increasingly dense, complex and important digital informational environment and has been gaining progressively wider acceptance in a...
- Information societyInformation societyThe aim of the information society is to gain competitive advantage internationally through using IT in a creative and productive way. An information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic,...