Information 2.0: New models of information production, distribution and consumption - Softcover

"Martin De Saulles provides a concise, yet relatively wide-ranging, overview of the enduring issues and current crises in information and communication technologies (ICT) in Information 2.0: New Models of Information Production, Distribution and Consumption. Keenly aware of the rapidly shifting landscape of ICT, his book examines the diverse types of information created and consumed today; the role of data in society, from personal uses to mass governmental and business initiatives; the history of information technology over the past half century; and the exponentially expanding networks of corporate and governmental actors that control the access and management of ICT." -- Digital Scholarship in the Humanities ...an informative and thorough title that makes sense of how changes in technology are impacting all aspects of society; economics, education and more. It is even-handed throughout; there are arguments made about the democratizing influence of the Internet and how barriers that might have constrained our access to information have been reduced. Yet there are still cautionary tales. The likes of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook, which aimed to make information via the Internet accessible to us all, are the now the new monopolies and there are significant issues about how they use our information. Although we live in an era of information overload and that information seems difficult to control or keep on top of, de Saulles reiterates the need of the information professional and that its role is equally vital in the `Wild West' free-for-all new information landscape. This is a title that is very readable and clear. De Saulles uses case studies to outline his points and does not veer into jargon that might leave the casual reader to engage in head-scratching. Information 2.0 is just as valuable for the casual reader as for the information professional and it clarifies what otherwise is a very confusing picture. -- Ariadne

This textbook provides an overview of the digital information landscape and explains the implications of the technological changes for the information industry, from publishers and broadcasters to the information professionals who manage information in all its forms. This fully-updated second edition includes examples of organizations and individuals who are seizing on the opportunities thrown up by this once-in-a-generation technological shift providing a cutting-edge guide to where we are going both as information consumers and in terms of broader societal changes. Each chapter explores aspects of the information lifecycle, including production, distribution, storage and consumption and contains case studies chosen to illustrate particular issues and challenges facing the information industry. One of the key themes of the book is the way that organizations, public and commercial, are blurring their traditional lines of responsibility. Amazon is moving from simply selling books to offering the hardware and software for reading them. Apple still makes computer hardware but also manages one of the world's leading marketplaces for music and software applications. Google maintains its position as the most popular internet search engine but has also digitized millions of copies of books from leading academic libraries and backed the development of the world's most popular computing platform, Android. At the heart of these changes are the emergence of cheap computing devices for decoding and presenting digital information and a network which allows the bits and bytes to flow freely, for the moment at least, from producer to consumer. While the digital revolution is impacting on everyone who works with information, sometimes negatively, the second edition of Information 2.0 shows that the opportunities outweigh the risks for those who take the time to understand what is going on. Information has never been more abundant and accessible so those who know how to manage it for the benefit of others in the digital age will be in great demand. Readership: Students taking courses in library and information science, publishing and communication studies, with particular relevance to core modules exploring the information society and digital information. Academics and practitioners who need to get to grips with the new information environment.