GENERAL INFORMATION USE ANALYSIS

Information plays a vital role in contemporary society. Users are becoming more open-minded about the diversity of information resources they consider to be reliable and do not settle for static Web sites anymore. Moreover, they require information that is customized to their needs, updated frequently, and often preferably presented in an interactive environment. In other words, they need information that is available to them at the right time, in the right place and in the right form.

Modern technology and the now-indispensable Internet are providing a variety of new ways of bringing information to users. Innovative tools that provide information access are being released every day, often under the umbrella of “Web 2.0” services, although it is important to note that many are in beta testing and need more refinement. For example, VoIP, a telephony service that works over the Internet and shows great promise, is already being used by 52 percent of businesses despite its glitches (Kharif).

Technology equipment and players such as iPods, mobile devices, digital media players and PDAs appeal to many people and are prevalent in many societies worldwide. In fact, much of the communications-related literature highlights the fact that modern technology is entering all spheres of people's lives. A growing amount of audio/video devices for multimedia applications, coupled with the astronomic rise in the popularity of gaming, are radically transforming our society, making it more reliant on computers and the Internet on a daily, even hourly, basis. To keep up with new applications, users learn to use a variety of tools and the information that comes with them in both creative and productive ways in such areas as entertainment, learning, data sharing and overall information flow.

The recent rise of Web 2.0 and continuing popularity of the Internet have had a seminal impact on user information behavior. Compelling statistics show that the Internet, search engines like Google, and Web 2.0 services like blogs, wikis, and RSS, are the primary information sources for most people both at home and at work. For example, a health care worker claims that the Internet with its e-mail, instant messaging and videoconferencing capabilities, has radically changed the way in which he conducts business, and mentions the ability to conduct a paperless and instantaneous doctor-patient relationship (Pew). Such bandwidth-intensive applications have led to another trend, namely a growing need for high-speed pipelines to access Internet services even faster. With the much-discussed information overload that has been haunting our society since the Internet’s invention, users do not tolerate slow access to their information resources. At the same time, those people with little or no access to the Internet face a growing “digital divide” between information haves and have-nots.

Organizations like the Pew Internet & American Life Project have documented that instant messaging (IM) has been gaining in popularity and is on the verge of catching up with the already popular e-mail trend. Statistically, our society still relies heavily on sending e-mails. Users send 31 billion e-mails daily, a figure that could nearly double to 60 billion e-mails daily in 2006. However, the generation that is just entering the workforce is bringing IM to work. At least 58 percent of knowledge workers use IM at work, and 49 percent are using it to make work-related decisions.

Technological infrastructure plays a crucial role in users’ information use patterns of all types. Thus, it is not a surprise that these same technologies, particularly those related to the Internet and Web 2.0, are radically affecting the workplace. Most companies employ multiple tools for modern content and knowledge management purposes. Content management systems, Intranets, contextual workspaces, and institutional knowledge repositories are becoming fundamental business assets that help companies remain competitive.

Users, from consumers to businesses, are relying on the Internet more than ever. Web 2.0 has grabbed the current spotlight, and new interactive services that give users more say in the resources they use, as well as the ability to interact on the Internet, are creating a continued groundswell of popularity for the Internet and the Web all around the world.

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