Working online II
The New Knowledge World: The Impact of the Digital Revolution
Richard R Rowe, Ph.D
Chairman and CEO, RoweCom, Inc
PowerPoint presentation [Microsoft PowrPoint format, 3.3mb download]
The internet is heralding a profound change in the world that is as fundamental as the industrial revolution. Each of three digital revolutions - computers, communications, and convenience - dramatically accelerates the rate of global change in the first decade of this century - the century of the mind. This is a thought-provoking presentation from a visionary thinker who will discuss the impact of each of these revolutions on the expanding role of knowledge in the twenty-first century. The presentation will examine where these technologies are headed and describe how they will transform the information industry, libraries, and librarians.
The plan for today
- The new knowledge world
- RoweCom's response
- Challenges ahead
- Conversation
Beliefs
The internet is merely the second of three digital revolutions:
- Computers Communications Convenience
- These digital revolutions are disruptive of virtually all aspects of society. They are rapidly changing the way we buy, sell, learn, earn a living and play. Much of this causes fear and pain.
- There is an explosion in both the sources and uses of knowledge, with an increasing number of knowledge users becoming knowledge providers.
- We are experiencing a global transfer of value and power from knowledge providers to knowledge users that will cause many revered institutions to collapse and many upstarts to appear.
- Digital convenience will dramatically accelerate the rate of global change in five to ten years.
- Access to usable knowledge will be the primary driver of successful enterprises in the 21st century as work moves from primarily manual to primarily mental
- The functions of librarians and centralised control of knowledge resources within businesses are becoming more important atthe same time the form of libraries is changing.
- The future is conversations.
The future
- E-commerce will dominate the global economy within a decade because:
- Faster More reliable Cheaper
- Knowledge content itself will be ubiquitous and inexpensive, often 'free'
- Most people are overwhelmed by the mass of content that exists and feel guilty about not knowing enough. This is a rapidly expanding global epidemic
- Value-added services around content that simplify and personalize the knowledge world will thrive
- New public policies are urgently needed to guide these technical and social changes underway in directions that promote a healthy and prosperous global society.
- Examples of change
- AOL users averaged six minutes a day in 1996 and one hour in 2000.
- In 1999 magazine readers in the U.S. spent more time online than reading magazines.
- An e-commerce transaction costs between 1-2% of a comparable paper transaction.
- Many major institutions are shifting their purchasing dramatically from paper to online publications, some with a goal of 100% online within three years or less.
All of this change despite:
- Inconvenient and slow user interfaces
- Few functional enhancements over paper
- Chaotic systems for knowledge
- Creation
- Distribution
- Pricing
- Control
E-commerce
- Faster
- More accurate
- Global
- Manageable
- Inexpensive
- Available
But:
- Payment systems underdeveloped; standards needed
- Adoption is slow
E-content
- Faster
- Interactive
- Customizable
- Community-based
But:
- Poor user-interface
- Requires change in behaviors
- Technology in early stages; standards needed
- The challenge of 'free' information
- New economic models required
The technological imperative thrives
- Electronic Paper - eInk
- Paper-like look and feel
- Electrochemical process
- Paper-like tabloid displays by 2002
- Black and White only
- GPS Mylar Maps
- Flexible
- Automatic tracking of location on map
What do our clients want and need so they can work smarter?
- Fast
- Everywhere
- Comprehensive
- Personalised
- Interactive
- Community-based
- Trusted
Economics of knowledge
Sources of revenue
- Subscriptions
- Transactions
- Advertising
- Taxes and grants
'Free' information, paid for by
- Advertising
- Related transactions
- Government and non-profits
Revenue strategies
- Tight control over intellectual property
- Board and easy access to communities of knowledge
Mega-corporations and micro-sources - what will be the mix?
E-communities
- Trusted centers of expertise
- Discipline-oriented
- Collaborative Network
- Global
- Optimal redundancy
- Multi-service
- Current awareness
- Publishing
- Archiving
- Revenue-generating
- Memberships
- Fees-for-services
Different functions of information buyers
- Collectors - Just in Case.
- Librarians
- Professional Knowledge Managers
- Consumers - Just in Time.
- Knowledge workers
- Librarians and Libraries
- Crucial distinction between function and form
- Functions of librarians becoming more important - Century of the Mind
- Forms are changing dramatically with much more change ahead
Crucial functions of librarians
- Conversation manager
- Market researcher
- Knowledge taxonomist
- Community developer
- Entrepreneurial publisher
- Network coordinator
- Content archivist
- Museum director
- Intellectual property controller
- Knowledge therapist
Public policy challenges
What new metrics are needed to measure the impact of knowledge upon the economy?
What knowledge should be public (unfettered)
- Government records
- Basic scientific databases
- Basic life-giving information
What knowledge should be private
- Personal medical records
- Personal correspondence (e-mail)
What kinds of intellectual property should be commercialised in the digital age? Should there be a universal declaration of the rights to know?
Wrap-up
- Advanced e-resources are challenging the roles of publishers and librarians
- Future technologies will enable ubiquitous access to information
- Digital rights management of some sort will be key to the expansion of knowledge
- Personal libraries will be preferred method of knowledge management
- The roles of those librarians who make the changes will be greatly enhanced.
- The technological imperative will thrive - more change ahead
- Public policies are urgently needed
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