[Sigia-l] Information-centered Design

[Coon, Sean]

"...Vannavar had a vision of a central library of human knowledge,
accessible to all, though there was no internet then, and very few
computers all powered by vacuum tubes and not connected to one another.

A visionary's visions are worth contemplating in a new age.

--Ed

======================

no argument there. the net as a whole has become a library of sorts; on
both a macro and micro level; in both commercial and non-commercial
venues. to be ultra-literal with the library metaphor, i wish i had the
net as a source of research when i was coming up. i might have ended up
at yale (ok, someone might have had to take my SAT's for me). i would
have been much more passionate about research and knowledge at a younger
age. 

but i digress. my point was specific to the internet as it relates to
the marketplace. the idea that there SHOULD be one furniture site or
automotive sites SHOULD have feedback/review areas, etc. is a
contradiction to the way our society operates in a free marketplace. but
if the economics of such endeavors proved to be worthwhile, you'd could
be certain that the people designing the nodes of the net
(business/ia/etc.) would shift to accommodate. 

you don't have to look any farther than the example of amazon to see
business/technology/ia/creativity shifting to meet the needs of the
times, users, product, and the market. but does that make amazon more of
a "library" experience than, say, researching a car on it's corporate
site and then going to consumers for the real deal? i'd argue not.

spcoon
http://www.apperceptive.com/rantingMan/