Why is Information Valuable to us?

We all recognize that information is valuable – if you've ever paid for a newspaper or magazine, you have demonstrated this. But why – specifically – is information valuable, and why is one piece of information more valuable than another?

There are three ways information can be valuable to us….

1.       It entertains us

2.       It helps us make better decisions

3.       It helps someone else make better decisions, and we can exchange this information for something else

Entertainment Value

We pay for films, music and video games. While some movies and song lyrics do help us think about issues in our lives, we generally use them for short-term entertainment. We value them because they give us pleasure. They change the way we feel.

Generally, the more pleasure they give us, the more we are likely to value them.

Decision-Making Value

A lot of the information we seek out and deal with – particular in a working environment – is really about helping us make the right decisions.

•        You may have a Satellite Navigation system in your car to help you decide when to turn left and right on the road

•        You have a phone book so you can decide which numbers to press on your phone to call a friend

•        You look at the message boards at the Airport to decide which gate you need to go to for your flight

•        You check the weather report on Friday morning to decide whether to call off the barbecue you've got planned for the weekend

•        You look at your car’s speedometer to decide when to stop accelerating as     you've reached the speed limit

All of these examples show how this information is really about helping us make better decisions.

If we don’t use information, we can only base our decisions on what we receive directly through our five senses, or from what we already know.

The more significant the decisions we are making, the more we will value the information that helps us make the right decisions.

Exchange Value

The third source of information value comes from the fact that we often acquire information not because it either entertains or helps us make the right decisions, but because we know it will entertain or help other people make the right decisions in their lives. We can then exchange this information with them for something of value to us. We can think of this as information’s trade ability value.

Most information workers do exactly this. The reports that we produce at work are often just to help someone else make a better decision. We exchange this information for our wages.

It can involve the information being exchanged several times before it eventually reaches the decision maker, so it is not always obvious that it is about decision making – sometimes you may think you are just producing reports for the sake of it.

As with the decision-making aspect of information, the more significant the decision the other person is making – and the more the information you are providing will help them make a better decision – the more they will value the information you have to offer.

The exchange value doesn't necessarily have to involve money. It could also apply to conversations we have. We keep up with news, current affairs and celebrity gossip not because they directly affect us, but because it gives us something to talk to others about.

Combining

Most information we come across contains a mixture of these three sources of value – a novel may be entertaining, but it also teaches us about morals, and it also gives us something to talk to our friends about.

Qualifying an Information Source

When someone sees a piece of information, the first decision that they make is “Should I look at this further, or move onto something else.” This is the qualification phase.

This applies to the subject line of an e-mail, the title of a poster, the headline of a newspaper article, etc.

In this qualification phase, we ask such questions as:

•        Does this affect me?

•        How important is this?

•        Can it wait until later?

•        Would this be of interest to someone else I know?

This phase is critical to how we control information overload. When you browse through a newspaper or magazine, if you were to read every single article and advert, you would simply not be able to cope with a daily newspaper.

When producing an Information source, you should not get arrogant and assume that everyone should read it. Instead, try to make it as simple as possible for the people who are not likely to need it to come to that conclusion. In other words, it’s often just as important to help people disqualify a piece of information as it is to get the right people’s attention.

You need to help them make that decision as quickly as possible. This is why you should never use “Important” or “Urgent” as single-word e-mail subject lines, or as headlines on posters and notices, because it doesn’t help them do this.

When you use terms such as these, people simply start ignoring you –Just because something is important or Urgent in your opinion, doesn’t make it so to other people.

The Eight Must-Have Skills for Information Workers

By

Owabor C. Emmanuel.

Owabor.e@gmail.com

These days, a high proportion of the population of developed countries are employed as information workers. That is, they don’t produce physical goods, but instead spend their time creating, developing, sharing and consuming information.

As a general rule, if you have a computer on your desk at work, you are an information worker. The chances are, you’ll also use e-mail a lot of the time, and have access to the Web.

Because desktop computers crept into our work-lives slowly, there was never a point where the corporate World stood up and said “right, everyone to the training room!” Instead, people often have had to learn the generic skills necessary to be an information worker themselves through trial and error.

Many of these can be considered Soft IT Skills – you are unlikely to go on a specific course to learn them unless that is your specialty  but those that develop even a few of these can see dramatic improvements in their productivity and career.

I would like to outline what I believe are the 8 “must-have” skills for information workers. Most people have a basic grasp of all of these, but each can be improved significantly.

•        Ability to find things online

•        Ability to determine the accuracy of what they read

•        Communications

•        WIMP interface

•        Office programs

•        File management

•        Security and Access

•        Managing Your Attention

Ability to find things online

Most people use a small fraction of the capabilities of search engines, limiting themselves to two or three-word phrases. Understanding the shortcuts, advanced features and how search engines actually work can allow you to find almost anything online… within seconds.

Other research resources – such as Wikipedia – can also be used, but an understanding of when and how to use these is needed (see the next skill).

Ability to Determine Authority

As it becomes easier and easier for anyone to publish things online, without having to get permission or approval, the Web is full of (sometimes dangerously) inaccurate information.

Being able to cross-reference things, and separating fact from opinion.

Communications

E-mail is the communication medium most talked about. From the basics like sending and receiving, to more advanced issues like understanding how to minimise SPAM.

Also, Instant Messaging (IM), Voice-over-Internet-Protocols (VOIP – e.g. Skype), Message Boards.

Understanding the benefits and disadvantages of synchronis and asynchronis technologies.

WIMP Interface

The “Windows, Icons, Mouse and Pointer” system that has been standard across Windows, Apple and Linux computers since the late 1980’s. This replaced the old command-line interface as the main way to access your files.

Also, how you change your desktop and computer settings.

Office programs

The big three are Word Processing, Presentation and Spreadsheets. Not only how to create files in the these formats, but also how to integrate and pass information between them.

File Management

From filetypes (e.g. Word documents end in .doc, photos end in .jpg) to backing up files. Understanding that not every computer can read every format, and the reciever may need additional software installed to read particular formats.

Security and Access

This falls into two categories – technical security (e.g. computer Viruses, Firewalls, etc) and information security (e.g. sending confidential reports via e-mail, dealing with third-parties, access to personal information).

Managing Your Attention

With the exponential increase in the amount of information available over the past decade, the ability to decide what to pay attention to is now more important than ever. Being able to manage the use of the Web, so that you don’t spend all day browsing sites. Being able to stay focused on information directly related to your job, while filtering out the rest.