How we'll live when information surrounds us

Recorded at the ALA MidWinter 2009 OCLC Symposium

The Web, and how we use it, has changed dramatically over the past few years. We've seen explosive growth in social networking, more types and volumes of content becoming available, a wider availability and sophistication of creative tools and the growing use of mobile devices to access the Internet. Taken individually, each of these changes represents a major shift in how we learn and communicate. Together, these trends signal a shift to a future where the Web is at the center of our information lives.

What does that mean for us as learners, educators, citizens and creators? How will our lives be changed when we don't connect to information on a case-by-case basis, but live in an environment saturated with data, media and communications?

OCLC invited David and Nova to share a preconference conversation with us. Their dialogue (PDF download) touches on several key concepts related to the future of the Web and how we'll share information and ideas.

Symposium Introduction and David Weinberger [Streaming media, 00:20:35]

David Weinberger's status as one of our foremost (and funniest!) interpreter of technology's impact on business and society continues to grow. His book, Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder, reveals new principles for taking advantage of the onrushing flood of information in order to help us pull ourselves together now that we've blown ourselves to bits. David has been called a 'marketing guru' by the Wall Street Journal. He is co-author of the influential best-seller, The Cluetrain Manifesto (1999), and author of the critically acclaimed book, Small Pieces Loosely Joined (2002), a highly original and accessible reflection on the human impact of the Internet. One of the connected economy's most thought-provoking mavericks, David is a fellow at Harvard University's prestigious Berkman Center, a former philosophy professor, gag writer for Woody Allen, NPR commentator, technology columnist, weblogging pioneer and a dot.com entrepreneur.

Nova Spivack [Streaming media, 00:21:33]

Nova Spivack is a technology visionary and entrepreneur with nearly two decades of experience in pioneering ventures. He is CEO and founder of Radar Networks, which runs Twine.com, a consumer online service for interest tracking that is built on the Semantic Web. In 1994, Nova cofounded EarthWeb, one of the first Internet companies. He has co-authored several books on Internet strategy and technology and speaks and writes on the future of the Web. He advises global corporations, governments and nonprofits, as well as a range of start-ups and venture funds of various stages on technology strategy. He has authored nearly two dozen granted and pending patents, has a BA in philosophy with a focus on cognitive science and artificial intelligence from Oberlin College, and a professional degree from the International Space University, the business school for the space industry. He has done research on emergent computation and parallel computing at MIT.

Discussion [Streaming media, 01:13:02]

Does using the Web change how we think and learn? OCLC's Roy Tennant moderates a discussion between David Weinberger (author of Everything is Miscellaneous and co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto) and Nova Spivack (Semantic Web pioneer and publisher of the Twine search/sharing tool) that explores answers to questions like these: How will we organize information when everyone is connected all the time? Will the Web add intelligence to everyday objects and our personal activities? Change is coming to the Web, but how will the Web change us?