1997-2007: A Decade of Find, Use, Manage, Share
Jinfo Blog

By Marcy Phelps

Abstract

On the evolutionary scale, 10 years isn't even a blip, not a blink, not a breath in. It's hardly anything at all. But on the information scale, especially in the years from 1997 to 2007, a decade is a new mountain range, a new species, a new world.

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On the evolutionary scale, 10 years isn't even a blip, not a blink, not a breath in. It's hardly anything at all. But on the information scale, especially in the years from 1997 to 2007, a decade is a new mountain range, a new species, a new world.

FreePint has been covering this evolution revolution from tip to tail, keeping up with changes in the business information industry as they've happened. Now, as we celebrate our 10th birthday, we've invited four top experts in their fields of finding, using, managing and sharing information to explain what these changes mean from a distance.

By the time you read this, the landscape is likely to have evolved again - who knows what earthshaking ideas are rippling forth? Until then, here are the hottest trends in the last 10 years. We'll keep an eye on the seismograph while you read.

Find By Marcy Phelps

During the past 10 years, the information industry has seen one significant trend that I call DIY. End users are doing their own searching, as well as creating and sharing their own content. The DIY trend has affected all areas of search, including who's doing the searching, what we are searching for, and where we do our searching. It also has changed the role of the professional searcher, allowing us to add analysis and other value to search. Several significant developments during the past 10 years have driven this trend toward DIY in search:

Google The Google.com domain was registered in September 1997, and the company officially incorporated in 1998. By then, we were already moving away from mediated searching. AltaVista, HotBot and other free tools were helping end users find information on the Internet. Librarians were teaching patrons how to access database products. But it was Google, with its easy-to-use and clutter-free interface and heavy investment in R & D that brought searching to the masses. Today, 'google' is a verb and search engines advertise directly to consumers.

Personalised search lets users control search results, and anyone can even create their search engine. Not to be left out, the professional online services discovered and began to target end users. Forget professional-grade subscription fees, telnet and Boolean. To compete with Google, these companies now offer pay-as-you-go pricing and Web interfaces that make these products attractive to non-information professionals.

Web 2.0 More user-generated content means we are now searching for information in different formats; we're looking for up-to-the minute content, and users are demanding a say in the look and feel of their search tools. We are no longer limited to text-based content and peer- reviewed articles. Now images, blogs, audio and video files, books and other sources are routinely included in our searches. These new resources have created a new sense of urgency, and we frequently need content that was created just hours ago. As a result, we've developed specialised search tools, and some search engines are experimenting with combining their various indexes into Universal Search - which displays all types of files in one results page. Comfortable with online interaction and no longer content with one-size-fits-all solutions, searchers today have the ability to create their own search homepage and change how results are displayed.

Mobile Search Not only are we doing our own searching, we're doing it anywhere we want. It wasn't long ago that we were chained to our desktop at home, work or the library. Internet cafes whet our appetite for searching on the go. Eventually laptops became lighter, and wireless connectivity made us free to search anywhere. Now we use handhelds. According to one study by Outsell, Inc., about two-thirds of their respondents were using wireless handhelds. Among those, 71% have moved beyond phone calls and text messages and access and use 'real' content on their handhelds. According to a recent article, we'll soon be able to search Google Maps at the gas pump. And with Google's recent entry into mobile operating systems, who knows where this will take us.

Google, Web 2.0 and mobile search have paved the way for DIY searching and, along with it, new roles for both information professionals and end users.

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