book

Ambient Findability

by Peter Morville

September 2005

Intermediate to advanced

204 pages

6h 13m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Organization of This BookSafari EnabledContacting the AuthorContacting O’ReillyAcknowledgments
1.1. Definition1.2. Information Literacy1.3. Business Value1.4. Paradise Lost
2.1. All Creatures Great and Small2.2. Human Wayfinding in Natural Habitats2.3. Maps and Charts2.4. The Built Environment2.5. Wayfinding in the Noosphere2.6. The Web2.7. The Baldwin Effect
3.1. Defining Information3.2. Information Retrieval3.3. Language and Representation3.4. The People Problem3.5. Information Interaction
4.1. Everyware4.2. Wayfinding 2.04.3. Findable Objects4.4. Imports4.5. Exports4.6. Convergence4.7. Asylum
5.1. Marketing5.2. Design5.3. Findability Hacks5.4. Personalization5.5. Ebb and Flow
6.1. Us and Them6.2. The Social Life of Metadata6.2.1. Taxonomies6.2.2. Ontologies6.2.3. Folksonomies6.2.4. Networks6.3. Documents6.3.1. The Shape of Information6.3.2. Antelopes as Boundary Objects6.3.3. The End of Data6.4. A Walk in the Park
7.1. Bounded Irrationality7.2. Informed Decisions7.3. Network Culture7.4. The Body Politic7.5. Information Overload7.6. Graffiti Theory7.7. Sources of Inspiration7.8. Ambient Findability

Content preview from Ambient Findability

Chapter 1. Lost and Found

At the seashore, between the land of atoms and the sea of bits, we are now facing the challenge of reconciling our dual citizenship in the physical and digital worlds.
—Hiroshi Ishii
MIT Media Lab

I’m sitting on a beach in Newport, Rhode Island. Seagulls and sandpipers hunt near the water’s edge. The Atlantic ocean sparkles in the early morning sun. To my right, the Cliff Walk winds its way between the rugged New England shoreline and the manicured gardens of the Newport mansions, opulent “summer cottages” built with industrial age fortunes made in steamships, railroads, and foreign trade.

I’m sitting on a beach in Newport, but I’m not entirely there. My attention is focused on a device that rests in the palm of my hand. It’s a Treo 600 smartphone. I’m using it to write this sentence, right here, right now. As a 6.2 ounce computer sporting a 144 megahertz RISC processor, 32 megabytes of RAM, a color display, and a full QWERTY keyboard, this is one impressive micro-machine. But that’s not what floats my boat. What I love about this device is its ability to reach out beyond the here and now.

By integrating a mobile phone and Palm Powered organizer with wireless email, text messaging, and web browsing, the Treo connects me with global communication and information networks. I can make a phone call, send email, check the weather, buy a book, learn about Newport, and find a restaurant for lunch. The whole world is accessible and addressable through this 21^st Century ...