The digital network completely eliminates the classical model of a newspaper. If one considers newspapers, magazines, and publishing as the “warehouse” function of information flow, then digital networking is likely to do the same thing to this industry that computer-based inventory systems did to the manufacturing warehousing industry in this country. That industry, today, is only a shadow of what it once was. There will be roles for individuals and small organizations that act as information “gatekeepers” and “brokers.” Those who are able to organize and filter information for the benefit of others will take on the functions of what newspapers and magazines provide today.
Predictor: Hiltz, Starr Roxanne
Prediction, in context:In a 1992 paper they presented at a workshop titled “Rights and Responsibilities of Participants in Networked Communities” for the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council, researchers Starr Roxanne Hiltz and Murray Turoff say:”The effective use of networking often means employing new methods in carrying out tasks. Let’s take the example of the newspaper. In the network environment information seekers can indicate a profile for news stories to be received on some sort of regular basis and have a tailored newspaper generated from a variety of content suppliers. Furthermore, they can enter a selective search such as ‘Who within ten miles of my home is offering dress shirts at under X dollars?’ There is no need to scan a hundred different advertisements. The digital network completely eliminates the classical model of a newspaper. If one considers newspapers, magazines, and publishing as the ‘warehouse’ function of information flow, then digital networking is likely to do the same thing to this industry that computer-based inventory systems did to the manufacturing warehousing industry in this country. That industry, today, is only a shadow of what it once was. There will be roles for individuals and small organizations that act as information ‘gatekeepers’ and ‘brokers.’ Those who are able to organize and filter information for the benefit of others will take on the functions of what newspapers and magazines provide today. However, the value for the service will come from the cognitive talents of a small number of individuals and not from the tonnage of physical paper set in motion.”
Biography:Starr Roxanne Hiltz, the co-author of a seminal book about the electronic frontier, “The Network Nation: Human Communication Via Computer” (MIT Press), was a professor of computer and information science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the author of many Internet research studies. In 1994, Hiltz received the “Pioneer Award” from the Electronic Frontier Foundation for her “significant and influential contributions to computer-based communications and to the empowerment of individuals using computers.” She was among the first to note that computer conferencing could form the basis of new kinds of communities. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: November 1, 1992
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Rights and Responsibilities of Participants in Networked CommunitiesComputer science and Telecommunications BoardNational Research Council (NRC)
Title, headline, chapter name: A Normative View of Networking Applications
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.njit.edu/~turoff/Papers/dcgov.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney