Information 2.0, 2nd Edition

“Martin De Saulles provides a concise, yet relatively wide-ranging, overview of the enduring issues and current crises in information and communication technologies (ICT) in Information 2.0: New Models of Information Production, Distribution and Consumption. Keenly aware of the rapidly shifting landscape of ICT, his book examines the diverse types of information created and consumed today; the role of data in society, from personal uses to mass governmental and business initiatives; the history of information technology over the past half century; and the exponentially expanding networks of corporate and governmental actors that control the access and management of ICT.” – Digital Scholarship in the Humanities …an informative and thorough title that makes sense of how changes in technology are impacting all aspects of society; economics, education and more. It is even-handed throughout; there are arguments made about the democratizing influence of the Internet and how barriers that might have constrained our access to information have been reduced. Yet there are still cautionary tales. The likes of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook, which aimed to make information via the Internet accessible to us all, are the now the new monopolies and there are significant issues about how they use our information. Although we live in an era of information overload and that information seems difficult to control or keep on top of, de Saulles reiterates the need of the information professional and that its role is equally vital in the `Wild West’ free-for-all new information landscape. This is a title that is very readable and clear. De Saulles uses case studies to outline his points and does not veer into jargon that might leave the casual reader to engage in head-scratching. Information 2.0 is just as valuable for the casual reader as for the information professional and it clarifies what otherwise is a very confusing picture. – Ariadne

Dr Martin De Saulles is a Principal Lecturer in digital marketing at the University of Brighton. He has worked in the information and technology sectors for 20 years as a researcher, analyst, entrepreneur, writer and academic.