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PROMISCUITY FOR THE MIND
Music to jive to...
Welcome to cyberspace, I'm lost in the fog…..., Joe Walsh, Analog Man
My Dewey Decimal System organizes information son.. , Melvile Dewey, Decimal Rap
A. Information & Communication Technology (ICT) acquisition, deployment, maintenance and up-gradation are highly resource-intensive. It is also a replicable competitive advantage.
B. Information Science (IS) focuses on understanding humans and their needs, wants and drives. Using Technology in extremely creative and insightful ways, it confers deep advantages for organisations and customers.
C. IS is a critical and necessary condition before powering up with ICT.
Definitions;
Information & Communication Technology: Using Computers to Store, Retrieve, Transmit and process data/Information, in conjunction with Communication Tech.
Information Science : ..Understanding problems from the perspective of stakeholders involved and then applying information and other technologies if/as needed…
It is entirely possible to find alternate definitions, but the theme here is not to argue but to explore exciting possibilities that open up when one perceives the fundamental difference between the two surnames of Information: Science and Technology. One creates a process for Information, the other weaponizes it.
I am deeply fascinated by technology in all its aspects. Especially ICT. As a Scientist, I genuflect, in equal measure to Smoke Signals, Bull Roarers, Semaphore, Morse Code, Passenger Pigeons, Navaho Code Talkers and the SmartPhone and feel privileged to choose tools between eras!
I was alerted to the possibilities of understanding the nature of the beast before unleashing ICT upon it through a very curious incident. I had been staying at a very expensive Five-Star Hotel on assignment. After a day of hard, frustrating work, I was ready to shower, eat and hit the bed. As I entered my room I saw a note on the bed. Printed on excellent stationery was a personally signed note from the Fitness Facilities In-Charge. Would I please note that it was with a heavy heart that he had to regretfully inform me that the swimming pool was undergoing maintenance and would not be available, for two days.
Note that I did not even know that they had such a swimming pool. But I, who was ready to shower, eat and sleep now had this uncontrollable, animal, desire to swim. Off I marched to the front desk with the letter. They apologized but had no option. I disagreed. They could give me a discount, or a day free, or dinner…. By then a small crowd of other guests waiting to check in/check out also weighed in into the lively discussion, I confess, having been suitably educated by me. Sensing a Tsunami..the manager appeared with a huge tray full of big chocolate hampers and distributed it to all with apologies and shushed everyone away.
The management delivered the message via a letter. No doubt suitably armed, this same management will deliver the message, as time progresses, by SMS, E-Mail, Bluetooth, 3D printing, Hologram, Blockchain, Teleportation, ..what have you. That's the ICT way.
A very similar situation is handled by almost every Airline in a stunningly simple way. If for any reason they need to upgrade a passenger to a higher class, they DO NOT make a PA announcement...Cabin Crew silently glides down the aisle, speaks directly/softly to the selected passenger/s and escorts them forward. This is the IS way.
Analyze the situation, decide the 5W&H, do it with the minimum tech/customer/noise footprint for max effectiveness. That's what IS does. That's what the Hotel Manager should have done: put that damning message next to the Swimming Pool, thus engaging ONLY those with ardent swimming desires. No ICT needed, yet!
Check your Credit Card for a number at the back. A telephone number. Customer Care center. Country code+Area Code+Non-descript number like 446 6475 89 or some such. Never seen a hugely mnemonic number like 1-800-HELPBANK…..What is the single biggest reason one would have with a credit card necessitating a call center connect? You know where this is going….. Hard to understand why Banking which is practically the poster child for every avatar of IT is unaware of the, perhaps, only situation where the customer is desperate to talk to the bank – loss of card. ICT without IS.
The Gas Cylinder agency puts a small sticker in your kitchen, so you know who to call. Information is available readily when the time, space and situation demand. And we are not done yet. Check the video. Yes, it is the same gas agency with a truck and a bell, just in case you did not have the sticker. This is in Abu Dhabi, UAE, one of the biggest Hydrocarbon economies in the world. Customer connect delivered with gentle sledgehammer blows. IS alone. No IT in sight.
Please identify. Which of these are real instruction signs on apparel labels? If you can identify them, you are a genius. If you know what they mean, you must be the evil genius who designed them! Apparel companies are ICT-enabled to the teeth by the way. Where is the IS?
Now check ANY IKEA instruction manual (https://bit.ly/IKEA_INSTRUCTIONS) on how to assemble what you bought. Even a kindergartener could figure it out. Go on, do check. It too is graphical, but how ?!!!! A splendid example of acute IS powered by gigantic IT.
One of the iconic graphics any International traveller sees is the currency conversion board. State-of-the-art-IT, updated on nanosecond basis with data enough to power a currency trader's wet dream, buy-sell-swap-barter... But it will not answer the one question every ordinary traveler has. It will, but the calculations will drive one loco.
Check my favorite – XE.com. They too have ICT and data enough to sink an aircraft carrier, but they start with that one question answered so silkily. One of my currency is how much of theirs?
A/c’s are made by some of the world’s giant corporations with IQ, R&D and blazing fast ICT befitting their status. And they want you to pay homage to all this via their Aircon remote control. It has language, icons, buttons and else to intimidate anyone outside Lunar Mission Control.
The 47 in the Avtomat Kalashnikov AK-47 stands for the year it was manufactured in! Simple, reliable, inexpensive and effective, it makes up a significant proportion of rifles in service even today, 73 years since the day it was first manufactured. Utterly forgiving, virtually maintenance-free and able to work in any climate/any terrain on earth this simple automatic rifle has significantly contributed to, even altered history. Its awesome simplicity is the result of the military doctrine it was birthed in, simple weapons that even the untrained can use, without the pathological maintenance firearms usually require! Pure IS approach.
I reconfirmed before writing this post today because it is hard to believe even now. The Indian Postal System is a Galactic Example of ICT+IS. They have implemented extraordinary amounts of IT for their banking, insurance and logistics for over 155,000 offices, the largest Postal system in the world. However, this humongous organization has not forgotten its historical IS roots. For less than a single US Cent, yes, they will deliver an “Inland Card” across the breadth of the country with the merest hint of an address. They used to have Dead /Returned Letter office now disbanded. But. Every letter that they are unable to deliver, a Supervisor opens the envelope (if it is not a card) and they scan the letter to see if there is a hint inside that might still help them deliver. And by the way, after delivering to that wisp of an address, if the recipient is not literate, they will read the letter out loud !!! ICT+IS, what could possibly be a better example?
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