Information access in the Digital Age

Over the past few years, technology has become so ubiquitous that we can no longer recognize it as technology. We all have things we can not live without. Here is a picture showing a few things I cannot live without. 

Why I Love My stuff

These indispensables include my car, credit card, laptop, Microsoft Outlook, Google, Wi-Fi and Smartphone. Car and credit card have become so common that we have stopped thinking of them as technology. In spite of loving my Smartphone dearly, I cannot compose Email on my Smartphone. I can never be sure the spell check did not “correct” my spelling so as to completely alter the meaning of what I wanted to convey.  Also, I need the big screen to look at my Email thread, look at my next week’s calendar, schedule meetings with other people on the exchange server using MS outlook and search for "stuff". So laptop, Wi-Fi, Outlook and Google form one powerful combination that I cannot live without.

I use my Smartphone to tell me where to go and what to do next for each hour of the day. It is my pocket Calendar (synced to exchange server), weather, alarm, camera, text messenger, flashlight, bank, browser, organizer, GPS and phone. I am certain that if I have a choice of having a headache for a day or have my Smartphone not function for a day, I will choose the headache!

The next set of things that I can certainly live without, but I would rather not are Netflix, Bluetooth, Tablets, Microwave and coffee. Tablet PCs for the kids make international air travel with kids almost bearable. These devices are also a boon when trying to complete a homework on time or when travelling by car to Dallas.  Netflix is the content provider of choice for my kids. I could certainly live without this combo. But I'd rather not.

I connect with family and friends a lot when driving to school. Voice enabled dialing in my car coupled with Bluetooth from my Smartphone to the car's speaker system makes my driving safe. I wish there was an audio Email reader. It would make my time waiting in queue on Mopac so much more productive.

Microwave and travel friendly coffee are the only other things that come to mind when I think of things I care about.

What Information do I access
Here is the type of information I seek online.

I use web search a lot. I use it to search for maps, locations, meanings of new terms, details on current events that I overheard and for shopping.  I turn to digital content for expert advice on all topics right from disciplining a child to fixing a leaky faucet. Local traffic and weather is of great importance for me. I look  up that information often from my Smartphone. The picture above shows the information I seek regularly.

When and Where do I access information

My week day is divided in to four distinct parts.

• Pre-workday: This is the time before I reach school. It consists of two parts - 
• The few minutes I check for weather,  traffic, Email and calendar on my Smartphone while getting kids dressed and chauffeured to school 
• The one hour I spend driving to school. I listen to radio for news and current events during that drive time.

• Workday: Most of this time is spent in school. I access quick information on Smartphone. A little school related browsing, Email, Calendar, relevant research is done on laptop also.

• Evening: This is my return drive time which is usually shorter. I listen to NPR and catch up on current events and opinions, world news etc. It also consists of my evening with kids. While entertaining the kids, getting their homework done, cooking and other chores, I always manage to check calendar and weather to plan for the next day.

• Personal Time: The bulk of my information access occurs at this time. Web browsing, sports, business content, school and project related information access, health, sports and shopping is all done from 8 pm-midnight.

Here is a pictorial representation of the above information.