Where is the information?

Kat King
Business Intelligence Analyst
Michigan, United States

Speaker bio:

Kat King is an information architect interested in language, and meaning, and the things we make. She currently works as a business intelligence analyst for the University of Michigan Library.

Talk description:

As information professionals we work with the stuff of information in our everyday work. We search for and elicit information, we spend time analyzing and synthesizing it, we carefully create and structure it. Whether you elicit information from users and stakeholders, explore large data sets, design ‘journeys’ or interfaces, or create information architectures, understanding the information you are using and creating as information can help you do your work better. But understanding exactly what the information is, and where it is in our work can be tricky. Information theory can be dense and jargon filled, and discussions in academic texts can feel divorced from the practice of actually working with information.

In this talk I’ll use simple examples to teach you to “see” the information around you and understand what makes something be information, in the context of working as a human to accomplish something.