Atoms v. Bits in the Post-Information Age
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Negroponte lays a foundation for his book by explaining the
difference between atoms (physical, tangible products), and bits
(electronic, conceptual, intangible information). He explains the impact
of a shift in world exchange from atoms to bits in which "the information
superhighway is about global movement of weightless bits at the speed of
light." Much the same way that Alvin Toffler (The Third Wave ) explains
how society has left the industrial age to move into an information age,
Negroponte further explores the shift from an information age to what he
calls a post-information age, created by the packaging of information in
bits instead of atoms.
Negroponte projects a post-information age in which
bits are so easily created, recreated, and delivered to individuals who
want or need them that dissemination of information will focus on the
power of the user rather than that of publishers and marketers. He
predicts that in the digital world, the media will no longer create (or
dictate) value in a product, but the product (information) will create its
own market by way of its intrinsic worth.
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