This post is part of the eNitiate brand revitalisation journey, and it is a sequel to the eNitiate Visual.ly post.
Information is power: traditional meaning
The traditional meaning of the phrase “information is power” is that the value of information is inversely related to the number of people who possess it – i.e. information is valuable when it is in fewer hands.
In addition, those who have this information in their possession also have the power to decide quantity and quality, mechanics, place and time of dissemination.
Information is power: the 2.0 meaning
With the advent of the Internet, the power of information has a different, if not opposite, meaning to the traditional one.
Increasingly, available information becomes powerful only if more netizens access, use and share it.
The Google search engine model supports this definition by sending online traffic to sources that develop useful information.
In return, those making the useful information available benefit by getting free (organic) traffic from the search engines and other online referrers.
Even consultancies (Boston Consulting Group) and research companies (AC Nielsen) understand and leverage this new meaning, while still ensuring that they can commercialise their respective IP.
In the age of breakthrough technologies and instant access to information, blindness is no excuse.
Dayo Olopade | Author, The Bright Continent Tweet
Birth of the eNiversity brand
In line with organisational culture that is driven primarily by the ever-changing digital technology developments, and thus need to always have our ear to the ground, eNitiaters subscribe to the 2.0 meaning of the power of information.
The requirement to embrace and entrench the power of continuous learning that is enabled by freely available information has lead us to develop a brand, aptly called the eNiversity.
Through this brand, we develop, gather, re-purpose and share digital technology and marketing information both internally within the eNitiate company and publicly in the online space.
The future of eNiversity
Eric Schmidt declared in 2010 that “everyday 2 days we create as much information as we did up to 2003” (TechCrunch).
Put differently, it takes only 2 days now to produce the same amount of information that was produced throughout history until 2003!
The question is: are netizens coping with the amount of information available on the Internet?
We think not.
There are opportunities for curating and re-purposing of already existing information in the way that it becomes easier for increasingly time-starved netizens to consume it.
This future is where eNiversity will be playing.
The next post in the eNitiate revitalisation journey is going to focus on eNitiate Playful.ly.