I have found the information landscape to be extremely vast. The reason I believe it to be so large is because the way I understand information is it can be contained in everything we see, smell, taste, touch, or hear. All information goes through a lifecycle no matter where it sits on the landscape. This lifecycle being production, storage, distribution, and consumption. Consuming causes additional production, which helps to start the lifecycle again. The information lifecycle is what creates the landscape.
I think of the information landscape as an ontological chart with all information branching out from two basic types. Those types being analog and digital. Under these two categories I see an almost infinite number of branches of information categories. Many of the subcategories can easily over lap and be considered both analog and digital. The most evident being libraries. There are physical libraries and digital, so they can easily be classified as both.
I am more interested in digital information, because this is how most new and some old information is now being produced and stored. My main focus is on data management. I am interested in wrangling big data, and helping the company I work for to manage their data so they can make concrete decisions based on my analysis. I think for me this is the most practical approach with my business experience. I’ve had the opportunity in a past job to build a basic database, which compiled and organized all the information used to plan shipments for one of the customers which I was held responsible.
The field I want to work in definitely falls under the digital category of the information landscape. Big data is something all companies are currently struggling with and will be looking towards information professionals for solutions. This is where I want to fit into the information landscape in the near future.