Information ecologies

the long version

"An information ecology is a system of people, practices, technologies, and values in a local environment. Like their biological coounterparts, information ecologies are diverse, continually evolving, and complex. Nardi and O'Day encourage the reader to become more aware of the ways people and technology are interrelated. A key to thoughtful action, they say, is to ask more "know-why" questions, before jumping to the more straightforward "know-how" questions. They talk about practical ways to have more "know-why" questions, to dig deeper and reflect more on how we use technology"--