Info Cloud is an umbrella weblog for items in the realm of Info Clouds: Global, External, Local, and Personal. There will also be postings at http://vanderwal.typepad.com/personal_infocloud/, which will focus just on how people keep information close to themselves.
In the digital realm we have various pockets of information all tied to clouds. The most commonly understood cloud is the Global Information Cloud, i.e. the Internet. There is a plethora of information in this Info Cloud, but often there is too much information and the users are flooded with information choices and most often can not control all the information is or could be useful to them. Often the focus with content creators and Information Architects is with getting the user and the information together. This attraction interaction between user and information is often were content creators stop. There is little heed given to how the user will consume and often reuse that information.
Personal User of Information
The Personal Information Cloud, or as it was initially stated in the Model of Attraction a rough cloud of information that follows the user, is the next step to understanding how to best create, store, and make information reusable. Two common information elements that are often reused are dates (calendar items) and contact information. Users often want to easily put a date into their calendar on their computer, which can then be synched with their PDA or mobile phone, so that they can remember when a street fair, dentist appointment, cocktail party, meeting, etc. is going to take place. Contact information is much the same to ensure the user will show up at the right place for a meeting, interview, cocktail party, etc. These types of information do the user minimal use just stored in a desktop computer, but have more value in a portable device that the user has with themselves when the time comes that they will need the information. Hence this portability of information that follows the user is the Personal Info Cloud
