In many ways it resembles the room of a fourteen year old boy. Flashy graphics, a love of the use of technology for its own sake, and a heavy dose of sex characterize much of the roadside attractions on the information highway. There are powerful web cites that contain useful information, but even those worry me. The problem is that the information is presented directly to the end user, and I fear that the end user is often a very poor judge of quality. I have been at conferences with information vendors who have frankly said that their studies show that consumers want speed and ease of use in online systems.
Content comes last in the equation.
This sounds absurd to a group of librarians, perhaps it seems absurd to any rational person, but you must believe me. The private enterprises that will come into the market will have their eye fastened on the bottom line. Established publishers who attempt to convert their business to online formats will bring with them their own traditions, but the marketplace will force change. They will be put to the test of weighing the cost, the value, of editorial enhancements, against the returns that they yield. Newer entries into the field will see that by hooking users up with information gathered elsewhere, by providing fast and easy hooks from one source to another, one can prosper.