And paper documents can be updated only by being replaced. Word of mouth was the first means of communication, and it remains a key information source today. The final version can be very different from the first. To pass along information by word of mouth, we need to gather everyone in one place at the same time, or we must communicate it sequentially or in conference calls. These sources range from the electronic equivalents of everything from libraries and vast archives to town meetings, broadsides, newsletters, radio and television broadcasts, and even graffiti.
Increasingly information is available only in electronic form.
Web sites especially useful to communities are provided by the EU, UK, and Scottish government departments, education and learning initiatives, Enterprise agencies, trusts, the media, voluntary organisations, and local businesses. Posting your request for information electronically can put you in touch with people across the country and around the world who work in your field or share your interest, thus greatly expanding your potential pool of valuable contacts for information and problem-solving. You can seek out alternative viewpoints. Timeliness of Information Through electronic networks, new information can be made available instantaneously, conforming to the rhythm of events, rather than to arbitrary distribution schedules. In some cases, you can find out what's new since you last visited an on-line destination.