J Boye: Information Managers, Unite!

By Troy Winfrey | Published May 6, 2009

Bob Boiko and Erik Hartman are at the J Boye Conference in Philadelphia and they want webmasters, knowledge managers and anyone and everyone who works with information to step up and think of themselves as information managers — and tell everybody.

Changes are Needed

Bob Boiko and Erik Hartman believe that big changes need to take place for everyone who works with information of any kind. It's time to take the long view, they argue, and consider information from a more strategic, holistic perspective.

It's not just about the Web anymore, or the intranet or any other piece. It's about the role of all information in the organization, and its value. And once that's established, how do you communicate it to others?

The Role of Information Manager

Part of this involves putting on the mantle of the information manager. Information managers use information — including documents, records and content — across a variety of platforms and systems to a variety of audiences in order to help their organizations achieve goals. They're specialists, sure, but they also understand things from the bird's-eye perspective.

Since information touches every element of an organization, cutting across silos and roles, information managers have a lot of power and a lot of responsibilities.

A Practical Book to Guide You

To help with this project, Boiko, Hartman and CMSWatch's Tony Byrne are publishing a book that defines a comprehensive information management framework. Experts in each area of the field will contribute practical, step-by-step guides to help information managers manage their organizations, demonstrate their value and boost their careers. Look for it soon.

About the Author

Troy Winfrey is a user experience consultant and interaction designer based in the D.C. area. He is working on his doctoral dissertation at the University of Baltimore, researching user-centered design principles for the design of services.