Chew on this:
We live in the Information Age; it's been dubbed that for years, and most of the people in this country readily accept it. But I don't think that's where our focus really lies.
By calling the current era the "Information Age," it implies that our focus is on the information. Having a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips, available any time with our always-on connections, it certainly would seem that way. We can find out nearly anything we desire in a few moments with references on the web, via e-mail, or any other fast means of communication.
But that isn't really what we care about; we don't use that information yet. We're more concerned about *having* it than *using* it. The method of transport is the primary focus: how the information gets from point A to point B, or more importantly, how fast it gets there. We're all obsessed with increased bandwidth, speedier processors, and how many frames per second our 3D video cards can crank out while looking at a pretty 2D web page. If a breakthrough in medical science occurs, do we need to start reading the 600 page white paper as it streams over our connections, or is the same information just as valuable and valid if we wait two days for the snail mail arrive?
Make no mistake about it: we live in the Communication Age. The Information Age will arrive directly after.