Everyone seems to be so fascinated with the importance of the information that they produce. Or the information that they require you to produce…
“These details are very important to us therefore they must be important to you.” The disparity in interest is an example of information asymmetry. Information is rarely equal. Someone always has an information advantage. Hopefully, in the course of a fruitful engagement, the value of the transaction should equal out over time. Either in the amount of information exchanged or with some financial compensation added in.
Sometimes I know more and sometimes you know more. In instances where we are able to combine that knowledge, we can build something bigger together. In most cases, someone values their information just a little bit more than they value yours. Insight A is far more specialized and important than insight B and the posturing and negotiations of the information economy takes on its own life.
Time and again, people do get wrapped up in all the details and importance of their own stuff. Some of the information is for compliance purposes, but often it is information that is superfluous.
The worst is when information is vague and cryptic. Sometimes a jargon filled document is necessary, but more often than not, it is a facade. The language is technocratic and legalistic, but not very accessible. The specialized vocabulary may be necessary in some instances but it is also a way to keep some unique value to your discipline.
While information can be free, it almost always has some value. It is up to the end user to extract it .
