The Volume and Value of Information

The measurement of the volume of information is fraught with difficulties. However, trends in availability and usage can be very revealing, as is shown by some examples. This paper argues that considerations of the volume of information should not be divorced from those of the value of information. In communications, informative comparisons appear to be possible by classifying technologies in just a few dimensions, associated with the features of cost, speed, availability, and usability. An argument is also made that as a rough approximation, the value of information in terms of its volume is best thought of on a logarithmic scale. This approach provides a rough quantitative guide to the diminishing marginal utility delivered by the rapid progress in computing, storage, and communication technologies. It offers a partial explanation for slow uptake of ultra-high speed broadband and related phenomena. This paper will appear in a special section of the International Journal of Communication: “How to measure how much information is out there? Methodological and statistical challenges for the social sciences.”