The folder is irrelevant

In an attempt to delve deeper (and hopefully not rehash) this topic, I thought I’d blather on about how information overload and the currently limited filing system in computers is a problem.

Information overload is going to cause a change in the landscape. Paper documents need a physically appropriate mechanism to store them — and of course we have folders and file drawers. For the first few decades of the personal computer, this seemed like a perfectly acceptable metaphor for digital information as well. But it’s failing and it’s going to fail faster and faster. The digital world has made it possible for us to accelerate all aspects of information production. We are now on the cusp of a vast information explosion brought on by the ease and global nature of communication.

Where we once dropped documents into individual folders for each client, we now find those folders subdivided a dozen times. Documents begin to cross-pollinate. Proposals reference electronic mail, presentations and even — yes, web sites. It is impossible to put everything regarding a client into a single folder.

Apple’s Spotlight is a step in the right direction: Realizing that the folder is irrelevant OS/X now has a system-wide search tool that quickly finds all information — documents, emails, images, appointments, web sites and more — related to specific words or attributes. Furthermore, Spotlight searches can be “saved” as dynamically updated “virtual folders.” For example, I can create a “Kids” folder that will always seem to contain anything related to — for example — “kids, soccer, lake, relatives,” or whatever other criteria I assign the folder. The files, emails, web sites are actually stored elsewhere, but it looks like they are in my virtual “Kids” folder.

This is an incredible tool, but it’s just one step in the right direction. We still need the paradigm shift.

Frog design made a prototype gelfrog device with a gorgeous user interface that is, I believe, even closer to the mark. The folder is gone — in its place we find associative information. Don’t look in the “Fruit” folder to learn about apples. Instead, search for “apples” and see an array of information presented — an apple taking central stage but connected lines of information flowing off to related topics.

Humans think spatially. We navigate best in two- and three-dimensional spaces, committing the “path” taken to reach our goal to memory. It is relatively easy to remember a pattern such as “from the apple glide left to topics about vegetables,” but almost impossible to commit to memory the myriad of nested, ambiguous and often conflicting folder structures of today’s storage paradigm. In fact the flaws of the paradigm are a dramatic downfall. Should the “Fruit” folder contain the “Vegetable” folder or are they peers? The fact is each is related to the other — any successful information navigation interface needs to show this relationship and the relative affinity of each. In other words, fruit and vegetables should appear close together while fruit and cooking might appear more distantly related.

So, Spotlight is taking us in the right direction. We now have the means to find information without being concerned about classification according to misleading folder names. Our personal computers and large-scale document servers continually index and classify information in the background, providing the means to quickly search using keywords. The next step will support browsing information by its affinity to other information.

Affinity, or similar characteristics that suggest a relationship, between information is key. Today’s search services strongly tend toward literal search tools — type in “apple” and it will find the files containing the word “apple.” Next generation services will draw the conclusion that a search for “apple” should also find documents that are discussing fruit and contain the word “Macintosh,” or perhaps that discuss pears — pears being closely related to apples.

This kind of search engine will expand into verticals, addressing medical applications or the legal industry, for instance. As processing power expands and accumulated information becomes relevant systems will be able to cross reference a court case number with the relevant facts of the case — ultimately locating related legal matters quickly and accurately. This evolution of our search and retrieval systems is inevitable. In fact, it is already happening in niche markets. The information boom makes it necessary; there is too much information for us to sort through manually.

In the next decade we will see intriguing new technologies emerge. These technologies will open up new information management possibilities and drive several new industries. We have created a global community by enabling relatively free, widespread exchange of information — the next step is to understand it.