Information as material is the oversight/gap (IMO). Until "Information" (data, content, meta* ...) is understood to be the material (cargo, resource, product ...) that justifies all funding, security, value ..., there is (I suspect) very little that can be defined for Cyberspace and Information lifecycle strategies.
I will always define Internet as cyberspace Infrastructure (Telecommunications) as FCC governance domain, and WWW, W3 ... as cyberspace WebServices (World Culture and Commerce) as DoS governance domain. This is far more logical than present USA cyberspace governance.
Cyberspace makes IT, IA, IM, IS, KM ... feel powerful, ethereal, and elusive. Cyberspace is a good global tag for what needs to be done, as good as past other tags; So, keep the global tag, and clearly define that cyberspace never was or will ever be ethereal and elusive. Think society, communities, libraries, medical and probate records ... ... ... as material (not ethereal).
Cyberspace is the "Information" environment. Information is the sentient population of bits, bytes, text, words, pixels ... relationship families, group associations, collaborative values, community strengths .... Telecommunications, the IT part of the environment is the commerce and transport (bridges, routers, gateway borders, AirPort Base Stations ...) infrastructure with Applications/Programs governing, administrating, controlling flow and tolls in cyberspace. Standards and Protocols are packaging, containers, trucks for moving the products, cargo, and containers across the IT infrastructure. Information Applications/Programs (post compile & install) are the handling and packaging fuel and tools of product production and WebServices delivery. IN FACT "Information" is the essential population (of people, trees, cats, dogs ... music, movies ...) and product material (not iron, plastic, glass ...) of all cyberspace.
Information is created for human consumption in the real world. Information exist in the cyberspace environment for allocation, aggregating, analysis, augmentation, archiving .... Moving information, material, products from the cyberspace environment to the real environment can happen at almost the speed of light and the complexity of that transport, exchange, transaction ... is every bit as complex and problematic as moving iron to a refinery industry, then to a paper clip manufacturer, then to a wholesaler, then to a distributor, then to retail ...; Okay, you get it.
Information has sustenance value for people in the real world. People (home, government, business, military ...) and information are symbiotically related for environment evolution and personal success. If a workflow or ProcessMap applications is developed, then it is developed for specific information that will be stored, manipulated, augmented to meet Workflow/ProcessMap requirements of the human, organizations, work, and production requirements. Designing "Information Services" architectures to leverage information material by handling/services requirements, specifications and capabilities with the end-item product clearly understood makes the difference between resources saved and reused –or– GIGO and OneOff waste and escalating cost. Science, technology, industry and business processes, products and systems lifecycles ... all depend on the efficacious availability and sharing of "Information." IOW: IT ain't about the dang systems, platform, services ... technology. Think about the "INFORMATON" what value, what needs, who uses, why needed, how to reuse .... After clearly defining customer, users, employees, community, sources, processes, controls, repositories ... for "INFORMATION" requirements; Then, you can design an information architecture that will have an affordably lifecycle and strategy, and enduringly meet customers'/users' needs for information.
People Need Information. Focusing on why, who, what, when, where ... about the "information needed" is the start of sensible complex systems architecture.
If you can mentally see, sense, feel ... cyberspace as an environment, then you are a cyberspace scientist, engineer, architect .... If cyberspace is technology and systems, then you are a technology IT, IA, IM ... specialist (brick-layer, carpenter, general contractor ...). As always, in the real environment, both are highly respectable skill sets, but one set can create/design ... strategize; While, the other can build, troubleshoot, repair .... IOW: For cyberwar in a cyberspace you need both type of skill sets.
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