Summer, 1996 (v8n3)

From the Director:

Internet: Advantages for Agriculture

Long before most people had heard of networking computers together and fewer still had heard of the Internet, a computer company began using the marketing slogan "the network is the computer." The slogan is correct. The power of a computer lies not within its ability to balance a checkbook or play a computer game, rather it lies within the speed and the ease with which it provides access to useful information. Computer networks allow information to flow more freely, with fewer obstructions. Networking flattens hierarchies by allowing those looking for information to go directly to many sources of information, bypassing traditional filtering mechanisms or "gatekeepers" like educational institutions and the media. It allows all kinds of people to contribute to the information flowfarmers and other practi-tioners, researchers, consumers and policymakers. Information can come directly from the sourcefrom a farmer who has used crimson clover as a cover crop in his or her field, to the researcher who has published a 7,000 word paper on nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

The global network of computers linked together called the Internet is revolutionizing the way we receive information. The Internet is an example of the power that can exist when computers are linked together. The exponential growth of the Internet has far exceeded even the early estimates of sloganeering computer companies. The network is the computer, but more importantly the network is access to information. By some estimates, the number of computers linked in the Internet exceeds ten million and spans dozens of countries. That number has doubled in size in the last two years. The size of the information base is unfathomable.

The Internet is still in its infancy, yet it contains more current information than any other information source. For those who are linked to it already, it can be easy to use, and the information accessible within it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The tools for finding what you want in the growing body of information are still imperfect, and it takes time and money to learn how to use it.

When most people talk about the Internet they are referring to the World Wide Web. The Web is the most popular medium on the Internet (others include electronic mail and the Gopher information system). Because it offers so much information and is relatively easy to use, it has been the driving force behind the Internet's growth. The Web allows users to quickly visit sites around the world simply by clicking on links embedded in the text. Pictures, movies, sounds, and libraries of text can be accessed online.

SAREP joined this vast information system more than a year ago. Our site(http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu), which recently won a bronze award from the national Council for Advancement and Support for Education (CASE), has been visited by individuals residing in more than 50 countries around the globe and thousands of people within California. The Web has allowed us to distribute sustainable agriculture information faster and more effectively than by any traditional media outlet. A good example is this newsletter. Before it reaches your mailbox , it is available online, along with most of our back issues of Sustainable Agriculture. We are able to distribute all of our free publications, Requests for Proposals, SAREP-funded project summaries, and calendar items related to sustainable agriculture faster and easier than by mailing paper copies of this information to individuals. We also have the potential to reach more people. Additionally, by linking our databases to the Web we are able to allow access to large amounts of information that could previously only be distributed on disk. Our cover crop database is linked to the Web in a way that is not possible with written materials, slide shows, or videos. The information is completely current and searchable. As soon as a SAREP staff member makes a change or update to the database the information is immediately and automatically available online to Internet users.

Visitors to our site and the thousands of other sites on the Internet are the real winners, however. Information is available online that previously wouldn't have been available. A journal editor, for example, may decide that a research paper will be pulled from the next issue because of space constraints. The paper, however, may be posted online by its author, in its entirety, plus photographs, charts and references that would never have been published in the paper-based journal. Another and maybe more significant advantage to Internet users is the fact that many Web sites index and provide a searching mechanism for all the information on their site. For example, our newsletters are indexed and searchable so visitors can quickly find the information they are looking for without having to scan through multiple issues. They can also find many other related information sources (i.e. papers, studies, project summaries) that may further assist them in their research.

The World Wide Web is becoming easier to use, but it is still evolving. New users often get frustrated when first attempting to access information online. New terminology and conventions can be overwhelming. Technologies are still being developed to assist in access and management of information on this dynamic medium. However, the Web currently offers enough information useful to farmers, researchers, policymakers and consumer for us to encourage you to experience the information available.

Tom Bates, SAREP programmer/analyst