Beyond the "Information Society": selected atoms and bits of a national strategy in Ireland

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore a number of key issues related to the direction and components of a coherent information sector strategy and more targeted national innovation networks in the Irish context, with a particular focus on the media and other "content" services. In part, the paper is a critical response to the report of the Irish government's Information Society Steering Committee, Information Society Ireland: Strategy for Action, published in March 1997. This official report set out a strategic vision of the implications of new information and communication technologies (lCT) in Ireland and it also placed a great stress on the role of the media and other "content" services in terms of future job and wealth creation. The paper begins by exploring some of the problems associated with the "information society" idea and it goes on to outline the key elements of an alternative model which is found to be more practical for economic and policy research purposes. Section IV of the paper applies this model to provide an initial overview of the main components of the information economy in Ireland and its strategic policy implications. Section describes features of the key media and related "content" industries in the Irish context. In response to the ISSC report, the following section sets out some proposals for a more adequate strategy for this important "content" sub-sector of the national information economy. The final section of the paper sets out some conclusions and discusses the role of economic and social research related to the specific national context of new ICT adoption, production, diffusion and use.