In a broad sense, information is structured, processed and organised information. It gives context to previously processed data and allows rational decision making. For instance, a single customer’s sale in a particular restaurant is statistical data which becomes information once the company is able to categorise the different items that have been bought in this location. Similarly, the process of building a house provides information about the structure and composition of the building.

In the context of business, information is critical to decision making. Information provided by different people in different departments influences the way decisions are made. Decision making is affected by the quality and relevance of information. For instance, an important financial data provides information about the profitability of different businesses. People do not generally like to spend time thinking about the profitability of a business.

Information has different meaning for different people. For instance, the financial data provides information about the profitability and viability of a business. However, the decision to buy a particular commodity depends more on how the commodity is perceived to be by different individuals. In social life, information is used to establish relationships and provide information about a particular person or group. An individual may choose to share information with close friends and relatives or they may choose not to share information at all.

The process of sharing information is referred to as communication. Communication can take place through written information, music, film and television. Information can also be communicated through spoken words, images and tastes. When it comes to communication, information travels fast across distance. Therefore, it is obvious that information plays an important role in society.

Different people have different ways of accessing information. For instance, some people may need more information before they make a decision while others may not be able to comprehend a message if it is given to them in the form of text. There are many different types of media that help people to access information. Books, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, Internet etc. are some of the most popular sources of information.

People use different sources of information for different purposes. Some of these purposes are for knowledge, information about health and medicine, information on the weather etc. Therefore, different people tend to access different information in different ways. This information is also spread over different platforms such as the internet, social networking, mobile phone etc. The use of the information resources in our daily lives has increased over the years and there is no sign of this trend ending soon.