No knowledge but through information

Why would we settle for data when we can have information? Or information when we can have knowledge? Discussions often reflect an implicit ordering of these terms: data < information < knowledge, i.e., information trumps data and knowledge trumps information. In a corporate/organizational context, information management came first as a field of inquiry, followed, beginning in the 1990s by discussions of knowledge management as a related but separate field of inquiry. And now, predictably, we have discussions of personal knowledge management (PKM), as a field of inquiry that relates to but is separate from personal information management (PIM). This chapter argues for the following statements: 1. Information is a thing to be handled and controlled; knowledge is not. 2. Knowledge can be managed only indirectly, through the management of information. 3. Personal knowledge management (PKM) is, therefore, best regarded as a subset of personal information management (PIM) – but a very useful subset addressing important issues that otherwise might be overlooked.