Business information comes from a wide variety of sources and an effective business person will research information from a range of sources before making decisions. Business information is one of the three main segments of the information industry. The other two segments are scientific, technical and medical, and educational and training content.
Verbal information is literally face to face which is seen as the best way to communicate. This way there is less scope for misunderstanding and it allows for verbal and non verbal messages. However, with the constraints of time and budgets in business, it is not always possible or pratical to meet in person. Telephone conversations are always another seen way to communicate well. The range in which people can communicate verbaly is enormous. Speech enables complex ideas to be expressed and discussed. For most people, talking is the most comfortable method of expression.
Written information is the use of physical symbols to represent words. Words are sounds that make up speech. Other forms of physical representation, such as diagrams, graphs and charts are also types of visual representation. Written information may come from a wide variety of sources including newpapers, books, trade journals and government publications.
On screen information may be produced on-screen. This can be seen in multimedia TV and CD-ROMs that combine text, graphics, animation, audio and video.
Multimedia information can be text, graphics, audio, animation, video, data and many more. It is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. Multimedia is usually recorded and played, displayed or accessed by information content processing devices, such as computerised and electronic devices, but can also be part of a live performance.
Web-based information is an information system that uses internet web technologies to deliver information and