Information Visibility in the Online World

This paper the concept of ‘information visibility’ and highlights its important role in IT related activities. The concept of information visibility has developed during an empirical study on Web users and their interaction with Web-based search tools. The study shows that information visibility is important on three related issues including (1) users perception of their information seeking success and failure (2) user’s awareness of and reaction to missed information while searching the Web and (3) the coping strategies they might adopt to overcome their information seeking failure. This paper demonstrates that enhancing the level of information visibility can effect on the abovementioned issues and is an indispensable part of the success of any IT related initiatives. Moreover, the paper recommends a number of practical guidelines for IT managers in general and search tool designer in particular to enhance the visibility of their services and products.