original article published in German:
WEIDINGER-MOSER Maria (Ed.) (2004). Communication goes Europe. Österreich-Brüssel und retour. Innsbruck: Studienverlag.
Europe is in flux. The European knowledge society is networking via Internet.
Networks, greatly supported by the European Union, are forming in
knowledge intensive areas such as science and research-based business
between individual experts, organizations and the public area. These
networks usually develop in the course of real events such as
conferences, fairs, seminars and others. However, with respect to
effective collaboration, the usage of the Internet gains attention.
This development constitutes a challenge for organizations as well as
so-called knowledge workers. On the one hand, political, economic or
scientific organizations are faced with the task of creating
environments which enable the development and continuous functioning of
these networks. On the other hand, the ability to find relevant
information, to exchange knowledge across networks and thus quickly
react to and solve problems means that the individual knowledge worker
is challenged with a new form of communication and a new way of dealing
with information. These changes are serious in such a way that it is
legitimate to talk about the necessity of learning a new cultural
technique.
In this article, the current inter-connectedness via Internet will be described in detail on the basis of two examples. Moreover, general conditions under which networking takes place as well as future developments and resulting challenges will be illustrated. Subsequently, the most important instruments which are currently used will be listed and explained.
