The Social Life of Information, which Duguid co-authored with John Seely Brown, is one of the most widely-read and influential books on the impact of new technologies on society in recent years.  It has been translated into Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese.  His other writings span a wide range of fields, from anthropology to computer science and even include the history of wine. Many of his writings and speeches relate to organizations and well as to technology in education.  According to his bio, he is currently investigating the historical development of the institutions that shaped international trade in the eighteenth century as part of an anthropological-historical project.

This is the tenth in a series of Tidbits of the Week devoted to the authors whose works appear in the just-published 9th edition of Technology and the Future.  Last week's Tidbit profiled Brian Martin.  Future Tidbits will profile the last two new authors from the 9th edition of Technology and the Future:  Gene Rochlin and President George W. Bush. 

Paul Duguid's bio on the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center web site (last edited Sept. 20, 1999).  Basic information about him as well as links to some of his writings, including an interesting 1996 article, "Material Matters: Aspects of the past and futurology of the book," which includes some thoughts about the limits of predictions about technology. 

A more current and complete bio of Duguid on the "about the authors" page of the site for his and John Seely Brown's book, The Social Life of Information.  See the link at the bottom for his curriculum vitae and a list of his publications.

A presentation by Paul Duguid on "Organizing Knowledge: A Social Life Critique."  From a a conference on Managing Organizational Knowledge: Making the Most of What You Know at the University of Melbourne (Australia), January 22-24, 2002.  Scroll down to near the bottom of the page for the link to Duguid's presentation (which is in Powerpoint).

Press release from Oberlin College (Ohio), entitled "Paul Duguid to Speak at Oberlin College April 9." 

John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid, "Creativity Versus Structure: A Useful Tension."  Great new ideas help only those organizations with the discipline and infrastructure needed to implement them.  In MIT Sloan Management Review, (Summer 2001), Volume 42, Number 4, pp. 93-94.

Review of The Social Life of Information by David J. Staley in the Journal of the Association for History and Computing, Vol. III, No. 2 (August 2000).

Another review of The Social Life of Information, this one by "The Irascible Professor," (Mark H. Shapiro), "Irreverent Commentary on the State of Education in America" (July 6, 2000). 

Summary of Paul Duguid's Keynote Address to the Inaugural Conference of the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education, January 11 and 12, 2001.

"Why Stuff Happens," by Jeffrey L. Seglin and Mike Hofman, on Inc.com.  A review of five business books, including The Social Life of Information.  Draws an interesting connection between SLOI and Malcom Gladwell's The Tipping Point.