Do remember, while an IA is very capable of connecting contexts, an IA’s sole medium is within the chrome of the web browser. You won’t find too many IA’s being able to connect contexts within a server or desktop application or even an embedded device as effectively as they do on a website much less cross connect information between different mediums such as the web, mobile phone or a living entertainment center.

Digital forms of information gave us several news ways of adding value to information (hypertext, multimedia and networking). These ways of adding value to information existed before, but not in such an easy and powerful form.

A key element of all design disciplines is incorporating information into technical artefects (such as ‘meaning’ into buildings, or allowing an operator to ‘input commands’ into a machine).

Historically, publishers also added value to information; by making it easy to transport and consume.

IA practice as to deal with the new ways of adding value to information, and to engage with the practice of publishing (as well as the ‘traditional’ information science tasks of storage and retrieval).

Interaction design has a more continuity across the digital revolution (with both graphic design and industrial design providing precedents). Interaction design will tend to be more focussed on particular contexts and users; whereas Information Architects will focus on adding value to information – perhaps over a broad range of current and future contexts.

By concentrating on information as an artefact (rather than as a signal within communication) we can clarify the impact of the digital revolution and the roles of the new specialists arising from it.

I feel the that as we are designers of information, conceptually and physically, we need to make sure we give an equal focus on the importance of these skills. IA as a label is useful for the board room, they get it so lets not throw it away. However, internally we need to review our outlook and collaborate with more people in other ‘disciplines’.

The iPhone is a great example of how IA and IxD work together seamlessly and that shows us where we need to get to as a discipline. We need to push things on, the ‘digital layer’ will be where our discipline will be defined over the next few years.

Lets also try to get more business people involved, persuasion architecture and SEO were barely mentioned during the summit and yet it defines our success in many environments.

But this is fuzzy. Post some slides to illustrate so more people can talk about it and disagree.

I want to hear the disagreements.

But I do wonder if extending the segmentation is appropriate. In the talk you made excellent use of (real, physical) architecture as examples, looking at the use of space and thoughts of transition. I can see arguing that IA is the space, IxD is the way between. And then my gut argues there shouldn’t be a separation; maybe there’s a mutant offspring in the works.