Noise

“In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal ....

In signal processing or computing it can be considered random unwanted data without meaning; that is, data that is not being used to transmit a signal, but is simply produced as an unwanted by-product of other activities ...

In some fields, noise means unwanted information or data that is not relevant to the hypothesis or theory being investigated or tested”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise

accessed 07.11.11

“Processing systems are never neutral – to use a metaphor from information theory, noise is introduced into any communication at the channel”

Skrebowski, L.  2006 Open Systems: Rethinking Art c.1970 Graduate Symposium 2005. revised and expanded paper of version of a talk given by the author at Tate Modern

http://www.tate.org.uk/research/tateresearch/tatepapers/06spring/skrebowski.htm#fn9 last accessed 10.01.2012

“... in a Long Tail market, which includes nearly everything, noise can be a huge problem. Indeed, if left unchecked, noise - random content or products of poor quality - can kill a market. Too much noise and people don’t buy.” Anderson 2006

Anderson, S. 2006  The Long Tail  R H Business Books