Information

Information is an encoding of physics using physical means. The goal of civilization is to produce good information to shed light on evil information and transform it into good. All information can be good or evil in different lights, and good information can come from any source. Metadata is a fancy word for a note.

How to collect Information
Use your senses of sight, sound, touch, hearing, taste, and imagination, or do some crowdsourcing if you're lazy.

"My name is Sherlock Holmes.  It is my business to know what other people don't know." --The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle