The word database may seem unfamiliar and institutional, but your phone book is a good example of a basic database—something you use all the time that makes life easier. A list of your contacts or family, business, and/or friends can also be organized, easily, as a database, allowing you to find information different ways—example: an alphabetical list is simple, but what if you can't remember their name but you can remember that they live in San Francisco, or that their phone number has 455 in it? A database can access information in a variety of ways and summarize key information for you.
A database can be used to keep track of your customers or clients (retail store: what they purchased; hospitality business: when they are arriving, whether they paid in full; restaurant: when their reservation begins and what they usually order; service organization: who the donors are, what they donated when, whether they got a thank you note); medical profession: who the patients are, what their condition history is, when you will follow up). Example: every time you make a long distance phone call, your phone company adds a "record" to their database indicating the number you called, the time it took, how much it cost, the date and time the call started and ended.
Databases are everywhere. It is possible, maybe even likely, that you could benefit from one in your work, as a writer, or an artist, or a professional, or a business. If you are dealing with suppliers, customers, etc. each that you have to process information about on a regular and consistent basis, then a database may be a way to improve your efficiency and accuracy and your customer satisfaction and therefore your bottom line. For a database application example, see "Tools at Work" or go to filemaker.com to read an introduction to databases.
