Engelbart's augmentation was built around tools used to enhance our ability to create, access and use information. These tools were especially important in enhancing what he eventually called 'C' activities:

• A: The things you do as the core goal: Make widgets.
• B: The things you do to get better at A.
• C: The things you do to get better at B.

When developers get together to talk about software development techniques, they are having a sort of 'B' activity. They are meeting to share information about how they do what they do, so they can get better at it. If they also talk about how useful these gatherings are, "how come we don't do them more often" and "how can we make them better" then they are also having something of 'C' activity.

At an abstract level 'C' activities can be described as getting better at using information. Getting better at using information means bootstrapping ourselves with tools that not only allow us to use information better but also think about the creation of still better information tools.