What IS an Information Architect, anyway?

Everyone’s been at a party (or the dentist, or the in-laws) and been asked “What do you do?”. Most people have a nice clean answer: accountant, fireman, lawyer, etc. If you answer that immortal question with “Information Architect” you can expect a quizzical expression rapidly followed by a polite smile. “Ohhhh,” they say, pausing for a moment. “So what IS that?”.