Some of the more commonly used means of communication via
the Internet today are: social networks, email, wikis and blogs, podcasts and
webcasts, and streaming media.
Social networking is one of the most popular methods of
communicating on the Internet. A social network is a location on the Internet
that brings people together to interact socially, make new friends, and share
ideas (Computer Hope, 2014). Some examples of social networking sites are
Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Email is an electronic communication sent over the Internet.
It can be thought of as mail that is sent and delivered by means of a computer.
Its purpose can be for just about any reason. Friendly chats, reminders,
invitations, and questions are just a few examples of how it can be utilized.
Junk mail, or spam, is a problem that people have with email (Tschabitscher,
2014). Spam can clog email servers and contain harmful viruses that can corrupt
the system of a computer.
Wikis and blogs are ways to quickly share information on a
site, and they are easier to update than a traditional website (Office Online,
n.d.). Wikis are used for the purpose of sharing information and expansion of
that information by other authors. So, as opposed to blogs, wikis are designed
to have numerous authors that share information regarding a specific topic. Blogs,
on the other hand, are usually created by a single author and readers can add
comments about the authors post (The University of Adelaide, 2014). Some
examples of blog sites are Uncrate and BlogHer. A couple of examples of wikis
are Wikipedia and Wikimedia.
Viewing or listening to media files over the Internet can be
fun and educational. These files can usually be accessed in one of two ways: a
podcast or a webcast. Podcasts are media files that can be downloaded over the
internet and watched at a later time. They do not utilize streaming technology.
Webcasts, on the other hand, are media files that are distributed over the Internet
by the use of streaming media (Infotechusa, n.d.). An example of a podcast is
iTunes U. ITunes U is a collection of different lectures from universities that
can be subscribed to and listened to at a later time. A live news footage would
be an example of a webcast.
Streaming media is data transmitted over a computer network
that is available for immediate playback rather than having to wait for the
file to download (Mitchell, n.d.). For example, most news channels have pre-recorded
videos or live feed that can be watched using streaming technology. One of the
best examples for a website that contains streaming media is YouTube.
References:
Altmann, G. (n.d.). Ball [online image]. Retrieved December 21, 2014 from http://pixabay.com/get/c550670e6a8bc375e26c/1419199330/ball-142738_1280.jpg?direct
Computer Hope. (2014). Social Network. Retrieved from http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/socinetw.htm
Infotechusa. (n.d.). What is Podcasting? What is Webcast?
What is RSS Feed? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://socialnetworkinglab.com/2009/04/21/podcast-webcast/
Mitchell, B. (n.d.). What Is Streaming Video (Media)?
Retrieved from http://compnetworking.about.com/od/consumerelectronicsnetworks/f/streaming-video.htm
Office Online. (n.d.). Use blogs or wikis to share
information. Retrieved from https://support.office.com/en-nz/article/Use-blogs-or-wikis-to-share-information-c898576f-aa30-46dd-a6f4-7e1ecae304bb
Tschabitscher, H. (2014). What Email is and How It Works.
Retrieved from http://email.about.com/cs/beginningemail/a/email_basics_2.htm
The University of Adelaide. (2014). Differences between
Discussion Boards, Blogs and Wikis. Retrieved from http://www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/staff/resources/tutorials/content/Differences_between_Discussion_Boards__Blogs_and_Wikis.html
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