Emailing is a way of sending messages, and documents, from one computer to another.
The first real Email was sent in 1971 – just 40 years ago. Since then this method of communication has escalated and in 2006 around 22 million Emails were sent everday. Email revolutionised the way people correspond and offered many benefits compared to the traditional alternative of that time – phone calls or letter writing. Many of those advantages are still relevant today.
The benefits of Email
· Quick – involving just five simple steps (listed above)
· No need for paper
· Allows for easy rectification of any mistakes without the need to start over again
· There is the option to send the same message to many people at once
· You can send emails from the comfort of your own home, without having to buy stamps or walk to the post-office
· Availible on any devices with Internet connection, including mobile phones
· It is fairly cheap
· Email allows you to send various attachments e.g. pictures, music, videos or documents along with the Email
Emailing however, like most things, is not perfect. There are many disadvantages to this method of communication.
The detriments of Email
· Both the person sending the Email and the person recieiving it need to be connected to theInternet and have Email
· The hardware and software sometimes needed can be expensive
· If a single letter of the Email address is wrong (e.g. sarah@email.com instead of sara@email.com) and the Email won’t be delivered
· A sent message will just sit in the recievers’ inbox until they check their Emails
· Damaging viruses can be transferred via Email – Email is the most common way of infecting computers with viruses
· 4 billion spam messages every year are sent (correct 2006)
These things in particular are reasons why nowadays Emailing has become less popular and people are branching out to using more modern, updated alternatives.
My uses of Email
The main way in which I use Email is to send homework documents to my teachers as this saves me from having to print it out at home and remember to bring it in to school. In terms of using Email as a mean of communicating with friends of family on the other hand, I would have to say I do not use it very often as it seems fairly ‘slow’ when compared to other online communication services e.g. instant messaging. My friends in particular rarely check their email everyday, so if I sent them an email they would probably not be read or responded to immediately – which is where I feel Emailing falls short. I believe that in the future Email shall become less and less popular as it is ‘outshined’ by other messaging methods – however, so long as there are people too confused by the complications new messaging methods can bring, Email will still be used as a straightforward and somewhat more relaxed process of contact.
Instant Messaging – MSN
Instant messaging consists of sending real-time messages to another person or group of people. It is a fast and simple way to chat to friends and family online. With instant messaging, all you need is to be connected to the internet and to set up an account. The main function of all instant messenging services is the open a new method of simple communication. MSN is a particularly well known example of instant messaging.
The benefits of instant messaging
· You can keep a log of contacts and are alerted to when they are online
· You can hold multiple ‘live’ conversations at once, with multiple people
· Most instant messaging conversations, for instance on MSN, allows you to transmit music files and pictures between members
· Instant messaging programmes – liked MSN – are usually free to download and there are no charges to use it, which means you can spend as long as you want communicating on it
The detriments of Instant Messaging
· There is a major danger element in terms of paedophiles having access to MSN and being able to talk to anyone who accepts them
· Bullying can occur quite often over instant messaging, as people are ‘hidden’ behind the screens
· People with little computer-literacy will take longer to reply and this will make conversation inconsistent, and it may hold them back in terms of using all the applications that the service has to offer
My Use of Instant messaging – MSN
2 or so years ago, I used to use MSN almost every week when at home as it is incredibly easy to use and safe – if you use it properly and don’t accept strangers. I used to use it just to chat to friends in the evenings and on weekends as it would save me money on my mobile credit, and I would use it to keep in contact with cousins who live abroad. Even though on MSN anyone can get an account, my parents in particular were reassured that you can block and delete contacts so that person can no longer contact you or converse with you. Nowadays however, I do not really use MSN at all as there are other ways that suit me and my needs better. I also feel I have ‘outgrown’ MSN and now use more advanced and sophisticated services – and so do my friends and family. MSN was also becomingly increasing unsafe as it was being used to spread viruses and I would receive a lot of spam from bogus addresses.
Blogs
A blog, also known as a web-log, is a personal diary or journal published on the Internet. Since they were first made in around 1997, well over 5 millions blogs have been made. A blog can be made by anyone and, in terms of personal information, requires only their email address and username.
The benefits of Blogs
· Photos and links can be included on blogs – this makes them interesting and improves their appearance
· It is easy to leave Posts and there is the option for others to comment on the Blog – these comments are easy to view and respond to
· Simple to create
· Can be made private and seen only by select users
· Could be used to communicate to lots of people at once
· Creating a blog is straightforward
The detriments of Blogs
· Some people reveal too much personal information on their blogs – this could, in extreme cases, lead to major problems like identity theft
· People owning public blogs are susceptible to bullying
My Uses of Blogs
Personally, before now, I have never created a Blog or browsed many Blogs before. But having created one for this project I have found them simple to set up and can easily see the useful features Blogs have to offer. It is nice not to have limitations of what you can write and the freedom to create a blog for almost anything – and that you can make more than one Blog is you want. I don’t think I would make a personal blog though as I don’t feel comfortable displaying my personal life over the internet.
Friends of mine have frequently made and updated personal Blogs which allow them to inform long distant family and friends of the latest news within their life, and to display to them picture and video updates too.
Message Boards
Message boards, also known as forums, are online discussion areas. Users can post discussions and read and respond to other people’s posts. Separate conversations within a message board are called threads – made up of posts written by members. Most message boards are based on a particular topic and attracts a sort of ‘online community’ of people who are interested in discussing or reading about that topic.. Message boards can be dated back to around 1994, so is a fairly recent trend. Forums can also be found on a lot of different technologies – an example of this is an computer games – and is used as a place for the players to talk and discuss their gaming and any new tactics or availible updates.
The benefits of Message Boards
· Before joining an Internet forum, people usually have to agree to a set of online rules (depending on the forum’s settings)
· Message board administrators can join in threads – as well as modify and delete certain posts or comments. In some cases they can also temporarily block people for breaking the message board’s rules. This would help to prevent bullying and profanity.
· You can start a board about whatever you want
· Most message boards are free to join and you can use them whenever you want
· The non-live discussion can be visited at times convenient to the user, and they can catch up on any posts or comments they have missed
· There is no need to contribute – you can simply read along with the forum if you don’t have anything to add to the conversation
· Can be used as good information resources
The detriments of Message Boards
· Due to the lack of restriction on what the topics for message boards can be, some people use it to express negative thing e.g. self harming forums designed to influence others
· Similar to blogs and instant messaging, people are more likely to be bullied due to others feeling more confident to say things online than they would face-to-face
· Anyone and everyone can join and comment on anything
My Uses of Message Boards
I have never really used a message board, but my brothers and sister have. There are various student message boards from people doing the same course as my sister so she can take a look at the opinions and advice of others when she is finding a particular piece of work difficult and she finds it straightforward to comment and communicate through threads. My brothers use the forums availible on their XBOX to talk to their friends about what they are playing and, being fairly technologically-capable they too find it simple to use and a really useful addition to their gaming. I have heard of bad experiences on TV though, of girls joining forums to discuss Anorexia and various methods of ‘staying thin’ unhealthily – without the knowledge of their parents.
Online Video Conferencing
Online video conferencing uses the Internet as a location for conferences. Used mainly by business people, online conferencing can be used in many ways e.g. meetings, lectures or short presentations and can be based on any computer. It allows people to hold visual conversations online at any time – all that is required is an internet connection, a visual input (e.g. webcam), an audio input (microphone) and an audio output (speakers).
The benefits of Online Video Conferencing
· Unlike phone calls, sign language can be expressed over Video conferencing
· Can be used to transfer documents and other files
· Can be between just two people, or many more can be added for a group conversation
· Conferences can be accessed from almost anywhere in the world
· For businesses specifically, online video conferencing saves on travel costs and time
· Fairly cheap as hardware for video conferencing has had various progresses so the price has stayed low – so it is affordable to a wide proportion of the general public, as well as large businesses
· Lecturers can use it to teach students all over the world – generates the idea that the future of Education could be students taught via online lessons
The detriments of Online Video Conferencing
· Flow of images and audio between the two places depends a lot on the Internet speed – and faster Internet can be quite expensive
· People can be quite image conscious, so may not feel comfortable talking over a video conference
· In order to partake in video conferencing people need to invest in a microphone and webcam and speakers
My Uses of Online Video Conferencing
My family is connected to Skype, a type of online video conferencing, which allows us to visually communicate to our family all over the world. I find it a nice alternative to simply messaging them in text as you can see their faces, and if it’s been a long time you can see how different they look, and you can hear their voices and the way they are saying things. My Dad has held a couple of online video conferences for work from home which has been particularly convenient as it enables him to stay at home rather than travel abroad, and essentially is allows him to make a profitable relationship with new clients quickly. Furthermore, he believes it is beneficial as he can give presentations to people all over the world from his work place – where he feels calm, fully prepared and less nervous.
Social Networking Sites – FaceBook
Social networking sites act as an online platform for developing social relations between people of similar interests. One of the most well-known and popular Social Networking Sites, which I myself am a member of, is FaceBook. All you have to do to sign up to FaceBook is enter your name, email address, gender and birthday, and create a password – then you have your own personal profile, you can add other people as friends, exchange messages and upload pictures. When first joining FaceBook, you are given clear instructions on how to work the site – so even those who aren’t confident with computers can manage their own FaceBook page. FaceBook was launched in 2004 and has over 75 million active users – and the site is constantly growing, and becoming updated.
The benefits of Social Networking Sites – FaceBook
· Anyone can join and they only have to give away very few personal details – although some people don’t feel comfortable entering their birthday, it is necessary so the site can prevent younger users from seeing pages that aren’t suitable
· Users can search for Friends – by just entering their name into a search bar
· People can join ‘groups’ set up by their workplace, school or university with people of common interest
· You can determine the different levels of privacy your page has depending on what you feel comfortable with sharing, and with whom
· Can be accessed through mobile phones
· Easy to use and unlimited and costless – so you can spend hours on it without it becoming expensive
· Share photos with friends easily – but you can select which friends can and cannot see them
· Offers three different ways of conversing with friends – posting on their profiles, private email or instant messaging
· You can report any abuse and delete any comments on your profile or pictures that you don’t like
· When another user requests to become your friend you can see how many ‘mutual friends’ you have, and who they are, so you know whether or not they are a complete stranger and can make your own judgement on whether they are reliable
The detriments of Social Networking Sites – FaceBook
· You need an email address to sign up
· The site is constantly being updated and changed which, despite the instructions you are offered whenever there is a new feature, can be confusing and frustrating
· Social networking can easily become an addiction – especially for younger users
· Fear of cyber stalking
· Anyone can join as long as the details they put in are accepted by the site
My Uses of Social Networking Sites
At least once every week I use FaceBook and I find it a really good way of socialising online as it is very easy to talk to friends – as it offers private emails, open posts on each other’s profiles and an imitation instant messaging called ‘FaceBook Chat’. I also enjoy the features of the site such as ‘tagging’ people in photos – which allows them to see any pictures they are in. I never have a problem with ‘odd’ people talking to me via the site as I am careful not to allow anyone who I do not know to view my page. Some of my friends are not as careful and have had unpleasant experiences, but they have sorted their problems by either removing that person as a Friend, or by reporting abuse directly to FaceBook.
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