Tutorial 6 User-generated Content New Perspectives on The Internet, Seventh Edition1

Tutorial 6

User-generatedContent

New Perspectives on The Internet, Seventh Edition 1

XPXPXPObjectives• Understand push and pull communication

• Learn about mailing lists and newsgroups

• Understand Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds

• Explore the technology used in podcasting

• Use mashup sites

• Explore a social bookmarking site


XPXPXPObjectives• Explore the different methods of chatting,

including instant messaging

• Learn about Web 20

• Learn about online social, political, and business networks

• Learn about blogs

• Learn about video sharing sites

• Understand the ways to protect your privacy, identity, and reputation


XPXPXPPush and Pull Communications• Some communication methods use push technology to send

content to users who request to it– Chat

– Instant Messaging

– Online Social Networks

– Blogs

• The other communication method, called pull technology because subscribers “pull” content to their computers when they want it– Mailing lists

– Newsgroups

– Newsfeeds

– Podcasts


XPXPXPEmail-Based Communication on the Internet• Two popular ways of pulling information via email are

mailing lists and newsgroups

• A mailing list is a list of names and email addresses for a group of people who share a common interest in a subject or topic and exchange information by subscribing to the list– Sometimes known as discussion groups

• You send your information and opinions to a mailing list by posting– Email list software, or list server, automatically forwards your

message to every address on the mailing list


XPXPXPEmail-Based Communication on the Internet• Commands request the list server to take a prescribed

action

• The administrative address is the email address to which you send commands

• The list address, or the list name, is the address to which you send messages and replies

• For most lists, one person, known as the list moderator, moderates a mailing list to ensure that the list always receives and sends appropriate and relevant information to its members


XPXPXPEmail-Based Communication on the Internet• When a list moderator is responsible for

discarding any messages that are inappropriate for or irrelevant to the list’s members, the list is known as a moderated list

• A closed list is one in which membership is not automatic

• The list administrator is a person assigned to oversee one or more mailing lists

• You unsubscribe from the mailing list when you want to leave the list


XPXPXPEmail-Based Communication on the Internet


XPXPXPEmail-Based Communication on the Internet• The Usenet News Service, or Usenet, was founded in 1979

at Duke University as a way of collecting information and storing it by topic category

• The topic categories on Usenet originally were called newsgroups forums– Internet discussion group

• A series of postings on a particular issue is called a thread

• The server that stores a newsgroup is called a news server

• Each news server site employs a news administrator

• Most feeds occur over the Internet using the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)


XPXPXPEmail-Based Communication on the Internet• Newsreaders were programs designed for the

sole purpose of communicating with news server computers


XPXPXPSearching Google Groups for Newsgroup Articles• Open the Google Groups home page in your Web

browser

• Type a search expression in the search text box, and then click the Search Groups button to run the search

• Follow the hyperlinks to the newsgroup articles provided

• Examine and evaluate the newsgroup articles to determine whether you should revise your search expression


XPXPXPGetting Information from Newsfeeds• A newsfeed uses pull technology to deliver changing

content to users

• The format used to syndicate published content from one site to another is called RSS (Really Simple Syndication) – Another format is Atom

• To subscribe to a newsfeed, you need to install a program called an aggregator on your computer or mobile device– Most current Web browsers and e-mail programs have built-in

aggregators


XPXPXPGetting Information from Newsfeeds


XPXPXPPodcasting• Podcasting lets a user subscribe to an audio or

video feed, and then listen to it or watch it at the user’s convenience on a compatible device

• A podcast is a subscription audio or video broadcast that is created and stored in a digital format on the Internet

• The aggregator used for feeds is sometimes called podcatching software


XPXPXPPodcasting


XPXPXPMashups• A software program uses an Application Programming

Interface (API) as a means of communication with an operating system or some other program

• Web services describe the process of organizations communicating through a network to share data, without any required knowledge of each other’s systems

• In a mashup, a developer combines the services from two different sites using the APIs from one or both sites to create a completely new site that uses features from one or both sites


XPXPXPMashups


XPXPXPSocial Bookmarking Sites• Social bookmarking is similar to saving a

bookmark in your browser, but it refers to the process of saving bookmarks to a public Web site that you can access from any computer connected to the Internet

• To create your social bookmarks, you create tags, which are one-word descriptions of the bookmarked content


XPXPXPSocial Bookmarking Sites


XPXPXPChat• Chat: general term for real-time communication

that occurs over the Internet

• Originally, the term chat described the act of users exchanging typed messages, or a text chat

• Voice Chat: where participants speak to each other in real time, much like they would be using a telephone

• Video Chat: where participants can see and speak to each other


XPXPXPChat• Private Chat: occurs between individuals who

know each other and are invited to participate in the chat

• Public Chat: occurs in a public area, sometimes called a chat room, in which people come and go

• Chats can be continuous, with participants entering and leaving ongoing discussions or they can be planned for a specific time and to last for a specific duration


XPXPXPChat• Most chat tools allow users to save a transcript of

the chat session for future reference

• Practice of reading messages and not contributing to the discussion is called lurking

• Text chat requires participants to type quickly, therefore, chat participants often omit capitalization and do not worry about proper spelling and grammar


XPXPXPCommonly Used Chat Acronyms


XPXPXPChat• Flaming: when a participant insults or ridicules

another participant

• Spamming: when someone or an organization sends unsolicited and irrelevant messages to a chat room

• Although many chat rooms don’t enforce the rules of netiquette, as you use the Internet to communicate, you should exercise common courtesy and respect as you would when speaking in person with other people


XPXPXPInternet Relay Chat• Early UNIX computers included a program called Talk

that allowed users to exchange short text messages

• In 1988, Jarkko Oikarinen wrote a communications program that extended the capabilities of the Talk program to multi-user. It was called Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

• IRC uses a client-server network model: IRC servers are connected through the internet to form an IRC network

• Individual chat participants use IRC clients that connect to the servers in the network


XPXPXPInternet Relay Chat• The original network was EFNet, which is still one

of the largest IRC networks today

• Other major IRC networks include IRCNet, Undernet, DALnet, and NewNet

• Servers in each of these IRC networks are connected to each other as part of the Internet, but IRC traffic is segregated by network


XPXPXPIndependent IRC Networkson the Internet


XPXPXPInternet Relay Chat• IRC networks organize their chats by topic

• Each topic area is called a channel, and participants who connect to an IRC network join specific channels in which they conduct their chats

• Each channel has a name, or a channel heading, that uses the pound sign (#) to indicate the chat’s topic

• When a participant creates a new channel, he becomes responsible for managing the channel and is called the channel operator

• The channel operator can change the channel’s topic and heading at any time


XPXPXPIndependent IRC Networks on the Internet


XPXPXPInstant Messaging Software• Instant messaging software lets two users chat

in real time over the Internet

• Instant messages usually occur between people who know each other, and are especially popular with friends and families separated by geographic distances

• The software has built-in tools that let you identify your friends and associates and alert you when they are online


XPXPXPInstant Messaging Software• Instant messaging is different from email in two

important ways:– When you send an e-mail message to a user, you do

not have a way to determine if that user is online at the time you send your message

– When you send an instant message, the instant messaging software identifies whether the intended recipient is online before you send the message

XPXPXPInstant Messaging Software• ICQ– Pronounced “I seek you”

– One of the most popular instant messaging software programs

– Created in 1996

• AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)– Available to anyone, even those without an AOL account

• MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger/Windows Live Messenger

• Yahoo! Messenger


XPXPXPInstant Messaging Software• You must use the same instant messaging software to

chat with other users

• Some instant messaging software programs have options for logging on to your chat account using a Web page so you can use the software when you are away from your primary computer

• All instant messaging software programs have some features that work on wireless devices, such as cell phones

• All instant messaging software is free and requires an Internet connection, preferably a broadband connection


XPXPXPInstant Messaging Software


XPXPXPWeb-Based Chat Sites• Web-based chat sites offer the same features as text-

based chat and instant messaging but are often easier to use and do not require users to download and install any software

• In Web-based chat, some users lurk and others have multiple conversations going at the same time

• The chat room identifies users as they speak with their user names

• Conversations are often open-ended and rarely follow the prescribed topic


XPXPXPWeb-Based Chat Sites• Most Web-based chat sites prohibit spam

messages, the use of automated programs, profane and vulgar language, threats to individuals, and flaming

• Most sites require you to register before using their chat rooms

• Although Web sites that provide chat rooms have rules of appropriate conduct, you might encounter conversations taking place that are offensive to you


XPXPXPUsing Social Networks to Share Information• Web 2.0 creates users who actively participate in

writing the content that they are viewing; hence the term user-generated content

• Web 2.0 applications vary but they all rely in some way on the interactions of communities of people and their data

• Web 2.0 includes social networking communities, mashups, video and photo sharing sites, blogs, newsfeeds, and podcasts


XPXPXPOnline Social Networks• Virtual communities that exist for the sole purpose of

being a community– More commonly called an online social network

• Useful tools for persons who want to make new local friends, establish acquaintances before moving to a new location, or obtain advice of various kinds

• Rely on advertising to generate revenue – Some of the sites charge, or plan in the near future to charge, a

monthly membership fee

– Other sites plan to charge for specific site features


XPXPXPOnline Social Networks


XPXPXPOnline Business Networks• Focus on business networking

• Users log on to seek jobs, find potential business partners, recruit workers, and engage in other business development activities

• Users are looking for specific solutions to their problems

• Online business networks tend to use categories that reflect specific interests and try to make it easy for business persons to find exactly the connections they need, quickly and efficiently


XPXPXPOnline Political Networks• Used in the 2004 US elections to rally supporters,

raise funds, and get their messages out to voters

• Provide a place for people interested in a candidate or an issue to communicate with each other

• Allow people to discuss issues, plan strategies, and arrange in-person meetings called meetups


XPXPXPOnline Social Networks for Sharing Videos• YouTube was launched in 2005, and Google bought

the site for $165 billion in 2007– More than 100 million videos are viewed each day

• Several technologies made YouTube successful:– Advances in digital recording devices

– Web 2.0

– Major networks are dropping their objections to copyrighted material being shown on YouTube

• Other companies are adding video sharing services


XPXPXPBlogs• Blogs have been around for awhile

• Although blogs are a very popular and easy way to disseminate information, it is important to keep in mind that blogs are not subject to the same ethical guidelines of professional reporters

• Blogs are an important way of gathering public opinion

• Blogs also make effective use of tagging to categorize information posted by the blogger so it is easy to return to it later

• Because anyone can write a blog, there are millions of them on the Internet


XPXPXPBlogs


XPXPXPProtecting Your Privacy and Identity on Social Networks• Online social networks can be powerful tools for keeping

in touch with friends and family, communicating with business acquaintances, or making the world seem a little smaller by finding people who share your hobbies and interests

• When creating a profile, consider the following:– Many people may share your same name

– Some sites have restricted areas for underage users

– Cyberbullying is a problem with some children and adults

– You might be putting yourself at risk for identity theft


XPXPXPProtecting Your Reputation• The information you post on a social network is public—

and it is often archived even after you delete it

• Many employers check MySpace, Facebook, and other online social networks for information that you have posted about yourself

• Another issue related to privacy is the use of your online profile by people in positions of authority– Photos on Web site documenting unauthorized activities


XPXPXPSummary• Push and pull communication methods

• How to find and use newsgroups, mailing lists, newsfeeds, podcasts, and social bookmarks

• Use a mashup and learn about the technology

• Chat, instant message, online social networks, blocks, and video sharing sites

• Privacy issues involved when using different Internet communications


Documents

Tutorial 6 User-generated Content New Perspectives on The Internet, Seventh Edition1