User-Generated Content on the Internet Tutorial 6 User-Generated Content on the Internet

Objectives Understand push and pull communication Learn about mailing lists and newsgroups Understand Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds and Web Slices Explore the technology used in podcasting Use mashup sites Explore a social bookmarking site New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Objectives Explore the different methods of chatting, including instant messaging Learn about Web 2.0 Learn about online, social, political, and business networks Learn about blogs and microblogs Learn about video sharing sites Understand the ways to protect your privacy, identity, and reputation New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Push and Pull Communications Some communication methods use push technology to send content to users who request it Chat Instant messaging Online social networks Blogs New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Push and Pull Communications Pull technology has subscribers “pull” content to their computers when they want it Mailing lists Newsgroups Feeds Web Slices Podcasts New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Email-Based Communication on the Internet Two popular ways of pulling information via email are mailing lists and newsgroups A popular way of sharing information is to join, or subscribe to, a mailing list, which 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 Mailing lists and the groups they represent, sometimes called discussion groups, do not require you to enter the email addresses of people subscribed to the list into your email program’s address book New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Email-Based Communication on the Internet Information and opinions are sent to discussion groups by posting (or sending) an email message to the list When you post a message to a mailing list, the email list software running on the server automatically forwards your message to every email address on the mailing list The server that runs the email list software is sometimes called a list server because it runs the list Mailing list messages are simply email messages that express ideas or ask questions, and these messages are forwarded to list members New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Email-Based Communication on the Internet Commands request the list server to take a prescribed action The list address, or list name, is the address to which you send messages and replies The administrative address is the email address to which you send commands, such as the address that you use to subscribe to a list New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Email-Based Communication on the Internet New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Email-Based Communication on the Internet 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 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 When an individual does not moderate a list, it is called an unmoderated list A closed list is one in which membership is not automatic New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Email-Based Communication on the Internet In a closed list, the list administrator, a person assigned to oversee one or more mailing lists, can either reject or accept membership requests Most lists are open lists that automatically accept all members, in which case the list has no administrator When you want to leave a mailing list, also referred to as unsubscribing from or dropping the mailing list, follow the instructions in the confirmation message that the list server sent to you New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Email-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 Topic categories were originally called newsgroups or forums Another popular term is Internet discussion group A distributed database is stored in multiple physical locations, with portions of the database replicated in different locations A newsgroup stores items on a server as articles or postings that are sorted by topic New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Email-Based Communication on the Internet Usenet, continued A series of postings on a particular issue is called a thread The server that stores a newsgroup is called a news server The store-and-forward process is called obtaining a feed Each news server site employs a news administrator, who specifies which other news servers will be feed providers and feed recipients Most feeds occur over the Internet using the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) Newsreaders were programs designed for communicating with news server computers New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Email-Based Communication on the Internet Google Groups home page New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Getting Information from RSS Feeds The format that is used to syndicate (distribute) published content from one site to another is called RSS, an acronym for Really Simple Syndication To subscribe to a feed, you need to install an aggregator New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Getting Information from Web Slices A Web Slice is part of a Web page that a developer codes so users can subscribe to it New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Podcasting An iPod is a small and lightweight portable media player Podcasting lets a user subscribe to an audio or video feed, 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 podcasting software New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Mashups A software program uses an Application Programming Interface (API) as a means of communication with an operating system or some other program The term Web services describes the process of organizations communicating through a network to share data, without any required knowledge of each other’s systems New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Mashups 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 New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Social 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 social bookmarks, you create tags, which are one-word descriptions of the bookmarked content, to assign your favorite Web sites to categories New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Chat Chat is a general term for real-time communication that occurs over the Internet using software that is installed on Internet devices Chats can involve exchanging pictures, videos, sounds, data, and programs In voice chat, participants speak to each other in real time In video chat, participants can see and speak to each other New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Chat A private chat occurs between individuals who know each other and are invited to participate in the chat A public chat occurs in a public area, sometimes called a chat room, in which people come and go by visiting a Web page that hosts the chat The practice of reading messages and not contributing to the discussion is called lurking New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Chat Flaming is when a participant insults or ridicules another participant Spamming is another unwanted practice in which someone or an organization sends unsolicited and irrelevant messages to a chat room Chat began with a program for UNIX computers called Talk, which was followed by Internet Relay Chat (IRC) New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Chat New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Chat Instant messaging software lets users chat in real time using software and a device that is connected to the Internet, such as a computer or cell phone There are several instant messaging software products available New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Using Social Networks to Share Information Web 2.0 is a term coined to describe the changed Internet in which users interact with content A virtual community, now more commonly called an online social network, is a place on the Internet where people can gather to discuss issues and share information New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Online Social Networks Craigslist was an early online social network Most social networking sites rely heavily on advertising to generate revenue Recently, Facebook has become a communication tool for corporations and even political candidates New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Online Business Networks The users of online business networks are looking for specific business solutions Examples: LinkedIn Sermo Ryze New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Online Political Networks Online political networks allow people to discuss issues, plan strategies, and even arrange in-person gatherings called meetups New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Online Social Networks for Sharing Videos YouTube was an early and hugely successful video sharing site Rather than objecting to copyright violations, major networks entered into strategic partnerships with YouTube New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Blogs Initially, blogs were used mostly by individuals as a way of communicating with others about personal or other topics Blogs became mainstream when 2004 presidential candidates began using them Blogs are not subject to the same ethical guidelines of professional reporters New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Microblogs A microblog is a form of blogging that sends short messages – usually 140 characters or less – on a very frequent schedule Microblog postings are sometimes called tweets The act of microblogging is sometimes called tweeting A follower is a person who is receiving your microblog updates New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Protecting Your Privacy and Identity on Social Networks Considerations include: Many people have the same name Falsified ages Cyberbullying, or using Internet communication to harass, threaten or intimidate someone By making your information public, you put yourself at risk New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Protecting Your Reputation Many employers check social networking sites Although postings can be deleted, information is archived False information can be posted about people New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Summary Push and pull communication Mailing lists and newsgroups RSS feeds and Web Slices Podcasting Mashup sites Social bookmarking sites New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition

Summary Chatting and instant messaging Web 2.0 Online, social, political, and business networks Blogs and microblogs Video sharing sites Protecting privacy, identity, and reputation New Perspectives on the Internet, 8th Edition