Unit reflections

This Unit overall has been a great challenge to me on many levels.

I have been challenged to think in ways i have not considered before. Deep thinking of motives and intent come to mind. In materials i read and the materials i publish. Critical thinking on a level i never did before:)
I will for one take some new skill set's with me after this module that i can hopefully apply in my further studies and the real world.

Boolean searching was a great aid, and its something i will use a lot in the future.
Its very hard to sum mate this course but i believe i am that little bit wiser than when i started....

Now that's not something you achieve everyday!

Module 5!

Information Ecologies

For the last module we have been asked to give some reflections on questions asked about Information ecologies. Here are my response after reading the materials.

The first question is -
How might the metaphor of an ‘ecology’ impact on the way you think about, understand or use the Internet?

After reading the 2 articles, i was a little overwhelmed with the the concepts put forth. I think i grasped the 'meat' of the article but struggled a little with the intricacies.
Ecology, before these examples, was only a reference to the physical world. But after some deeper thought i can somewhat put into perspective in regards to information ecologies.
The 'net' being the new ecology, or the environment of the ecology is mind altering. I now look at the internet with a different perspective. The idea of information pollution, biased company propaganda being a great example. What i take from this in my sphere is that all the information available is shaping our new ecology. We have to look at information and its use carefully. Who controls it and who alters it. Being part of this ecology myself, as in this course, i see the importance of data exchange and the quality of it.
It really does give me a greater understanding of the new world we live. We must guard it and really take measures to qualify data we use. Accessibility needs to be addressed as well in countries with baron "ecologies".


How are the concepts ‘information’ and ‘communication’ understood within the framework of an ‘information ecology’?

Information within this model is the living creature within a physical world. It is ever changing, being created and also dissipating. It is the variable in the model. Communication on the other hand is not the major underpinning of the information ecology. It is more of a semantic, necessary of course but it merely refers to the way information is passed. Communication is the way the information is passed either via e-mail, posted document or even a web log.

Why don’t we talk of a ‘communication ecology’?

I guess we don't because, form what i understand, its not the method of how the information is conveyed, but the more the message or information.
Data, Information is the key element here.
Just like the real world ecology, the tangible is the real elements concerned. The method of how the creatures get around is not as important as the creatures themselves. The creatures existence and purity of lineage. Just like information in this current day!

Organising search information task

The tools i use to record my websites is just the bookmark built into Firefox.
And all my captures are taken with Hypersnap, which was referred to me by a classmate. I use these tools for there simplicity of their interfaces.

1st Site URL http://www.dodge.com/en/2008/charger/
Author N/A
Institution (company) Dodge




2nd Site URL http://www.chargerforums.com/
Author N/A
Institution N/A



3rd Site URL http://www.edmunds.com/dodge/charger/review.html
Author N/A
Institution N/A (Edmunds)




Evaluating the Web

For this evaluation, i had a rather simplistic source to deal with. In hindsight i would have searched on something a bit deeper than cars. I now feel like Shallow Hal.
But none the less. These sites can still be reviewed! But for this example i will refer to a site used in my Assignment.

Netiquette Guidelines, http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt

The reliability of this site is probably one of the most credible examples i used.
The author a distinguished engineer, wrote this document as a guidelines document. And has been adopted by many as just that.
Though somewhat dated, the information pertains to effective dialog decorum across communication channels on the net. EG- E-mail, forums, etc.
The main purpose of this site is to educate, and help establish a basic set of best practice rules in the workplace and home for communicating online. It goes into a thorough breakdown of the different communication semantics.


Record your reflections in your learning log.

From typing a annotation versus taking a snapshot, i would have to say for future academic references, annotating would have to be the best form of condensing information. By this i mean, effective annotation really helps you, and others, find what sites are really helpful on a subject matter.
I dont think a screen shot is anywhere near effective. Probably fine for recreational matter, but not for academic purposes.

Boolean Search Task

So after reviewing the task, i went on and decided to use Google as it facilitates Boolean logic searching.

dodge or charger returned 9,660,000 Results
+dodge +charger returned 7,800,000 Results
dodge -charger returned 114,000,000 Results
-dodge charger returned 11,100,000 Results
(dodge OR charger) returned 258,000,000 Results
dodge AND charger returned 9,660,000 Results ==== To first search

OK, now i used Google scholar to search for scholarly sites, this might be funny.
dodge charger returned 989 Results



And for interest sake, i researched the Curtain Library site and got 105 results, searching dodge or charger:)



Boolean operators, are a fantastic option to know.
Especially when there are more variable needed to be inputted.
You can really refine your search to exclude a lot of the obvious omissions
by default your search would retrieve.

Search Engine Task

For this task i went back to trusty old google.
The word i used to search for is the car im looking to purchase next, dodge challenger.
Google came back to me in the blink of an eye and said it had 9.8 million pages for me. The first site was www.dodge.com/en/2008/challenger/ - 49k the official dodge page.



First thing i noticed how long coppernic took, longer than google. It came back with 710 results which is also a lot less than google. Also the first 5 results were junk. Dealer sites and even a link to a ford dealership??



From this first example, i don't think Coppernic will get my vote. It was slower and less accurate than Google. Enough said.

Module 4 - Task 1

Out of the applications listed which i didn't already have, Coppernic was the first app i downloaded.
It was a decent enough application but i found the standalone interface a little cumbersome. The idea of having to run an application besides a web browser was a little off putting. Now putting that aside it does a good job of searching, but with back to back searching with Google, found Google a lot easier to navigate.
And also with coppernic i got a lot of repeat entries in the search.
Also the thought of having to pay for a search engine (if i upgraded to full features) is definitely not to my tastes. You know "Web 2.0" and stuff:)

The second application i chose to install was Pagesucker. I just loved the creative name!
It was a painless 1.7meg download and install.
The first site i asked it to "suck" was my local weather page, it actually took a really long time to my surprise. So long i stopped it! So i tried a different site, something a bit simpler, same thing. So i went and had a coffee and came back. Still going! OK so i stopped and went to see what Page-get-stucker had done. And after opening the copied index.html file i was surprised on all the content it made available offline. Nearly the whole site!
This is a handy tool for my next flight, i will suck down some of my favorite websites so i can read them while flying, it actually is useful albeit a bit clumsy in operation.

WEB 2.0

Web 2.0?

Well a lot is written by people about web 2.0. But it is just a coin phrase? Well kind of i think. Sure i see the comparisons given by O'Reilly and others but i am still of the understanding that it is just the web. The web growing up and maturing into an adult. If people want to call it 2.0 so be it.
But by looking at the principles of change from the early days to now, there are some definite progressions and changes that have occurred.
Basically web 2.0 talks about the web becoming more of an interactive world with less treading on the people so to speak. Like Google being a great service and not having to pay. People will always go for the free option if it is any good. More and more of the online world is seeing this and addressing the blatant early profiteering. User needs are now shaping the online services of the future.

When i opened up the 2 different pages, there was a clear presentation difference between the 2. The simple HTML page was clearly just a list with all the links simply executed. There are a lot of potential use ability issues with this. The site take for granted that we read English for one. The Blinklist site on the other hand was graphically pleasing and well laid out. With some great features. I guess Web 2.0 for this example.
But in all honesty, if i was looking for pure information, the plain HTML (web 1.0) would have been my selection.

Blogs

Blogs..blogs and more blogs.

Prior to this unit of study blogs was a medium i never really ventured into. I knew of them but never was an active reader or contributor on any of them.
And to be honest i cant see myself staying a blogger much after this study unit.
I can see how they can be a great tool for writing travel logs and creative pieces and i do understand how they are very useful to some. But for me im not much for pouring myself onto a page. Maybe im lazy:( Or maybe its not the medium i enjoy using. One or the other i think my blogging career in the near future will be limited.

I prefer to e-mail my dialogs or log on to facebook and rant there. Just my personal preference and circumstances.

But from looking at other peoples blogs, most notably a couple of classmates, i can see a definate use for blogs. For creative writing it definitely provides a great medium to get there juices flowing, and gives them a big potential audience. It would also be great for clubs to have a noticeboard or place for everyone to post happenings in a simple format which i came across a few times. This just being a few of the potential uses.

Blogging can be a great tool to get your voice heard, but i guess im more of a whisperer:)

Concepts Assignment

Assignment: Conceptual Research & Reflection Project

7. Netiquette

“Good communication practice on the Internet is not something one 'learns', but something one 'practices' so as to teach others, less familiar than yourself, how it is done.” (Allen, N.D)

Definition:

“Netiquette is all about etiquette on the internet. Think of it as rules of good behaviour adopted for electronic communication via e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms and discussion forums,” (Sullivan, 2002).

Netiquette, I find, is a work in progress. It somewhat parallels etiquette in our tangible world, but with the obvious distinction of being related to the rules of communication on the internet with the online community. It encompasses mainly two-way communications like e-mail, newsgroups, forums, IRC and a lot of other chat communities. There is also the netiquette of static sites like webpages and websites to consider.

In my time on the net, I have come across a lot of different online communities. Most notably, I was an active participant on an Australian dirt bike forum (dirtbike world). There was no enforced netiquette except for common sense. And, to my knowledge, there is no FAQ on what is or is not acceptable. For the most part, the online chats went on without much of a hiccup, but there was always the odd new person (Newbie) or someone just there to start an argument (Flamer).

Suffice to say, from my experience, there are definite underlying dos and don’ts across the different communities online. For example, in this unit of study’s online discussion wall, it would probably not be appropriate to talk about our upcoming romantic date. Also not appropriate is using profanity or starting a public argument which is widely a no-no regardless of the forum. It’s also a written rule in the document published by Sally Hambridge “Don't get involved in flame wars. Neither post nor respond to incendiary material,” (Hambridge, 1995). The main netiquette standards document (which is a little dated) published by Sally Hambridge of the Intel Corporation is one of the only adopted general netiquette guidelines. Most are common sense but some are also peculiar to the online world only.

Problems with Netiquette

First, besides some loosely followed documents around the web, there is no concrete netiquette standard as a whole. Forget anyone being able to enforce an online etiquette across the web. Unlike the world we live in, online communities have an anonymity about them. “Anonymity allows people to hide behind their computers while saying whatever they want with little ramification,” (Grohol, 2006). Second, no one really knows who the other is, aside from their respective online personas. Some people take this as a ticket to be as rude or as judgmental as they like with no fear of consequence.

There was a case of an internet hoax written in the media (MSNBC, 2007) whereby a woman created a Myspace account for an imaginary boy and then befriended a girl with whom her daughter had a disagreement. She then cultivated a relationship with the girl under her fabricated male profile and went on to sever all ties with the girl. She later wrote malicious things about the young girl and because of this act, the girl committed suicide. This story just goes to show how the once detached online world is now very intertwined with our physical world. There is also now a need for consequence and action for our behaviours online.

This is not only limited to sites like Myspace but also all facets of online activity. Our e-mail is also a huge medium which the majority of us use. E-mail is probably one of the main areas where netiquette is most practiced. Or, at least it should be. My experience in the workforce has taught me not to forward on certain messages and to discern when something is acceptable to post to a mass audience.

Annotations.

SITE 1, Netiquette Guidelines, http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt

The author of this document is Sally Hambridge, a network engineer for the Intel Corporation. You can read her brief bio here.

This document being rather broad-based is probably one of the most used foundation resources for netiquette available on the net. And, as such, would have to be one of the most credible resources to follow.

Many sights link to this document for their netiquette guidelines.

This sight gives a great reference for e-mail use and also for online forums and discussions. It covers most forms of communications – on the web, one-to-one and one-to-many.

SITE 2, Business Netiquette International, http://www.bspage.com/1netiq/Netiq.html

This site: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21844203/ written by Frederick of the Pearman Cooperation Alliance is mainly designed for businesses and organisations for their own corporate netiquette applications. He is a public speaker, independent business mentor and coaching professional.

The site has good links and also some really good examples of netiquette.

It draws on other referenced sources, and I find it summates online business communications thoroughly and is written for the lay person.

Many universities around the world have adopted his standards as their own or as a reference, giving the document credibility.

It also has a lot of listed contributors which shows a good revision history over the last ten years.

Bibliography

Allen, M. (n.d). Internet Communications, Concepts Document Netiquette.

Retrieved July 23^rd, 2008 from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/serve_home.

Associated Press. (2007). Mom: Girl killed herself over online hoax. Retrieved July 22^nd, 2008, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21844203/

Grohol, John, M. (2006). Anonymity and Online Community.: Identity Matters. Retrieved July 22^nd, 2008, from http://www.alistapart.com/articles/identitymatters

Hambridge, S. (1995). RFC 1855: Netiquette Guidelines. Retrieved July 22^nd, 2008,

from http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt

Pearce, F. ( 2002). Business Netiquette International. Retrieved July 22^nd, 2008, from http://www.bspage.com/1netiq/Netiq.html

Sullivan, Brian (2002, March). Netiquette. Computerworld, 36(10), 48. Retrieved July 23, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 110226640) http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=110226640

Wikipedia (n.d). Newbie and Flamer definition pages. Retrieved July 22^nd, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newbie and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_(Internet)

13. Communication is not complete upon receipt

“The key to effective email management is to consistently and conscientiously respond to and act upon the email you receive, while recognising that others may not be as efficient as yourself.” (Allen, n.d).

As experienced internet users, it is our responsibility to respond to correspondence within a timely manner. Hand-in-hand with response is the ability to determine what merits a reply in due time and what messages are able to be pondered upon.

This may sound simple in theory, but many still don’t have a grasp on the requirement of e-mail and its related etiquette.

There are also other factors involved with e-mail messages. Is the recipient apt enough to respond properly? Is the information clear and concise? Will the recipient be able to view the message?

“Be aware that when you send an email in rich text or HTML format, the sender might only be able to receive plain text emails,” (E-Mailreplies.com, n.d).

To make sure we take away the technical potential for problems, we should make our messages and replies as user friendly as possible.

As a general rule, most work e-mails that deem a reply need to be acted upon as soon as possible, consistently. If someone rang you on the telephone and asked you to let them know if you were coming to a party tomorrow, would you simply ring them back two days later?? Probably not, and the same rule applies to e-mail.

If we simply receive something with no reply, and it beckons a reply, we are closing down that line of communication. It might be perceived that the message was not read, or worse, not worthy of a response. This will certainly effect future communications.

“E-mail is instant communication. Your prospects want to know what you can offer them right now. While you may not respond to their inquiries the moment you receive them, you need to respond in a timely manner, within 24 hours,” (Casperson, 2001).

What Casperson has stated is imperative for good business practice. It also transpires into other facets of our e-mail accounts, be it work or personal. I find that the key is to relate it to a traditional communication medium and respond accordingly. Common sense is always a good rule of thumb.

When it comes to sending e-mail, we normally require a response, or at least desire one. What happens when they don’t reply promptly? We often assume that we are not important enough for a reply, we have been placed on the backburner, or they didn’t receive it. This will, in turn, blur the communication process. So, we need to take into account the person to whom we are sending it. He may be extremely busy and not have seen it, or might have seen it and planned on getting around to it at a later date. Either way, we have to try and put ourselves into that person’s shoes to understand where he is coming from. That way, we can choose how to effectively communicate with him in the future.

TIP-

“If you want the other person to do something, say so clearly. If you are simply passing information, say so, then the other person will know he need not reply. You can do this simply, by putting the letters "FYI" right at the start ,” (Skyrme, 1999).

An example of this from my career is a customer of mine – whenever I write to her, she will never reply in a timely manner unless she’s having a problem. She will, however, always respond when something’s gone askew. I am consistent as a rule in response to them. But, the one time I was on holiday and did not write back, she rang me within 24 hours. So, my past report with them was such that she had interpreted my lack of response as a sign of my being too busy for them. My responses in the past indeed were noticed and expected within a certain timeframe, unbeknown to me until that moment. Basically, people and standards with mail response differ – just be consistent.

Annotations.

SITE 1, The Psychology of Cyberspace, http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/emailrel.html

This site is written by John Suler, PHD, who is a psychologist.

To see his full bio click here.

Suler’s site contains a wealth of information for effective communication via e-mail. It delves deep into e-mail relationships and has excellent examples on e-mail etiquette.

His writings are used and referenced by many reputable organisations like the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The article was published for psychotherapists and is a reference for online counselling.

Though mainly written about relationships, his writings transpire to all facets of effective communication thru e-mail.

SITE 2, E-Mail Etiquette, http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~davidt/email_etiquette.htm

David Tuffley, the author of this site is a lecturer at the school of ICT at Griffith University. One of his major streams is in the research of Ethics in IT practice.

His academic credentials range from many acknowledged publications in the IT discipline at the university he teaches and also in the public sector.

The site gives another perspective breakdown on e-mail use. It also helps people understand better practice for e-mail use and deciphers some of the acronyms used in today’s e-mail.

Although not a long article, it does summate proper e-mailing techniques and effective communication in an easy to comprehend manner.

Bibliography

Allen, M. (n.d). Internet Communications, Concepts Document Netiquette.

Retrieved July 25^th, 2008, from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/serve_home.

EmailReplie.com (n.d). Email Etiquette. Retrieved 25^th July, 2008, from http://www.emailreplies.com/

Casperson, Dana, M (2001, May). E-etiquette. Executive Excellence, 18(5), 12. Retrieved August 3, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 73186244). Retrieved 25^th July, 2008, from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?index=13&did=73186244

Skyrme, David, J (1999). Effective E-Mail Guide. Retrieved 25^th July, 2008, from http://www.skyrme.com/tools/email.htm#what

Suler, John (2003). Psychology of Cyberspace. Retrieved 25^th July, 2008, from http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/emailrel.html

Tuffley, David (2007). E-Mail Etiquette. Retrieved 25^th July, 2008, from http://www.cit.gu.edu.au/~davidt/email_etiquette.htm

26. Privacy and Security

“The Internet is a profoundly ‘open’ system and advanced Internet users are cautious about either accepting or sending material from and to unknown sources and are careful in releasing information about themselves in any form. Conceptually, the Internet challenges us to take greater responsibility for the protection of privacy and security than perhaps we are used to when dealing with the media,” (Allen, n.d).

Security is probably the number one concern of most users on the internet today! Is this site secure? Do I have a virus? Is it safe to give this company my details?

Working in the service industry for ten years, if I had a dollar for every time the above questions were asked of me, I would probably be a rich manJ.

In my opinion, I would have to say these questions are extremely valid. Being an experienced user, the common privacy and security issues are generally not a concern for me. But in reality, if someone really wants to get your information, there is no way of stopping them while you connected to the internet.

“However, there is no single cyber security practice or technological solution that will prevent online crime. These recommended cyber security practices highlight that using a set of practices that include Internet habits as well as technology solutions can make a difference,”(Staysafeonline.org, n.d).

As stated above, one can see that there is no magic bullet when it comes to internet crime. The only solution is to not go online! However, there are many steps that can reduce your vulnerability to the bulk majority of pitfalls and dangers on the internet. Here are their listed best practices.

1. Protect your personal information. It's valuable.
2. Know who you're dealing with online.
3. Use anti-virus software, a firewall, and anti-spy ware software to help keep your computer safe and secure.
4. Be sure to set up your operating system and Web browser software properly, and update them regularly.
5. Use strong passwords or strong authentication technology to help protect your personal information.
6. Back up important files.
7. Learn what to do if something goes wrong.
8. Protect your children online

(Staysafeonline.org, n.d)

Everyday we are potentially exposed to spam, viruses, Trojans, key loggers, ad ware, phishing, scams, spy ware, and the list goes on…. Sounds scary doesn’t it? But, in all actuality, we can safeguard ourselves from the bulk majority by using a little common sense. If something is too good to be true, then it probably is! Typically, no one from across the globe is going to give you $20,000,000 for simply helping them out…..except possibly someone from NigeriaJ.

Sounds ludicrous, but people have actually fallen for this scam!

I am making reference to the well-known Nigerian e-mail scam, where some official apparently needs your help in offloading a ridiculous amount of cash for simply giving your bank account details. I have often wondered what would happen if I replied to these criminals; I know it’s a scam but I was always interested in how it would go. Read this article by Will Sturgeon who actually does.

Never give your personal details to a stranger or unknown company online. That’s simply asking for trouble! Do some research. Here in the USA, you can go to the Better Business Bureau to see if the company is reputable. It’s not a guarantee, but it does help.

A potentially overlooked privacy threat is online social sites like Myspace and Facebook. People often store a lot of personal information and details at these sites. And, once someone befriends somebody who is looking to scam him, i.e. that beautiful blonde girl from Russia who really thinks you are her perfect match but doesn’t know the first thing about you; this could be how it all starts. The person can now probably see your name, date of birth and other particulars to get ID fraud in motion. It’s that simple!

Ultimately, education to potential vulnerabilities is the key to online safety. Because of the openness of the internet, it is a great resource and melting pot of cultures and information. Like a double-edged sword, this same openness creates potential for danger. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Simple steps are all that’s needed to survive online. Think of the internet as a parallel to the real world, the world of the information age.

Annotations.

SITE 1, Google Online Security Blog, http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/

This site is authored by a collective of Google staff. Its very current and probably a very good resource due to the nature of its business. There are a myriad of articles on current security concerns as well as new security software reports. If it’s happening on the Net, then it will probably be reported here.

The site has lots of links to various reputable sights for further reading. But, one has to keep in mind that there could be a bias due to obvious business interests. Overall, though, it has great coverage, and I personally read it regularly for the latest security and privacy issues.

SITE 2, US-Cert, United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, http://www.uscert.gov/

For my location in the US, this site is probably one of the best online threat education and awareness sites available. It is sponsored by the government and is a legal authority when it comes to cyber crime –kind of like the online cops for the USJ.

It is a very informative site for the technical and non-technical. It also has a lot of governmental links to laws regarding the net and current cyber crimes. I find it a great resource for anyone wanting to arm themselves with information on potential online threats. There is also a link to report crimes and fraudulent activities that one may have come across.

Bibliography

Allen, M (n.d). Internet Communications, Concepts Document Netiquette.

Retrieved July 25^th, 2008, from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/serve_home.

BBB (n.d). Better Business Bureau. Retrieved July 27^th, 2008, from http://welcome.bbb.org/

Google (n.d).Google Online Security Blog, Retrieved July 27^th, 2008, from http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/

National Cyber Security Alliance (n.d). Stay safe online, Top eight security practices. Retrieved July 27^th, 2008, from http://staysafeonline.org/practices/index.html

Sturgeon, W (2003). The Spam report. Retrieved July 27^th, 2008, from

http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/thespamreport/0,39025001,10002928,00.htm?r=4

United States DHS (n.d). US-Cert, United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, Retrieved July 27^th, 2008, from http://www.uscert.gov/

17. The impact of text-based, real-time chat

“Communicating in real-time with text enables a form of 'authoring of the self' that is similar to the processes of face-to-face speech but which is much more amenable to authorial control, experimentation and reflection. Further, text-based communication carries with it the possibility for multiple, differing conversations occurring simultaneously, relying on the ability of the human brain to deal with text much better than speech,” (Allen,n.d).

Since the inception of real-time chat, the face of what we used to consider communication has changed. Traditionally we communicated via conventional mediums such as face-to-face, paper messages, and the telephone to mention a few. But, oh how times have a changed with the creation of IRC, mIRC, SMS, Skype, MSN, etc.!

These new methods of real time text based chat applications and sites don’t do away with traditional forms of communication but are simply complimentary.

Chat can be a powerful tool for business. A new trend for companies is to a have real-time based chat for things like product support and product enquiries. Most of these places have 24-hour manning as well – offering a service that was not available before text based chat. It also has accountability because it’s easy to save online chats and go over details at a later date. “For some clients, such as people with a hearing disability, the advent of online chat has been a real breakthrough,” (Burrell, 2003).

A potential limiting factor is that not all people are comfortable typing due to lack of keyboard skills. But this is slowly becoming a worry of the past as most people’s exposure to the online world is expanding at a rapid pace.

Text based chat has also spawned a new sub-culture. Kids used to hang out at the corner shop eating ice cream and drinking soda, but now a decent proportion of teenagers are more likely to be seen hanging out at their computer screens chatting to their friends online.

In a Pew Study, researchers say that 87% of 12-18 year-olds use the internet and more than 55% of them have used chat or been on a chat site (Pew, 2006). That’s an incredible number. Chat has also spawned its own language; take a look here at this site for a primer.

The ability to overcome geographical and lifestyle hurdles make chat popular. People from all around the globe can communicate in an open dialogue, devoid of traditional limitations. Because of its anonymity as a medium, people find a level playing field to communicate. Regardless of social class, speech, appearance or any other potential stigma, people can create or entirely re-invent themselves online. Whether it is a true reflection is totally up to them. However, that’s where a problem stems. What is to stop a paedophile from pretending to be 12-year-old boy, luring kids into a false friendship with sinister motives? Nothing!

Chatting online can be advantageous on another level. Depending on competency, it is easy to engage in multiple conversations at the same time. One could be on Skype chatting to his family and at the same time, talking to a work colleague via MSN. The potential is incredible. Neither party would be aware of what is going on, therefore, no one would come across as rude or would give the appearance of submitting less than one’s full, complete attention.

In summation, I believe chat will be here for a very long time. While internet technologies like video chat and VOIP are becoming very popular, they will not make chat obsolete. Chat, with all its positives and potentials, is truly is a modern complimentary facilitator to our already expanding communication chain. As chat etiquette evolves and mobility continues to expand, this controversial medium will continue to become more mainstream and refined. I am all for making the world a smaller place, which I believe chat can help to do.

Annotations.

SITE 1, Caslon Analytics Messaging. http://www.caslon.com.au/messagingprofile.htm

This site, an Australian based site, is a very comprehensive place to find out about messaging and related issues, laws and technologies. The author of the site is Bruce Arnold who has a Masters Law Degree. He has worked in various Australian government agencies as well as in the private sector. His writings have been cited by numerous reputable organisations around the world giving him strong credibility.

I found a wealth of information on this site from definitions to analysis with studies to back up his facts. It contains a lot of useful links for notable sites and resources.

SITE 2, Chat. http://www.netalert.gov.au/advice/services/chat.html

This site is an awareness site written by the Australian government. It is designed to be a resource for parents and teachers. Information provided on this site is mainly concerned about online safety, but it also breaks down what the new technologies are, how they work, and lists the popular chat sites and softwares.

The tips provided on this site are a fantastic base to many users on the net, especially for chat related technologies. It also has links to government resources as well as phone numbers for any internet safety concerns.

Bibliography

Allen, M (n.d). Internet Communications, Concepts Document Netiquette.

Retrieved July 25^th, 2008, from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/serve_home.

Arnold, B (n.d). Caslon Analytics Messaging. Retrieved July 25^th, 2008, from http://www.caslon.com.au/messagingprofile.htm

Burrell, B (2003). Online Chat Proves Popular. Retrieved 29^th July, 2008, from http://www2.careers.govt.nz/holistic_decision-making_6.html

Australian Government (n.d). Protecting Australian Families online, Chat. Retrieved July 29^th, 2008, from http://www.netalert.gov.au/advice/services/chat.html

Madden, M (2006). Internet Impact, Page 4, Retrieved 29^th July, 2008, from http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Internet_Impact.pdf

NetLingo (n.d) Internet Dictionary, Retrieved 29^th July, 2008, from http://www.netlingo.com/

FTP

The last part of the Webpage task was to FTP my site up to the Oasis server. From doing this earlier in the course (and reading the discussion board) it was relatively easy to do.

So i went ahead and fired up filezilla, entered in the credentials and the location.
It came back and said complete.

Here is the URL to my somewhat infantile webpage!

http://webct.curtin.edu.au/305033_b/student_pres/Group02/index.html

And it works!!