Module 3 - Web 2.0

Web 2.0 versus HTML

When looking at the Internet Communication Blink List page versus the HTML version there are a number of differences. These are as follows:

·       HTML version is much quicker to load up in a web browser

·       The layout of the web 2.0 version has a much more interactive look and feel

·       Web 2.0 version provides more images and allows them to be interactive

·       Web 2.0 Increases practical usage

·       Semantic tagging improves the navigation of web 2.0 version

From the list above you can see that the only downfall with web 2.0 is that it increases traffic due to a larger content volume and the page takes longer to load. Web 2.0 is not a product but a standard which can use tools such as Ajax to develop these web 2.0 standard pages. The main features web 2.0 provides over HTML as described by O’Reilly Media are:

 

·       It uses XHTML instead of HTML which allows it to cross the boundary of more than one web browser;

·       Features include dynamic display and interaction using the Document Object Model;

·       Data interchange and manipulation using XML which is a language to transfer data files;

·       asynchronous data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest;

·       JavaScript binding everything together.

Module 3 - Blogs

Blogs

There are many different genres or types of blogs in what is known by bloggers as the blogosphere.  There are business blogs, technical blogs, and political blogs and so on. This site provides a very good description of the many different types of blogs. In my travels across the net I stumbled across a political blog of sorts with a very unique purpose. After reading it I became aware that in fact this blog was quite well known a few years ago.

I will quickly discuss this blog as it had an impact on me and potentially thousands of other readers.  This blog is called “Where is Raed’ and is between two Iraqi-born architects, Salam Pax and Raed Jarrar. The blog was used between December 2002 and August 2004 whilst Salam was based in Iraq and Raed in Jordan. It provides insight into Iraqi life through the primary source of Salam’s accounts of Baghdad daily life and reflective political and social views during the period shortly before and during the US-led invasion of Iraq. Raed’s perspectives are also captured but with less frequency and most based on secondary sources of reported information.

This blog is a particularly good example of how blogging can have an impact. Salam's used this blog to give the reader an insight into Iraqi everyday life during the US led invasion. Salam’s life has changed because of this blog and in fact he in somewhat of a celebrity columnist now in the US and even appearing on Andrew Denton’s ‘Enough Rope’.

My opinion is that blogs are a very useful tool for knowledge. I find them particularly helpful to find information in educational areas, when I buy electronics and even when I want to go and see a movie, I can check to see what people have thought about it. The only drawback to blogs is that not all information can be attributed to a credible source so it is a case of ‘reader beware’.

Module 3 - WWW Standards

Web Writing Standards

The way in which information is presented on a web page is in many ways different for traditional writing such as formal business writing or academic writing. However, some of the same principles apply. It is the aim of both to get the point across efficiently but it is the style of doing this that changes. Writing on the web can vary from site to site depending on its target audience however the following 5 tips should be followed across all web writing:

·       State your point or main topic in the first few lines: This reader does not want to read through the whole page before they understand the topic.

·       Keep the layout simple with short sentences and paragraphs.

·       Only use more formal words are emphasising meaning: otherwise stick to plain English.

·       Balance the layout of your web page. Try to evenly distribute text and images.

·       Structure is important. Use appropriate headings and bullet points.

When laying out a web page it is very important to consider balance. There are different types of balance. These are:

Symmetrical
Elements on either side of a page are the same. If you were to split the page in half vertically both sides would contain the same amount of text and images and the layout would be the same. This is used in formal web pages

Asymmetrical
If you compare two sides of a web page, the objects are different on each side.

Radial
The objects in your web page radiate out from a central point in the design.

The picture below illustrates the concept of balance:

Module 3 - HTML Tags

HTML TAGS

I found working with HTML Tags somewhat tedious to begin with however quite enjoyed creating web pages by the end of this module. I noticed that the difference between blogging and creating HTML web pages is that blogging is a way of automatically creating HTML code for your web page instead of doing it manually as in this module. For example, 

I used the W.Blogger program to create what I am writing and I could have achieved the same result by typing in this HTML code.

 

Module 2 - Email Lists

What are the pros and cons of email lists versus discussion boards? 

 It depends on what the goal of your communication is. Email lists have some advantages in that:

• They allow you to receive information rather than go looking for it
• It is a great way to ensure your message is delivered to the intended recipients
• It is a great tool for marketing
• You can store the information any way you like
• Great way to build up your contacts

However it also has its drawbacks:

• It creates a lot of unwanted email or spam
• Responding to some marketing emails can divulge your information to unwanted sources
• Security risks of malicious email and use of HTML email to do this
• Problems reading email if your computer policy or browser only reads plain text

Discussion Boards also have their pro and cons. The main advantages are:

• Communication is asynchronous which lets you communicate on your own terms when you feel like doing so.
• Although there may be advertisements on the web site these are not directed to your email
• Fewer security risks as no emails are sent
• No computer issues reading the content
• You only read what you are interested in

Discussion board’s drawbacks include:

• Less synchronous and outdated information is likely to exist
• More searching required to find information
• Less personal than email

Overall they both have their pros and cons however I feel that the risk of receiving spam and viruses from these email lists makes discussion boards the preferred option for me. 

Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to one than the other?

From my experience email lists are a great way to send an FYI. It is ideal to advise someone or provide information when you are not eliciting a response. If you would like communicate back and forth especially with more than two people involved than a discussion board is more ideal and practical.

 

Module 2 - Chat Task

I participated in an ICQ chat for this group discussion. This confirmed my dislike for this type of communication. Firstly from a technological perspective after downloading this tool and installing it I noticed this tool worked its way into my computer configurations. Besides changing my browser home page I also noticed it installed itself to start up when windows loads up.

I was now in a situation where there were people trying to contact me at regular intervals. As indicated in the previous post it is my preference to communicate when I feel like it. This tool is designed to force communication on you. It is also impractical to use as a communication tool when more than 2 people are communicating. During the group task it was very difficult to communicate. There were messages popping up everywhere and about 6 conversations were happening at once.

In conclusion, I can see some benefit in using this tool to communicate between small groups of people but as a group collaboration tool, it fails.

Module 2 - Email Task

Email Task

Like the majority of you I am a regular email user. I manage my email between Microsoft Outlook and Gmail with an IMAP connection between them. Looking at the email module and online tutorial from this context allowed me to easily understand the more technical components of the task. However, I did gain very helpful tips from module 2.1 of the lesson notes. Of particular interest was the information on how to use effective subjects and replies. With this is mind I noted how many email users at my workplace(previously including myself:)) have poor skills in this area. I am now applying these new skills in the workplace and have noticed more appropriate response timeframes to my emails!!

1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

Th email address of the sender provides information in relation to who sent the message. For example, the username component of a message may contain a username of an individual of may in fact be a name of a distribution list of which you may be one of many recipients. The origin of a message could be depicted by the domain component of the email address. It may indicate a company name or an educational institution such which would include 'edu' in the domain name. Additionally, the country which the domain is registered in is usually apparent in most email addresses exclusive of web mail based addresses.

2. In what cases would you find it useful to use 'cc' and 'bcc' and 'reply all' functions of email?

When sending an email you need to determine the recipients and the context that you wish the recipients  to receive you email or reply in. The use of the three functions of email are up to the user's discretion however a user should try to follow email etiquette. Uses of these functions could be as follows:

1. CC - The carbon copy function is used to inform the cc'd recipient of the email but not request a reply. It may also be used to advise the primary receiver that others are aware of the email.
2. BCC -the blind carbon copy function is used to hide the recipients email addresses. Its primary uses are to provide privacy when sending an email to more than one person so that all the other individuals email addresses are not visible to the whole group. In addition it may be used to prevent the recipient addresses being identified by Spam programs. Finally, if you want to send an email to an individual and hide that you are also sending it to other individuals you may use BCC. However some email users do consider this as not polite and underhanded.
3.  Reply to All - A useful scenario for the use of this function is when you intend for your message replay to reach the same interned audience in the same way the original message does. For example if you receive a message asking for your opinion on a subject and you would like to replay to the sender and also illicit responses out of the other recipients  reply to all would be an appropriate and efficient way to do this.

3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send can be easily opened by the receiver?

The most significant issues with opening attachments can be put down to incompatibilities in versions of software as well as the use of applications which are present on one computer such as the senders but not present on the receivers. An example of a version issue is with Microsoft word. Word 2007 produces a file extension called 'docx' where as word 2003 and earlier only uses the 'doc' extension. Although there is a patch that the 2003 user can download to open the docx file, it is somewhat time consuming to do so. To prevent such a situation from occuring the sender can ask the reciever  what version they are using prior to sending the attachment. The sender can use a backwards compitable mode within their application to send the appropriate version of document.

To address the example of the sender not having the same applications as the receiver, the sender should ask the recevier what applications they are using prior to sending the attachment. Another helpful option is for the sender to use applications that are common to most computer environments or attachments  that can be opened by freeware applications that are easily downloaded from the internet. Examples of these are PDF (Adobe Acrobat Reader), PPT, DOC or even MPP. Microsoft Powerpoint, Word and Project all have freeware downladed provided by Microsoft for reading these files. If these options don't suite the user than a simple text based document such as .RTF or TXT will be compatible to all envirnonments. From the receiver's perspective you should always ensure you are using a MIME supported email client.

4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

The main filtering process that occurs with my email is the filtering of Spam messages. I have a spam filter which is part of my security suite. It works based on pre-programmed alogrithms built into the application. Its main functions are shown below:

The primary filter I use is the one for content as pictured above. The Alogrithm which is set by the level of filtering chosen is a software generated function and not controlled by the user. A downside to this is that on a few occasions emails that are not spam end up in the junk mail filter.

I also use rules for mail forwarding for redirecting emails from my home email account to my work email account based on the sender. I also have email rules on my University email accounts that forward messages to my home email account. This is quite handy to have as I am currently enrolled in 3 courses at 3 different Universities.

5. How have you organised the structure of your email and why?

The approach I have taken with managing my email is to construct 3 primary folders under my inbox. These folders are 'Urgent', 'Important' and 'Routine'. When I receive an email in my inbox I rate its priority according to one of the three folders and move it accordingly. All emails remain in these folders until they have been addressed. Once this has happened I move them to a second set of folders located within a separate PST file which is archived every 12 months. For example I have a 2008 archive and a 2009 archive. Within these archives I have sub folders which are subject related. For example I have a receipts folder, jokes folder (of course) and a university folder. These folders only contain emails that have already been actioned. I also keep a copy of the last 3 years worth of archives on my PC and simply open the archive if required. However, I only keep the current year archive open permanently.