Networks Support the Way We Communicate

The globalization of the Internet has ushered in new forms of communication that empower individuals to create information that can be accessed by a global audience.
Some forms of communication include:

• Texting – Texting enables instant real-time communication between two or more people.

• Social Media – Social media consists of interactive websites where people and communities create and share user-generated content with friends, family, peers, and the world.

• Collaboration Tools - Without the constraints of location or time zone, collaboration tools allow individuals to communicate with each other, often across real-time interactive video. The broad distribution of data networks means that people in remote locations can contribute on an equal basis with people in the heart of large population centers.

• Blogs - Blogs, which is an abbreviation of the word “weblogs”, are web pages that are easy to update and edit. Unlike commercial websites, blogs give anyone a means to communicate their thoughts to a global audience without technical knowledge of web design.

• Wikis - Wikis are web pages that groups of people can edit and view together. Whereas a blog is more of an individual, personal journal, a wiki is a group creation. As such, it may be subject to more extensive review and editing. Many businesses use wikis as their internal collaboration tool.

• Podcasting - Podcasting allows people to deliver their audio recordings to a wide audience. The audio file is placed on a website (or blog or wiki) where others can download it and play the recording on their computers, laptops, and other mobile devices.

• Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing – Peer-to-Peer file sharing allows people to share files with each other without having to store and download them from a central server. The user joins the P2P network by simply installing the P2P software. P2P file sharing has not been embraced by everyone. Many people are concerned about violating the laws of copyrighted materials.