Module 4 Task Boolean Search

NOT AND OR

My previously used search term key word (netiquette) does not really apply itself to this kind of search, so I added another term - behaviour.

As the web can search so much ‘deeper’ than anything before it, a comparison to a library is accurate only to a certain degree.
I can see that by utilising the search engines and directories available there is a whole new world beyond Google!

I found the Boolean logic very interesting and wish I had known about it years ago! My searches from now on will take on a different slant.

To gain the biggest number of hits relating to these key words I would use the 'or' operator, eg search terms netiquette and behaviour (as the "more terms or concepts we combine in a search with OR logic, the more records we will retrieve." (Boolean Searching on the Internet, 2008).

For information most relevant to what I actually wanted to look for, I would use the 'not' operator, as "the NOT logic excludes records from your search results." (Boolean Searching on the Internet, 2008), but I would use it with caution.


For information coming only from university sources, I would look at known sources such as the Curtin university database Gecko, also Academic Directories such as Academic Info or Infomine.

Search terms used Google

Netiquette OR behaviour

Results 1 - 10 of about 86,300,000 for Netiquette OR behaviour. (0.16 seconds)


Netiquette AND behaviour

Results 1 - 10 of about 95,500 for Netiquette AND behaviour. (0.13 seconds)

I also searched these terms using Dogpile, Intute and Librarians Internet Index.

References

Boolean Searching on the Internet. (2008). Retrieved 20 August, 2008, from http://www.internettutorials.net/boolean.html

Module 4 tasks - Internet search 2 Google vs. Meta search

Seek and you *might* find...

Firstly, Copernic asked me if I meant etiquette?

Did you mean: etiquette?
Search Results 1 - 20 of 69 for "netiquette"
There were only 69 results.

The first 5 results were from yahoo ads : (

1. Finishing School for Business Success
The modern day Charm and Finishing School for business and personal success.
Sponsored by: www.gloriastarr.com [Found on Ads by Yahoo!]

2. Free Emoticons
5000+ Great PC Cursors and Emoticons. Absolutely Free.
Sponsored by: www.cursormania.com [Found on Ads by Yahoo!]

3. Download Free Emoticons
Free Collection of Funny Emoticons for your IM. 100% Free Emoticons.
Sponsored by: www.sweetim.com [Found on Ads by Yahoo!]

4. Be a Professional Etiquette Consultant
Get paid to give advice on manners and etiquette. Book shows you how.
Sponsored by: www.fabjob.com [Found on Ads by Yahoo!]

5. Let Our Technician Kill S.P.A.M. Dead
Our Live Online Technicians Solve All your E-Mail Problems. $1.35 Min.
Sponsored by: www.hermes-computers.ca [Found on Ads by Yahoo!]


Disappointing!


By contrast, the first 5 ‘hits’ on Google search were:

Netiquette Home Page -- A Service of Albion.com
This page is dedicated to the topic of network etiquette.www.albion.com/netiquette/ - 10k - Cached - Similar pages

The Core Rules of Netiquette -- Excerpted from Netiquette by ...
The Core Rules of Netiquette are excerpted from the book Netiquette by Virginia Shea. Click on each rule for elaboration. ...www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html - 8k - Cached - Similar pagesMore results from www.albion.com »

Netiquette - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Netiquette, a portmanteau of "network etiquette", is the convention on electronic forums (Usenet, mailing lists, live chat, and Internet forums) to ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netiquette - 35k - Cached - Similar pages

Internet Netiquette
Gives a summary of the important points of e-mail, mailing list, USENET, and chat etiquette.www.albury.net.au/new-users/netiquet.htm - 6k - Cached - Similar pages

Email Etiquette (Netiquette)
David Tuffley, ICT, Griffith Univ. Australia. A general guide for writing and sending email. Email that does not irritate and/offend the recipient is more ...www.cit.gu.edu.au/~davidt/email_etiquette.htm - 14k - Cached - Similar pages

I was surprised that on Copernic that there were so many ads. Google, on first glance gave much more promising results.

I tried Copernic another time and enabled all 13 available search engines.

The Copernic agent this time supplied 98 results, however, of the first 5 results, there were 2 ads, the first non-sponsored link was for Wikipedia, then 2 results for Albion (the publishers of the book Netiquette).

To explore further, I also performed searches using databases such as Intute and Librarian's Internet Index and found relevant results (some of which were replicated on Google) - but no advertising!

Module 4 Tasks – Internet search 1

U-SERP-ed?

Google is my most commonly used internet search engine.

I chose to search with the term “netiquette” for research my assignment.

The first result on the serp was http://www.albion.com/netiquette/

‘Learn Netiquette basics by reading this concise overview of network etiquette excerpted from the book Netiquette by Virginia Shea. Shea's "Core Rules" are the classic introduction to the subject and are widely cited in cyberspace.’

Results 1 - 10 of about 10,600,000 for netiquette [definition]. (0.09 seconds)

Module 4 – Task 1 Tools

Mmm mmmm!

I have experience and access to PDF so I decided to explore bookmark managers and a metasearch (Copernic) for my tools task. I can also see that page sucker would be a useful tool.

I decided on del.icio.us. as a bookmark manager - I can’t access this at work but have heard of it from various websites. Previously I had used connote but found the tagging cumbersome and so am keen to give something else a try.

del.icio.us.
Installing was very easy and the tutorial very quick - great for an ‘after work’ attention span.

The graphics helped understanding -especially about where they would appear on my browser and I predict that using tags will be helpful.

“Tags are one-word descriptors that you can assign to your bookmarks on del.icio.us. They're a little bit like keywords but non-hierarchical. You can assign as many tags to a bookmark as you like and easily rename or delete them later."
(del.icio.us. FAQs, n.d)

I will be able to add notes etc to different bookmarks – this is a great aspect as you can retrieve information in many ways. You just need to ensure that you use meaningful tags.

Update: I have been using del.icio.us for a few days now and find it really easy. The tags feature is very usable.

Copernic
Copernic was more difficult - there is no obvious meta on the site so I opted the pc version. I had two attempts at installing it and it was a case of second time lucky. Very frustrating.

Update:The first few searches were disappointing as it was mostly Google, Google ads and Yahoo – MIVA popped up once but I have yet to really use this tool. There was some speculation on the discussion boards about whether Google (as a default for a regular user) would be the best.


I have both installed now : )

Deep web
I had no knowledge of the 'deep web' before I started this task and am intrigued by the concept. I am yet to complete the tutorials about searching but from what I have so far, think that I will be using databases more. I like the look of the Librarians' Internet Index and Intute and will explore these further.

As data and information on the WWW is changing and developing at such a rapid rate, and as "electronic publishing encourages constant change" (Allen, n.d), knowing the ways to find and creating ways to effectively (and ‘use-ably’) store information is becoming an issue.

One must also remember that just because information/data/content is found on the internet, doesn't mean it is a reliable source...(and I mean this in 2 ways; 1 in that the information may be volatile in terms of appearance/storage and 2 in that the information may not be accurate).

References

Allen, M. et al, (n.d). Internet Communications Concepts Document (WebCT, Net 11 Studies) Retrieved 6 June, 2008, from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/serve_home

del.icio.us. (n.d) Frequently Asked Questions
Retrieved July 23, 2008, from http://delicious.com/help/faq#tags

Module 3 - Task Web 2.0 blinklist and HTML

In the blink of an eye...?

The way people use the WWW is fundamentally shifting from a one way transfer of information to being two (or multi-way) transfers of information and much more social or people focussed.

Heilemann states that the web is turning “ into a two way democratic, participatory medium...controlled by no one and shaped by everyone...our medium”. (Sen, 2008).

Napster, Digg, YouTube, Facebook and Myspace are companies that have contributed to the change of landscape. They are all social applications that allow sharing of information between users.

This has lead to an expectation of new sites and applications to be social and easy to use.

Format and benefits

So what is Blinklist? It was only when I returned to the Web CT and read ‘bookmark’ site that I got it really. When I accessed the site and on first glance I was confronted with a stack of information. I couldn’t immediately see a welcome, how to use section or even what Blinklist was.

It claims that it is “the smarter way to surf the internet” but I am not convinced of this at all.

There were some ‘friends’ that I didn’t know I had waiting for me. Blinklist doesn’t appear very intuitive. I’m not sure what I am supposed to do. The html list is visually dull by comparison (from a graphic user interface point of view), but at a glance I can tell that it’s a list and even the précis of some of these sites and articles. It’s more accessible (eg could be easily read by a screen reader) and can be downloaded more quickly. Some people may prefer the graphics and layout of the Blinklist, but the HTML text only is faster to download.Text only is FAST.

Differences

Blinklist

• web 2.0 technology
• 'social', as 'friends' already here to greet me - even though I have no idea who they are!
• articles or other links appear rated – not sure by whom
• one can vote for articles (however, there has been very little voting on this site so this function is rendered useless)
• only in the FAQs at the base of the site is there any info about what blinklist is and how you can access it. Essentially it is a social bookmarking site, but nowhere near as user friendly as del.icio.us.
• advertising links appear on the site.

HTML

• web 1.0 old tech (not bad tech)
• able to be read at a glance the list
• relatively accessible and usable

dull interface, but if you just want content, then it serves its purpose.

Over several visits, I have not found Blinklist engaging because it is not intuitive to use, I have found other applications much easier to use.

I definitely prefer the ‘old school’ html listing - my requirements are to access information as quickly as possible (and not be distracted). The html list is instantly understood and simple to use, some with a small summary of the content.

References

Sen, P. (Executive Producer) (2008, July 29) Download:the True Story of the Internet. Episode People Power [Television broadcast] Australia:Foxtel.

Module 3 - Tasks Blogs

The World according to: [insert YOUR name here]

John Heilemann stated that “Nothing epitomises the democratising tendencies of web 2.0 more that that new form of expression we’ve come to know as blogging” (Sen, 2008).

My first experience of creating and using a blog to be connected in this way was for blog Net 11. It was very easy to produce and maintain. Timeliness is a key component of blogging. An interesting quirk of blogging is that it is both an archive and up to date at the same time.

– I know of one friend who has a blog and one of the directors at my work has one too.

Anyone can share their thoughts with the (connected) world and it is a one-to-many relationship/conversation. Chad Hurley is quoted as saying “the internet is about connecting individuals or connecting individuals to information” (Sen 2008).
Blogs are a very social communications channel and can be shared, ‘endorsed’ (eg via placing lists of other blogs (‘blogrolls’) on your blog.

Interesting uses for blogs include:

• citizen journalism - people can report to the world from their perspective (which can elude government censorship).
• ‘personal’ blogging eg a good way of recording events (travel, weddings etc) with a disparate and distant set of people. For some people, there would be the personal satisfaction of seeing your name in print (almost a form of vanity publishing).
• a communication channel for a group of people with a common interest – eg a bookclub.
• educational purposes - my net 11 blog where I record my tasks and reflections.
• client/customer engagement eg engaging a target audience by a company - eg Martha Stewart editors of Everyday food magazine blog about meals – Dinner tonight. This helps to sell the magazine and other MS products sells. in a similar vein, On the road is one Gourmet Traveller magazine blog, which keeps you up to date with the latest travel secrets.
• advertising – the recent ‘In an Absolute world’ campaign for Absolute vodka, featured “more than 20 online blogs and websites” (Gopal, 2008).
• celebrity or personality blogs to fans (again can have a commercial slant
• entertainment for pure escapism or gossip Perez Hilton.
• companies with staff blogging to customers
• companies with management or staff blogging to each other as an internal communications channel
• businesses/self employed networking and as a way of marketing yourself to prospective clients eg share your works or as Schutzsmith (2008) suggests; “commenting on blogs...to quickly gain exposure to the clientele you are trying to reach”.
• sharing specific topic information for:
  business business of design online , education, such as dented reality (used on this course) or social purposes (Tokyo eater).

It’s quite voyeuristic being able to ‘look into’ the thoughts of others - I am sure that some people really don’t consider that (unless they take steps to have a closed circle) anyone who wanted to can access the information.

I can see personal applications for blogging but wouldn’t actively seek to publish one - unless it was for a specific and required purpose, such as my Net 11 blog.

References

Gopal, S. (2008, August). Absolute Vision. (Campaign profile). Desktop Magazine, p.26.

Schutzsmith, D. (2008, April/May). Marketing for the Lazy Designer, Dynamic Graphics p.72.

Sen, P. (Executive Producer) (2008, July 29) Download:the True Story of the Internet. Episode People Power [Television broadcast] Australia:Foxtel.

Module 3 Tasks - FTP revisited

Ta dahhhhh.., ( and phew!)

After completing the html tutorials and researching the content for my very first web page (which I found really interesting), I found the FTP upload of this task quite daunting (and had to leave it and get on with other tasks and assignments, so am editing this post now in August!) and had it not been for detailed instructions provided in the discussions, I would really be in a pickle!

The link via the presentations section of Web CT is:

http://webct.curtin.edu.au/305033_b/student_pres/Group76/index.html

The URL is: http://student.curtin.edu.au/~14160862

Especial thanks to Janette for her instructions and inspiration.

: )

Module 3 Tasks - standards task 2

Once more unto the breach...

Wc3 standards
My page did not conform first pass, the errors were about display (around the headings hierarchy) eg Line 32, Column 3: document type does not allow element "H3" here; missing one of "APPLET", "OBJECT", "MAP", "IFRAME", "BUTTON" start-tag.

There is an option you can select to have your code 'tidied', and the 'Cleaned-up Source Listing' interestingly, automatically updated the code to use a CSS (something I had not done originally).

Legal issues
To answer the question "Have you used images or words on your web page or website that contravene copyright laws?... "

As most items are protected by copyright...and the only things that are not really protected include:
”
· Ideas
· Facts
· Titles
· Names
· Short phrases
· Blank forms “
(What does Copyright Protect?, n.d)

There are ‘fair use’ policies which include a using a small portion of the original or for education, purposes, so I may be able to claim these.

Really, unless you are writing your own original thoughts or creating original expression (art etc) you can not be absolutely sure that you are not contravening copyright laws ( Australian or international). So I probably have contravened copyright laws.

I would be in breach of copyright if I portrayed my webpage as part of the university website (eg as a deliberate deception) however, I may not if I had used the logo on an assignment. This was an interesting investigation. The copyright policy on the Curtin website cites the Commonwealth of Australia Copyright Act 1968.

The copyright policy states that “Material in which Curtin University owns copyright, and which is not classified as "Confidential", may be copied without any requirement for special permission to be granted. (Notification of the originator would be a courtesy.)” (Curtin University material, 2007)

If I wanted to use the logo for an assignment, and if I “ wish to copy material from it for educational purposes, you may be able to rely on the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act” (Material on the Internet , 2007) and that “There are no limits to the amount that can be copied or the form of reproduction or communication. Access should normally be restricted to Curtin staff and students.” (Curtin University material, 2007)

There is a policy on Curtin logo use, but this is only applicable to staff (“1. APPLICATION All staff” (Logo Use Procedures, 2008).

We are advised to “approach the copyright owner for permission to copy” (Copying with permission of the copyright owner, 2007). So, if I was able to, I could probably use the Curtin logo for my assignment.

The best way to ensure that you are not in breach of copyright is “When in Doubt, Seek Permission” (Websites: Five Ways to Stay Out of Trouble , 2007)

Interestingly, when I have attempted to copy the Curtin logo, it is not possible (there is a block over the top of the image which prevents effective copying).

References
Copying with permission of the copyright owner (2007). Retrieved 18, August, 2008, from http://www.copyright.curtin.edu.au/research/copying_with_permissions.cfm

Copyright and fair use (2007). Retrieved 18, August, 2008, from http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter6/6-a.html#5

Curtin University material (2007). Retrieved 18, August, 2008, from http://www.copyright.curtin.edu.au/research/curtin_owned.cfm

Material on the Internet (2007). Retrieved 18, August, 2008, from http://www.copyright.curtin.edu.au/research/internet_material.cfm

Logo Use Procedures (2008). Retrieved 18, August, 2008, from
http://policies.curtin.edu.au/policies/viewpolicy.cfm?id=959f55ad-fec2-11dc-b6c5-253dc30d60f2

What does copyright protect? Retrieved 18, August, 2008, from http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter6/6-a.html#5

Module 3 - (optional) Standards task

Raising the bar...

A summary of my 5 most important online writing rules:

1. Place most important content at top of pages and start of sentences.

2. Be concise.

3. Make your text ‘scannable’.

4. Use bulleted lists.

5. Write for your audience and remember;

• accessibility
• literacy rates
• attention spans, etc.

I have subscribed to Jakob Nielsen's ‘Alertbox’ for many years, so I was delighted to see him being used as a source. I am bound by a style directive at work it is (at times highly prescriptive) and much of his writing is referenced there.

Mr Nielsen is still right after all these years (in my humble opinion), but he does go back and edit his own writings as he finds more as does Dennis Jerz, both of which set good examples, so in this way keeps his advice current.

The 'Newbie Web Author Checklist' appears to be largely common sense (eg
Do all your links actually work?) but still useful. It complements the works of authors such as Jakobs.

By adhering to standards, writers for the web can ensure that the many levels of users are catered in a consistent manner, so, as these users become more familiar or experienced with the web, they will find it easier to use and navigate the web.

References

Jerz, D.G. (2007). Top 5 Web Conventions (Writing and Design). Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/conventions.htm

Jerz, D.G. (2007). Newbie Web Author Checklist: Before you publish that project... Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/checklist.htm

Nielsen, J. (1997). How Users Read on the Web
Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

Nielsen, J. (2007). Blah-Blah Text: Keep, Cut, or Kill?
Retrieved July 20, 2008, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/intro-text.html

Module 3 HTML task

Cracking the code...

I can code – I made my first page! I do feel a sense of achievement – as this is something I have never done before and I am really looking forward to completing my first page.

Some difficulties

I got stuck when I tried to change the background colour – I typed in

<.... bgcolour="#ccffcc">*

and couldn’t change the background no matter how many times saved my notepad then refreshed...

I re-typed it then I tried again...

<.... bgcolor="#ccffcc">*

...no...

Then I 'copy and pasted' from lesson 2 To compare what I had typed...

Aha!

The perils of American spelling - no ‘u’ in colour! An important lesson I learned is to literally type what you see on screen and not what you think it should be.

This also happened with ‘centre’ and ‘center’ but I was more aware to look for it this time.

I can bold and italicise but I understand that you should never used italics on a websites, as Baxter (2003) states, it makes the words difficult to read as pixels are not rendered properly.

I learned that spacing is also very important! Missing or adding just one space plays havoc with your code (and when your eyeballs have dried out is quite tricky to spot!).

Other problems included; my Internet explorer kept blocking pop ups and running scripts so I was constantly having to select 'yes' for 'do you want to allow this ?…' and at times, the 'refreshed' page didn’t always take on the html it was supposed to.

“One more note about links... It is perfectly acceptable to link to someone's web page(s) without asking. Links are what makes the Web the Web. Again, because this is a very common newbie misconception... if you want to link to another web page... just link to it. You don't have to ask permission, even if you really really feel like asking would just be the polite thing to do... it's just not necessary. (Barta, n.d)

I don’t agree with the above from Page Tutor…our linking policy at work is very stringent and we request that people ask permission before they link to our site.

Cool stuff

Unordered (bullettted lists) and ordered lists were fun to make! and I like the comments section – hidden messages eh! the comment must start with

Validator check is cool I corrected the deliberate error in the html to get a ‘passed validation’ message to understand more about how they are presented.

Chalk and cheese! there are many differences between HTML and blogging

Before I started the HTML task, I thought that the differences between html and blogging are with a blog you need to concentrate on your content – how you express yourself and you can let the systems take care of the formatting. I still think this and the tutorial reinforced this opinion.

For now, blogging is much easier (given my time contraints), but from a satisfaction point of view I really liked the challenge of learning a new language - I enjoyed the tutiorial although I was very long and I had to complete it over several ‘uni study sessions’. Sometime I was frustrated when I could not figure our where I had gone wrong (colour/color) but it did teach me to pay attention.

I also now look at the view source and it makes much more sense – before I could only pick out little sections of source such as this is bold. I have a great appreciation now for people that code in html!

* I have to truncate the html, otherwise it will not show up on the blog post.

References

Barta, J. (n.d) So, you want to make a Web Page!
Retrieved 20 July, 2008, from http://www.pagetutor.com/html_tutor/lesson14.html

Baxter, B.(2003). Making the Web Work. Designing Effective Web Applications. Indianapolis : New Riders, p354.

Module 3 - Initial investigations

HTML, SGML, HTML - OR - The case of the curiously disappearing vowels…

I approached this task with great interest as, at work, I am usually writing content but it is manipulated and published by others. I (currently) have a very limited understanding of HTML (eg I knew that strong = bold in my parlance!) So this will be a great opportunity to understand how it works for ‘the other side’ of the process.

Before I started the tasks, I think that the differences between HTML and blogging are; with a blog you need to concentrate on your content – how you express yourself and you can let the ‘system’ take care of the formatting.

Using HTML, you need to also concentrate on the formatting the code is intrinsically related to (or combined with) the content (text, links text) “form and content became inseparable in html” Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us (Wench, M. 2007).

Using mark up which is “character text or binary codes 'added to' data content in order to convey particular information about that data.” (What is SGML, 1997) you have much more creative freedom in an html page that you create and also with usability and navigation elements.

Mark up is used to describe “ the nature, function, or type of content” (What is SGML, 1997) and not “…how that data content should be displayed, printed on paper, or otherwise processed” (What is SGML, 1997).

Blogs are restricted to what the blog software can offer you or what the application owner wants you to be able to do.

With HTML, you can create you own CSS (cascading style sheet) which is portable. It also means that identical content can be manipulated quickly and easily using a CSS.

A great example of this is the Zen garden, (Zen garden, n.d)
where the same content can be manipulated into various styles.


“Blogs …combine elements of hypertext with what is in many ways a much more ’linear’ form than most websites. This is because new posts are organised chronologically“. (Contributing to the Infosphere: e-writing?, n.d) is this a reason why blogs are so popular – because humans can relate easily to them back to them back to books?

References
Wench, M. (2007) Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us.Retrieved July 13, 2008 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE

Module 3, Contributing to the Infosphere: e-writing? (n.d).Retrieved July 13, 2008 from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/serve_home

What is SGML? (1997). Retrieved July 13, 2008 from http://www.isgmlug.org/sgmlhelp/exetwhy.htm

Zen garden (n.d)
Retrieved July 13, 2008 from http://www.csszengarden.com/

Reflections on Module 2 - Communicating

The untimely (quasi-demise) of CherryBlossom Parx*

“What the web does is change the shape of communication” Tim Berners-Lee (Farndale, 2008).

Communications are greatly enabled on the internet, but you are reliant on technology working as it should.

Interacting with many people (individually and severally) over the past few weeks via chat, email and newsgroups has been a fascinating experience. Having a common interest (even just if it is Net11) is a great ice breaker – most people are very willing to give of their own experiences.


Sharing what you think is part of it. You get out what you put in Concept 20 generating awareness through participation (Allen, n.d.). Regardless of the way you communicate, being and active and interested (and interesting!) participant are sure ways to make the most of these kinds of communications.


Communicating can be tiresome at times; because of various glitches – both technical and human. You are also reliant on your chat mates’ ability to correctly (or similarly) use the technology. Plus, you need to be available at the same time for chat (or thankfully, not so available for other ways). It took several days to be admitted into the Skype chatroom and I was unable to successfully register on second life and bring my semi-created avatar (Cherry Blossom Parx) into existence.

Over several hours 1 evening, I was continually reassured to try again soon. Actually this was a relief as once I had finished this task (which was the sole reason for bringing Cherry into existence) – what was I to do with her once she had ceased to become a useful ‘tool’ for me. Would I leave her to her own devices? Make her do away with herself - is this even permitted? Thankfully this is one dilemma I need not wrestle with.


Via our discussion boards, I organised a chat as I couldn’t make a previously organised one. It was great to chat with others. Group chat is overwhelming at first, but following the threads becomes easier once you’ve had some experience of it.

Online communications are varied and the best channels depend on the requirements of the communication. Communicators need to ensure that the right communications channel is used and just because new technology exists, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it should be used in place of other methods, eg face to face. IM and chat are great for social and some work applications...

* CherryBlossom Parx was the chosen name of my Second Life avatar, whom, sadly never became real due to technical issues on SL.

References.

Allen, M. et al (n.d).Internet Communications
Concepts Document, WebCT, Net 11. Initially retrieved 6 June 2008 from http://webct.curtin.edu.au/SCRIPT/305033_b/scripts/serve_home


Farndale, N. (2008, June 21).World Wide Wizard. The Sydney Morning Herald. Good Weekend p. 50.

Module 2 Tasks - Chat and Group Chat

Are you there?

I couldn't make the first chat as arranged through web ct so tried to arrange another on Friday night (4 July).

Technology is fantastic until it all comes crashing down on you. 1 of my course-mates was unable to join the chat as she was having computer issues. I also tried (unsuccessfully) over the course of an evening to create and 'bring to (Second) life an avatar to try chat that way.

I thought it would be a quick process to download Yahoo messenger and, well , cut a long story short, we didn't have a group chat on Friday...

I did have a fantastic chat with Mandy though : )

Organising a group chat

I had ‘advertised’ for a group chat on web ct and also our Yahoo grouplist for Monday night (7 July). At one point on the night, (before group chat time) I was chatting with Mandy and also having a separate conversation with Sarah, both over YahooChat.

I was also in Skype (finally got let in!). Gaynor had invited me for a chat on Skype (we had been trying to hook up for a few days but had had technical issues).

Mandy couldn’t get to Skype, so I invited Sarah to join Mandy and I on YahooChat. I conferenced them in to a chat together.

So I was chatting with the large group as well as a smaller group.
The group chat was held together quite well - there were about 8 of us. I found it easy to contribute to both conversations, but had to type frantically!

Skype was good for general ‘q and a’ style conversations, whereas I found the smaller conferences and chats on platforms such as YahooChat are great for getting to know course mates better – Hi girls! ; )

Module 2 Tasks Newsgroups

Abracadabra!

Took a tour of usenet sites and newzbot but thought I would cut to the chase and use the link to access Usenet through Google from Module 2 tasks - time is getting away!

There is an amazing amount of newsgroups I feel naive that until this task, I really had no idea that these really existed. So after some perusing, I joined 'Dumbledore’s army' (thought it was most likely to be G rated (I have seen some creepy stuff over the past few days watching these newsgroups) and would be a bit of fun.

I chose this because I have read all of the Harry Potter novels (yes I am a child at heart!) and chose this one because of its 'about us description': "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities" - Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets).

http://groups.google.com/group/dumbledore retrieved July 6 2008

Recently, the group has been concerned with the recent influx of spam and in fact many of the newsgroups I looked at had a lot of spam and particularly adult content.

Here is my post:
Lulu
View profile
If I ever get to meet my patronus I hope it would be a swan...as they are serene but there's a lot going on under the surface lol. Swans are symbol of love and I like the idea of that an 'ugly duckling' can transform into a beautiful swan. I think that Hermione's character was one that transformed the most throughout the HP series...what do you think?

More options Jul 6, 12:42 pm
From: Lulu.hunter@yahoo.com.au
Date: Sat, 5 Jul 2008 19:42:12 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Sun, Jul 6 2008 12:42 pm
Subject: Re: ponder over patronus

Off to make some magic ; )

Module 2 Lists

On the Rich list?

Inspecting the content on http://groups.yahoo.com/ and also http:/lists.topica.com/... my first impression was how do people make time for all of this?

Had a quick scan around – topics I would feel conformable contributing within (books, literature , September births etc) and those that I really would not (guns, romance and relationships)

Even a cursory scan on the public email lists showed that some people were not following the rules – eg I saw many ads and other posts that did not appear to be related to the topics (which were quite specific).

Some of the yahoo groups appear to be thinly veiled (or even obvious) groups for products on June 30 there were groups for curves female gym, special k challenge and All-Bran Challenge - are these people all in need of losing weight because they sit in front of a screen all the time?

Email list pros

· A wide range of opinions and information on many topics.
· Can be totally public or membership only.
· Contribution can give you a sense of reward.

Email list cons

· Being so publicly searchable can attract a wider and therefore potentially more unwelcomed audience.
· You may get the impression that a conversation is between you and another list member, but in reality, there may be thousands of people reading your opinion (Concept 19).
· Need constant input from members to keep interesting and engaging – humans are fickle creatures and with so much information competing for one’s attention, members of the groups can quickly move on to the next item of interest whatever that may be.
· Can contain posts of inappropriate content ( from ‘off the topic’ through to obscene).
· You need to contribute/ post so people know of your existence (Concept 20).
· May not receive timely answers to queries or comments.
· Discussions can become more private in nature which “alienates other list members” (Concept 19)

Discussion boards pros

· Select audience – eg WEB CT discussion board, so more ‘private’
· More specific content/ interests
· Creates a sense of community and support for people having similar experiences.

Discussion board cons

· So many threads, there is a danger of being completely overwhelmed by the amount of information contained on them.
· Need constant input from members to keep interesting and engaging – humans are fickle creatures and with so much information competing for one’s attention, members of the groups can quickly move on to the next item of interest whatever that may be.
· You need to contribute/ post so people know of your existence (Concept 20).
· May not receive timely answers to queries or comments.

Email lists are more suitable for:

• Information sharing
• Advertising / advertorial
  

Discussion boards are more suitable for:

• Discussion
• Educational purposes