Frequently Asked Questions- Communication, the Internet, Presentations Question 1: What is the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web?

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1 Frequently Asked Questions- Communication, the Internet, Presentations Question 1: What is the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web? Answer 1: The Internet and the World Wide Web are two separate but related things. The Internet is a networking infrastructure a network of networks, if you will. It connects millions of computers all over the world. The World Wide Web is a way of accessing information over the Internet. It allows users to share information, and uses the HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) to transmit data. The World Wide Web also uses browsers such as Internet Explorer or Netscape to access Web documents called Web pages. Web pages can contain graphics, sounds, text, video, and hyperlinks, which allow users to navigate the Web. The Web is just one way that information can be shared on the Internet. The Internet is also used for , newsgroups, instant messaging, and FTP (file transfer protocol). So, the Web is a portion of the Internet, not the whole thing. They are not exactly the same. Question 2: What are hyperlinks? Answer 2: The Web is considered to be a hypertext system. Hypertext is the organization of information into connected subsets between which the user can navigate. The user often navigates with the use of hyperlinks or links as they are commonly called. Hyperlinks are graphical or textual, which allow you to jump from one area of one document to another area or document by clicking the link. You may be familiar with the convention of text being underlined within a Web page to let the user know it is a hyperlink. Question 3: What is a Web browser? What are some of the different Web browsers and search engines available? Answer 3: A Web browser is an application that allows a user to display and interact with a Web page on a Web site or an intranet page hosted on a local area network (LAN). Internet Explorer is one program that allows you to browse the Web. It allows a user to access Web sites from across the globe either by searching or entering a uniform resource locator (URL) address. Other popular browsers include Mozilla Firefox,

2 Safari, Opera, and Netscape. When surfing the Web, the first thing to learn about is a good search engine. Some popular search engines are and Starting with a search engine, users type in what they are looking for and then receive matches that tell them where the information resides. From there, users can view the pages and select links that get them closer to the information they seek. Question 4: What is spyware, and what are cookies? Answer 4: Spyware is the general term used to describe software that collects personal information or changes the configuration of your computer without your consent. It is also used for advertising. This does not mean that all software that provides ads or tracks your activity online is bad. They key is to understand what the software will do and what you have agreed to before installing it on your computer ("What is Spyware?"). Cookies are bits of information sent by a Web server to store on a Web browser so they can be read back from the browser. An HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) cookie cannot be used to get information from your hard drive, get your address, or steal sensitive information from you. Cookies can be used to track where you travel on a particular Web site. It is a good idea to regularly delete cookies as well as other temporary Internet files from your Web browser on a regular basis. You can do this on Internet Explorer by selecting Internet Options from the Tools menu ("What are Cookies?"). Works Cited "What are Cookies?" cookiecentral.com. n.d. 29 Feb 2008 < "What is Spyware?" 23 Oct Microsoft. 29 Feb < Question 5: What additional precautions should you take when using or contributing to a blog on the Internet? Answer 5: When using , the following precautions can be helpful: Keep messages brief. Be polite and avoid offensive language.

3 Be careful when using humor as it may be misinterpreted. Refrain from capitalizing words because it could be misinterpreted. Read a message to check for proper use of grammar, spelling, and punctuation before posting or sending it. Avoid being party to spam by sending unsolicited advertisements or messages to other users. Those are a few precautions that can help you stay out of trouble when ing. Question 6: How can blogs be used to improve individual and organizational communications? Answer 6: Blogs provide an informal medium for users to express their ideas and opinions. Blogs offer chronologically arranged discussions to promote continued debate and discussion of issues. Blogs can be used by organizations to offer employees a forum where their voices can be heard. Blogs can be technically difficult to implement, but there are tools available to help develop blog sites from scratch. There are also blog hosting sites available to make the entire process of creating a blog site easier. If a blog is used to disseminate information, there is a risk involved because the blog is open to comment from users and the intention of the original information can become blurred. If users are allowed to freely post material, then the material published could be subject to copyright infringement. The blog host is required to protect the private information of the users to a degree to avoid infringement of privacy issues. Popular blogs can create a tremendous amount of traffic and load on Web servers. For additional information on blogs, browse the Web resources available in this Question 7: What are podcasts, and how are they useful? Answer 7: A podcast is a collection of media content created for distribution over the Web. Podcasts are packaged to represent a complete set of content, like a radio or

4 television show is comprised of multiple parts. Podcasts represent a large amount of information, and there are many podcasts, so podcast searching is an important technology. Care must be given when selecting the technology used to create and publish a podcast. Podcasts represent an effective method of communication within an organization when published on an intranet for training or informational purposes. Informational podcasts can be published for customer consumption to help promote new products or to educate customers on the use of an existing product. For additional information on podcasts, browse the Web resources available in this Question 8: What other aspects of Web 2.0 might be useful to furthering my career? Answer 8: The technology of Web 2.0 provides opportunities to network through Web sites both socially and professionally. In addition to the more casual Web sites like MySpace, Facebook and Zorpia, Web sites like LinkedIn and many others managed by professional organizations are offering ways to connect through personal profiles, invites, chat rooms, blogs, wikis, instant messaging, forums, and communities. Web sites like Artspan for contemporary artists, Shutterfly for photographers, Stylegala for Web designers, and fashion.net for fashion designers offer opportunities for designers to post their work. Question 9: What are the implications of using browser toolbars and add-ons? Answer 9: A toolbar has access to the document object used in your browser and can watch the information entered by the user. This information, such as passwords or browsing habits, can be transmitted to a host without user consent. This represents a security risk, and there are other types of security risks to consider. Toolbars and browser add-ons can present the user with marketing material based on browsing habits. Browser add-ons and toolbars often require access to the deeper parts of the browser and can conflict with one another if more than one toolbar and/or browser add-on is installed together. Some toolbar alternatives and add-ons are available with the Web resources for this

5 Question 10: How can an organization take advantage of user-generated content site technology? Answer 10: Many types of user-generated content creation technologies exist. These range from simple create-a-web site tools to wikis and feature rich, custom-user pages. Technologies are available for site hosts to implement many features used in user-generated content creation. Many of these technologies can be easily implemented to allow users to manipulate content and provide a rich user experience. When users are allowed to create parts or all of their content and publish it on a site, there are security issues involved. Some content is script driven and represents potential access to resources on a server that should not be allowed, so these security risks must be recognized and minimized. For additional information on this topic, browse the Web resources available in this Question 11: How will interactive media technology on the Internet change in the future? Answer 11: Some factors driving the trend toward more and more interactive media on the Internet include the competitive nature of marketing, consumer demand for new and interesting technologies, and the increased bandwidth available. Some of the most popular uses of interactive media currently on the Internet include gaming, advertising, and socialization. Some of the emerging technologies in interactive media include the Internet enabling of devices such as cell phones and televisions and production of feature-length video entertainment that includes interactive components such as the multiending mystery. For additional information on this topic, browse the Web resources available in this Question 12: What are the pros and cons for doing a computer-based presentation

6 Answer 12: There are several pros and cons to computer-based presentations. Pros Cons can be visually interesting allows last minute changes displays range of media (e.g., animation, sound, video, etc.) allows real-time data (especially with the Web) produces shareable presentations prep time longer than by hand can sometimes be inappropriately "glitzy" or "busy" can prevent presenter from really trying to create a presentation that works for the particular audience harmfulness of an unprofessional appearance requires equipment with lots of chance of technical problems have to be familiar and comfortable with presentation software and functionality

Internet Basics. Basic Terms and Concepts. Connecting to the Internet

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