DCM's

Email – Email stands for Electronic Mail and is a method of exchanging digital messages across the Internet. You can send, receive and store these electronic messages using an email account such as hotmail or yahoo. Not only written messages can be send using email, as now it is possible to attach all sorts of different files including photographs, videos and even voice recordings. Email is a very good way of sending files and it is especially useful for certain businesses like graphic design companies because it allows them to communicate with clients and send drafts of designs and example of their work without printing it off, resulting in paper and other resources being saved.

IM – IM stands for Instant Messaging and can be used to talk to people over the Internet all over the world instantly, using their computers. The communication using IM is text based and unlike email is in real-time, meaning that people can have conversations without having to wait hours or even days for a reply. Instant messages services like MSN are completely free to use as long as you have a valid email account and Internet connection. More advanced IM software that often has to be paid for allows users to communicate using live voice or video calling. MSN allows users to hold text based conversations while using a webcam so one or both of the users can see each other whilst talking, newer versions also allow users to record small portions of voice recording and send it. The VoIP network, Skype also has an instant messaging feature. Instant messaging is particularly useful for people that have friends or family living far away because it is a great way to communicate with each other for free.

SMS – SMS stands for Short Message Service and is a way of communicating using text based communication via a mobile phone. SMS’s or text messages as they are commonly referred to, can be sent using a mobile phone to either another mobile phone or a landline. Billions of text messages are sent every month all over the world. An advantage of text messaging is that it is quick, easy and often cheaper than making a phone call, particularly if you only want to ask one question. However, many blame text messages for affecting the way we speak and write. This is because many people adapt their language and spelling when sending a text message because of the limited amount of characters allowed. Another down side of text messaging is that if the person sending the text message is in a different country to the person receiving the message it can get very expensive, sometimes costing up to a pound a message.

Bulletin Boards – A Bulletin Board System can also be known as a BBS and allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program, as it is a computer system running software. BBS can also be known as a Bulletin Board Service. Once logged in, you can download files, read news, exchange messages with other users or view other content provided on the bulletin board.

Discussion Forums – These are sites that people can hold conversations or ‘discussions’ on via posted messages. Messages are temporarily archived unlike chat rooms and most IM services meaning that if you turn off the computer and come back at a later date the message will still be on there so you can carry on that particular discussion, whereas with IM as soon as the window the conversation was being held on is closed those messages are lost. With many discussion forums, posted messages have to be approved by a moderator before they are visible to other users. This means that there is a delay between actually posting a message and it being available on the site. However for many, particularly parents letting their children on these sites, it is a small bit of piece of mind that means that anything obscene or inappropriate will not be seen by others. With most discussion forums you need to be a registered member and log in before you can post any messages, but you don’t usually have to be a member of the forum to read already posted messages.

Weblogs (blogs) – The word weblog is combined to produce the commonly used term of blog. A blog can either be a website on its own or part of a website such as the blog publishing site, blogger.  It is usually an individual that maintains the blog with regular entries about almost anything depending on what the blog is about; these entries can also include links, graphics and videos. Unlike static websites that are simply viewed most blogs allow viewers to interact by posting messages to each other or the blogger. A lot of people use a blog as an online diary that people can view, a more practical use for the service would be keeping an online diary of work, which is exactly what we are dong as part of this course. The fact that the blog can be updated from any computer with an Internet connection is a big advantage as students can post work from home as well as in college making it easier to do private study. Another advantage is that the lecturer can view the blog at any time meaning the work they have done can be seen without having to print out lots of paper, meaning that resources are saved resulting in money being saved as well as helping the environment by reducing waste. Progress can also be monitored using these blogs so if a student falls behind the lecturer can quickly pick up on this and provide the support needed.

Newsgroups – Newsgroups are very much like discussion forums and bulletin boards in that they allow people to talk about issues and interact with each other. However, newsgroups tend to cover more intellectual issues rather that simple speculation and gossip. Google newsgroups use an extension to identify what a newsgroup covers; examples of these would be that the humanities newsgroups cover fine art, literature and philosophy, the sci newsgroups cover applied science and social science and the talk newsgroups cover current issues and debates. Information displayed on newsgroups tends to be more reliable than information found on bulletin boards and discussion forums but this information is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate.

Internet Telephony – Internet telephony is the software and applications that allow users to speak to each other over the Internet using VoIP technology. Skype is the most well known Internet telephony service that uses this VoIP technology. If a user has fast, fixed-price Internet connection this service is usually free because the applications do not cost anything to download or use.

Conferencing (video and audio) – Web conferencing allows participants to connect to each other via the Internet, this means that live meetings, training and presentations can be conducted without people having to even be in the same country. Conferencing using the Internet is widely found within the business world because it allows employers, clients and other important people to talk to each other without having to travel long distances. Using web conferencing eliminates the need to get on a plane, train or travel a long way in a car because the whole meeting can be held from their office. A conference can be held with or without video but if video is available, usually via a web cam, all participant can see each other meaning that a much more in depth meeting can be held because things like PowerPoint presentations can be presented.