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Email, Instant Messaging, Blogs, RSS, Forums and Listservs:
What's
Next?
By S. Housley
How do we keep Internet communication simple?
Let's start by
taking a look at the different methods used to
communicate on the web. It is important to understand the nuances
and benefits of the different forms.
Email
This is the most popular
communication method. Users
typically use desktop software to receive, read
and respond to messages. Some users use web-based mail and manage
messages
in a web browser like Internet Explorer. The downfall to email communication
is that anyone can send email messages to anyone else if they have (or guess)
the correct email address. This system's Achilles heel is its simplicity
and universal popularity.
Email accounts are often burdened by spam or
unsolicited email. Despite software developers having created complex spam
filters and legislators having introduced new anti-spam legislation, the
problem persists and spam continues to burden email as a messaging
medium.
Email Clients -
http://www.messaging-software.net/e-mail-client-software.htm
Spam
Software - http://www.email-software.org/spam-filter-software.htm
Instant
Messaging
Instant messaging allows users to "chat" in real time. Users can
send text messages to anyone online and receive instant replies if the user
is also online. The "instant" fad gave way to parental fears as children made
"friends" online. With no way to confirm if "friends" are who they
represent themselves to be, and multiple security holes, instant messaging
has taken a back seat in internet communication.
Instant Messaging
-
http://www.instant-messaging-software.com
Blogs
Online
journals and daily diaries have taken hold. Some blogs are interactive,
allowing users to respond and comment on posts. Locating topic-specific blogs
that provide relevant and interesting content on a daily basis can be
a challenge. The nature of a blog is to contain fresh public content. As
our lives become more complicated blogs are often abandoned, as they require
constant updating.
Blog Connections - http://www.blog-connection.com
RSS
RSS
is the latest messaging medium and shows genuine promise
as a means to
communicate. RSS files are produced as XML
files and are designed to provide
content summaries of news or information. The biggest benefit to RSS is that
it does not have the spam issues inherent to email; users opt-in to the
RSS feeds that interest them.
RSS Specifications - http://www.rss-specifications.com
Forums
/ Newsgroups
A forum is an online discussion group. Forums can
be
newsgroups, or they can be web-based discussion groups.
Forums have
proven themselves as valuable business resources
- often creating communities
of customers helping customers.
Without moderation and oversight they can
potentially create an unfriendly environment.
Message Board
Software -
http://www.messaging-software.net/message-board-software.htm
Listservs
Liststervs
are mailing list programs for communicating with other people who have
subscribed to the same list. Using e-mail, you can participate in listservs
pertaining to your topics of interest. When you submit a message to the
server, your message is relayed to all on the listserv. You
receive messages from other participants via e-mail.
Yahoo Groups - http://www.yahoogroups.com
What's
Next?
Internet communication is intrinsically tied to the hardware
options
available. Wireless technology has accelerated the
development of messaging
software, opening the market to a
dizzying array of devices for web access.
Where we were once
tied to a keyboard and mouse, we will soon be navigating
the
web with our voices from a moving automobile, or browsing
via screens
in our eyewear, with tiny cameras reading our eye movements to move the
cursor and make selections. Our
interactive conversations will include more
and more participants at once. Evaluating the many options and choosing
what works best for you is the first step to effectively communicating on the
web.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for
NotePage, Inc.
http://www.notepage.net
and FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com . Other sites by
Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com
, and http://www.small-business-software.net
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