Network Applications Reading Assignment

Network Applications

The four major categories of network applications that have been discussed in the material are discovery, collaboration, communication, and Web services.

Based on my reading I am most interested in communication. The Internet shrinks the world with each transferred megabyte. According to the reading some forms of communication on the Internet are e-mail, call centers, chat rooms, voice (VoIP), blogging, and Wikis.

Electronic mail known as e-mail is “the largest-volume” application running over the Internet. Naturally the sheer amount of volume has brought mischief. According to the reading in 2003 over half of e-mail was spam. Some of these spam e-mails led to viruses, some simply an annoyance and others computer hellish nightmares.

Web-based call centers allow for total communication by using e-mail, telephone or a voice/Web session. The web-based call centers allow for a holistic approach in helping customers or people in need of assistance.

Electronic chat rooms allow for others to get together and socialize. I think chat rooms have lost their luster however they remain an important element in communication.

Voice communication through VoIP allows users to manage their monthly calls more efficiently. VoIP does have limitations such as the need of an Internet connection.

Webblogging, blogging, or Weblog, blog for short refers to people utilizing the Internet to tell their story. Blogging has become popular in the past year and continues to grow in numbers. Some companies have utilized blogs to maintain better customer relations. Other companies have allowed inner company blogs to help stimulate growth and communication.

Wikis such as Wikipedia allow people to easily share and edit information. Although Wikipedia can be useful at times a strong caution should be raised in the validity of the information. The old methods of research should be utilized for finding concrete and precise information.