The benefits of internet communications

This page will give you a bit of insight into the merits of internet and using it as a means of communications.

Right and welcome to all of you.. Let me detail the merits of internet on communications today. Most of course can be figured out yourselves if you have a sense of basic reason but there are some merits that could surprise you.

To begin, let us start with the most basic merit of communicating via the internet, the speed of communication. The main reason why internet is slowly taking over post services is its ability to send messages to and fro in a matter of minutes (Or in the case of IM’s in mere seconds) Keeping in contact with associates has never been easier and quicker. You do not have to confine yourself with the various procedures regarding mail. Even finding people and information you require is as simple as opening a search engine. The second most obvious advantage of internet communications is of course that of scope. Since the internet is a world wide network, you can have contacts all over the world. This in itself has facilitated ease in transactions for many a business, deliveries, friendships and sometimes even relationships.

Surprise, surprise

Ahem… to continue, the world is literally a click away allowing many researchers to advance in their field, students to learn as they will and business to cut costs dramatically. One very interesting use of scope I found was that of video conferencing services or internet telephony. Certain leading doctors for example use it to help other people in the same field to perform medical operations through video conferencing, or to observe a patient in the case he or she cannot be there.

But of course this medium is not limited to doctors only….

….The third advantage I will list here is of availability of information. Many traditional forms of information such as books and laborious hours of research often disappear thanks to internet communications. We can research about almost anything we want on the net, and at times there are often people with expertise in our field readily contactable through certain websites or groups. You can also find many people on certain blogs or IRC’s that can help you with problems you are facing. (Turns toward Nisam) http://www.fixya.com/ for example is a site where other people might be able to answer problems you might have with your computer.

In the past hearing about the Gaza killings for example, would have been impossible for someone like me who lives in a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean… but that was in the past, now we can obtain news and data about anything and anywhere in the world. What’s more with such a wide base of information it is now nearly impossible to hide the truth from an intelligent hand.

Or if an equally intelligent malice could hide it, the truth can eventually come to light.

Right… Now moving on to a more slowly growing merit of internet is that of security. Many people may have heard about threats to security via the internet, but few people actually know that internet communications can actually serve as a basis of protection against threats. An example perhaps will be more explanatory. A thief may try to steal into your house and rob you of your valuables whilst you are away, however a well placed camera can actually help you to catch the robber. There was one instance in the news in which a camera placed in a teddy bear connected to the internet allowed the police to catch a culprit. On another measure, internet communication can also prevent security threats; a house for example wired with cameras can be connected to the internet. The footage will be available at anytime and anywhere for one to monitor and you can even receive an alert via e-mail onto a hand held device when someone trespasses on your property. In itself the internet also gives access to information regarding software-

Some free, most not

-Which can help protect your own personal data. Some even give hints and ways on how to defend yourself in cases such as mugging or fire if in the cases it occurs.

The final merit I would like to point out is that of entertainment. Without a doubt communicating on the internet has become incredibly entertaining. It's common for example to find almost loads and loads of people on any communicating application on the web like Friendster or Facebook.

The main selling point is the fact that communicating has become easy… and quite dreadfully fun. Applications and others as mentioned above now provide various wacky knick knacks to make the process enjoyable. ‘Smiley’s’ and ‘wink’s’ are an example of this. Others include sending people trophies, personality quizzes or even a game of guess the sketch to keep you entertained in the process of IM. This in the end brings me to the end of this informative-

And equally boring

-page. The main point to remember however is; that the only way to experience these merits is if you try it yourselves. So better try communicating with the internet or perhaps placing a webcam in a secret place of your hostel. You never know what you might find out. And for a fact as cyberspace grows we will be able to bring forth new merits. Who knows perhaps cyber space can even be used to transfer messages to people at space even.

The darkside of internet communications

Although most people may not agree to the fact that the internet limits communication, in this page we will try to convince you otherwise. This can be seen in two ways. Firsts in the fact the internet itself is a limited form of communication. And second in the fact that certain protocols or aspects of the internet discourage communication.

When you consider the internet might discourage affective communication; the most interesting and notable affect would be the fact that the progress in internet communication has become a wall against conventional forms of communicating. Many people now prefer online conversation such as e-mails and particularly instant messaging over conventional talking and speaking. Despite the fact that we are not made to sit in front of a computer screen and punch away at the keyboard, many people are content do so. They become socially incapable in the real world and often find it difficult to interact with people on a regular day to day basis.

Also, while communication via the internet may be quite alright when moderated it can be cumbersome when people become addicted to such a form of conversation; spending day and night doing nothing but chatting online and updating their Friendster profiles. In many cases as it may turn out most people who are addicted to internet communication are also not that much aware of the risks of such a method. There are unaware that the manner in which internet communications take place is susceptible to being monitored. Many people even consider that internet communication itself is like sending a post card; anyone can see what’s written on it. This puts the sender and/or receiver at risk if they are not careful of what they write about and therefore discourages communication through the internet.

Another problem that the internet poses on communicating is the form of communication which can take place online. Sometimes the messages passed across cyberspace can be offensive and abusive. Though adults may be prepared or geared for such conversation, or information, we must not forget that almost anyone can access the internet and this includes children of a young age as well. Freedom of communication and access to information places them at a rather high risk in terms of ethicality. This is another reason why internet is restricted as a form of communication and a form of information itself.

Interestingly the remaining negative affects on communication one can think of relates to the way messages are composed online. Most conversations (except those which require formality) are composed in a matter which emphasizes speed over quality. Many a times, symbols and phrases are substituted in a message. This often leads to distortion of information, especially since different messages are interpreted differently all over the world. In one instance there was a case where the phrase ‘you’re awesome’ sent by an American in a internet based selling corporation, was interpreted as offensive by a women, a Russian co-worker. In the end messages were distorted so much so that everyone started back biting one another and the company was close to falling apart.

This in turn brings us to one problem that is not quite easily apparent for most internet users. Almost all of the information on the web is based on English. Language has long been barrier to effective communication. In this case we agree that the internet is a treasure trove of information and it can be used to communicate all over the world, but the truth is we can only communicate with others whom we can talk to properly. In many cases this happens to be those who know English.

From another perspective those who use the internet are limited only to those who can use text, speech or in some instances both. Most if not all communications via internet require an input on the part of the user. If a user is unable to do so, then he cannot communicate. With this in mind, it is rather easy to understand that the internet in itself is not a perfect form of communication.

What’s more perhaps the most annoying and noticeable aspect of internet communication is that of spam. Unsolicited information tends to filter into our mail in the thousands and tend to cost us all greatly in time which in itself can be translated into money. The frustrating part is that creating spam in itself is relatively simple and inexpensive, which in turn puts a barrier to communication on the internet. At this point I’d like to point out that bots, programs that send false messages, viruses are all also barriers to communication on the internet.

SO… as one can see, communicating via the internet is not as effective or as useful as we mentioned before.