Online Communication tools 2. Online Communication tools: Online communication refers to communication via networked computers. It encompasses synchronous communication (communication in real time via chat with all participants at their computers at the same time); asynchronous communication (communication in a delayed fashion by computer, such as e-mail); and the reading and writing of online documents via the World Wide Web. Online communication is a new phenomenon, having first come into existence toward the end of the 20th century. It is growing at one of the fastest rates of any new form of communication in human history. Online communication represents the most important development in human communication. The tools or ways used to communicate through internet are as follows: 2.1 Electronic Mail: Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Email systems are based on a store-and-forward model. Email servers accept, forward, deliver and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online simultaneously; they need connection only, typically to an email server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages. 2.1.1 Internet E-mail services There are two ways to get e-mail over the Internet. One is by using an e-mail client program installed in the user's computer, and the other is Web-based e-mail accessible from a Web browser. Very often, mail can be sent and received on the same service via both e-mail client programs and web browsers. 1) The email client program- Tied to Computer: The use of a mail program installed in the user's computer, such as Outlook, is often richer in features than web-based mail called an "e-mail client," 2) Web-based E-Mail - From Any Computer: Web e-mail means to use the program you have to browse it on the internet. The term also refers to a web e-mail service that is provided by a web e-mail provider for example Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail. The advantage of a webmail client is that you can access it anywhere where there is internet and you only need to browse the URL. Internet - A new era of Communication Page 5 Online Communication tools 2.1.2 E-mail address An email address identifies an email box to which email messages are delivered. For example; [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Email address has three parts, which are as follows; 1) User name: The first part is your username. You set up the username with your internet provider or e-mail service. It might be a form of your name or your nickname. Your service provider (Yahoo, Gmail) makes sure no one else on their system already has that name. 2) @ sign: The second part of your e-mail address is @ (at) symbol. 3) Domain part: The domain name appears after @ symbol and identifies the internet domain that handles your email. It can be further broken down into two parts: the name of the server that handles the e-mail (yahoo or hotmail) and the top-level domain, often "com," "gov" or "edu," which stand for commercial business, government agency and educational institution, respectively. 2.1.3 Parts of an e-mail message A basic email message is made up of seven parts. 1) Recipient¶s E-mail address: The first thing in composing an email is the recipient's address. This is entered before composing the body of the email. This field is usually found in one of the spaces above the message. When sending a message to multiple recipients, be sure to separate all addresses with a comma. 2) Cc and Bcc: Another option when sending a message to multiple recipients is to use the Carbon copy, and Blind carbon copy fields. When using the Cc feature, all recipients can see the email Internet - A new era of Communication Page 6 Online Communication tools addresses of everyone the message was sent to. If you want your communication to be more private, choose the Bcc and the identities of the other recipients will not be shown. 3) Date and Time Stamp: The date and time is usually included automatically somewhere in the message. 4) Subject Line: The subject line is the first part of email that the recipient will see. When entering the subject line be sure to include important information such as what the email is about. If you don't include any subject line, your message could be mistaken for spam and deleted without being read. 5) Body: The body is where you actually write the message. Message can be anything from a professional memo or a letter to friend or family member. Try to avoid writing too much. If you have a lot of information that needs to be sent includes it as an attached file. 6) Attachments: Attachments are similar to enclosures in traditional mail. If you have files that you want to share with your recipient's you can include them as attachments to the email. 7) Signature: Some email systems allow you to enter a signature that will appear automatically at the bottom of every message you send. This feature is optional. 2.1.4 Advantages of Email in Business The advantages of email in business can be seen in small and large organizations. 1) Rapid Communication: Email communications blaze through the internet with amazing speed. This speed allows businesses to work at a faster pace and communicate more effectively. Email can also be used to rapidly disseminate information to multiple employees at the same time. 2) Decreased Cost: The biggest business advantage of using email is the cost savings. The overhead to maintain an email system is relatively low. Small businesses can utilize free online email Internet - A new era of Communication Page 7 Online Communication tools services for no cost beyond their computer and internet connection expenses. The decreased costs for businesses can be seen in their postage usage, telephony expenses and even travel expenses. 3) Data Transfer: Before email was available, the transfer of data was a time consuming and tedious task. Information was stored in large files or in large documents and then shipped to the place where data was needed. Now data transfer can occur rapidly, with little down time on information. 4) Security: Email is a more secure method of communication than letters or faxes. Letters or faxes can be intercepted fairly easily at a business since a physical movement of the information must occur. Emails can create a record of the information in a safe environment that is easily backed up for future use. 5) Marketing: Email marketing allows a business to reach customers in a more economical manner. Marketing and advertisements can be sent to a customer or a group of potential customers. This speedy dissemination of marketing materials increases sales and decreases the time between the start of a marketing campaign and customer purchases. 2.2 Online Chat: The expression online chat comes from the word chat which means "informal conversation´. Online chat refers to communication over the Internet that offers an instantaneous transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver; hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions. Online chat may address as well point-to-point communications as well as multicast communications from one sender to many receivers. 2.2.1 Types of online Chat There are two types of online chat 1) Web Based Chat room: The web based chat rooms (chat room or group chat) are actually virtual forums which allow the messages to be written and read by all of the individuals that exist in the Internet - A new era of Communication Page 8 Online Communication tools internet room. Web-based chat rooms can be located throughout the internet on pages such as fan club websites, online gaming sites and personal websites, among others. Individuals can discuss a variety of topics, including computers, games, movies, music. Many popular search engines have their own chat platform and can be run under most operating systems, provided that the software that allows you to communicate with others in the chat room has been installed. Advantages and Benefits of Chat room: Chat rooms have been shown to have many benefits to different people since their inception. y Privacy is one of the most important advantages of chat rooms. You don't have to reveal your identity to others because you can use any available user name. Also, chat rooms are a place where people can judge you on thoughts and ideas rather than appearance. y Chat rooms provide relaxed discussion in a stress-free environment. A person can find people all over the world to discuss subjects without being judged on how they look. A chat room with someone watching over the conversation and halting any harassment is a great way for individuals to connect without fear and let their beliefs is discussed openly. y The chat room has been a way of creating study groups without the hassle of actually getting together. Entire classes can meet in a chat while sharing notes, discussing topics and giving opinions the may have held back in class for lack of time. 2) Real Time Chat: Real-time chat or instant messaging offers users the ability to communicate in real time with individuals who have been added to a ³buddy´ list.