Introduction
Advancement in technology has paved way to what many people consider as web communication. Web communication in real sense is a complex term that is defined different by different individuals in the world. For better understanding of web communication, different scholars have broken down the term into three critical areas that include the social media, web based content and analytic (Geest, 2001).
Social media simply refers to that people use to create or develop an engaged community of users. For instance, social media entails things such as the wikis, social networks and blogs among others. These things are of much important because they act as critical tools in communication (Lipson & Day, 2005).
They are simply formed based on communication among individuals in the society. About wed based content, web communication can be considered more than creation of social media content. Website content is regarded useful in people lives in the world. With emails and other outdoor campaigns, web communication has become vital aspects based on the context of people interactions in modern society.
In web communication, analytics are important since they enable individuals to tack themselves on other people’s existing jobs description. Analytics are considered vital since they enable individuals to evaluate themselves in what they might be doing hence proving their value in being able to overcome their tasks (Mattingly, 2011).
Discussion
To explore the concept of web communication, this study examines some interesting areas that are considered viable in web communication field. Such areas include web 2.0, blogging, internet footprint and digital shadow.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is quite a contradictory term that left people with different meaning of the term. Many people perceive web 2.0 as updated or current version of web which in real sense it is not. Websites developers and designers consider web 2.0 as a platform and a democracy kind of website that has emerged due to drastically growth in technology.
Web 2.0 can be defined as website that brings democracy in the use of internet. It encompasses web applications that encourage people participatory in things such as sharing information, airing views or opinions and World Wide Web collaborations. Web 2.0 is an important website because it gives people the opportunity to interact freely with one another.
It allows different individuals to collaborate with each other without limitations. Through the emergent of web, 2.0 people have been able to view contents that they have created without any limitations (Shuen, 2008). There are different forms of web 2.0 that are in use today. Such web 2.0 types include video sharing site, blogs, hosted services, networking sites, web applications, folk sonomies and mashups among others.
Web 2.0 is a term that is closely associated with Tim O’Reilly due a web 2.0 conference held by O’Reilly in the year 2004. It is a critical wed version that offers fertile grounds through which different individuals could meet, read, and write. Through numerous studies conducted by several researchers based on the implications of web 2.0 in the modern world, it has been evident that wed 2.0 grants people the opportunity to air both global and local views.
It is an educative base form many academic institutions. Both students and educators have indulged themselves into the use web 2.0 to broaden their minds by acquiring of knowledge via internet. Many institutions of learning have embraced modern technology by incorporating the use of internet in their curriculums.
In this regard, educators and students with web 2.0 are able to search and access web content. Creative personalities place their article in web 2.0 and thus why many people claims that web 2.0 offer them with articles that cannot be found in newspapers and magazines (Solomon & Schrum, 2007).
Blogging
Complexity of this term has become a burning issue to many individuals in the world. It is a term emanating from the word blog that in other word is considered as a web log. Blogs in a more understanding form refers to online journals created by either an organization or an individual and cover variety of topics ranging from fashion to human rights.
People uses blogs as the only appropriate means through which they could air their views and other related stories (Shelly, 2009). The act of publishing such stories or views on a blog is what regarded as blogging. The use of web logs or blogs have given people the opportunity to interact with each other via the internet.
On blogs posts people are able to write articles and other people can comment on them. About the technology advancements, many institutions of learning have embarked into the use of blogging to publicize their missions. For instance, university of California has developed a student portal that in our case can be considered as their blog.
Such blogs are critical since they enable students and the staffs to interact more easily (Newson, Houghton & Patten, 2008). Online registration of courses and other forms of inquiries gained a new fashion that is faster compared to the traditional ones.
Blogging therefore implies the use of blogs or web logs to pass and receive news, massages and other forms of information (Rettberg, 2008).Blogging can be considered as both educative and recreational (entertaining). Blogging has enabled soccer fans to keep track of soccer events since it is from such blogs whereby fans have the opportunity to read about their favorite soccer clubs.
Educative articles are presented into blogs by different authors. The introduction of web 2.0 has given people the chance to search and access other peoples’ articles without limitations whatsoever and it is from this point of view why blogging is regarded as educative (McDougall & Entrepreneur, 2006).
Internet Footprint
Internet footprint is also known as digital footprint. It is quite ambiguous to generate a general definition of this term since many people conceptualize it in various or different perspectives. Digital or internet footprint is not made up of a single activity as many individual might think.
It is a collection of many activities and behaviors that are recorded when a person or entity uses internet or digital environment in interaction (Rettberg, 2008). Internet footprint can therefore be termed as the recording of activities when an individual interacts with internet or digital environment. The recording may include activities such as web visit, chat massages, login and logouts among others.
The number of times an individual has updated his or her facebook wall, the number of chats recorded and the number of friends one has in facebook is a good example of internet or digital footprint (Witte & Mannon, 2010). With web 2.0, people are allowed to access other peoples’ walls in facebook website.
Online chatting played an important role since it acts as blogging in which people could meet each other and exchange ideas. This is to say that web 2.0, blogging and internet footprint are integrated parts in the field of social media (Peterson, Jaret & Schenck, 2010). Internet footprint allows interested individuals to access the recorded activities such as emails, chat massages, login and logouts among others.
Internet footprint is important because it reflects on web communication. Several individuals are not aware of their internet footprint because they are less concerned about the recorded activities in their web logs or blogs. Their interests are attached in readings and writings present in their blogs with little knowledge about its implications (Safe, 2010).
Digital Shadow
Many people confuse digital shadow with digital footprint because the two are closely related to each other. By definition, digital shadow refers to the information individuals they record in their weds for instance names in email lists, pictures, names in financial records, wed surfing histories and other images taken by devices such as security cameras( surveillance cameras).
This simply means that, digital shadow consists of digital information that is either actively created by wed users or replicated globally (Weston, 2008). According to the study conducted by IDC it was evident that the growth digital shadow has increased inline with the increasingly use of technology such as computers.
Different phone models have come into existence and people use them to take photos since they are internet enabled. People use different computer sites to download music and other forms of videos. Downloads of such entertaining videos have been used by people to decorate their blogs or web logs (Mayfield, 2010).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study is interesting because it explores the concept f web communication based on the integration of various areas that are doomed necessary in web communication. Such integrated areas of web communication include web 2.0, blogging, internet footprint and digital shadow. They are linked to each other and are said to possess features or characteristics that are common such as educative and entertaining.
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