![](media/image1.png){width="9.149305555555555in"
height="11.873611111111112in"}

  ---------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image2.png){width="1.8958333333333333in"   :unwrapping new technology trends
  height="1.6145833333333333in"}                       

  ---------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------

**8 Hour Agenda**

-   Introductions (15 minutes)

-   Web 2.0: Using the Web as it Was Meant to be Used (1.5 hours)

-   Break

-   Staying Connected: rss feeds and aggregators (1 hour)

-   Bridging the Divide: wireless (15 minutes)

-   Lunch (1 hour)

-   Can You Hear Me Now? new waves in audio and video (.75 hours)

-   Six Degrees of Separation: social networking apps (1.25 hours)

-   Break (15 minutes)

-   Blackberry Thumb (15 minutes)

-   Web Gone Wild: Blogs & Wikis (1.25 hours)

-   Conclusion

  ------------------------------------------------------ ----------------
  **Agenda**                                             **1**

  **TOC**                                                **2**

  **Web 2.0: using the web as it was meant to be used**  **3**

  Introduction to Web 2.0                                5

  AJAX: the web as platform                              7

  **Staying Connected: rss feeds and aggregators**       **9**

  Syndicate This: rss                                    11

  Bringing in the Feeds: aggregators                     15

  Bridging the Divide: wireless                          17

  Communicating with the Invisible: wi-fi                19

  Nine out of Ten Dentists Connect with: bluetooth       23

  **Can You Hear Me Now: new waves in audio and video**  **27**

  Downloading Zeitgeist: podcasts                        29

  Woo-Hoo: VoIP                                          33

  **Six Degrees of Separation: social networking apps**  **43**

  We Met Online: introduction to social software         45

  Uncontrolled Vocabularies: folksonomies                51

  We'll Remember it for You Wholesale: social            55
  bookmarking                                            

  Food for Thought: del.icio.us                          59

  The Nature of the Beast: connotea                      61

  Tag Sale: other cites of interest                      63

  Tom is in Your Extended Network: social networking     67
  services                                               

  **Blackberry Thumb: instant messaging, chat, and SMS** **71**

  ROFLMAO: instant messaging (IM)                        73

  Thnks fr th Mmrs: short message service (SMS)          77

  **Web Gone Wild: blogs & wikis**                       **81**

  The Town Square: blogs                                 83

  Stiki: wiki                                            91
  ------------------------------------------------------ ----------------

![](media/image3.png){width="6.0in" height="4.004861111111111in"}

Web 2.0:

using the web as it was meant to be used

  ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image4.png){width="1.9791666666666667in"   Introduction to Web 2.0
  height="1.8125in"}                                   

  ---------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------

The term "Web 2.0" is not without controversy since, as many people
point out, notably Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, that
many of the technological components of Web 2.0 have been around since
the inception of the Web. Moreover, some people feel that the concept of
Web 2.0 encompasses only the idea of using the web as a platform and
that other properties are merely emergent from that central concept.

Nevertheless, O'Reilly Media, who coined the term in 2004, feels that
while there has been no update to Intenet or World Wide Web technical
standards, those standards are being used sufficiently differently to
warrant the moniker and that a Web 2.0 site embraces more than the idea
of the web as platform.

For O'Reilly, Web 2.0 has the following properties:

1.  The web as platform

2.  Harnessing collective intelligence

3.  Data is the next Intel Inside

4.  End of the software release cycle

5.  Lightweight Programming models

6.  Software above the level of a single device

7.  Rich user experiences

+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| ![](media/im        | AJAX:                                          |
| age5.png){width="1. |                                                |
| 0215277777777778in" | the web as platform                            |
| height="1.4         |                                                |
| 652777777777777in"} |                                                |
+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+

***Ajax***, shorthand for \"*Asynchronous JavaScript and XML*\", is a
web development technique for creating interactive web applications. The
intent is to make web pages feel more responsive by exchanging small
amounts of data with the server behind the scenes, so that the entire
web page does not have to be reloaded each time the user requests a
change. This is intended to increase the web page\'s interactivity,
speed, and usability.

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ajax\_%28programming%29&oldid=121730063

Ajax is not a single technology, but is several brought together under
one roof. These are:

-   standards-based presentation using XHTML and CSS;

-   dynamic display and interaction using the Document Object Model;

-   data interchange and manipulation using XML and XSLT;

-   asynchronous data retrieval using XMLHttpRequest;

-   and JavaScript binding everything together.

**Web-based applications that use AJAX**:

Google Home: http://www.google.com/ig

Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps

Google Docs & Spreadsheets: http://docs.google.com/

Ask Maps: http://maps.ask.com

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com

![](media/image6.jpeg){width="6.0in" height="5.872222222222222in"}

Staying Connected:

rss feeds and aggregators

+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+
|                     | Syndicate This:                                |
|                     |                                                |
|                     | rss                                            |
+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=RSS&oldid=121039958

RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated
digital content, such as blogs, news feeds or podcasts.

Users of RSS content use programs called feed \"readers\" or
\"aggregators\": the user subscribes to a feed by supplying to his or
her reader a link to the feed; the reader can then check the user\'s
subscribed feeds to see if any of those feeds have new content since the
last time it checked, and if so, retrieve that content and present it to
the user.

The initials \"RSS\" are variously used to refer to the following
standards:

\* Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)

\* Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91, RSS 1.0)

\* RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0)

RSS formats are specified in XML (a generic specification for data
formats). RSS delivers its information as an XML file called an \"RSS
feed,\" \"webfeed,\" \"RSS stream,\" or \"RSS channel\".

**History**

Before RSS, several similar formats already existed for syndication, but
none achieved widespread popularity or are still in common use today, as
most were envisioned to work only with a single service. The basic idea
of re-structuring metadata information about web sites has been traced
back at least as far as 1995, and the work of Ramanathan V. Guha and
others at Apple Computer\'s Advanced Technology Group developing the
Meta Content Framework (MCF). Other early work on XML syndication
formats, including RDF, took place at Netscape, Userland Software, and
Microsoft.

RDF Site Summary, the first version of RSS, was created by Ramanathan V.
Guha of Netscape in March 1999 for use on the My Netscape portal. This
version became known as RSS 0.9. In July 1999, responding to comments
and suggestions, Dan Libby produced a prototype tentatively named RSS
0.91 (RSS standing for Rich Site Summary), that simplified the format
and incorporated parts of Dave Winer\'s Scripting News format. This they
considered an interim measure, with Libby suggesting an RSS 1.0-like
format through the so-called Futures Document.

In April 2001, in the midst of AOL\'s acquisition and subsequent
restructuring of Netscape properties, a re-design of the My Netscape
portal removed RSS/XML support. The RSS 0.91 DTD was removed during this
re-design, but in response to feedback, Dan Libby was able to restore
the DTD, but not the RSS validator previously in place. In response to
comments within the RSS community at the time, Lars Marius Garshol, to
whom (co?)authorship of the original 0.9 DTD is sometimes attributed,
commented, \"What I don\'t understand is all this fuss over Netscape
removing the DTD. A well-designed RSS tool, whether it validates or not,
would not use the DTD at Netscape\'s site in any case. There are several
mechanisms which can be used to control the dereferencing of references
from XML documents to their DTDs. These should be used. If not the
result will be as described in the article.\"

Effectively, this left the format without an owner, just as it was
becoming widely used.

A working group and mailing list, RSS-DEV, was set up by various users
and XML notables to continue its development. At the same time, Winer
unilaterally posted a modified version of the RSS 0.91 specification to
the Userland website, since it was already in use in their products. He
claimed the RSS 0.91 specification was the property of his company,
UserLand Software. Since neither side had any official claim on the name
or the format, arguments raged whenever either side claimed RSS as its
own, creating what became known as the RSS fork.

The RSS-DEV group went on to produce RSS 1.0 in December 2000. Like RSS
0.9 (but not 0.91) this was based on the RDF specifications, but was
more modular, with many of the terms coming from standard metadata
vocabularies such as Dublin Core.

Nineteen days later, Winer released by himself RSS 0.92, a minor and
supposedly compatible set of changes to RSS 0.91 based on the same
proposal. In April 2001, he published a draft of RSS 0.93 which was
almost identical to 0.92. A draft RSS 0.94 surfaced in August, reverting
the changes made in 0.93, and adding a type attribute to the description
element.

In September 2002, Winer released a final successor to RSS 0.92, known
as RSS 2.0 and emphasizing \"Really Simple Syndication\" as the meaning
of the three-letter abbreviation. The RSS 2.0 spec removed the type
attribute added in RSS 0.94 and allowed people to add extension elements
using XML namespaces. Several versions of RSS 2.0 were released, but the
version number of the document model was not changed.

In November 2002, The New York Times began offering its readers the
ability to subscribe to RSS news feeds related to various topics. In
January, 2003, Winer called the New York Times\' adoption of RSS the
\"tipping point\" in driving the RSS format\'s becoming a de facto
standard.

![](media/image7.png){width="3.6145833333333335in"
height="3.8958333333333335in"}In July 2003, Winer and Userland Software
assigned ownership of the RSS 2.0 specification to his then workplace,
Harvard\'s Berkman Center for the Internet & Society.

In January 2005, Sean B. Palmer, Christopher Schmidt, and Cody Woodard
produced a preliminary draft of RSS 1.1. It was intended as a bugfix for
1.0, removing little-used features, simplifying the syntax and improving
the specification based on the more recent RDF specifications. As of
July 2005, RSS 1.1 had amounted to little more than an academic
exercise.

In April 2005, Apple Computer released Safari 2.0 with RSS Feed
capabilities built in. Safari delivered the ability to read RSS feeds,
and bookmark them, with built-in search features. Safari\'s RSS button
is a blue rounded rectangle with RSS written inside in white, Safari\'s
RSS icon/button. The favicon displayed defaults to a newspaper icon
Safari\'s feed favicon..

In November 2005, Microsoft proposed its Simple Sharing Extensions to
RSS.

In December 2005, the Microsoft IE team and Outlook team announced in
their blogs that they will be adopting the feed icon first used in the
Mozilla Firefox browser, effectively making the orange square with white
radio waves the industry standard for both RSS and related formats such
as Atom. Also in February 2006, Opera Software announced they too would
add the orange square in their Opera 9 release.

In January 2006, Rogers Cadenhead relaunched the RSS Advisory Board in
order to move the RSS format forward.

In January 2007, as part of a revitalization of Netscape by AOL, the
FQDN for my.netscape.com was redirected to a holding page in preparation
for an impending relaunch, and as a result some news feeders using RSS
0.91 stopped working. The DTD has again been restored.

**Atom**

In reaction to recognized issues with RSS (and because RSS 2.0 is
frozen), a third group began a new syndication specification, Atom, in
June 2003. Their work was later adopted by the Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF) leading to the publication of a specification (RFC 4287)
for the Atom Format in 2005. Work on the Atom Publishing Protocol, a
standards-based protocol for posting to publishing tools is ongoing.

The relative benefits of Atom in comparison to the two RSS branches are
a matter of debate within the Web-syndication community. Supporters of
Atom claim that it improves on RSS by relying on standard XML features,
by specifying a payload container that can handle many different kinds
of content unambiguously, and by having a specification maintained by a
recognized standards organization. Critics claim that Atom unnecessarily
introduces a third branch of syndication specifications, further
confusing the marketplace.

+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| ![](media/ima       | Bringing in the Feeds:                         |
| ge8.jpeg){width="1. |                                                |
| 8493055555555555in" | aggregators                                    |
| height="2.3         |                                                |
| 041666666666667in"} |                                                |
+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+

Adapted from Wikipedia:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aggregator&oldid=121253682>

An aggregator or news aggregator or feed reader is client software that
uses web feed to retrieve syndicated web content such as blogs,
podcasts, vlogs, and mainstream mass media websites, or in the case of a
search aggregator, a customized set of search results.

**Functions**

Aggregators reduce the time and effort needed to regularly check
websites for updates, creating a unique information space or \"personal
newspaper.\" Once subscribed to a feed, an aggregator is able to check
for new content at user-determined intervals and retrieve the update.
The content is sometimes described as being \"pulled\" to the
subscriber, as opposed to \"pushed\" with email or IM. Unlike recipients
of some \"pushed\" information, the aggregator user can easily
unsubscribe from a feed.

Aggregator features are being built into portal sites such as My Yahoo!
and Google; and Broadbean Technology modern web browsers; and e-mail
programs.

The aggregator provides a consolidated view of the content in a single
browser display or desktop application. Such applications are also
referred to as RSS readers, feed readers, feed aggregators, news readers
or search aggregators.

The syndicated content an aggregator will retrieve and interpret is
usually supplied in the form of RSS or other XML-formatted data, such as
RDF/XML or Atom.

**Categories**

**Web-based version**

Web-based versions of this type of software are websites selling or
providing aggregation services for free; these sites are typically
provided by ISPs and internet portals. The RSS feeds allow users to
check recently changed versions in comparison to previous updates. This
allows only \'fresh data\' to be viewed, reducing bandwidth demands on
the provider\'s hardware and users. Because the aggregator is online, it
can be accessed anywhere by any user who is connected to the internet.
More advanced ways of integrating feeds are provided by Ajax desktops,
which allow users to aggregate OPML files, email services and documents
in Google Docs & Spreadsheets as well as feeds in a single interface.

Lately, a large number of online news aggregators made their way on our
Internet search results. The success of the technology comes from two
perspectives:

\* first - a large amount of online content can be put together in a
short period of time, optimising sites for organic search engine
listings;

\* second -- the advertising capabilities can be enormous as the ad
content can be delivered more targeted and "by the second".

**Computer version**

The desktop version of this type of software is designed to satisfy the
task of controlling subscriptions and supervising the RSS feeds that the
user has selected. The GUI of this type of software is normally a
three-panel composition-like communication software like for instance an
e-mail client, but browser versions are available \-- normally run on a
LAN. Publication is made through web-servers so that global access is
possible. Additional facilities may be integrated into aggregators such
as audio players, blog editors, internet browsers and e-mail clients.

**Directory of Aggregators**

News on Feeds:

http://www.newsonfeeds.com/faq/aggregators

**Selected Aggregators**

**Web-Based**

Google Reader: <http://www.google.com/reader/view/>

Bloglines: http://bloglines.com

MyYahoo!: <http://my.yahoo.com/>

**Desktop**

Amphetadesk: http://www.disobey.com/amphetadesk/

![](media/image9.png){width="2.8201388888888888in" height="6.25in"}

Bridging the Divide:

wireless

  ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image10.png){width="1.8541666666666667in"   Communicating with the Invisible:\
  height="1.2291666666666667in"}                        wi-fi

  ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wi-Fi&oldid=124284097

**Wi-Fi** (sometimes written **Wi-fi**, **WiFi**, **Wifi**, **wifi**) is
a trademark for sets of product compatibility standards for wireless
local area networks (WLANs). Wi-Fi, short for \"Wireless Fidelity\", was
intended to allow mobile devices, such as laptop computers and personal
digital assistants (PDAs) to connect to local area networks, but is now
often used for Internet access and wireless VoIP phones. Desktop
computers can use Wi-Fi too, allowing offices and homes to be networked
without expensive wiring. Many computers are sold today with Wi-Fi
built-in; others require adding a Wi-Fi network card. Other devices,
such as digital cameras, are sometimes equipped with Wi-Fi.

A person with a Wi-Fi-enabled device can connect to a local area network
when near one of the network\'s access points. The connection is made by
radio signals; there is no need to plug the device into the network. If
the local area network is connected to the Internet, the Wi-Fi device
can have Internet access as well. The geographical region covered by one
or several access points is called a hotspot. The range of an access
point varies. The access point built into a typical Wi-Fi home router
might have a range of 45 m (150 ft) indoors and 90 m (300 ft) outdoors.

## Specifications

Wi-Fi is based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications. There are currently
four deployed 802.11 variations: 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n.
The *b* specification was used in the first Wi-Fi products. The *g* and
*n* variants are the ones most often sold as of 2005.

  -------------------- -------------- ----------------- ------------------
  **Wi-Fi                                               
  specifications**                                      

  **Specification**    **Speed**      **Frequency\      **Compatible\
                                      Band**            with**

  802.11b              11 Mb/s        2.4 GHz           b

  802.11a              54 Mb/s        5 GHz             a

  802.11g              54 Mb/s        2.4 GHz           b, g

  802.11n              100 Mb/s       2.4 GHz           b, g, n
  -------------------- -------------- ----------------- ------------------

In most of the world, the frequencies used by Wi-Fi do not require user
licenses from local regulators (eg, the Federal Communications
Commission in the US). 802.11a equipment, using a higher frequency, has
reduced range, all other things being equal.

The most widespread version of Wi-Fi in the US market today (based in
IEEE 802.11b/g) operates in the 2,400 MHz to 2,483.50 MHz. It allows
operation in 11 channels (5 MHz each).

New standards beyond the 802.11 specifications are currently in the
works and offer many enhancements, anywhere from longer range to greater
transfer speeds. One example is 802.16 WiMAX, with a range of several
miles and data rates of up to 70Mbs. 802.16a permits operation between 2
and 11 GHz, so there may eventually be some interoperability between
802.11 units and some 802.16a units.

+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| ***De     | *Mbps is not to be confused with MBps (megabytes per     |
| finition: | second). Also see Kilo, mega, giga, tera, peta, and all  |
| Mbps or   | that.*                                                   |
| Mb/s***   |                                                          |
|           | *Mbps stands for millions of bits per second or megabits |
|           | per second and is a measure of bandwidth (the total      |
|           | information flow over a given time) on a                 |
|           | telecommunications medium. Depending on the medium and   |
|           | the transmission method, bandwidth is also sometimes     |
|           | measured in the Kbps (thousands of bits or kilobits per  |
|           | second) range or the Gbps (billions of bits or gigabits  |
|           | per second) range.*                                      |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+

## Advantages of Wi-Fi

-   Unlike packet radio systems, Wi-Fi uses unlicensed radio spectrum
    and does not require regulatory approval for individual deployers.

-   Allows LANs to be deployed without cabling, potentially reducing the
    costs of network deployment and expansion. Spaces where cables
    cannot be run, such as outdoor areas and historical buildings, can
    host wireless LANs.

-   ![](media/image11.png){width="1.71875in" height="1.84375in"}Wi-Fi
    products are widely available in the market. Different brands of
    access points and client network interfaces are interoperable at a
    basic level of service.

-   Competition amongst vendors has lowered prices considerably since
    their inception.

-   Many Wi-Fi networks support roaming, in which a mobile client
    station such as a laptop computer can move from one access point to
    another as the user moves around a building or area.

-   Many access points and network interfaces support various degrees of
    encryption to protect traffic from interception.

-   Wi-Fi is a global set of standards. Unlike cellular carriers, the
    same Wi-Fi client works in different countries around the world
    (although may require some software configuration).

## Disadvantages of Wi-Fi

-   ![](media/image12.png){width="1.9479166666666667in"
    height="2.9270833333333335in"}Use of the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band does not
    require a license in most of the world provided that one stays below
    the local regulatory limits and provided one accepts interference
    from other sources, including interference that causes your devices
    to no longer function.

-   Legislation/regulation is not consistent worldwide; most of Europe
    allows for an additional 2 channels over those allowed for *b* and
    *g*; Japan has one more on top of that - and some countries, like
    Spain, prohibit use of the lower-numbered channels. Furthermore some
    countries, such as Italy, used to require a \'general
    authorization\' for any WiFi used outside the owned premises; or
    required something akin to operator registration. For Europe;
    consult http://www.ero.dk for an annual report on the additional
    restriction each European country imposes.

-   The 802.11b and 802.11g flavors of Wi-Fi use the 2.4 GHz spectrum,
    which is crowded with other equipment such as Bluetooth devices,
    microwave ovens, cordless phones (900 MHz or 5.8 GHz are, therefore,
    alternative phone frequencies one can use to avoid interference if
    one has a Wi-Fi network), or video sender devices, among many
    others. This may cause a degradation in performance. Other devices
    that use these microwave frequencies can also cause degradation in
    performance.

-   Closed access points can interfere with properly configured open
    access points on the same frequency, preventing use of open access
    points by others.

-   Power consumption is fairly high compared to other standards, making
    battery life and heat a concern.

## Unintended and Intended use by outsiders

The default configuration of most Wi-Fi access points provides no
protection from unauthorized use of the network. Many business and
residential users do not intend to secure their access points by leaving
them open to users in the area. It has become etiquette to leave access
points open for others to use just as one can expect to find open access
points while on the road. Most Wi-Fi community networks are based on
free access and freely sharing bandwith.

Measures to deter unauthorized users include suppressing the AP\'s
service set identifier (SSID) broadcast, only allowing computers with
known MAC addresses to join the network, and various encryption
standards. Older access points frequently do not support adequate
security measures to protect against a determined attacker armed with a
packet sniffer and the ability to switch MAC addresses. Harmless
recreational exploration of other people\'s access points has become
known as wardriving, and the leaving of chalk graffiti describing
available services as warchalking.

It is also common for people to unintentionally use others\' Wi-Fi
networks without specific authorization. Operating systems such as
Windows XP and Mac OS X automatically connect to any nearby wireless
network, depending on the network configuration. A user who happens to
start up a laptop in the vicinity of an access point may find the
computer has joined a network without any visible indication. Moreover,
a user intending to join one network may instead end up on another one
if the latter\'s signal is stronger. In combination with automatic
discovery of other network resources this could theoretically lead
wireless users to send sensitive data to the wrong destination.

## Security

Measures to deter unauthorized users include suppressing the AP\'s
service set identifier (SSID) broadcast, allowing only computers with
known MAC addresses to join the network, and various encryption
standards. Access points and computers using no encryption are
vulnerable to eavesdropping by an attacker armed with packet sniffer
software. If the eavesdropper has the ability to change his MAC address
then he can potentially join the network by spoofing an authorised
address.

WEP encryption can protect against casual snooping but may also produce
a misguided sense of security since freely available tools such as
AirSnort can quickly recover WEP encryption keys. Once it has seen 5-10
million encrypted packets, AirSnort will determine the encryption
password in under a second. The newer Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and
IEEE 802.11i (WPA2) encyption standards do not have the serious
weaknesses of WEP encryption, but require strong passphrases for full
security.

  ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image13.wmf){width="1.8479166666666667in"   Nine out of Ten Dentists Connect with:\
  height="1.2215277777777778in"}                        bluetooth

  ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bluetooth&oldid=125181867

*Bluetooth* is an industrial specification for wireless personal area
networks (PANs).

Bluetooth provides a way to connect and exchange information between
devices like personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, laptops,
PCs, printers and digital cameras via a secure, low-cost, globally
available short range radio frequency.

![](media/image14.png){width="1.8472222222222223in"
height="1.1666666666666667in"}Bluetooth lets these devices talk to each
other when they come in range, even if they are not in the same room, as
long as they are within up to 100 metres (328 feet) of each other,
dependent on the power class of the product. Products are available in
one of three power classes:

-   Class 3 (1 mW) is the rarest and allows transmission of 10
    centimetres (3.9 inches), with a maximum of 1 metre (3.2 feet)

-   Class 2 (2.5 mW) is most common and allows a quoted transmission
    distance of 10 metres (32 ft)

-   Class 1 (100 mW) has the longest range at up to 100 metres. This
    class of product is readily available.

The specification was first developed by Ericsson, and was later
formalized by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The SIG was
formally announced on May 20, 1999. It was established by Sony Ericsson,
IBM, Intel, Toshiba and Nokia, and later joined by many other companies
as Associate or Adopter members. Bluetooth is also IEEE 802.15.1.

## About the name

Contrary to popular belief, the name Bluetooth has nothing to do with
blue teeth.

The system is named after a Danish king Harald Blåtand (Harold Bluetooth
in English), King of Denmark and Norway from 935 and 936 respectively,
to 940 known for his unification of previously warring tribes from
Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Bluetooth likewise was intended to unify
different technologies like computers and mobile phones. The Bluetooth
logo merges the Nordic runes analogous to the modern Latin H and B. This
is the official story; however, the actual Harald Blåtand that was
referred to in naming Bluetooth was most probably the liberal
interpretation given to him in The Long Ships by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson,
a Swedish best-selling Viking-inspired novel.

In April, 1998, Intel and Microsoft formed a consortium between
themselves and IBM, Ericsson, Nokia, Toshiba and Puma Technology and
adopted the code name Bluetooth for their proposed open specification.

## General information

The latest version currently available to
consumer![](media/image15.png){width="2.59375in" height="1.75in"}s is
2.0, but few manufacturers have started shipping any products yet. Apple
Computer, Inc. offered the first products supporting version 2.0 to end
customers in January 2005. The core chips have been available to OEMs
(from November 2004), so there will be an influx of 2.0 devices in
mid-2005. The previous version, on which all earlier commercial devices
are based, is called 1.2.

Bluetooth is a wireless radio standard primarily designed for low power
consumption, with a short range (up to 400 meters, ) and with a low-cost
transceiver microchip in each device.

Cell phones with integrated Bluetooth technology have also been sold in
large numbers, and are able to connect to computers, PDAs and,
specifically, to handsfree devices. The standard also includes support
for more powerful, longer-range devices suitable for constructing
wireless LANs.

## Bluetooth applications

-   Wireless control of and communication between a cell phone and a
    hands-free headset or car kit. This was one of the earliest
    applications to become popular.

-   Wireless networking between PCs in a confined space and where little
    bandwidth is required.

-   Wireless communications with PC input and output devices, the most
    common being the mouse, keyboard and printer.

-   ![](media/image16.jpeg){width="1.875in"
    height="2.1944444444444446in"}Transfer of files between devices with
    OBEX.

-   Transfer of contact details, calendar appointments, and reminders
    between devices with OBEX.

-   Replacement of traditional wired serial communications in test
    equipment, GPS receivers, medical equipment and traffic control
    devices.

-   For controls where infrared was traditionally used.

-   Sending small advertisements from Bluetooth enabled advertising
    hoardings to other, discoverable, Bluetooth devices.

-   Wireless controllers of game consoles---Nintendo Wii and Sony
    PlayStation 3 use Bluetooth for their wireless controllers.

-   Monitoring and Tracking systems e.g. tracking a lost or stolen phone
    or other bluetooth enabled device

### Future of Bluetooth

The next version of Bluetooth technology, currently code-named Lisbon,
includes a number of features to increase security, usability, and value
of Bluetooth. The following features are defined:

-   Automatic encryption change: allows encrypted links to change their
    encryption keys periodically, increasing security, and also allowing
    role switches on an encrypted link

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   [Extended inquiry
    response](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Extended_inquiry_response&action=edit):
    provides more information during the inquiry procedure to allow
    better filtering of devices before connection. This information
    includes the name of the device, and a list of services, with other
    information.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   [Sniff
    subrating](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sniff_subrating&action=edit):
    reduces the power consumption when devices are in the sniff
    low-power mode, especially on links with asymmetric data flows.
    [Human interface
    devices](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_interface_device) (HID)
    are expected to benefit the most, with mouse and keyboard devices
    increasing the battery life from 3 to 10 times those currently used.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   [QoS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_service) improvements:
    enable audio and video data to be transmitted at a higher quality,
    especially when best effort traffic is being transmitted in the same
    [piconet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piconet).

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Simple pairing: radically improves the pairing experience for
    Bluetooth devices, while increasing the use and strength of
    security. It is expected that this feature will significantly
    increase the use of Bluetooth.^Com^

Bluetooth technology already plays a part in the rising [Voice over
IP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_over_IP) (VOIP) scene, with
Bluetooth headsets being used as wireless extensions to the PC audio
system. As VOIP becomes more popular, and more suitable for general home
or office users than wired phone lines, Bluetooth may be used in
cordless handsets, with a base station connected to the Internet link.

![](media/image17.wmf){width="2.0416666666666665in"
height="3.3854166666666665in"}The next version of Bluetooth after
Lisbon, code-named Seattle, that will be called Bluetooth 3.0, has many
of the same features, but is most notable for plans to adopt
[ultra-wideband](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-wideband) (UWB)
radio technology. This will allow Bluetooth use over UWB radio, enabling
very fast data transfers of up to 480 Mbit/s, synchronizations, and file
pushes, while building on the very low-power idle modes of Bluetooth.
The combination of a radio using little power when no data is
transmitted and a high data rate radio to transmit bulk data could be
the start of software radios. Bluetooth, given its world-wide regulatory
approval, low-power operation, and robust data transmission
capabilities, provides an excellent signaling channel to enable the soft
radio concept.

On [28 March](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_28)
[2006](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006), the Bluetooth Special
Interest Group announced its selection of the [WiMedia
Alliance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiMedia_Alliance) Multi-Band
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM) version of UWB for
integration with current Bluetooth wireless technology.

UWB integration will create a version of Bluetooth wireless technology
with a high-speed/high-data-rate option. This new version of Bluetooth
technology will meet the high-speed demands of synchronizing and
transferring large amounts of data, as well as enabling high-quality
video and audio applications for portable devices, multi-media
projectors and television sets, and wireless VOIP.

At the same time, Bluetooth technology will continue catering to the
needs of very low power applications such as mice, keyboards, and mono
headsets, enabling devices to select the most appropriate physical radio
for the application requirements, thereby offering the best of both
worlds.

![](media/image18.png){width="5.999305555555556in"
height="7.441666666666666in"}Can You Hear Me Now:

new waves in audio and video

+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| ![](media/imag      | Downloading Zeitgeist:                         |
| e19.jpeg){width="1. |                                                |
| 2673611111111112in" | podcasts                                       |
| height="1.3625in"}  |                                                |
+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Podcast&oldid=124943031

![](media/image20.png){width="1.3333333333333333in"
height="1.3333333333333333in"}A **podcast** is a [digital
media](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_media) file, or a series of
such files, that is distributed over the
[Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet) using
[syndication](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_syndication)
[feeds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_feed), for playback on
[portable media
players](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Media_player) and
[personal computers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computers). A
podcast is a specific type of
[webcast](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webcast) which, like
\'[radio](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio)\', can mean either the
content itself or the method by which it is syndicated; the latter is
also termed **podcasting**. The
[host](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_show_host) or
[author](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author) of a podcast is often
called a **podcaster**. The term \"podcast\" is a
[portmanteau](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau) of the name of
[Apple\'s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.) portable music
player, the [iPod](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod), and
[broadcast](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast); a pod refers to a
container of some sort and the idea of
[broadcasting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcasting) to a container
or *pod* describes the process of podcasting. More about the name itself
can be found in the [history of
podcasting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_podcasting) article.

## Though podcasters\' web sites may also offer direct [***download***](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Download) or [***streaming***](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_media) of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be downloaded automatically, using software capable of reading feed formats such as [***RSS***](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)) or Atom.

## Mechanics

The publish/subscribe model of podcasting is a version of [push
technology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_technology), in that the
information provider chooses which files to offer in a feed and the
subscriber chooses among available feed channels. While the user is not
\"pulling\" individual files from the Web, there is a strong \"pull\"
aspect in that the receiver is free to subscribe to (or unsubscribe
from) a vast array of channels. Earlier Internet \"push\" services
(e.g., [PointCast](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PointCast_(dotcom)))
allowed a much more limited selection of content.

Podcasting is an automatic mechanism whereby multimedia [computer
files](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_file) are transferred from
a [server](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_(computing)) to a
[client](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Client_(computing)), which pulls
down XML files containing the Internet addresses of the media files. In
general, these files contain [audio](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound)
or [video](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video), but also could be
[images](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_image), text,
[PDF](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Document_Format), or any
file type.

The content provider begins by making a file (for example, an
[MP3](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3) audio file) available on the
Internet. This is usually done by posting the file on a publicly
available [webserver](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webserver); however,
[BitTorrent](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent) trackers also have
been used, and it is not technically necessary that the file be publicly
accessible. The only requirement is that the file be accessible through
some known
[URI](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Resource_Identifier) (a
general-purpose Internet
[address](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address)). This file is often
referred to as one *episode* of a podcast.

The content provider then acknowledges the existence of that file by
referencing it in another file known as the *feed*. The feed is a list
of the URLs by which episodes of the show may be accessed. This list is
usually published in [RSS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS) format
(although [Atom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_(standard)) can also
be used), which provides other information, such as publish date,
titles, and accompanying text descriptions of the series and each of its
episodes. The feed may contain entries for all episodes in the series,
but is typically limited to a short list of the most recent episodes, as
is the case with many news feeds. Standard podcasts consist of a feed
from one author. More recently multiple authors have been able to
contribute episodes to a single podcast feed using concepts such as
[public
podcasting](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Public_podcasting&action=edit)
and [social podcasting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_podcasting).

The content provider posts the feed on a webserver. The location at
which the feed is posted is expected to be permanent. This location is
known as the *feed URI* (or, perhaps more often, *feed
[URL](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL)*). The content provider makes
this feed URI known to the intended audience.

A consumer uses a type of software known as an
[*aggregator*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggregator), sometimes
called a *podcatcher* or *podcast receiver*, to subscribe to and manage
their feeds.

A podcast specific aggregator is usually an always-on program which
starts when the computer is started and runs in the background. They
work exactly like any
[newsreader](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsreader) each at a
specified interval, such as every two hours. If the feed data has
substantively c![](media/image21.png){width="2.7402777777777776in"
height="2.6930555555555555in"}hanged from when it was previously checked
(or if the feed was just added to the application\'s list), the program
determines the location of the most recent item and automatically
downloads it to the user\'s portable media players; 80% are consumed on
the PC onto which they are downloaded, or deleted from the PC without
being listened to. Many applications also automatically transfer the
newly downloaded episodes available to a user\'s portable media player.

The downloaded episodes can then be played, replayed, or archived as
with any other computer file or stored to an MP3 player.

To conserve [bandwidth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth), users
may opt to search for content using an online podcast directory. Some
directories allow people to listen online and initially become familiar
with the content provided from an RSS feed before deciding to subscribe.
For most broadband users, bandwidth is generally not a major
consideration; it could fairly be stated that podcasting itself is a
technology that came with the increases in global bandwidth and
broadband popularity.

## *Other uses*

Podcasting\'s initial appeal was to allow individuals (e.g. Nadim
Rafehi) to distribute their own \"radio shows,\" but the system quickly
became used in a wide variety of other ways, including distribution of
school lessons, official and unofficial audio tours of museums,
conference meeting alerts and updates, and by police departments to
distribute public safety messages. For example, the
[Pediaphon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pediaphon) project
provides dynamically generated podcasts of all English and German
language Wikipedia articles.

Podcasting is becoming increasingly popular in education. Podcasts
enable students and teachers to share information with anyone at
anytime. An absent student can download the podcast of the recorded
lesson. It can be a tool for teachers or administrators to communicate
curriculum, assignments and other information with parents and the
community. Teachers can record [book
talks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_talk), vocabulary or foreign
language lessons, international pen pal letters (podcast pals!), music
performance, interviews, debates. Podcasting can be a publishing tool
for student oral presentations. [Video
podcasts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_podcast) can be used in all
these ways as well.

In 2005, it was reported that former MTV employee [Adam
Curry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Curry) had anonymously edited
the podcasting entry on Wikipedia to remove credits from other people
and to inflate his role in its creation.

In [February 5](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_5),
[2005](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005), Shae Spencer Management LLC
of [Fairport, New
York](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairport%2C_New_York) filed a
trademark application to register PODCAST for an \'online prerecorded
radio program over the internet\'. In 2005-9-9, United States Patent and
Trademark Office rejected the application. The rejection notice cited
[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia)\'s Podcast entry had
described the history of the term.

In [September 26](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_26),
[2006](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006), It was reported that [Apple
Computer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Computer) started to crack
down on businesses using the word \'pod\' in product and company names.
Apple sent a cease-and-desist order that week to [Podcast
Ready](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Podcast_Ready&action=edit),
which markets an application known as
[myPodder](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MyPodder&action=edit).
Lawyers for Apple contended that the term \'pod\' has been used by the
public to refer to Apple\'s music player so extensively that it falls
under Apple\'s trademark protection. It was speculated that activity was
part of a bigger campaign for Apple to expand the scope of its existing
[iPod](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod) trademark, which included
trademarking \'IPODCAST\', \'IPOD Socks\', \'POD\'. On [November
16](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_16),
[2006](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006), Apple Trademark Department
returned a letter claiming Apple does not object to third party usage of
\'podcast\' to refer to to podcasting services, and Apple does not
license the term.

> ![](media/image22.png){width="3.6458333333333335in"
> height="3.34375in"}

+-----------------------+----------------------------------------------+
| ![](media/image       | Woo-Hoo:                                     |
| 23.png){width="1.5in" |                                              |
| height="2             | VoIP (Voice over IP)                         |
| .5444444444444443in"} |                                              |
+-----------------------+----------------------------------------------+

Adapted from the wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voip

**Voice over Internet Protocol**, also called **VoIP**, **IP
Telephony**, **Internet telephony**,
**[Broadband](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadband) telephony**,
**Broadband Phone** and **Voice over Broadband** is the
[routing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routing) of
[voice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_voice) conversations over the
[Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet) or through any other
[IP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Protocol)-based
[network](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network).

Companies providing VoIP service are commonly referred to as providers,
and [protocols](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_protocol)
which are used to carry voice signals over the IP network are commonly
referred to as **Voice over IP** or **VoIP** protocols.

  ---------------- ----------------------------------------------------------
  ***Definition:   *The difference between a packet switching network and a
  packet switching circuit switching network is that the former breaks
  and circuit      transmitted data into small, discrete groups of
  switching***     information that are individually routed between nodes
                   over conduits that may be shared by other nodes and the
                   latter establishes a direct and exclusive connection
                   between two the two nodes for the duration of the
                   exchange.*

  ---------------- ----------------------------------------------------------

Voice over IP traffic may be deployed on any IP network, including ones
lacking a connection to the rest of the Internet, for instance on a
private building-wide LAN.

**Advantages**

### Functionality

VoIP can facilitate tasks that may be more difficult to achieve using
traditional networks:

-   Incoming phone calls can be automatically routed to your VoIP phone,
    regardless of where you are connected to the network. Take your VoIP
    phone with you on a trip, and wherever you connect to the Internet,
    you can receive incoming calls.

-   Free phone numbers for use with VoIP are available in the
    [USA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States),
    [UK](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom) and other
    countries from organizations such as [VoIP
    User](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoIP_User).

-   ![](media/image24.png){width="1.6597222222222223in"
    height="5.495138888888889in"}Call center agents using VoIP phones
    can work from anywhere with a sufficiently fast and stable Internet
    connection.

-   Many VoIP packages include PSTN features that most
    [telcos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_company)
    (telecommunication companies) normally charge extra for, or may be
    unavailable from your local telco, such as 3-way calling, call
    forwarding, automatic redial, and caller ID.

### Mobility

VoIP allows users to travel anywhere in the world and still make and
receive phone calls:

-   Subscribers of phone-line replacement services can make and receive
    local phone calls regardless of their location. For example, if a
    user has a New York City phone number and is traveling in Europe and
    someone calls the phone number, it will ring in Europe. Conversely,
    if a call is made from Europe to [New York
    City](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City), it will be
    treated as a local call. Of course, there must be a connection to
    the Internet e.g. [WiFi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiFi) to make
    all of this possible.

-   Users of [Instant
    Messenger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_Messenger) based
    VoIP services can also travel anywhere in the world and make and
    receive phone calls.

-   Specialized [mobile VoIP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_VoIP)
    services enable users to talk over internet protocol and use VoIP
    based Instant Messenger services from their mobile phones.

-   VoIP phones can integrate with other services available over the
    Internet, including video conversation, message or data file
    exchange in parallel with the conversation, audio conferencing,
    managing address books and passing information about whether others
    (e.g. friends or colleagues) are available online to interested
    parties.

**Disadvantages**

### Difficulty with sending faxes

One drawback is the difficulty in sending faxes due to software and
networking constraints in most of the home systems. An effort is
underway to remedy this by defining an alternate IP-based solution for
delivering Fax-over-IP, namely the
[T.38](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.38) protocol. Another possible
solution to overcome the drawback is to treat the fax system as a
message switching system which does not need real time data
transmission - such as sending a fax as an email attachment
([iFax](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFax)) or remote printout
([Internet Printing
Protocol](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Printing_Protocol)). The
end system can completely buffer the incoming fax data before displaying
or printing the fax image.

### Internet connection requirement

Another drawback of VoIP service is its reliance upon another separate
service - an Internet connection. The quality and overall reliability of
the phone connection is entirely reliant upon the quality, reliability,
and speed of the Internet connection which it is using. Shortcomings
with Internet connections and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can
affect VoIP calls. Higher overall network latencies can lead to
significantly reduced call quality and cause certain problems such as
echoing. Certain providers, such as Time Warner Cable, offer a Voice
over IP product to their customers without requiring an Internet
service.

![](media/image25.png){width="3.1569444444444446in"
height="3.3375in"}VoIP is not entirely reliant upon internet
connections, however. VoIP systems can also utilize regular telephone
lines and business-grade connections like
[T1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Signal_1) for voice service. A
few business VoIP providers offer dedicated point-to-point T1
connections, not relying on an Internet connection for service. Although
residential VoIP service typically uses only an Internet connection,
business-grade VoIP service can use a variety of connection methods to
provide ongoing phone service.

Many VoIP users still maintain a traditional analog voice line (business
line) which allows them to dial emergency numbers and utilize a
traditional fax machine.

### Power outages

Another drawback of VoIP is the likely inability to make phone calls
during a power outage, though this problem is shared with some
conventional phones which require more power than the landline itself
can supply. Cordless phone units in particular are more affected by
power outages as many do not have a battery backup option for the base
station. This can be remedied with a battery backup like an
[Uninterruptible Power
Supply](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_Power_Supply).
During a power outage one also has the choice to forward calls to a
[cell phone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone) or alternate
number.

If VoIP is used in solitary [LAN](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAN)
(with no Internet connection), it would consume more resources compared
to a [PABX](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PABX).

Modems are now available with lithium ion battery backup so the service
can be used with no external power.

### New Directory Listings

VoIP providers such as Vonage and Lingo are not able make additions or
changes to local phone directories. An existing listing may be continued
(at least with Vonage), but a new number or a number that has been
cancelled by a previous phone provider before being transferred to VoIP
will not appear in printed phone books nor in any online directory that
draws information from that same database.

## *Implementation*

Because [UDP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_Datagram_Protocol) does
not provide a mechanism to ensure that data packets are delivered in
sequential order, or provide [Quality of
Service](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_Service) guarantees,
VoIP implementations face problems dealing with
[latency](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latency_(engineering)) and
[jitter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitter). This is especially true
when satellite circuits are involved, due to long round trip propagation
delay (400 milliseconds to 600 milliseconds for geostationary
satellite). The receiving node must restructure IP packets that may be
out of order, delayed or missing, while ensuring that the audio stream
maintains a proper time consistency. This functionality is usually
accomplished by means of a jitter buffer.

Another challenge is routing VoIP traffic through
[firewalls](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewall_(networking)) and
[address
translators](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_address_translation).
Private [Session Border
Controllers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_Border_Controller) are
used along with firewalls to enable VoIP calls to and from a protected
enterprise network. [Skype](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype) uses a
proprietary protocol to route calls through other Skype peers on the
network, allowing it to traverse [symmetric
NATs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetric_NAT) and firewalls. Other
methods to traverse firewalls involve using protocols such as
[STUN](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STUN) or
[ICE](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_Connectivity_Establishment).

VoIP challenges:

-   Delay/Network Latency

-   Packet loss

-   Jitter

-   Echo

-   Security

Fixed delays cannot be controlled but some delays can be minimized by
marking voice packets as being delay-sensitive (see, for example,
[Diffserv](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffserv)).

The principal cause of packet loss is congestion, which can be
controlled by congestion management and avoidance. Carrier VoIP networks
avoid congestion by means of [traffic
engineering](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_engineering).

Variation in delay is called
[jitter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jitter). The effects of jitter can
be mitigated by storing voice packets in a
[buffer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_(telecommunication))
(called a play-out buffer) upon arrival, before playing them out. This
avoids a condition known as [buffer
underrun](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffer_underrun), in which the
playout process runs out of voice data to play because the next voice
packet has not yet arrived, but increases delay by the length of the
buffer.

Common causes of echo include impedance mismatches in analog circuitry,
and acoustic coupling of the transmit and receive signal at the
receiving end.

### Reliability

Conventional phones are connected directly to telephone company [phone
lines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phone_line), which in the event of a
[power failure](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_failure) are kept
functioning by back-up
[generators](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_generator) or
batteries located at the [telephone
exchange](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_exchange). However,
household VoIP hardware uses broadband modems and other equipment
powered by household electricity, which may be subject to outages
dictating the use of an [uninterruptible power
supply](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply) or
generator to ensure ![](media/image26.png){width="2.9791666666666665in"
height="3.6458333333333335in"}availability during power outages. Early
adopters of VoIP may also be users of other phone equipment, such as
[PBX](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PBX) and [cordless phone
bases](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordless_telephone), that rely on
power not provided by the telephone company. Even with local power still
available, the broadband carrier itself may experience outages as well.
While the PSTN has been matured over decades and is typically extremely
reliable, most broadband networks are less than 10 years old, and even
the best are still subject to intermittent outages. Furthermore,
consumer network technologies such as cable and DSL often are not
subject to the same restoration service levels as the PSTN or business
technologies such as T-1 connection.

### Quality of Service

Some broadband connections may have less than desirable quality. Where
IP packets are lost or delayed at any point in the network between VoIP
users, there will be a momentary drop-out of voice. This is more
noticeable in highly congested networks and/or where there is long
distances and/or interworking between end points. Technology has
improved the reliability and voice quality over time and will continue
to improve VoIP performance as time goes on.

It has been suggested to rely on the packetized nature of media in VOIP
communications and transmit the stream of packets from the source phone
to the destination phone simultaneously across different routes
(multi-path routing). In such a way, the temporary failures have less
impact on the communication quality. In [capillary
routing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary_routing) it has been
suggested to use at the packet level [Fountain
codes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_code) or particularly
[raptor codes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raptor_code) for
transmitting extra redundant packets making the communication more
reliable.

A number of protocols have been defined to support the reporting of
QoS/QoE for VoIP calls. These include RTCP XR (RFC3611), SIP RTCP
Summary Reports, H.460.9 Annex B (for H.323), H.248.30 and MGCP
extensions. The RFC3611 VoIP Metrics block is generated by an IP phone
or gateway during a live call and contains information on packet loss
rate, packet discard rate (due to jitter), packet loss/discard burst
metrics (burst length/density, gap length/density), network delay, end
system delay, signal / noise / echo level, MOS scores and R factors and
configuration information related to the jitter buffer.

RFC3611 VoIP metrics reports are exchanged between IP endpoints on an
occasional basis during a call, and an end of call message sent via SIP
RTCP Summary Report or one of the other signaling protocol extensions.
RFC3611 VoIP metrics reports are intended to support real time feedback
related to QoS problems, the exchange of information between the
endpoints for improved call quality calculation and a variety of other
applications.

### Emergency calls

The nature of [IP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Protocol) makes
it difficult to locate network users geographically. [Emergency
calls](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_call), therefore, cannot
easily be routed to a nearby call center, and are impossible on some
VoIP systems. Sometimes, VoIP systems may route emergency calls to a
non-emergency phone line at the intended department. In the US, at least
one major police department has strongly objected to this practice as
potentially endangering the public.

Moreover, in the event that the caller is unable to give an address,
emergency services may be unable to locate them in any other way.
Following the lead of [mobile phone
operators](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_operator), several
[VoIP carriers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoIP_carrier) are already
implementing a technical work-around. For instance, one large VoIP
carrier requires the registration of the physical address where the VoIP
line will be used. When you dial the emergency number for your country,
they will route it to the appropriate local system. They also maintain
their own emergency call center that will take non-routable emergency
calls (made, for example, from a software based service that is not tied
to any particular physical location) and then will manually route your
call once learning your physical location.

The [United States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States)
government had set a deadline, requiring VoIP carriers to implement
[E911](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E911); however, the deadline is
being appealed by several of the leading VoIP companies.

This is a different situation with
[IPBX](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPBX) systems, where these corporate
systems often have full E911 capabilities built into the system.

### Integration into global telephone number system

While the traditional [Plain Old Telephone
System](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_Old_Telephone_System) (POTS)
and mobile phone networks share a common global standard
([E.164](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.164)) which allocates and
identifies any specific telephone line, there is no widely adopted
similar standard for VoIP networks. Some allocate an E.164 number which
can be used for VoIP as well as incoming/external calls. However, there
are often different, incompatible schemes when calling between VoIP
providers which use provider specific short codes.

### Single point of calling![](media/image27.png){width="2.8333333333333335in" height="2.8854166666666665in"} 

With hardware VoIP solutions it is possible to connect the VoIP router
into the existing central phone box in the house and have VoIP at every
phone already connected. Software based VoIP services require the use of
a computer, so they are limited to single point of calling, though
handsets are now available, allowing them to be used without a PC. Some
services provide the ability to connect
[WiFi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiFi) SIP phones so that service can
be extended throughout the premises, and off-site to any location with
an open [hotspot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotspot_(Wi-Fi)).
However, note that many hotspots require browser-based authentication,
which most [SIP phones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIP_phones) do not
support.

### Mobile phones & Handheld Devices

[Telcos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_company) and consumers
have invested billions of dollars in [mobile
phone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone) equipment. In
developed countries, mobile phones have achieved nearly complete [market
penetration](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_penetration), and many
people are giving up landlines and using mobiles exclusively. Given this
situation, it is not entirely clear whether there would be a significant
higher demand for VoIP among consumers until either public or community
[wireless networks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_network) have
similar geographical coverage to cellular networks (thereby enabling
mobile VoIP phones, so called WiFi phones) or VoIP is implemented over
legacy [3G](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3G) networks. However, \"dual
mode\" handsets, which allow for the seamless handover between a
cellular network and a WiFi network, are expected to help VoIP become
more popular.

The first [mobile VoIP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_VoIP)
solutions were
[Fring](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fring&action=edit) and
[Truphone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truphone). Phones like the
[Nokia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia) E60, E61 have been the first
\"dual mode\" handsets capable of delivering mobile VoIP. With more and
more mobile phones and handheld devices using VOIP, the nicknames of
\"[MoIP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MoIP)\" and MVoip ([Mobile
VoIP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_VoIP))have been attributed to
these mobile applications.

Handheld Devices are another type of medium whereby you can use VoIP
services. Since most of these devices are limited to using
[GSM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM)/[GPRS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPRS)
type of communication mediums, almost all of the handheld devices use
WiFi of some sort.

Another addition to handheld devices are ruggedized barcode type devices
that are used in warehouses and retail environments. These type of
devices rely on \"inside the 4 walls\" type of VoIP services that do not
connect to the outside world and are solely to be used from employee to
employee communications.

### Security

The majority of consumer VoIP solutions do not support encryption yet.
As a result, it is relatively easy to eavesdrop on VoIP calls and even
change their content. There are several open source solutions that
facilitate sniffing of VoIP conversations. A modicum of security is
afforded due to patented audio codecs that are not easily available for
open source applications, however such [security through
obscurity](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_through_obscurity) has
not proven effective in the long run in other fields. Some vendors also
use compression to make
[eavesdropping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eavesdropping) more
difficult. However, real security requires encryption and cryptographic
authentication which are not widely available at a consumer level. The
existing secure standard [SRTP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRTP) and
the new [ZRTP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZRTP) protocol is available
on [Analog Telephone
Adapters(ATAs)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_telephony_adapter)
as well as various [softphones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softphone).
It is possible to use [IPsec](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPsec) to
secure [P2P](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P2P) VoIP by using
[opportunistic
encryption](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunistic_encryption). A
notable softphone which does not use
[SRTP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRTP) but uses strong encryption by
default is [Skype](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype).

The [Voice VPN](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_VPN) solution
provides [secure voice](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_voice) for
enterprise VoIP networks by applying
[IPSec](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPSec) encryption to the digitized
voice stream.

### Pre-Paid Phone Cards

VoIP has become an important technology for phone services to travelers,
migrant workers and ex-pats, who either, due to not having a fixed or
mobile phone or high overseas roaming charges, choose instead to use
VoIP services to make their phone calls. Pre-paid phone cards can be
used either from a normal phone or from Internet cafes that have phone
services. Developing countries and areas with high tourist or immigrant
communities generally have a higher uptake.

### Caller ID

Caller ID support among VoIP providers varies, although the majority of
VoIP providers now offer full Caller ID with name on outgoing calls.
When calling a traditional PSTN number from some VoIP providers, Caller
ID is not supported.

In a few cases, VoIP providers may allow a caller to
[spoof](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoofing_attack) the Caller ID
information, making it appear as though they are calling from a
different number. Business grade VoIP equipment and software often makes
it easy to modify caller ID information. Although this can provide many
businesses great flexibility, it is also open to abuse.

## *Adoption*

### Mass-market telephony

A major development starting in 2004 has been the introduction of
[mass-market VoIP
services](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commercial_voice_over_IP_network_providers)
over [broadband Internet
access](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadband_Internet_access)
services, in which subscribers make and receive calls as they would over
the
[PSTN](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Switched_Telephone_Network).
Full phone service VoIP phone companies provide inbound and outbound
calling with [Direct Inbound
Dialing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Inbound_Dialing). Many
offer unlimited calling to the U.S., and some to
[Canada](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada) or selected countries in
[Europe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe) or
[Asia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia) as well, for a flat monthly
fee.

These services take a wide variety of forms which can be more or less
similar to traditional
[POTS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_old_telephone_service). At one
extreme, an analog telephone adapter (ATA) may be connected to the
broadband Internet connection and an existing telephone jack in order to
provide service nearly indistinguishable from POTS on all the other
jacks in the residence. This type of service, which is fixed to one
location, is generally offered by broadband Internet providers such as
cable companies and telephone companies as a cheaper flat-rate
traditional phone service. Often the phrase \"VoIP\" is not used in
selling these services, but instead the industry has marketed the phrase
\"Internet Phone\" or \"Digital Phone\" which is aimed at typical phone
users who are not necessarily tech-savvy. Typically, the provider touts
the advantage of being able to keep one\'s existing phone number.

![](media/image28.png){width="3.6458333333333335in"
height="2.59375in"}At the other extreme are services like [Gizmo
Project](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gizmo_Project) and
[Skype](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype) which rely on a software
client on the computer in order to place a call over the network, where
one user ID can be used on many different computers or in different
locations on a laptop. In the middle lie services which also provide a
telephone adapter for connecting to the broadband connection similar to
the services offered by broadband providers (and in some cases also
allow direct connections of
[SIP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Session_Initiation_Protocol) phones)
but which are aimed at a more tech-savvy user and allow portability from
location to location. One advantage of these two types of services is
the ability to make and receive calls as one would at home, anywhere in
the world, at no extra cost. No additional charges are incurred, as call
diversion via the PSTN would, and the called party does not have to pay
for the call. For example, if a subscriber with a home phone number in
the U.S. or Canada calls someone else within his local calling area, it
will be treated as a local call regardless of where that person is in
the world. Often the user may elect to use someone else\'s [area
code](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_code) as his own to minimize
phone costs to a frequently called long-distance number.

For some users, the broadband phone complements, rather than replaces, a
PSTN line, due to a number of inconveniences compared to traditional
services. VoIP requires a broadband Internet connection and, if a
telephone adapter is used, a power adapter is usually needed. In the
case of a power failure, VoIP services will generally not function.
Additionally, a call to the U.S. emergency services number
[9-1-1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-1-1) may not automatically be
routed to the nearest local
[emergency](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_service)
[dispatch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatch) center, and would be
of no use for subscribers outside the U.S. This is potentially true for
users who select a number with an area code outside their area. Some
VoIP providers offer users the ability to register their address so that
[9-1-1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9-1-1) services work as expected.

Another challenge for these services is the proper handling of outgoing
calls from [fax](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fax) machines,
[TiVo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TiVo)/[ReplayTV](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReplayTV)
boxes, [satellite
television](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_television)
receivers, [alarm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alarm) systems,
conventional [modems](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modem) or FAXmodems,
and other similar devices that depend on access to a voice-grade
[telephone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone) line for some or all
of their functionality. At present, these types of calls sometimes go
through without any problems, but in other cases they will not go
through at all. And in some cases, this equipment can be made to work
over a VoIP connection if the sending speed can be changed to a lower
[bits per second](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bits_per_second) rate. If
VoIP and [cellular](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular) substitution
becomes very popular, some ancillary equipment makers may be forced to
redesign equipment, because it would no longer be possible to assume a
conventional voice-grade telephone line would be available in almost all
homes in North America and Western-Europe. The
[TestYourVoIP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TestYourVoIP) website offers
a free service to test the quality of or diagnose an Internet connection
by placing simulated VoIP calls from any
[Java](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_virtual_machine)-enabled Web
browser, or from any phone or VoIP device capable of calling the PSTN
network.

### Corporate and telco use

Although few office environments and even fewer homes use a pure VoIP
infrastructure, telecommunications providers routinely use IP telephony,
often over a dedicated IP network, to connect switching stations,
converting voice signals to IP packets and back. The result is a
data-abstracted digital network which the provider can easily upgrade
and use for multiple purposes.

Corporate customer telephone support often use IP telephony exclusively
to take advantage of the data abstraction. The benefit of using this
technology is the need for only one class of circuit connection and
better bandwidth use. Companies can acquire their own gateways to
eliminate third-party costs, which is worthwhile in some situations.

VoIP is widely employed by carriers, especially for international
telephone calls. It is commonly used to route traffic starting and
ending at conventional PSTN telephones.

Many telecommunications companies are looking at the [IP Multimedia
Subsystem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Multimedia_Subsystem) (IMS)
which will merge Internet technologies with the mobile world, using a
pure VoIP infrastructure. It will enable them to upgrade their existing
systems while embracing Internet technologies such as the Web, email,
instant messaging, presence, and video conferencing. It will also allow
existing VoIP systems to interface with the conventional PSTN and
[mobile phones](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone).

[Electronic
Numbering](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Numbering) (ENUM)
uses standard phone numbers
([E.164](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.164)), but allows connections
entirely over the Internet. If the other party uses ENUM, the only
expense is the Internet connection.

![](media/image29.jpeg){width="5.99375in" height="4.495138888888889in"}

Six Degrees of Separation::\
social networking apps

  ----------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image30.png){width="1.2395833333333333in"   We met online:\
  height="1.8263888888888888in"}                        introduction to social software

  ----------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_software&oldid=125328871

**Social software** enables people to rendezvous, connect or collaborate
through [computer-mediated
communication](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-mediated_communication).
Many advocates of using these tools believe (and actively argue or
assume) that these create actual
[community](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community), and have adopted
the term \"[online
communities](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_communities)\" to
describe the social structures that they claim result.

The more specific term [collaborative
software](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_software) applies
to cooperative work systems and is usually narrowly applied to software
that enables work functions. Distinctions between usage of the terms
\"social\" and \"collaborative\" is in the applications not the tools,
although there are some tools that are only rarely used for work
collaboration.

## Debates and design choices

Social software may be better understood as a set of debates or design
choices than any particular list of tools. Broadly conceived, there are
many older media such as [mailing
lists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mailing_list) and
[Usenet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet) that qualify as
\"social\". Most users of this term however restrict its meaning to more
recent software genres such as
[blogs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog) and
[wikis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki). Others suggest that the term
social software is best used not to refer to a single type of software,
but rather to the use of two or more modes of computer-mediated
communication that result in \"community formation\". In this view,
people form online communities by combining one-to-one (e.g.,
[email](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email) and [instant
messaging](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_messaging)), one-to-many
([Web pages](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_pages) and
[blogs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogs)), and many-to-many
([wikis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki)) communication modes. Some
groups schedule [real life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_life)
meetings and so become clearly physically \"real\" communities of people
that share physical lives.

Common to most definitions is the observation that some types of
software seem to facilitate a more egalitarian and meritocratic
\"bottom-up\" community development, in which membership is voluntary,
[reputations](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reputation) are earned by
winning the [trust](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(sociology)) of
other members, and the community\'s mission and governance are defined
by the communities\' members themselves.

Communities formed by \"bottom-up\" processes are often contrasted to
the less vibrant collectivities formed by \"top-down\" software, in
which users\' roles are determined by an external authority and
circumscribed by rigidly conceived software mechanisms (such as [access
rights](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_rights)). Given small
differences in policies, very similar software can produce radically
different social outcomes. For instance,
[tikiwiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikiwiki) supports the
[gACL](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=GACL&action=edit)
system of detailed access control, and most services using it exploit
these to divide up the visibility and editability of pages so that few
people can both edit and read a randomly chosen page By contrast,
[mediawiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediawiki) avoids per-user
controls to keep most pages editable by most users, and puts more
information about users currently editing in its recent changes pages.
The result is mediawiki being used by community groups more often and
those features being more developed, while users who don\'t embrace the
social paradigm and prefer tikiwiki having more content control, less
social users.

Social software by design reflects the traits of [social
networks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network) and is designed
very consciously to let [social network
analysis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_analysis) work
with a very compatible database. All social software systems create
links between users, as persistent as the identity those users choose.
Through these persistent links, a permanent community can be formed out
of a formerly [epistemic
community](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemic_community). The
ownership and control of these links - who is linked, and who isn\'t -
is in the hands of the user. Thus, these links are asymmetrical - you
might link to me, but I might not link to you. Also, these links are
functional, not decorative - you can choose not to receive any content
from people you are not connected to, for example. [Wikipedia user
pages](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_user_page&action=edit)
are a very good example, and often contain extremely detailed
information about the person who constructed them, including everything
from [mother tongue](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_tongue) to
their [moral purchasing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_purchasing)
preferences.

## *Tools for online communication*

The tools used in social software applications include communication
tools and interaction tools. Communication tools typically handle the
capturing, storing, and presentation of communication, usually written
but increasingly including audio and video also. Interaction tools
handle mediated interactions between a pair or group of
![](media/image31.png){width="3.40625in"
height="3.6458333333333335in"}users. They differ from communication
tools in their focus on establishing and maintaining a connection among
users, facilitating the mechanics of conversation and talk.

Communication tools are generally asynchronous, interaction tools
synchronous (phone, Net phone, video chat) or near-synchronous (IM, text
chat).

We can add to this distinction one that describes the primary user
experience of each: communication involves the content of talk, speech,
or writing; interaction involves the interest users establish in one
another as individuals. In other words, a communication tool may want to
make access and searching of text both simple and powerful. An
interaction tool may want to present as much of a user\'s expression,
performance, and presence as possible. The organization of texts, and
providing access to archived contributions differs from the facilitation
of interpersonal interactions between contributors enough to warrant the
distinction in media.

### [Instant Messaging](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_Messaging)

An [instant messaging](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_messaging)
application or [client](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Client_(computing))
allows one to communicate with another person over a network in relative
privacy. Popular clients include
[Gtalk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Talk),
[Skype](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype),
[Meetro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meetro),
[ICQ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICQ), [Yahoo!
Messenger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Messenger), [MSN
Messenger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN_Messenger) and [AOL Instant
Messenger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL_Instant_Messenger). One can
add friends to a contact list or buddy list, by entering their email
address or messenger ID. If they are online, their name will be listed
as available for chat. Clicking on their name will activate a chat
window with space to write to the other person, as well as read their
reply.

### [Text chat![](media/image32.png){width="2.1145833333333335in" height="3.6458333333333335in"}](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_chat) 

[Internet Relay Chat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat)
(IRC) and other [online chat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_chat)
technologies allow users to join [chat
rooms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chat_room) and communicate with many
people at once, publicly. Users may join a pre-existing chat room or
create a chat room about any topic. Once inside, you may type messages
that everyone else in the room can read, as well as respond to messages
from others. Often there is a steady stream of people entering and
leaving. Whether you are in another person\'s chat room, or one you\'ve
created yourself, you are generally free to invite others online to join
you. When others accept the invitation, they are taken to the room
containing the other members, similar to the way [conference
calling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conference_call) works with
phones. This facilitates both [one-to-one
(communication)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-to-one_(communication))
and [many-to-many](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-to-many)
interaction.

### [Internet forums](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum)

Originally modeled after the real-world paradigm of electronic [bulletin
boards](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system) of the world
before Internet was born, internet forums allow users to post a
\"topic\" for others to review. Other users can view the topic and post
their own comments in a linear fashion, one after the other. Most forums
are public, allowing anybody to sign up at any time. A few are private,
gated communities where new members must pay a small fee to join for
example the [Something Awful
Forums](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Awful_Forums).

Forums can contain many different categories in a hierarchy according to
topics and subtopics. Other features include the ability to post images
or files or the ability to quote another user\'s post with special
formatting in ones post. Forums often grow in popularity
![](media/image33.png){width="2.4166666666666665in"
height="3.6458333333333335in"}until they can boast several thousand
members posting replies to tens of thousands of topics continuously.

There are various standards and claimants for the market leaders of each
software category. Various add-ons, including translation and spelling
correction software, may sometimes be available, depending on the
expertise of the operators of the bulletin board. In some industry
areas, the BB has its own commercially successful achievements: free and
paid hardcopy magazines, professional and amateurish sites.

### [Blogs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog) or [Weblogs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblog)

Blogs, short for web logs, are like online journals for a particular
person. The owner will post a message periodically allowing others to
comment. Topics often include the owner\'s daily life or views on
politics or a particular subject important to them.

Blogs mean many things to different people, ranging from \"online
journal\" to \"easily updated personal website\". While these
definitions are technically correct, they fail to capture the power of
blogs as social software. Beyond being a simple homepage or an online
diary, some blogs allow comments on the entries, thereby creating a
discussion forum. They also have blogrolls (i.e., links to other blogs
which the owner reads or admires), and indicate their social
relationship to those other bloggers using the
[XFN](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XHTML_Friends_Network) social
relationship standard. [Pingback](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pingback)
and [trackback](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trackback) allow one blog
to notify another blog, creating an inter-blog conversation. In summary,
blogs engage readers and build a virtual community around a particular
person or interest. Examples include
[Slashdot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slashdot),
[LiveJournal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiveJournal),
[BlogSpot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger_(service))

### [Wikis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki)

A wiki is a webpage that can be easily edited using relatively easy to
use wiki syntax. This means that everyone can edit, change or delete
text. Examples include the original [Portland Pattern
Repository](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Pattern_Repository)
wiki, [MeatballWiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MeatballWiki),
CommunityWiki, [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia),
[Wiktionary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiktionary), [the Student
Wiki](http://www.thestudentwiki.org/) and
[Wikisource](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikisource). The most dominant
data format is [MediaWiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki) -
which has more or less become the LaTeX or Microsoft Word of wiki; hard
to ignore.

### [Collaborative real-time editor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_real-time_editor)

Simultaneous editing of a text or media file by different participants
on a network was first demonstrated on research systems as early as the
1970s but is now practical on a global network.
[SubEthaEdit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SubEthaEdit) and [Google Docs
&
Spreadsheets](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Docs_%26_Spreadsheets)
are examples of this.

## *Types of services*

Given the basic building blocks above, many types of services can be
constructed. While it was common in the early days of social software to
see a service based only on one of the above tool types, today it\'s
rare. The successful services have tended to combine new tools with the
older [newsgroup](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsgroup) and [mailing
list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mailing_list) paradigm to produce
hybrids like [yahoogroups](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoogroups).
Also as a service catches on, it tends to adopt characteristics and
tools of other services that compete. Over time, [wiki user
pages](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wiki_user_page&action=edit)
have become for instance very much better social portals for the
individuals who write them than some of the services that focus
specifically on this.

### [Social network services](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service)

Social network services allow people to come together online around
shared interests or causes. For example, some sites provide dating
services where users will post their personal profiles, location, age,
gender, etc, and are able to search for a partner. Other shared goals or
interests include business networking
([Ryze](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryze),
[XING](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XING),
[Azoola](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Azoola&action=edit),
[Ecademy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecademy) and
[LinkedIn](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn)), emotionally
supportive phone counseling (Phone Buddies), social event meetups
(Meetup), or recreational hobbies.

Some large [wikis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki) effectively become
social network services by encouraging user pages and portals.

### [Social guides](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_guides&action=edit)

Recommending places to visit in the real world such as coffee shops,
restaurants, and wifi hotspots, etc. One such application is
[WikiTravel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiTravel).

### [Social bookmarking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking)

Some sites allow users to post their list of bookmarks---or favorite
websites---for others to search and view. Such sites can be used to meet
others sharing common interests. Examples include
[digg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digg),
[del.icio.us](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del.icio.us),
[StumbleUpon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StumbleUpon),
[reddit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddit),
[Netvouz](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Netvouz&action=edit),
[furl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furl), and
[Connectedy](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Connectedy&action=edit).

### [Social citations](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_citation&action=edit)

Much like social bookmarking, this software, aimed towards academics,
allows the user to post a citation for an article found on the internet.
These citations can be organized into predefined categories or a new
category defined by the user. This will allow academics researching or
interested in similar areas to connect and share resources. An example
of this software is [CiteULike](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CiteULike)
or [BibSonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibSonomy).

This simply extends existing services like
[citeseer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citeseer) which relied mostly on
experts.

### Social libraries

![](media/image34.png){width="3.5104166666666665in"
height="1.9479166666666667in"}Sites that allow visitors to keep track of
their collectibles, ranging from books, records and DVDs. Users can
share their collections and recommendations are generated based on the
ratings using statistical computation and [network
theory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_theory). Some sites offer a
buddy system, as well as virtual checking out of items for borrowing
among friends. [Folksonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy) is
implemented on most sites. Examples include
[discogs.com](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discogs.com),
[LibraryThing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LibraryThing) and
[lib.rario.us](http://lib.rario.us/).

### [Virtual worlds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_world) and [Massively-Multiplayer Online Games](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massively_Multiplayer_Online_Game) (MMOGs)

Virtual Worlds and Massively-Multiplayer Online Games are services where
it is possible to meet and interact with other people in a virtual
world - which looks somewhat like reality.

Some popular commercial worlds are [Second
Life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life),
[ActiveWorlds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveWorlds), [The Sims
Online](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims_Online), and
[There](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_(internet_service)). Some
commercial MMOGs (or, more accurately,
[MMORPGs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMORPG)) include
[Everquest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everquest) and [World of
Warcraft](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Warcraft). The
[Dotsoul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotsoul) Cyberpark is one of the
more innovative non-commercial worlds, with the look and feel of [Second
Life](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life) and [Active
Worlds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_Worlds) but an adamantly
anticorporate stance. Other open-source and experimental examples
include [Planeshift](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlaneShift_(game)),
[Croquet project](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquet_project),
[VOS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VOS) and
[Solipsis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solipsis).

#### Game economies

Very often a [game
economy](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Game_economy&action=edit)
emerges in these worlds, extending the non-physical [service
economy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_economy) within the world
to service providers outside. Experts can design dresses or hairstyles
for characters, go on routine missions for them, and so on, and be paid
in game money to do so. This emergence has resulted in expanding social
possibility and also in increased incentives to cheat.

+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| ![](media/image35   | Unconcontrolled Vocabularies                   |
| .png){width="1.5in" |                                                |
| height="1.8125in"}  | folksonomies                                   |
+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Folksonomy&oldid=125426550

A **folksonomy** is a [user
generated](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaboration)
[taxonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy) used to
[categorize](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categorization) and
[retrieve](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_retrieval) [Web
pages](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_page),
[photographs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographs), [Web
links](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_link) and other [web
content](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_content) using open ended
labels called [tags](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_(metadata)).
Typically, folksonomies are
[Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet)-based, but their use
may occur in other contexts as well. The process of folksonomic tagging
is intended to make a body of information increasingly easy to search,
discover, and navigate over time. A well-developed folksonomy is ideally
accessible as a shared vocabulary that is both originated by, and
familiar to, its primary users. Two widely cited examples of websites
using folksonomic tagging are
[Flickr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr) and
[del.icio.us](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del.icio.us), although it has
been suggested that Flickr is not a good example of folksonomy.

Because folksonomies develop in
[Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet)-mediated social
environments, users can discover (generally) who created a given
folksonomy tag, and see the other tags that this person created. In this
way, folksonomy users often discover the tag sets of another user who
tends to interpret and tag content in a way that makes sense to them.
The result, often, is an immediate and rewarding gain in the user\'s
capacity to find related content. Part of the appeal of folksonomy is
its inherent subversiveness: when faced with the choice of the search
tools that Web sites provide, folksonomies can be seen as a rejection of
the [search engine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine) status
quo in favor of tools that are created by the community.

Folksonomy creation and searching tools are not part of the underlying
[World Wide Web](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web) protocols.
Folksonomies arise in Web-based communities where special provisions are
made at the site level for creating and using tags. These communities
are established to enable Web users to label and share user-generated
content, such as photographs, or to collaboratively label existing
content, such as [Web sites](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_sites),
books, works in the scientific and scholarly literatures, and
[blog](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblog) entries.

## *Practical evaluation*

### Criticisms

Critics and [information
scientists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_science) suggest
that the unsystematic methodology of folksomic tagging may be unreliable
and inconsistent. Such inconsistencies may arise from: 1)
[polysemy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysemy) (words which have
multiple related meanings; for example, a window can be a hole or a
sheet of glass); 2) [synonyms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synonym),
multiple words with the same or similar meanings (tv and television, or
Netherlands/Holland/Dutch); and 3) word
[inflections](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflection) (such as with
plural forms, \"cat\" versus \"cats\"). In addition, folksonomies all
but invite deliberately idiosyncratic tagging, called [meta
noise](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_noise), which burdens users and
decreases the systems information retrieval utility. Those who prefer
top-down taxonomies/ontologies argue that an agreed set of tags enables
more efficient indexing and searching of content. At least different
word [inflections](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflection) could be
avoided, if there were a
[lemmatization](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemmatization) engine
behind the tag entry forms.

For the purposes of [workflow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workflow),
[metadata![](media/image36.png){width="2.8645833333333335in"
height="3.125in"}](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata) tags need to
be defined in a formal way at the time of scripting or programming. If
tags are informally defined, continually changing and not governed it
will be impossible to use the metadata so constructed to automate
workflow and business process.

Idiosyncratic folksonomic classification, although considered beneficial
by some, is also viewed by others as a distinct limitation. People with
similar methods of classifying things may act to reinforce each others
biases and pre-existing viewpoints. Folksonomies are routinely generated
by people who may have spent a great deal of time interacting with the
content they tag. This level of interaction may impair objectivity or
perspective to properly describe content in relation to items they are
not as familiar with or know nothing about.

For example, items tagged as \"[Web
2.0](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0)\" represent a dizzying array
of seemingly inconsistent and contradictory resources. The lack of a
hierarchical or systematic structure for the tagging system makes the
terms relevant to what they are describing, but they often fail to show
their relevancy or relationship to other objects of the same or similar
type.

## *Origin*

The term folksonomy is generally attributed to [Thomas Vander
Wal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Vander_Wal), who created the
word to describe a phenomenon that had already taken recognizable form;
for example, the [World Wide Web
Consortium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web_Consortium)\'s
[Annotea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annotea) project experimented
with user-generated tags in 2002. According to Vander Wal, a folksonomy
is \"tagging that works\". Practical examples of Folksonomy would
involve internet culture phenomenon such as Myspace and Xanga.

Folksonomy should be distinguished from [folk
taxonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_taxonomy), a cultural
practice that has been widely documented in anthropological work. Folk
taxonomies are culturally supplied, intergenerationally transmitted, and
relatively stable classification systems that people in a given culture
use to make sense of the entire world around them (not just the
[Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet)).

The term folksonomy is a
[portmanteau](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau) that
specifically refers to the
[tagging](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagging) systems created within
[Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet) communities. A
combination of the words [folk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk) (or
folks) and [taxonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy), the term
folksonomy literally means \"people\'s classification management\":
\"Taxonomy\" is from the Greek taxis and nomos. Taxis means
\"classification\" and nomos (or nomia) means \"management,\" while
\"Folk\" is from the Old English folc, meaning people.

## *Folksonomy and the Semantic Web*

Folksonomy may hold the key to developing a [Semantic
Web](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web), in which every Web page
contains machine-readable
[metadata](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata) that describes its
content. Such metadata would dramatically improve the
[precision](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision) (the percentage of
relevant documents) in [search
engine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine) retrieval lists.
However, it is difficult to see how the large and varied community of
Web page authors could be persuaded to add
[metadata](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata) to their pages in a
consistent, reliable way; Web authors who wish to do so experience high
entry costs because metadata systems are time-consuming to learn and
use. For this reason, few Web authors make use of the simple [Dublin
Core](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Core) metadata standard, even
though the use of Dublin
![](media/image37.png){width="3.6458333333333335in"
height="2.1145833333333335in"}Core
meta-[tags](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_(metadata)) could increase
their pages\' prominence in [search engine retrieval
lists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization). There
are however other examples of metadata based web classification systems
which are used in directories such as NetInsert. The NetInsert meta tag
taxonomy is one working example of a classification system employed by
web authors to categorize content on the web. In contrast to more
formalized, top-down classifications using [controlled
vocabularies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_vocabulary),
folksonomy is a distributed classification system with low entry costs.
If folksonomy capabilities were built into the [Web
protocols](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Web_protocol&action=edit),
it is possible that the [Semantic
Web](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web) would develop more
quickly.

## *Folksonomy in the enterprise*

Since folksonomies are user-generated and therefore inexpensive to
implement, advocates of folksonomy believe that it provides a useful
low-cost alternative to more traditional, institutionally supported
[taxonomies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy) or [controlled
vocabularies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_vocabulary). An
employee-generated folksonomy could therefore be seen as an \"emergent
[enterprise
taxonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_taxonomy)\". Some
folksonomy advocates believe that it is useful in facilitating
[workplace democracy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_democracy)
and the distribution of
[management](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management) tasks among people
actually doing the work.

However, [workplace
democracy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_democracy) is also
seen as a [utopian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopian) concept at
odds with the governing reality of the enterprise, the majority of which
exist and thrive as hierarchically-structured corporations not
especially aligned to democratically informed governance and
decision-making. Also, as a distribution method, the folksonomy may,
indeed, facilitate workflow, but it does not guarantee that the
information worker will tag and, then, tag consistently, in an unbiased
way, and without intentional malice directed at the enterprise.

## *Potential compromise between folksonomies and top-down taxonomies*

It is possible that the differences between taxonomies and folksonomies
have been overestimated. A possible solution to the shortcomings of
folksonomies and [controlled
vocabulary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_vocabularies) is a
collabulary, which can be conceptualized as a compromise between the
two: a team of classification experts collaborates with content
consumers to create rich, but more systematic content tagging systems. A
collabulary arises much the way a folksonomy does, but it is developed
in a spirit of collaboration with experts in the field. The result is a
system that combines the benefits of folksonomies \-- low entry costs, a
rich vocabulary that is broadly shared and comprehensible by the user
base, and the capacity to respond quickly to language change \-- without
the errors that inevitably arise in naive, unsupervised folksonomies.

Another possible solution is a
[taxonomy-directed-folksonomy](http://blogs.educationau.edu.au/nlothian/2006/12/13/taxonomy-directed-folksonomies/)
(http://blogs.educationau.edu.au/nlothian/2006/12/13/taxonomy-directed-folksonomies/),
which relies on the user interfaces to suggest tags from a formal
taxonomy, but allows many users to use their own tags.

  ----------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------
  ![](media/image38.jpeg){width="2.515972222222222in"   We'll Remember it for You Wholesale:\
  height="1.6861111111111111in"}                        social bookmarking

  ----------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_bookmarking&oldid=124941720

**Social bookmarking** is a web-based service to share [Internet
bookmarks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmark_(computers)).

## *Introduction*

The Social bookmarking sites are a popular way to store, classify, share
and search links through the practice of
[folksonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy) techniques on the
Internet or [Intranet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intranet).

Other than web page bookmarks, services specialized to a specific
subject or format - feeds, books, videos, music, shopping items, map
locations, wineries, etc. - can be found. Social bookmarking is also
part of social news sites like
[Reddit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddit).

## *History*

The concept of shared online bookmarks dates back to April 1996 with the
launch of itList.com. Within the next three years online bookmark
services became competitive, with venture-backed companies like
[Backflip](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Backflip_(social_bookmarking_site)&action=edit),
Blink,
[Clip2](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Clip2&action=edit),
[Hotlinks](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hotlinks&action=edit),
[Quiver](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quiver_(social_bookmarking_site)&action=edit),
and others entering the market. Lacking viable models for making money,
most of this early generation of social bookmarking companies failed as
the [dot-com bubble](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_com_bubble) burst.

Social bookmarking has more recently inspired the more successful
[social news](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_news) movement which
includes sites like
[del.icio.us](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del.icio.us),
[reddit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddit),
[Digg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digg) and the new
[Netscape](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape) portal.

## *Functional Overview*

In a social bookmarking system, users store lists of Internet resources
that they find useful. These lists are either accessible to the public
or a specific
[network](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_networking), and other
people with similar interests can view the links by category, tags, or
even randomly. Some allow for privacy on a per-bookmark basis.

They also categorize their resources by the use of informally assigned,
user-defined keywords or tags (see
[folksonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy)). Most social
bookmarking services allow users to search for bookmarks which are
associated with given \"tags\", and rank the resources by the number of
users which have bookmarked them. Many social bookmarking services also
have implemented [algorithms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algorithm) to
draw inferences from the tag keywords that are assigned to resources by
examining the clustering of particular keywords, and the relation of
keywords to one another.

Its increasing popularity and competition have extended the services to
offer more than just sharing bookmarks, such as rating, commenting, the
ability to import and export, add notes, reviews, email links, automatic
notification, feed subscription, [web
annotation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_annotation), create groups
and [social networks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network).

## *Automatic notification*

Since the classification and ranking of resources is a continuously
evolving process, many social bookmarking services allow users to
subscribe to [web feeds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_feeds) (see
[Atom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_(standard)) or
[RSS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format))) based on tags, or
collection of tag terms. This allows subscribers to become aware of new
resources for a given topic, as they are noted, tagged, and classified
by other users.

## *Advantages*

This system has several advantages over traditional automated resource
location and classification software, such as [search
engine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine)
[spiders](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_crawler). All tag-based
classification of Internet resources (such as web sites) is done by
human beings, who understand the content of the resource, as opposed to
software which algorithmically attempts to determine the meaning of a
resource. This provides for
[semantically](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantics) classified tags,
which are hard to find with contemporary search engines.

Additionally, as people bookmark resources that they find useful,
resources that are of more use are bookmarked by more users. Thus, such
a system will \"rank\" a resource based on its perceived utility. This
is arguably a more useful
[metric](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_(mathematics)) for [end
users](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_user) than other systems which
rank resources based on the number of external links pointing to it.

## ![](media/image39.png){width="3.3333333333333335in" height="2.78125in"}*Disadvantages*

There are drawbacks to such tag-based systems as well: no standard set
of keywords (also known as [controlled
vocabulary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_vocabulary)), no
standard for the structure of such tags (e.g. singular vs. plural,
capitalization, etc.), mistagging due to spelling errors, tags that can
have more than one meaning, unclear tags due to
[synonym](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synonym)/[antonym](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonym)
confusion, highly unorthodox and \"personalized\" tag schemas from some
users, and no mechanism for users to indicate
[hierarchical](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy) relationships
between tags (e.g. a site might be labeled as both cheese and cheddar,
with no mechanism that might indicate that cheddar is a **refinement**
or **sub-class** of cheese).

Social bookmarking can also be susceptible to corruption and collusion.
Due to its popularity some users have started considering it as a tool
to use along with [Search engine
optimization](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization)
to make their website visible. The more a web page is submitted and
tagged, the more chances it has of being found.
[Spammers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spammers) have started
bookmarking multiple times the same web page and/or each page of their
web site using a lot of popular tags, hence obliging the developers to
constantly adjust their security system to overcome abuses.

Starting in April of 2007, developers of popular spamming tool named
Trackback Submitter, released new software to spam all popular social
bookmarking sites automatically. Social Bookmarks Submitter helps
spammers to automatically create new accounts and promote their websites
by tagging URLs multiple times under different usernames. New spamming
software became so popular between lovers of black SEO, that some social
bookmarking websites (supported by Social Bookmarks Submitter) were
forced to add [CAPTCHA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAPTCHA) protection
against spam, which caused some problems for people who use social
bookmarking for non-spamming purposes.

![](media/image40.jpeg){width="6.0in" height="4.0in"}

  ------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image41.png){width="1.81875in"   Food for Thought:\
  height="1.81875in"}                        del.icio.us

  ------------------------------------------ -----------------------------------------------

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Del.icio.us&oldid=119647133

The [website](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website) **del.icio.us**
(pronounced as \"delicious\") is a [social
bookmarking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking) [web
service](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_service) for storing, sharing,
and discovering [web](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web)
[bookmarks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmark_(computers)). The site
came online in late [2003](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003) and was
founded by [Joshua
Schachter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Schachter), co-maintainer
of [Memepool](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memepool). It is now part of
[Yahoo!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!).

## *General description*

A non-[hierarchical](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchical) keyword
categorization system is used on del.icio.us where users can
[tag](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_(metadata)) each of their
bookmarks with a number of freely chosen keywords (cf.
[folksonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy)). A combined view
of everyone\'s bookmarks with a given tag is available; for instance,
the URL \"<http://del.icio.us/tag/wiki>\" displays all of the most
recent links tagged \"wiki\". Its collective nature makes it possible to
view bookmarks added by similar-minded users.

del.icio.us has a \"hotlist\" on its [home
page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_page) and \"popular\" and
\"recent\" pages, which help to surface interesting content and make the
website an effective conveyor of popular [internet
memes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_phenomenon) and trends.

The website\'s simple [HTML](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML)
interface with human readable [URLs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL),
novel domain name, as well as a
[REST](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_State_Transfer)
[API](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_programming_interface)
and [RSS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)) feeds for [web
syndication](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_syndication), have
contributed to making it one of the most popular services of its kind.

Use of del.icio.us is free. The source code of the site is not
available, but a user\'s own data is freely downloadable through [the
API](http://del.icio.us/help/api/) in an
[XML](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML) or
[JSON](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JSON) format, and can also be
exported to a standard Netscape bookmarks format.

Everything posted to del.icio.us is publicly viewable by default,
although a user can mark specific bookmarks as private, and imported
bookmarks are private by default. The public aspect is emphasized; it is
not focused on storing private (\"not shared\") bookmark collections.
Many people use the del.icio.us
[linkrolls](http://del.icio.us/help/linkrolls),
[tagrolls](http://del.icio.us/help/tagrolls) and [network
badges](http://del.icio.us/help/networkbadges) to display their links
and information on their [weblogs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblog).
Others use the [RSS
feeds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)) and \"daily blog
posting\" feature to do this.

There are a few [open source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source)
clones of del.icio.us, such as
[de.lirio.us](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De.lirio.us) and
[sa.bros.us](http://sourceforge.net/projects/sabrosus), as well as
competing [Social
bookmarking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking) services,
such as [Simpy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpy),
[BlinkList](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BlinkList&action=edit)
or [Furl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furl).

del.icio.us was
[acquired](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mergers_and_acquisitions) by
[Yahoo!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!) on Friday, [December
9](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_9),
[2005](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005). Various guesses suggest it
was sold for somewhere between US\$15 million and US\$30 million.

![](media/image42.png){width="3.120138888888889in"
height="2.928472222222222in"}The
del.icio[.us](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.us) domain name is a popular
example of a [domain hack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_hack), an
unconventional combination of letters to form a common word or phrase.
del.icio.us, though not the first domain of this nature, is the
best-known and most frequently accessed domain hack, and the Yahoo!
acquisition is the highest-profile acquisition of a domain in this
category. However, delicious.com also redirects to the del.icio.us
website.

## *Sample pages on del.icio.us*

View **recent** entries:

-   <http://del.icio.us/recent>

View today\'s **popular** entries:

-   <http://del.icio.us/popular>

View popular **tags**:

-   <http://del.icio.us/tag>

Find any [url](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Url) that is tagged with
\"Nanotechnology\":

-   <http://del.icio.us/tag/Nanotechnology>

**Combine** tags. Find any url that is tagged with both
\"Nanotechnology\" and \"Fabrication\":

-   <http://del.icio.us/tag/Nanotechnology+Fabrication>

Find entries with a certain [media
type](http://blog.del.icio.us/blog/2005/06/casting_the_net.html):

-   <http://del.icio.us/tag/system:media:video>

Find the **history** of how a url has been tagged:

-   <http://del.icio.us/url?url=http://wikipedia.org>

  ----------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image43.png){width="1.5208333333333333in"   The Nature of the Beast:\
  height="1.8229166666666667in"}                        connotea

  ----------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Connotea&oldid=113795132

**Connotea** is a [free](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Software)
online reference management service for scientists, researchers, and
clinicians, created in December 2004 by [Nature Publishing
Group](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_Publishing_Group). It is one
of a new breed of [social bookmarking
tools](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking), similar to
[CiteULike](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CiteULike) and
[del.icio.us](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del.icio.us), where users can
save links to their favourite websites.

Unlike many of the other well-known tools, Connotea is aimed primarily
at scientists (though the user community is rapidly growing throughout
academic disciplines), and while users may bookmark any webpage they
choose, it incorporates special functionality for certain academic
resources. Connotea recognises a number of scientific websites and will
automatically collect metadata for the article or page being bookmarked,
including author and publication names. It is also possible to add
non-recognised webpages, by manually entering information. An
alternative method of adding an article is to retrieve the Connotea form
and add the [Digital Object
Identifier](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Object_Identifier)
(DOI) for the article. Information about the material should then be
retrieved automatically using CrossRef, the official DOI registration
point. This function means that it is possible to quickly retrieve the
reference for a print article that has an electronic counterpart with a
DOI.

When saving an article to Connotea, users \"tag\" the article with
keywords of their choice which they can later use to find it again. By
categorising articles with relevant keywords e.g. \"[C.
elegans](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caenorhabditis_elegans)\", the
social aspect of Connotea is developed. The system recognises users who
are bookmarking the same papers or using the same keywords, and alerts
them to potentially related material. Allowing completely free tagging,
a [folksonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy) will gradually
develop. By default, links posted to Connotea are publicly viewable,
allowing network effects to build up rapidly, but it also possible for
users to keep selected links private, either indefinitely or until a
specified date and time. Connotea also provides [RSS
feeds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(file_format)), allowing users
to keep track of articles posted under interesting tags or by users with
similar interests.

One of the most useful features of Connotea is the capacity to export
the references in [RIS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIS_(file_format))
format to a [citation manager
program](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_management_software).
This means that it is possible to save references when working on a
computer without such bibliographic software installed and import them
into this software for citing at later stage.

Use of the service is entirely free, and the source code for Connotea
has been released as [open-source
software](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software).

In September 2005, Connotea won the Association of Learned and
Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) [Award for Publishing
Innovation](http://www.alpsp.org/awards/awards20052.htm#pi), and in
November 2005 was shortlisted for the [International Information
Industry awards](http://www.online-information.co.uk/awards.html) in the
Best Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM) Product category.

![](media/image44.png){width="6.0in" height="5.767361111111111in"}

  ----------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image45.png){width="1.0888888888888888in"   Tag Sale:\
  height="1.8152777777777778in"}                        other cites of interest

  ----------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------

Adapted from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CiteULike&oldid=113752471

**CiteULike**

**CiteULike** is a [social
bookmarking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking) service
for academics. Instead of letting users catalog [web
pages](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_page) (like
[Furl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furl) or
[del.icio.us](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del.icio.us)) or photographs
(like [Flickr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr)) it specialises in
[academic
papers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_publishing#Academic_paper),
and provides specific tools for that purpose.

Specifically, users can post academic articles using a
[bookmarklet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmarklet) and the system
will attempt to determine the article metadata (title, authors, journal
name, etc) automatically. Users can organize their libraries with freely
chosen [tags](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_(metadata)) which has the
side-effect of producing a
[folksonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy) of academic
interests.

According to [www.citeulike.org](http://www.citeulike.org/):

> CiteULike is a free service to help academics to share, store, and
> organise the academic papers they are reading. When you see a paper on
> the web that interests you, you can click one button and have it added
> to your personal library. CiteULike automatically extracts the
> citation details, so there\'s no need to type them in yourself. It all
> works from within your web browser. There\'s no need to install any
> special software.
>
> Because your library is stored on the server, you can access it from
> any computer. You can share your library with others, and find out who
> is reading the same papers as you. In turn, this can help you discover
> literature which is relevant to your field but you may not have known
> about.

The service is free and the author has promised that will not change.
The software behind the service is [closed
source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_source), but the dataset
collected by the users is in the public domain. It is run independently
of any particular publisher and has an explicitly liberal [privacy
policy](http://www.citeulike.org/faq/all.adp#privacy).

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BibSonomy&oldid=116727847

**BibSonomy**

BibSonomy is a [social
bookmarking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking) and
[publication](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publication) sharing system
available at <http://www.bibsonomy.org/>. The system aims to integrate
the features of bookmarking systems as well as team-oriented publication
management. BibSonomy offers users to store and organize their bookmarks
and publication entries and supports the integration of different
communities and people by offering a social platform for literature
exchange.

Both bookmarks and publication entries can be provided with keywords
([tags](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tags)) to structure and refind
information. As the descriptive terms can be freely chosen, the
assignment of tags from different users creates a spontaneous,
uncontrolled vocabulary: a folksonomy. In BibSonomy, the folksonomy
evolves from the participation of research groups, learning communities
and individual users, organizing their information needs.

Publication posts in BibSonomy are stored in the
[BibTeX](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BibTeX) format. However, export in
other formats such as [EndNote](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EndNote) or
[HTML](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML) (e. g. for publication list
creation) is possible. The service was developed by a team of students
and scientists working at the Institute of Knowledge and Data
Engineering and is hosted by the University of
[Kassel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kassel).

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BibSonomy&oldid=116727847

**Furl**

**Furl** (from **F**ile **U**niform **R**esource **L**ocators) is a free
[social bookmarking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking)
website (furl.net) that allows members to store searchable copies of
webpages and share them with others. Every member receives 5
[gigabytes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte) of storage space. The
site was founded by Mike Giles in 2003, and purchased by
[LookSmart](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LookSmart) in 2004.

## *Features*

A social bookmarking site like
[del.icio.us](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del.icio.us), Furl enables
members to bookmark, annotate, and share web pages. **Topics** are used
to categorize saved sites, similar to the
[tagging](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_(metadata)) feature of other
social websites. Additionally, a user may write comments, save
clippings, assign each bookmark a rating and
[keywords](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyword_(Internet_search))
(which are given greater weight while searching), and have an option of
private or public storage for each topic or item archived.

Considered one of its main features, Furl also privately archives a
complete copy of each page that a user bookmarks, making it accessible
even if the original content is modified or removed, an antidote for
[link rot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_rot). This also allows full
text searches to be made within the archive. To avoid claims of
[copyright
violations](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement), this
archived copy is visible only to the member who bookmarked the page.
Other users are directed to the publisher\'s site, where the content can
be viewed depending on membership requirements and privacy settings.

Users may see lists of other users who have **furled** a URL, and read
their comments (if made public) to find users who share interests,
supporting [folksonomy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folksonomy). A
dynamic recommendation list is available to each user, automatically
based on the sites already saved by him or her and other users with
similar interests. Lists of the most popular items for today (and by
topic) are also available. It\'s possible to subscribe to a user\'s
archive (or to a set of topics in a user\'s archive) to get daily email
notifications whenever new items are filed.

Furl allows bookmarks to be imported from (and exported to) [Internet
Explorer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer),
[Mozilla](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla)/[Firefox](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox),
and [del.icio.us](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del.icio.us); and also
supports exporting of the entire saved archives to
[ZIP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIP_(file_format)) formats, and
export metadata to [XML](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML) format. There
are other import/export functions, including various citation formats:
Export to MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE, BibTeX, RIS/EndNote citations.
Toolbars and [bookmarklets](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmarklet)
are available for Internet Explorer and Firefox to quicken the
bookmarking process.

## *Limitations*

The search result displays items from the entire Furl archive, or only
from a user\'s own archive, but the sequence of these results is
automatically ordered. There is no option to display results by date
order, by popularity order, or in any other particular sequence. It is
not obvious how the results are ordered.

The popularity of Furl has grown, and this has exposed users to
performance problems which began in the latter half of 2006 and have
persisted into 2007.

## *Updates*

New features were released in early 2007, including an updated
user-interface.

  ----------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image46.png){width="1.7708333333333333in"   Tom is in Your Extended Network:\
  height="1.4375in"}                                    social networking services

  ----------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------

**MySpace** is a popular [social
networking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service)
[website](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website) offering an interactive,
user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups,
photos, music and videos internationally. It is headquartered in
[Beverly Hills,
California](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills%2C_California),
[USA](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States), where it shares an
office building with its immediate owner, [Fox Interactive
Media](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Interactive_Media); in turn, the
owner of Fox Interactive (and therefore MySpace), [News
Corporation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_Corporation), is
headquartered in [New York
City](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City%2C_New_York).

According to [Alexa
Internet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexa_Internet), Myspace is
currently the world\'s fifth most popular English-language website and
the fifth most popular website in any language, and the third most
popular website in the [United
States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States), though it has
topped the chart on various weeks (it is possible that other websites
have a greater number of unique visitors). The service has gradually
gained more popularity than similar websites to achieve nearly 80% of
visits to online social networking
websites.[\[3\]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace#_note-reuters20060711)
It has become an increasingly influential part of contemporary [popular
culture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_culture), especially in
English speaking countries.

The company employs 300 staff and does not disclose revenues or profits
separately from News Corporation. With the 100 millionth account being
created on [August 9](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_9),
[2006](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006), in [The
Netherlands](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Netherlands) and a news
story claiming 106 million accounts on [September
8](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_8),
[2006](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006), the site reportedly attracts
new registrations at a rate of 230,000 per day.

**Facebook** is a [social
networking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service)
[website](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website). It was originally
developed for college and
[university](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University) students but has
since been made available to anyone with an [email
address](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_address). People may then
select to join one or more participating networks, such as a [high
school](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_school), place of employment,
or geographic region.

As of February 2007, the website had the largest number of registered
users among college-focused sites with over 19 million members worldwide
(also from non-collegiate networks).

Facebook is the number one site for photos, ahead of public sites such
as [Flickr](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr), with over 6 million
photos uploaded
daily,[\[2\]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook#_note-photocount)
and is the sixth most visited site in the [United
States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States).

The name of the site refers to the [paper
facebooks](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/facebook) that colleges and
prepatory schools give to incoming students, faculty, and staff
depicting members of the campus community.

**Ning** is a company co-founded by [Marc
Andreessen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Andreessen) (of
[Netscape](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netscape) fame) and [Gina
Bianchini](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gina_Bianchini&action=edit).
It launched its service in October 2005.

Ning is an online platform for creating social websites and social
networks. The websites running on its service are built in standard
[PHP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP) and the platform itself is built
in [Java](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language)).

The unique feature of Ning is that anyone can make a full copy of the
types of social websites and social networks that are popular today and
customize them for a particular topic or need, catering to specific
audiences. At its launch, in October 2005, Ning offered several simple
base websites developed internally and by members of a closed beta. In
late September of 2006, Ning narrowed its focus to offering a [group
website](http://group.ning.com/), a [photos
website](http://photos.ning.com/), and a [videos
website](http://videos.ning.com/) for people to copy and use for any
purpose. These three templates were superseded by a single customizable
template aimed at allowing non-developers to more easily customize their
copy of the social website. An example of the new base can be seen at
the company-maintained [network creators
website](http://networkcreators.ning.com/). All the older sites are
still accessible, but the company is only actively developing and
promoting the new social network template.

These websites are also programmable. There is a \"View Source\" tool on
each website, allowing users to look at the source code behind any
running site. Additionally, when a person makes a copy of a website on
Ning they get the full source code running that website, so they can
change features or the logic underlying it.

**LinkedIn** is a business oriented [social networking
site](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service), mainly used
for professional networking. As of January 2007, it had more than 9
million registered users, spanning 150 industries and more than 400
economic regions (as classified by the service).

The main purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a
list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. The
people in the list are called Connections. Users can invite anyone
(whether a LinkedIn user or not) to become a connection.

This list of connections can then be used in a number of ways:

-   A contact network is built up consisting of their direct
    connections, each of their connections\' connections (called 2nd
    degree connections) and also the connections of 2nd degree
    connections (called 3rd degree connections). This can be used, for
    example, to gain an introduction to some-one you wish to know
    through a mutual, trusted contact.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities
    recommended by anyone in your contact network.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover
    which of their existing contacts can introduce them.

The \"gated-access approach\" (where contact with any professional
requires either a pre-existing relationship, or the intervention of a
contact of theirs) is intended to build trust among the service\'s
users. LinkedIn participates in the EU [Safe Harbor Privacy
Framework](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Safe_Harbor_Privacy_Framework&action=edit).

The newest (as of [January 16](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_16),
[2007](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007)) LinkedIn feature is
\"[LinkedIn Answers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn_Answers)\".
As the names suggests, the service, similar to [Google
Answers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Answers) or [Yahoo!
Answers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Answers), allows LinkedIn
users to ask questions for the community to answer. \"LinkedIn Answers\"
is free and the main differences from the two previously mentioned
services are that questions are potentially more business-oriented, and
the identity of the people asking and answering questions is known.

![](media/image47.png){width="4.15625in" height="6.666666666666667in"}

BlackBerry Thumb:\
instant messaging, chat, and SMS

#  

# 

+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| # ![](m                   | # ROFLMAO: instant messaging (im)        |
| edia/image48.png){width=" |                                          |
| 2.279861111111111in" heig |                                          |
| ht="2.102777777777778in"} |                                          |
+---------------------------+------------------------------------------+

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Instant_messaging&oldid=125502112

**Instant messaging** is the act of instantly communicating between two
or more people over a network such as the Internet.

## Overview

Instant messaging requires the use of a client program that hooks up an
instant messaging service and differs from e-mail in that conversations
are then able to happen in realtime. Most services offer a \"presence
awareness\" feature, indicating whether people on one\'s list of
contacts are currently online and available to chat. This may be called
a \'Buddy List\'. In early instant messaging programs, each letter
appeared as it was typed, and when letters were deleted to correct typos
this was also seen in real time. This made it more like a telephone
conversation than exchanging letters. In modern instant messenging
programs, the other party in the conversation generally only sees each
line of text right after a new line is started. Most instant messaging
applications also include the ability to set a status message, roughly
analogous to the message on a telephone answering machine.

Popular instant messaging services on the public Internet include [.NET
Messenger Service](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Messenger_Service)
([MSN Messenger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN_Messenger) and
[Windows Live
Messenger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Live_Messenger)), [AOL
Instant Messenger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL_Instant_Messenger),
[Excite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excite)/Pal,
[Gadu-Gadu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadu-Gadu), [Google
Talk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Talk),
[iChat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IChat),
[ICQ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICQ),
[Jabber](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabber),
[Qnext](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qnext),
[QQ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QQ),
[Meetro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meetro),
[Skype](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skype),
[Trillian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillian_(instant_messaging_client)),
[Yahoo! Messenger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Messenger) and
Rediff Bol Instant Messenger. These services owe many ideas to an older
(and still popular) [online
chat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_chat) medium known as
[Internet Relay Chat](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat)
(IRC).

### Benefits

Instant messaging offers real-time communication and allows easy
collaboration, which might be considered more akin to genuine
conversation than email\'s \"letter\" format. In contrast to e-mail, the
parties know whether the peer is available. Most systems allow the user
to set an *online status* or *away message* so peers are notified when
the user is available, busy, or away from the computer. On the other
hand, people are not forced to reply immediately to incoming messages.
For this reason, some people consider communication via instant
messaging to be less intrusive than communication via phone. However,
not all popular systems allow the sending of messages to people not
currently logged on (*offline messages*), thus removing much of the
difference between IM and email.

It is possible to save a conversation, so as to refer to it later. Also,
the fact that instant messages typically are logged in a local message
history closes the gap to the persistent nature of e-mails and
facilitates quick exchange of information such as URLs or document
snippets (which can be unwieldy when communicated via telephone).

### History

Instant messaging applications began to appear in the
[1970s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s) on multi-user operating
systems such as UNIX, initially to facilitate communication with other
users logged in to the same machine, then on the local network, and
subsequently across the internet. Some of these used a peer-to-peer
protocol (eg talk, ntalk and ytalk), while others required peers to
connect to a server (see [talker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talker)
and [IRC](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC)). Because all of these
protocols were based inside a console window, most of those discovering
the internet in the mid-[1990s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990s) and
equating it with the [web](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World-Wide_Web)
tended not to encounter them.

In the last half of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, the [Quantum
Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Link) online service for
[Commodore 64](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64) computers
offered user-to-user messages between currently connected customers
which they called \"On-Line Messages\" (or OLM for short). Quantum
Link\'s better known later incarnation, America Online, offers a similar
product under the name \"AOL Instant Messages\" (AIM). While the Quantum
Link service ran on a Commodore 64, using only the Commodore\'s
[PETSCII](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PETSCII) text-graphics, the
screen was visually divided up into sections and OLMs would appear as a
yellow bar saying \"Message From:\" and the name of the sender along
with the message across the top of whatever the user was already doing,
and presented a list of options for responding. As such, it could be
considered a sort of [GUI](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUI), albeit
much more primitive than the later Unix, Windows and Macintosh based GUI
IM programs. OLMs were what Q-Link called \"Plus Services\" meaning they
charged an extra per-minute fee on top of the monthly Q-Link access
costs.

Modern, Internet-wide, [GUI](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUI)-based
messaging clients, as they are known today, began to take off in the mid
[1990s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990s) with
[ICQ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICQ) (1996) being the first, followed
by [AOL](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL) Instant Messenger
([AIM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIM), 1997). AOL later acquired
Mirabilis, the creators of ICQ. A few years later ICQ (by now owned by
AOL) was awarded two patents for instant messaging by the U.S. patent
office. Meanwhile, other companies developed their own applications
([Yahoo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo),
[MSN](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN),
[Excite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excite),
[Ubique](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubique_(company)),
[IBM](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM)), each with its own proprietary
[protocol](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_(computing)) and
client; users therefore had to run multiple client applications if they
wished to use more than one of these networks.

In 2000, an [open source](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source)
application and [open
standards](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_standards)-based protocol
called [Jabber](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabber) was launched.
Jabber servers could act as gateways to other IM protocols, reducing the
need to run multiple clients. Modern multi-protocol clients such as
[Pidgin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin_(instant_messaging_client)),
[Trillian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillian_(instant_messenger)),
[Adium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adium) and
[Miranda](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_IM) can use any of the
popular IM protocols without the need for a server gateway.

Recently, many instant messaging services have begun to offer [video
conferencing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_conferencing) features,
Voice Over IP ([VoIP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoIP)) and [web
conferencing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_conferencing) services.
Web conferencing services integrate both video conferencing and instant
messaging capabilities. Some newer instant messaging companies are
offering desktop sharing, IP radio, and IPTV to the voice and video
features.

The term \"instant messenger\" is a [service
mark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_mark) of Time Warner and may
not be used in software not affiliated with AOL in the [United
States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States). For this reason,
the instant messaging client formerly known as GAIM or gAIM announced in
April 2007 that they would be renamed \"Pidgin\".

Retrieved from \"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_messaging\"

#   {#section-3 .unnumbered}

# 

+-----------------------+----------------------------------------------+
| # ![](me              | # T                                          |
| dia/image49.jpeg){wid | hnks fr th Mmrs: short message service (SMS) |
| th="1.875in" height=" |                                              |
| 1.426388888888889in"} |                                              |
+-----------------------+----------------------------------------------+

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Short_message_service&oldid=125283073

**Short message service** (**SMS**) is a service available on most
digital mobile phones that permits the sending of short messages (also
known as **text messages**, **messages**, or more colloquially
**SMSes**, **texts** or even **txts**) between mobile phones, other
handheld devices and even landline telephones.

## History

The inventor of SMS is a Finnish civil servant by the name Matti
Makkonen who then worked for a state-owned postal and telecommunications
company Posti (Finland). He presented the idea in a pizzeria in
Copenhagen, during a conference of mobile phone communication\'s future
in fall of 1982. Today M. Makkonen is the CEO of Finnet. Initially
conceptualized as **Message Handling Services**, SMS was proposed to be
included in the GSM digital mobile phone standard as early as in 1984 by
the Nordic Countries (in GSM WP3, a group chaired by J. Audestad). SMS
was further discussed in the main GSM Group in February 1985 and it was
included in the draft GSM spec (GSM Doc.28-85) the same year. The
technical standard known today was largely created by IDEG\'s Draft
Group on Message Handling in 1987--1990, first chaired by Friedhelm
Hillebrand. The first commercial short message was sent on 3 December
1992 by Neil Papworth of Sema Group from a personal computer to Richard
Jarvis of Vodafone on the Vodafone GSM network in the United Kingdom.

SMS was originally designed as part of GSM, but is now available on a
wide range of networks, including 3G networks. However, not all text
messaging systems use SMS, and some notable alternate implementations of
the concept include J-Phone\'s *SkyMail* and NTT Docomo\'s *Short Mail*,
both in Japan. E-mail messaging from phones, as popularized by NTT
Docomo\'s i-mode and the RIM BlackBerry, also typically use standard
mail protocols such as SMTP over TCP/IP, not SMS.

+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+
| ***Defini | ***GSM**: Global System for Mobile Communications, a     |
| tions:*** | mobile phone standard that has built in data             |
|           | communications: both voice and signaling are digital.    |
| ***GSM &  | GSM is a 2G technology.*                                 |
| 3G***     |                                                          |
|           | ***3G**: third generation mobile phone technology:       |
|           | includes both voice data and non-voice data such as      |
|           | information, email, instant messaging, music, and        |
|           | movies.*                                                 |
+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+

## Popularity

Short message services are developing very rapidly throughout the world.
In 2000, just 17 billion SMS messages were sent; in
[2001](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001), the number was up to 250
billion, and 500 billion SMS messages in 2004. At an average cost of
[USD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollar) 0.10 per
message, this generates revenues in excess of \$50 billion for mobile
telephone operators and represents close to 100 text messages for every
person in the world.

SMS is particularly popular in
[Europe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe),
[Asia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia) (excluding
[Japan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan); see below),
[Australia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia) and [New
Zealand](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand). Popularity has grown
to a sufficient extent that the term texting (used as a
[verb](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb) meaning the act of mobile
phone users sending short messages back and forth) has entered the
common lexicon. In [China](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China), SMS is
very popular, and has brought service providers significant profit (18
billion short messages were sent in
[2001](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001)). It is a very influential and
powerful tool in the
[Philippines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines), where the
average user sends 10-12 text messages a day. The Philippines alone
sends on the average 400 million text messages a day, more than the
annual average SMS volume of countries in Europe, and even China. SMS is
hugely popular in [India](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India), where
youngsters often exchange lots of text messages, and companies provide
alerts, infotainment, news, cricket scores update, railway/airline
booking, mobile billing, and banking services on SMS. In India,
metropolitan media outlets often take real-time polls and audience
opinion through SMS, via reserved 4-digit numbers that redirect the
information to the respective aforementioned outlets based on designated
prefix codes.

Short messages are particularly popular amongst young urbanites. In many
markets, the service is comparatively cheap. For example, in
[Australia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia) a message typically
costs between [AUD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AUD) 0.20 and AUD 0.25
to send (some pre-paid services charge AUD 0.01 between their own
phones), compared with a voice call, which costs somewhere between
[AUD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_dollar) 0.40 and AUD 2.00
per minute (commonly charged in half-minute blocks). Despite the low
cost to the consumer, the service is enormously profitable to the
service providers. At a typical length of only 190 bytes (incl. protocol
overhead), more than 350 of these messages per minute can be transmitted
at the same data rate as a usual voice call (9 kbit/s).

Text messaging has become so popular that advertising agencies and
advertisers are now jumping into the text message business. Services
that provide bulk text message sending are also becoming a popular way
for clubs, associations, and advertisers to quickly reach a group of
opt-in subscribers. This advertising has proven to be extremely
effective, but some insiders worry that advertisers may abuse the power
of mobile marketing and it will someday be considered spam.

In the [United States](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States),
however, the appeal of SMS is more limited. Although an SMS message
usually costs only US\$0.15 (many providers also offer monthly text
messaging plans), only 13 messages were sent by the average user per
month in 2003. In the US, SMS is often charged both at the sender and at
the destination, but it cannot be rejected or dismissed, as opposed to
the phone calls. The reasons for this are varied---many users have
unlimited \"mobile-to-mobile\" minutes, high monthly minute allotments,
or unlimited service. Moreover, [push to
talk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push_to_talk) services offer the
instant connectivity of SMS and are typically unlimited. Furthermore,
the integration between competing providers and technologies necessary
for cross-network text messaging has only been available recently. Some
providers originally charged extra to enable use of text, further
reducing its usefulness and appeal. The relative popularity of
[e-mail](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail)-based devices such as the
[BlackBerry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry) in North America
may be a response to the weakness of text messaging there, but these
further weaken the appeal of texting among the users most likely to use
it. However the recent addition of
[Cingular](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cingular)-powered SMS voting on
the television program [American
Idol![](media/image50.png){width="2.9in"
height="6.252777777777778in"}](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Idol)
has introduced many Americans to SMS, and usage is on the rise. In the
third quarter last year (2006), more than 10 billion text messages
crossed Cingular\'s network, up almost 15 percent from the preceding
quarter.

## Txt speak

Because of the limited message lengths and tiny user interface of mobile
phones, SMS users commonly make extensive use of abbreviations,
particularly the use of numbers for words (for example, \"4\" in place
of the word \"for\"), the omission of vowels, as in the phrase \"txt
msg\", or the replacement of spaces with capitalization, such as
\"ThisIsVeryCool\". To avoid the even more limited message lengths
allowed when using Cyrillic or Greek letters, some Eastern Europeans use
the Latin alphabet for their own language.

Historically, this language developed out of shorthand used in chatrooms
on the Internet, where users would abbreviate some words to allow a
response to be typed more quickly. However, this became much more
pronounced in SMS, where mobile phone users don\'t generally have fully
access to a QWERTY keyboard as chatroom users did, and more effort is
required to type each character.

In Mandarin Chinese, numbers that sound similar to words are used in
place of those words. For example, the numbers 521 in Chinese (\"wu er
yi\") sound like the words for \"I love you\" (\"wo ai ni\"). The
sequence 748 (\"qi si ba\") sounds like the curse for \"drop dead\".

[Predictive text](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictive_text)
[software](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software) that attempts to guess
[words](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word)
([AOL](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL)/[Tegic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegic)\'s
[T9](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T9_(predictive_text)) as well as iTAP)
or [letters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter) (Eatoni\'s
[LetterWise](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LetterWise)) reduces the
labour of time-consuming input. This makes abbreviations not only less
necessary, but slower to type than regular words which are in the
software\'s [dictionary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictionary).
However it does make the messages longer, often requiring the text
message to be sent in multiple parts and therefore costing more to send.

Website portals such as transl8it have supported a community of users to
help standardize this text speak by allowing users to submit
translations, staking claim with their user handle, or to submit top
messages and guess the lingo phrases. The international popularity of
this portal resulted in late 2005 the publishing of the transl8it! dxNRE
& glosRE (dictionary & glossary) as the worlds first, and most complete,
SMS and text lingo book.

An example of text speak is the following passage translated from
William Shakespeare\'s A Midsummer Night\'s Dream: If we shadwoes ave
ofendd. Thnk bt ths & al is mnded. That u ave but slumer'd ere; while
thse visions did appr; & this wk & idel theme; no mre yielding bt a
dream. Gentles, do nt reprehend; if u pardon we wil mend; & I am honst
Puck.

## Social Impact of SMS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sms#Social_impact_of_SMS

![](media/image51.png){width="3.3805555555555555in"
height="7.491666666666666in"}

Web Gone Wild

blogs & wikis

  ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------
  ![](media/image52.png){width="1.1666666666666667in"   The Town Square:\
  height="1.5520833333333333in"}                        blogs

  ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------

Adapted from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blog&oldid=124744893

A **blog** (short for **web log**) is a
[user-generated](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User-generated_content)
website where entries are made in
[journal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal) style and displayed in a
reverse [chronological
order](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronological_order).

Blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food,
politics, or local news; some function as more personal [online
diaries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_diary). A typical blog
combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other
media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in
an interactive format is an important part of most early blogs. Most
blogs are primarily textual although some focus on
[photographs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photograph)
([photoblog](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoblog)),
[sketchblog](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sketchblog),
[videos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video)
([vlog](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlog)), or
[audio](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio)
([podcasting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting)), and are part of
a wider network of [social
media](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media).

The term \"blog\" is a
[portmanteau](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau), or, in other
words, a blend of the words web and log (Web log). \"Blog\" can also be
used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

In November 2006, blog search engine
[Technorati](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technorati) was tracking more
than 57 million blogs.

## *History*

[Chronicles](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicle),
[commonplaces](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace),
[diaries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_journal), and
[perzines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perzine) can all be seen as
predecessors of blogs.

Before blogging became popular, digital communities took many forms,
including [Usenet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet), commercial
online services such as [GEnie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEnie), BiX
and the early [CompuServe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompuServe),
[e-mail
lists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_mailing_list)[\[2\]](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blog&oldid=124744893&printable=yes#_note-1)
and [bulletin board
systems](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system) (BBS). In
the 1990s, [Internet forum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum)
software, such as [WebEx](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebEx), created
running conversations with \"threads\". Threads are topical connections
between messages on a metaphorical \"corkboard\". Some have likened
blogging to the
[mass-observation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass-Observation)
movement of the mid-20th century.

### 1983-1990 (Pre-HTTP)

Usenet was the primary serial medium included in the original definition
of the [World Wide Web](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web). It
featured the [Moderated
Newsgroup](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsgroup#Moderated_newsgroups)
which allowed all posting in a newsgroup to be under the control of an
individual or small group. Most such newsgroups were simply moderated
discussion forums, however, in 1983-84, one exception, named
\[[mod.ber](http://groups.google.com/group/mod.ber/topics?lnk=srg)\],
was created, named after and managed by an individual: Brian E. Redman.
Regularly, Redman and a few associates posted summaries of interesting
postings and threads taking place elsewhere on the net. With its serial
journal publishing style, presence on the pre-HTTP web and strong
similarity to the common blog form which features links to interesting
and cool places on the net chosen by the blogger, mod.ber had many of
the characteristics commonly associated with the term Blog. It ceased
operation after approximately 8 months.

### 1994--2001

The modern blog evolved from the [online
diary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_diary), where people would
keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such writers called
themselves diarists,
[journalists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalist), or journalers. A
few called themselves
\"[escribitionists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escribitionist)\". The
Open Pages [webring](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webring) included
members of the online-journal community. [Justin
Hall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Hall), who began eleven years
of personal blogging in 1994 while a student at [Swarthmore
College](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarthmore_College), is generally
recognized as one of the earliest bloggers, as is [Jerry
Pournelle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Pournelle).

Other forms of journals kept online also existed. A notable example was
game programmer [John
Carmack](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carmack)\'s widely read
journal, published via the [finger
protocol](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_protocol). Websites,
including both corporate sites and [personal
homepages](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_homepage), had and
still often have \"What\'s New\" or \"News\" sections, often on the
[index page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_page) and sorted by date.
One example of a news based \"weblog\" is the [Drudge
Report](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drudge_Report) founded by the
self-styled maverick reporter [Matt
Drudge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Drudge), though apparently
Drudge dislikes this classification. Another is the [Institute for
Public
Accuracy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Public_Accuracy)
which began posting news releases featuring several news-pegged
one-paragraph quotes several time a week beginning in 1998. One
noteworthy early precursor to a blog was the
[tongue-in-cheek](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue-in-cheek) personal
website that was frequently updated by
[Usenet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet) legend
[Kibo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibo).

Early weblogs were simply manually updated components of common
[websites](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website). However, the evolution
of tools to facilitate the production and maintenance of web articles
posted in reverse chronological order made the publishing process
feasible to a much larger, less technical, population. Ultimately, this
resulted in the distinct class of online publishing that produces blogs
we recognize today. For instance, the use of some sort of browser-based
software is now a typical aspect of \"blogging\". Blogs can be hosted by
dedicated [blog hosting
services](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog_hosting_service), or they
can be run using [blog
software](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog_software), such as
[WordPress](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordPress), [Movable
Type](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movable_Type),
[blogger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger_(service)) or
[LiveJournal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiveJournal), or on regular
[web hosting
services](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_hosting_service), such as
[DreamHost](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DreamHost).

The term \"weblog\" was coined by [Jorn
Barger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorn_Barger) on [17
December](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_17)
[1997](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997). The short form, \"blog,\" was
coined by Peter Merholz, who jokingly broke the word weblog into the
phrase we blog in the sidebar of his blog Peterme.com in April or May of
1999. This was quickly adopted as both a noun and verb (\"to blog,\"
meaning \"to edit one\'s weblog or to post to one\'s weblog\").

After a slow start, blogging rapidly gained in popularity: the site
[Xanga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanga), launched in 1996, had only
100 diaries by 1997, but over 20 million as of December 2005. Blog usage
spread during 1999 and the years following, being further popularized by
the near-simultaneous arrival of the first hosted blog tools:

-   [Open Diary](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Diary) launched in
    October 1998, soon growing to thousands of online diaries. Open
    Diary innovated the reader comment, becoming the first blog
    community where readers could add comments to other writers\' blog
    entries.

-   [Brad Fitzpatrick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Fitzpatrick), a
    well known blogger started
    [LiveJournal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiveJournal) in March
    1999.

-   Andrew Smales created Pitas.com in July 1999 as an easier
    alternative to maintaining a \"news page\" on a website, followed by
    Diaryland in September 1999, focusing more on a personal diary
    community.

-   [Evan
    Williams](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Williams_(blogger)) and
    [Meg Hourihan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meg_Hourihan) ([Pyra
    Labs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyra_Labs)) launched
    [blogger.com](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger.com) in August
    1999 (purchased by [Google](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google) in
    February 2003)

Blogging combined the personal web page with tools to make linking to
other pages easier --- specifically
[permalinks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permalink),
[blogrolls](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogroll) and
[TrackBacks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrackBack). This, together
with [weblog search
engines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_search_engines#blog_search_engines)
enabled bloggers to track the threads that connected them to others with
similar interests.

### 2001--2004

Several broadly popular American blogs emerged in 2001: [Andrew
Sullivan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Sullivan)\'s
AndrewSullivan.com, Ron Gunzburger\'s Politics1.com, Taegan Goddard\'s
[Political Wire](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_Wire), Glenn
Reynolds\' [Instapundit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instapundit),
Charles Johnson\'s [Little Green
Footballs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Green_Footballs), and
[Jerome Armstrong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Armstrong)\'s
[MyDD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyDD) --- all blogging primarily on
[politics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_blog) (two earlier
popular American political blogs were Bob Somerby\'s [Daily
Howler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Howler) launched in 1998 and
[Mickey Kaus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Kaus)\' Kausfiles
launched in 1999).

By 2001, blogging was enough of a phenomenon that how-to manuals began
to appear, primarily focusing on technique. The importance of the
blogging community (and its relationship to larger society) increased
rapidly. Established schools of
[journalism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalism) began researching
blogging and noting the differences between journalism and blogging.

In 2002, Jerome Armstrong\'s friend and sometime
[business](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business) partner [Markos
Moulitsas Zúniga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markos_Moulitsas_Zúniga)
began [DailyKos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Kos). With up to a
million visits a day during peak events, it has now become one of the
Internet\'s most popular blogs.

Also in 2002, many blogs focused on comments by [U.S. Senate Majority
Leader](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Majority_Leader)
[Trent Lott](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Lott). Senator Lott, at
a party honoring [U.S.
Senator](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate) [Strom
Thurmond](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond), praised Senator
Thurmond by suggesting that the United States would have been better off
had Thurmond been elected president. Lott\'s critics saw these comments
as a tacit approval of [racial
segregation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_segregation), a policy
advocated by Thurmond\'s [1948 presidential
campaign](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election%2C_1948).
This view was reinforced by documents and recorded interviews dug up by
bloggers. (See [Josh
Marshall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Marshall)\'s [Talking Points
Memo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_Points_Memo).) Though Lott\'s
comments were made at a public event attended by the media, no major
media organizations reported on his controversial comments until after
blogs broke the story. Blogging helped to create a political crisis that
forced Lott to step down as majority leader.

The impact of this story gave greater credibility to blogs as a medium
of news dissemination. Though often seen as partisan gossips, bloggers
sometimes lead the way in bringing key information to public light, with
mainstream media having to follow their lead. More often, however, news
blogs tend to react to material already published by the mainstream
media.

![](media/image53.png){width="2.75in"
height="3.9479166666666665in"}Since 2002, blogs have gained increasing
notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, and
[spinning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(public_relations))
[news](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News) stories. The [Iraq
war](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq) saw bloggers
taking measured and passionate points of view that go beyond the
traditional
[left-right](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-right_politics) divide of
the [political
spectrum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_spectrum).

Blogging by established politicians and political candidates, to express
opinions on war and other issues, cemented blogs\' role as a news
source. (See [Howard Dean](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Dean) and
[Wesley Clark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Clark).) Meanwhile,
an increasing number of experts blogged, making blogs a source of
in-depth analysis. (See Daniel Drezner and [J. Bradford
DeLong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Bradford_DeLong).)

The second Iraq war was the first \"blog war\" in another way: Iraqi
bloggers gained wide readership, and one, [Salam
Pax](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salam_Pax), published a book of his
blog. Blogs were also created by soldiers serving in the Iraq war. Such
\"[warblogs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warblog)\" gave readers new
perspectives on the realities of war, as well as often offering
different viewpoints from those of official news sources.

Blogging was used to draw attention to obscure news sources. For
example, bloggers posted links to traffic cameras in Madrid as a huge
anti-terrorism demonstration filled the streets in the wake of the
[March 11
attacks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_March_2004_Madrid_attacks).

Bloggers began to provide nearly-instant commentary on televised events,
creating a secondary meaning of the word \"blogging\": to simultaneously
transcribe and [editorialize](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editorial)
speeches and events shown on television. (For example, \"I am blogging
Rice\'s testimony\" means \"I am posting my reactions to [Condoleezza
Rice\'s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice) testimony into
my blog as I watch her on television.\") Real-time commentary is
sometimes referred to as \"liveblogging.\"

### 2004--present

In 2004, the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream, as [political
consultants](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_consultant), news
services and candidates began using them as tools for outreach and
opinion forming. Even politicians not actively campaigning, such as the
[UK\'s Labour Party\'s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK))
[MP](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_of_Parliament) [Tom
Watson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Watson_(politician)), began to
blog to bond with constituents.

[Minnesota Public
Radio](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Public_Radio) broadcast a
program by [Christopher
Lydon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Lydon) and [Matt
Stoller](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Stoller) called \"The
blogging of the President,\" which covered a transformation in politics
that blogging seemed to presage. The [Columbia Journalism
Review](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Journalism_Review) began
regular coverage of blogs and blogging. Anthologies of blog pieces
reached print, and blogging personalities began appearing on radio and
television. In the summer of 2004, both United States
[Democratic](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_National_Convention)
and
[Republican](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_National_Convention)
Parties\' conventions credentialed bloggers, and blogs became a standard
part of the publicity arsenal. Mainstream television programs, such as
[Chris Matthews](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Matthews)\'
[Hardball](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardball_with_Chris_Matthews),
formed their own blogs.
[Merriam-Webster](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriam-Webster)\'s
Dictionary declared \"blog\" as the word of the year in 2004.

Blogs were among the driving forces behind the
\"[Rathergate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathergate)\" scandal, to
wit: (television journalist) Dan Rather presented documents (on the CBS
show [60 Minutes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60_Minutes)) that
conflicted with accepted accounts of President Bush\'s military service
record. Bloggers declared the documents to be
[forgeries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgery) and presented evidence
and arguments in support of that view, and CBS apologized for what it
said were inadequate reporting techniques (see [Little Green
Footballs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Green_Footballs)). Many
bloggers view this scandal as the advent of blogs\' acceptance by the
mass media, both as a news source and opinion and as means of applying
political pressure.

Some bloggers have moved over to other media. The following bloggers
(and others) have appeared on radio and television: [Duncan
Black](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrios) (known widely by his
pseudonym, Atrios), [Glenn
Reynolds](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Reynolds)
([Instapundit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instapundit)), [Markos
Moulitsas Zúniga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markos_Moulitsas_Zúniga)
([Daily Kos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Kos)), [Alex
Steffen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Steffen)
([Worldchanging](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldchanging)) and [Ana
Marie Cox](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Marie_Cox)
([Wonkette](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonkette)). In counter-point,
[Hugh Hewitt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Hewitt) exemplifies a
mass media personality who has moved in the other direction, adding to
his reach in \"old media\" by being an influential blogger.

Some blogs were an important news source during the [December 2004
Tsunami](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake) such
as [Medecins Sans
Frontieres](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medecins_Sans_Frontieres),
which used [SMS text
messaging](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_service) to report
from affected areas in Sri Lanka and Southern India. Similarly, during
[Hurricane Katrina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina) in
August 2005 and the aftermath a few blogs which were located in New
Orleans, including [the
Interdictor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdictor_(Blogger)) and
[Gulfsails](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulfsails) were able to
maintain power and an Internet connection and disseminate information
that was not covered by the [Main Stream
Media](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Stream_Media).

In the [United Kingdom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom),
[The Guardian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian)
[newspaper](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper) launched a redesign
in September 2005, which included a daily digest of blogs on page 2.
Also in June 2006, [BBC News](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_News)
launched a weblog for its editors, following other news companies.

In January 2005,
[Fortune](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_(magazine)) magazine
listed eight bloggers that business people \"could not ignore\": [Peter
Rojas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engadget), [Xeni
Jardin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeni_Jardin), [Ben
Trott](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Trott), [Mena
Trott](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mena_Trott), [Jonathan
Schwartz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_I._Schwartz), Jason
Goldman, [Robert Scoble](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Scoble),
and [Jason Calacanis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Calacanis).

In 2007, [Tim O\'Reilly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_O'Reilly)
proposed a [Blogger\'s Code of
Conduct](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger's_Code_of_Conduct).

**Glossory of Blog Terms:**

**Blog feed**

The XML-based file in which the blog hosting software places a
machine-readable version of the blog so that it may be \"syndicated\"
for further distribution on the web. Formats such as RSS and Atom are
used to structure the XML file.

**Blogfoo**

Statements written with an air of generality while obviously pointed at
a specific person or group of people.

**Blog hopping**

to follow links from one blog entry to another, with related side-trips
to various articles, sites, discussion forums, and more.

**Blogorrhea**

A portmanteau of \"blog\" and \"logorrhea\", meaning excessive and/or
incoherent talkativeness in a weblog.

**Blogroll**

A list of blogs. Usually a blogger features a list of his favorite blogs
in the sidebar of his blog. These lists can be made dynamic using
services like BlogRolling.

**Blog site**

The web location (URL) of a blog, which may be either a dedicated
domain, a sub-domain, or embedded within a web site.

**Blogsite**

Sometimes confused with a simple **blog** or blog site, but a blogsite
is a web site which combines blog feeds from a variety of sources, as
well as non-blog sources, and adds significant value over the raw blog
feeds.

**Blogsnob**

A person who refuses to respond to comments on their blog from people
outside their circle of friends.

**Dark Blog**

A non-public blog (e.g. behind a firewall)

**Flog**

A portmanteau of \"fake\" and \"blog\". A blog that\'s ghostwritten by
someone, such as in the marketing department.

**Moblog**

A portmanteau of \"mobile\" and \"blog\". A blog featuring posts sent
mainly by mobile phone, using SMS or MMS messages. They are often
photoblogs.

**Multi-blog**

Creating, maintaining, and running multiple blogs (2 or more)
simultaneously.

**Multi-blogger**

An individual, business, or institution that runs multiple blogs.

**Permalink**

Permanent link. The unique URL of a single post. Use this when you want
to link to a post somewhere.

**Ping**

The alert in the TrackBack system that notifies the original poster of a
blog post when someone else writes an entry concerning the original
post.

**Shocklog**

Weblogs to produce shocking discussions by posting various shocking
content.

**Splog**

A blog which is composed of spam. A Spam blog or \"any blog whose
creator doesn't add any written value.\"

**TrackBack**

A system that allows a blogger to see who has seen the original post and
has written another entry concerning it. The system works by sending a
\'ping\' between the blogs, and therefore providing the alert.

**Troll**

A commenter whose sole purpose is to attack the views expressed on a
blog, for example, a liberal going to a conservative blog, or vice
versa. Many trolls will leave their remarks on multiple posts and
continue to visit the blog, sparking spirited debate amongst the blog\'s
regular readers. Trolls\' verbosity can range from eloquent to crass,
although most trolls probably fall into the latter category.

![](media/image54.png){width="4.85in" height="3.658333333333333in"}

+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+
| ![](media/image55.  | Stiki                                          |
| png){width="1.85in" |                                                |
| height="1.7         | wiki                                           |
| 666666666666666in"} |                                                |
+---------------------+------------------------------------------------+

A **wiki,** \<wick-ey\>, is a web application that allows users to add
content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows others (often
completely unrestricted) to edit the content. The term *wiki* also
refers to the collaborative software (wiki engine) used to create such a
website. In essence, the wiki is a vast simplification of the process of
creating HTML pages, and thus is a very effective way to exchange
information through collaborative effort. **wiki** is often interpreted
as the abbreviation for \'what I know, is\', which describes the
knowledge contribution, storage and exchange up to some point.

**Wiki** with an upper case *W* and **WikiWikiWeb** are both used to
refer specifically to the first wiki ever created (25 March 1995). The
WikiWikiWeb is, like the Portland Pattern Repository, a section of a
Portland, Oregon, web site operated by the company Cunningham &
Cunningham. Wiki proponents often spell \'wiki\' with a lower case
\"w\". The name is based on the Hawaiian term *wiki,* meaning \"quick,\"
\"fast,\" or \"to hasten\" (Hawaiian dictionary). Sometimes **wikiwiki**
(or **Wikiwiki**) is used instead of *wiki* (Hawaiian dictionary).

**Key characteristics**

A wiki (wikiwiki) enables documents to be written collectively
(co-authoring) in a simple markup using a web browser. A single page in
a wiki is referred to as a \"wiki page\", while the entire body of
pages, which are usually highly interconnected via hyperlinks, is \"the
wiki\"; in effect, a very simple, easier to use database.

A defining characteristic of wiki technology is the ease with which
pages can be created and updated. Generally, there is no review before
modifications are accepted. Most wikis are open to the general public
without the need to register any user account. Sometimes session log-in
is requested to acquire a \"wiki-signature\" cookie for autosigning
edits. More private wiki servers require user authentication.

**Searching**

Most wikis offer at least a title search, and sometimes a full text
search. The scalability of the search depends on whether the wiki engine
uses a database or not; indexed database access is necessary for high
speed searches on large wikis. On Wikipedia, the so-called \"Go button\"
allows readers to directly view a page that matches the entered search
criteria as closely as possible. The MetaWiki search engine was created
to enable searches across multiple wikis.

**Controlling changes**

Wikis generally are designed with the philosophy of making it easy to
correct mistakes, rather than making it difficult to make them. Thus
while wikis are very open, they provide a means to verify the validity
of recent additions to the body of pages. The most prominent, on almost
every wiki, is the \"Recent Changes\" page---a specific list numbering
recent edits, or a list of all the edits made within a given timeframe.
Some wikis can filter the list to remove minor edits and edits made by
automatic importing scripts (\"bots\").

From the change log, other functions are accessible in most wikis: the
*Revision History* showing previous page versions; and the *diff
feature*, highlighting the changes between two revisions. Using the
Revision History, an editor can view and restore a previous version of
the article. The diff feature can be used to decide whether or not this
is necessary. A regular wiki user can view the diff of an edit listed on
the \"Recent Changes\" page and, if it is an unacceptable edit, consult
the history, restoring a previous revision; this process is more or less
streamlined, depending on the wiki software used.

In case unacceptable edits are missed on the \"Recent Changes\" page,
some wiki engines provide additional content control. It can be
monitored to ensure that a page, or a set of pages, keeps its quality. A
person willing to maintain pages will be warned of modifications to the
pages, allowing him or her to quickly verify the validity of new
editions.

**Vandalism**

The open philosophy of most wikis---of allowing anyone to edit
content---does not ensure that editors are well-intentioned. Wiki
vandalism is a constant problem for wikis, though perhaps overrated.
Studies from IBM have shown that most vandalism to Wikipedia is reverted
in 5 minutes or less.

**History**

Wiki software originated in the design pattern community as a way of
writing and discussing pattern languages. The WikiWikiWeb was the first
wiki, established by Ward Cunningham on March 25, 1995, as a complement
to the Portland Pattern Repository. He invented the wiki name and
concept, and implemented the first wiki engine. Some people maintain
that only the original wiki should be called Wiki (upper case) or the
WikiWikiWeb.

Cunningham coined the term *wiki* after the \"wiki wiki\" or \"quick\"
shuttle buses at Honolulu Airport. *Wiki wiki* was the first Hawaiian
term he learned on his first visit to the islands, when the airport
counter agent directed him to take the *wiki wiki* bus between
terminals. According to Cunningham, \"I chose wiki-wiki as an
alliterative substitute for \'quick\' and thereby avoided naming this
stuff quick-web.\" The term \"wiki\" sounds vaguely similar to the word
Wicca (a religion), but they are completely unrelated.

In the late 1990s, wikis increasingly were recognized as a promising way
to develop private- and public-knowledge bases, and this potential
inspired the founders of the Nupedia encyclopedia project, Jimbo Wales
and Larry Sanger, to use wiki technology as a basis for an electronic
encyclopedia: *Wikipedia* was launched in January 2001; it originally
was based upon UseMod software, but later switched to its own, open
source codebase, now adopted by many other wikis.

In the early 2000s, wikis were increasingly adopted in the enterprise as
collaborative software. Common uses included project communication,
intranets and documentation, initially for technical users. In December
2002, Socialtext launched the first commercial open source wiki
solution. Open source wikis such as MediaWiki, Kwiki and TWiki grew to
over 1 million downloads on the Sourceforge repository by 2004. Today
some companies use wikis as their only collaborative software and as a
replacement for static intranets.

In 2005, the Los Angeles Times experimented with using a wiki in the
editorial section of its web site. The Wikitorial project was quickly
shuttered as vandals quickly defaced it and features to help distribute
administration of the site had been disabled.

Today, the English-language Wikipedia is, by far, the world\'s largest
wiki; the German-language Wikipedia is the second-largest, while the
other Wikipedias fill many of the remaining slots. Other big wikis
include World66, a wiki travel guide, and Susning.nu, a Swedish-language
knowledge base running UseMod software. The all-encompassing nature of
Wikipedia is a significant factor in its growth, while many other wikis
are highly specialized. Some also have attributed Wikipedia\'s rapid
growth to its decision not to use CamelCase.

**Wiki communities**

All known public wikis are listed at WorldWideWiki: SwitchWiki, which
currently lists about 1000 public wiki communities (as of 2004-06-12).

The largest wikis are listed at List of largest wikis and Meatball:
Biggest wikis.

![](media/image56.png){width="1.7604166666666667in"
height="3.6979166666666665in"}One way of finding a wiki on a subject in
which someone is interested is to follow the wiki-node network from wiki
to wiki, or one could take a Wiki bus tour: TourBusStop.

For those interested in creating their own wiki, there are many publicly
available \"wiki farms,\" some of which can also make private,
password-protected wikis. Socialtext, PeanutButterWiki, SeedWiki,
JotSpot, OddWiki, WikiCities, and Wikispaces are seven such services;
more at List of wiki farms.

Many wiki communities are private, particularly within enterprises as
collaborative software.