Chapter 2 - The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence Flashcards
ARPAnet
The original internet, designed by the U.S. Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).
Electronic mail messages sent over the Internet; developed by computer engineer Ray Tomlinson in 1971,.
Microprocessors
Miniature circuits that process and store electronic signals, integrating thousands of electronic components into thin strands of silicon along which binary codes travel.
Fiber-Optic Cable
Thin glass bundles of fiber capable of transmitting along cable wires thousands of messages converted to shooting pulses of light; these bundles of fiber can carry broadcast channels, telephone signals, and all sorts of digital codes.
World Wide Web (WWW)
A data-linking system for organizing and standardizing information on the Internet; the WWW enables computer-accessed information to associate with - or link to - other information, no matter where it is on the Internet.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
The written code that creates Web pages and links; a language all computers can read.
Browswers
Information-search services, such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome, that offer detailed organizational maps to the Internet.
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
A company that provides Internet access to homes and businesses for a fee.
Broadband
Data transmission over a fiber-optic cable - a signaling method that handles a wide range of frequencies.
Digital Communication
Images, texts, and sound that use pulses of electric current or flashes of laser light and are converted (or encoded) into electronic signals represented as varied combinations of binary numbers, ones and zeros; these signals are the reassembled (decoded) as a precise reproduction of a TV picture, a magazine article, or a telephone voice.
Instant Messaging
A Web feature that enables users to chat with buddies in real time via pop-up windows assigned to each conversation.
Search Engines
A more automated route to finding content by allowing users to enter key words or queries to locate related Web pages.
Social Media
Digital applications that allow people world-wide to have conversations, share common interests, and generate their own media content online.
Blogs
Sites that contain articles in reverse chronological journal-like form, often with reader comments and links to other articles on the Web (from the term Weblog).
Wiki Web Sites
Websites that are capable of being edited by any user; the most famous is Wikipedia.
Content Communities
Online communications that exist for the sharing of all types of content from text to photo and videos.
Social Networking Sites
Sites on which users can create content, share ideas, and interact with friends.
Telecommunications Act of 1996
The sweeping update of telecommunications law that led to a wave of media consolidation.
Portal
An entry point to the Internet, such as a search engine.
Data Mining
The unethical gathering of data by online purveyors of content and merchandise.
E-Commerce
Electronic commerce, or commercial activity, on the Web.
Cookies
Information profiles about a user that are usually automatically accepted by a Web browser and stored on the user’s own computer hard drive.
Spyware
Software with secretive codes that enable commercial firms to “spy” on users and gain access to their computers.
Opt-In Policies or Opt-Out Policies
Controversial Web site policies over personal data gathering; opt-in means Web sites must gain explicit permission from online consumers before the site can collect their personal data; opt-out means that Wen sites can automatically collect personal data unless the consumer goes to the trouble of filling out a specific form to restrict the practice.
Phishing
An Internet scam that begins with phony e-mail messages that appear to be from an official site and request that customers sent their credit card numbers and other personal information to update the account.
Digital Divide
The socioeconomic disparity between those who do and those who do not have access to digital technology and media, such as the Internet.
Net Neutrality
The principle that every Web site and every user - whether a multinational corporation or you - has the right to the same Internet network speed and access.
Open-Source Software
Non-commercial software shared freely and developed collectively on the Internet.
When did the Internet reach the novelty (development), entrepreneurial, and mass medium stages?
Novelty Stage: 1960s
Entrepreneurial Stage: 1970s - 1980s
Mass Medium Stage: 1990s
How did the Internet originate? What role did the government play?
The government wanted a way to share computer processing time and to communicate from any computer, so ARPA created something that would do just that.
How does the World Wide Web work? What is the significance of it in the development of the Internet?
It uses HTML (a language that all computers can understand) to create Web pages, allowing information to be organized in and easy-to-use nonlinear manner.
Why did Google become such a force in Web searching?
They introduced a new algorithm that mathematically ranked a page’s “popularity” on the basis of how many other pages linked to it.
What is the difference between a “Read/Only” culture and a “Read/Write” culture of the Internet?
In the “Read/Only” culture we were only able to do just that, read the content that is already on there. Now, as a “Read/Write” culture users have the power not only to read content but also to develop their own.
What are the six main types of social media?
- Blogs
- Collaborative Projects
- Content Communities
- Social Networking Sites
- Virtual Game Worlds
- Virtual Social Worlds
What are the democratic possibilities of social media? How can social media aid political representation?
Social media tools have put the power in to our own hands, allowing us to produce and distribute our own media. It aids representation as an effective tool for undermining repressive regimes that thrive on serving up propaganda.
What were the conditions that enabled media convergence?
Between the 1870s and 1970s each electronic device (with the exception of the clock/radio hybrid) had it’s own individual purpose. The idea of convergence came with the development of the personal computer in the mid-1970s, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that the Internet actually made that possible.
What are the significant milestones for mobile devices as playing a part in media convergence?
In 2002 the Blackberry became the first Internet-capable smartphone. In 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone, which combined qualities of the iPod with a phone. The next year Apple opened up the App Store, and by 2012 there were more then 750,000 apps available.
In 2008 Google release the first Android smartphone.
In 2010 Apple introduced the iPad.
How has convergence changed out relationship with media, and with the Internet?
We don’t have to miss out on media content just because we aren’t home in time to catch a show, didn’t find the book at the bookstore, or forgot to buy the newspaper. We want it when and where we want it and in multiple formats.
We don’t typically access the full internet anymore. With mobile devices we are accessing what we need through apps or other platforms.
Semantic Web
An extension of the current Internet in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation.
What is the role of data mining in the digital economy? What are ethical concerns?
It is how platforms like Google, Facebook , and a host of others screen our information to make advertising more personalized and effective. It raises issues in privacy and security.
What is being done to close the gap in digital divide?
Smartphones are narrowing the divide.
Why is net neutrality such an important debate?
Because removing net neutrality would put the big name companies who can afford to pay the premiums on the “fast lane,” leaving bloggers, educators, non-profits and religious organizations in the “slow lane.”
What are the major alternative voices on the Internet?
- Open-source software
2. Digital Archiving
How can the Internet make democracy work better?
It has allowed even more people to be involved in political processes.
What are the key challenges to making the Internet itself more democratic?
- Increasing commercialization
2. People are only connecting with people who share their views or are in their same circles.
