Forms Of Online Communication

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Cynthia Cook Professor Kari Baltimore-Jackson Information Literacy 21 September 2009 Unit 2 Individual Project – Forms of Online Communication In this age of technology, communication has advanced from telephone calls and letters sent by mail, to faster, more efficient methods of corresponding via the internet. These online communications come in two forms: synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous online communication is done in real-time, or live (PCmag.com). This means that data is transmitted in steady streams, while all parties involved in the communication are online at the same time. This allows for participants to instantly receive information, actively participate in the communications first hand, and have the ability to ask questions and get immediate answers. However, there is not much time to consider a reply, leaving more room for errors, and increasing the chance of being misunderstood. Chat, live conferences and instant messaging fall into the synchronous communication category. Asynchronous online communications are threaded and transmitted intermittently (PCMag.com). Participants do not need to be online at the same time and can view and respond to these at a later time. This allows for time to consider a response, proof-read the information and make any necessary corrections before sending it. Discussion boards, e-mail, and message boards are some examples of asynchronous communication. A live chat forum is subject based, real-time text communications between two or more people, via the internet, usually with a moderator to oversee the content (PCMag.com). Some even include live voice and video of the moderator or host. The website I found for this type of communication is http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/liveonline/index.html . This is The Washington Post Live Q & A website, covering many topics
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