Internet Blogging the Changing Computer

Internet

Blogging

The Changing Computer Language of a World Wide Web Diary

Ten Vocabulary Words Associated with Blogging on the Web

One of the most popular uses of the World Wide Web is that of the blog. According to the Internet computer encyclopedia database Webopedia, (2006) a "blog," is a shortened form of the original word Web log, a kind of document located on the World Wide Web that serves as a publicly accessible journal for an individual or an organization. ("Blog, Webopedia, 2006) A blog is thus one a kind of Web page. The page's unique URL or Uniform Resource Locator on the Web identifies the location of the Web page. A URL functions as the Web page's address on the World Wide Web. ("What is a Web Page?" Webopedia, 2006). Blogs themselves are often further organized and segmented in blog rolls, or chapters according to month and subject of blog entries.

The programming language of HTML defines the structure and layout, or physical appearance of the Web document by using tags and attributes. Tags and attributes are bits of programming in the language of HTML that specify how the document, or a portion of the document should appear. ("What is a Tag?" Webopedia, 2006) Because of the relative ease of HTML, bloggers (persons who create blogs) do not have to be terribly technically literate to use the technology of HTML. The popularity of blogs and email, a non-web-based form of personalized communication in the form of electronic personal messages rather than public documents has made the Web, the Internet, and other incarnations of this form of communication a ubiquitous part of social and commercial life.

The World Wide Web itself is made up of system of Internet service providers that support documents specifically formatted in HTML, or HyperText Markup Language. This language is unique, as unlike the languages supporting email or instant messaging, as it supports links to other documents, as well as graphics, audio, and videos. ("HTML," 2006, Webopedia)

Section 2: Fundamentals

The words 'Internet' and 'World Wide Web,' in common slang, even amongst bloggers, are often used interchangeably, but this is not technically accurate. The Internet is the networking infrastructure connecting computers together and transmitting data through a variety of languages known or protocols. The World Wide Web is one form of accessing Internet information that uses the programming language HTTP. HTTP is not the only protocol used by the Internet, but it is the protocol used to create blogs. Blogs, and Web pages in general use browsers to link different Web documents through hyperlinks. Through the use of browsers, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, a user can surf or use his or her mouse to click on links to look at various Web pages. Web documents can contain graphics, sounds, text and videos. E-mail and Instant messaging use different protocols. ("What is the Difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web?" 2006 Webopedia)

However, the Web has become such an important part of the Internet that the two words are becoming virtually synonymous. More and more persons have begun to use Web logs to communicate to a general audience, as Web logs can host pictures as well as text more easily than e-mail or instant messaging. More and more businesses also use as a Web pages to deploy a variety of media in their advertising. For example, a restaurant can include the text of a menu, and now that high-speed connections or more common, also show a short video of persons dining at the restaurant.

The Web has grown increasingly fast and sophisticated, as podcasts, streaming video, and other movie-like aspects of entertainment have become part of the Web experience. Features such as YourTube allow persons to see videos, homemade by uses, over the web. As digital cameras and video cameras become more common, the language of the Web and the media exposed upon Web blogs are sure to expand in the future, and to incorporate more visual elements.

As technology changes and expands into every day life, the language used to describe Internet technology is likely to become more blurred and less specific.

One example, previously discussed, is the fact that the Internet and World Wide Web are often incorrectly used as synonyms. Another example is how the verb "blog" has been modified to become a verb, so to "blog" is to write a blog, as well as the document of a blog itself. Blogs still traditionally refer to text-based entries, however, although they are more likely to contain photographs than previously, as photographs can now be easily uploaded to the Web through digital cameras, making use of the Web as a form of communication and advertisement easier and more popular than ever. The use of multimedia technology and computer programming is likely to become more and more accessible.

Section 3: Project Management