Introduction of Communication

Y:\svn\trunk\var\docs\working\working\901516.doc

Introduction

Executive Summary

Blogs (web logs) (Done)

There are two types of blogs, personal blogs and corporate blogs. Personal blogs are written by any one and has become increasingly popular since the birth of Twitter, , this site is used by 6million people world wide.

Advantages
The advantages of sites / blogs such as twitter is that each person can choose to follow someone else; this could be exploited form a business point of view. We can also appeal to an online market. If the company set up its own intranet environment, blogs could be an excellent way of sharing knowledge within the company.

Disadvantages
To make a blog work we need to have someone that is willing to continually update it, this is where many companies fail, they have a good blog for a few weeks then they don’t know what to write, the blog needs to be kept fresh so that the customers continue to read it.

E-mail (Done)

Electronic mail is a method of sending and receiving digital messages. Electronic mail systems are based on a store and forward model, this is done by computers, enabling messages to be sent to an email address that isn’t logged in. Email was originally only intended to send text, but that has evolved, today many people around the world can get flyers from businesses, many people especially businesses prefer to send out flyers like this as they only need to produce one copy of the flyer.

Advantages
Email has a lot of advantages,

Fast communication
Saves trees
Saves fuel
Businesses enjoy low cost communication
Free
Email is easier to filter; the subject line lets people prioritize their mail, unlike regular mail that needs to be opened first.

Disadvantages
Unwanted spam email from fraudsters, amount of email received in a day can also be a disadvantage, especially if it interferes with someone’s job. The only cost of e-mail is the setting up and running costs of the computer, or maybe the domain name in which you choose for your email e.g.

MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) (Done)

MMS is a fairly new standard in mobile messaging, MMS is a way to send messages, however unlike SMS, MMS can send sound, images and video this makes MMS very useful, if I need to buy a part for a computer and my cousin is in the shop instead of trying to explain to him what I need I can send him a picture of what I need.

Advantages
MMS has many advantages over SMS, MMS messages are not size restricted, they can be as large as you need them to be. Another advantage is that companies can send visitors a map of the office building, since a lot of people are on contract with their phones they get changed to the latest model, which will often have a larger screen.

Disadvantages
MMS works using the 3G network, if customers have a phone that is seven years old or older their phones might not support 3G. Although smaller messages can be sent via the 2nd generation network, GPRS.

Mobile ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Mobile Telephone (Done)

A WAP browser provides all of the basic services of a computer-based web browser but simplified to operate within the restrictions of a mobile phone, such as its smaller view screen. Users can connect to WAP sites: websites written in, or dynamically converted to, WML (Wireless Mark-up Language) and accessed via the WAP browser. – From accessed 05/12/2009
WAP can also be used to download videos.

Advantages
Portability, WAP is used by mobile phones to get information via an application such as weather reports. WAP is optimised for mobile networks that have narrow bandwidths.

Disadvantages
Expensive.
Did not have a packet-based service for long time.
Limited size of RAM and ROM.
Limited power supply.
Low bandwidth.
Difficult to keep the phones up-to-date with new WAP services.
- from accessed 07/12/2009

Paper Based

Podcasts

Radio (Done)

Digital Broadcasting
DAB, standing for Digital Audio Broadcasting, represents a wider choice of radio listening, less interference, and next-generation radios with features not found on FM and AM receivers, for example DAB radios can show the audience what they are to and what is going to be played next.

Advantages
The advantages of DAB a that it is a new gadget, this means that people will be out in shops buying new radios, because they want the next must have thing. DAB offers great sound quality, this is very useful for adverts, and there will be no break up or interference of the signal, so listeners will hear the whole advert as we intended them to.

Disadvantages
Although DAB signals are less prone to interference; they are weaker than FM signals, which can cause problems if the listener lives just outside the broadcasting range, only 80% of the UK can receive a DAB signal. DAB stations are compressed so that lots of stations can be squeezed into the available bandwidth. Because of the compression, some of the stations are not in as good quality as FM stations, for example BBC stations are transmitted in a low bit rate to squeeze their range of stations onto the available space There is a new format of DAB, DAB+ will replace the existing format in use in the UK. However the cost a DAB radios has fallen massively since they were first brought out five years ago.

Real Time Information Systems

RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication) (Done)

News feeds allow you to see when websites have added new content. You can get the latest headlines and video in one place, as soon as it’s published, without having to visit the websites you have taken the feed from. Feeds are also known as RSS. There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but most people go for 'Really Simple Syndication'. In essence, the feeds themselves are just web pages, designed to be read by computers rather than people. – From

Advantages
RSS feeds give users the latest updates, this could be weather, new music or software releases. The subscription is up to the user, they can decide if they want to be subscribed to this service and can unsubscribe at any time. The RSS service is spam free, this makes it appealing to people who use their mobile phones to access the internet. RSS is a great opportunity to advertise, they can keep up to date with a shops latest offers.

Disadvantages
Some people prefer to receive email updates; RSS feeds do not support the use of graphics or photo’s. RSS feeds do not show what website they are from. RSS publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed, they also don’t know a reason why the user unsubscribed, and this could help companies to improve their advertising. RSS is relatively new and not many websites support it. The feeds create higher traffic on the server, because of this the feed is often slow, and the user might prefer to visit the website.

Screen Based

Personal computers

Touch Screens

SMS (Short Message Service) (Done)

SMS the proper name for a text, text is a very useful way to communicate with customers, nearly everyone has a mobile phone, texts are very cheap, and you can fit almost everything you need in a text, 160 characters.

Advantages
It is often less time-consuming to send a text message than to make a phone call or send an e-mail. SMS can be used to send a message to a large number of people at a time, either from a list of contacts. This service is called broadcasting and is used by companies to contact groups of employees

Disadvantage
Only relatively short messages can be sent at any one time (160 characters), it's inconvenient to use most phones' keypads to type
People attempt to send text messages while driving and doing all sorts of things, and some end up hurting themselves or others in the process

Television (Done)

Digital Broadcasting
Digital TV in the UK has made a lot of difference to peoples lives; they can now use their ‘Red button’. For example when Wimbledon is on viewers can select what court they want to watch, this is made possible by digital broadcasting. Another example is during a Formula One race your can use the BBC’s interactive service to listen to different commentary.

Advantages
One of the main advantages is that digital TV is having a better picture quality, more precise, sharper. Another advantage is that to transmit a digital signal it only takes 10% of the power that is needed to transmit an analogue signal. DTV doesn’t produce a ‘snowy’ picture or shadowed pictures. DTV signals are compressed; this means that less room is taken up while transmitting the channels this enables TV companies to transmit more channels.

Disadvantages
Every one who has a TV in the UK has been forced to either buying a free view box, this would also add to the house holds electricity bill or buy a new television that has free view built in. Viewers might also need to have a new aerial installed so that they can get a better signal.

HD (High Definition)
High definition TV is the latest must have of the twenty first century; it enables a better viewing picture, we can use this technology to show our customers the instruments we have for sale and show them in greater detail, and with lots of music channels available to advertise on we can get our target audience.

Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) (Done)

A virtual learning environment is a software system designed to support teaching and learning in an educational setting. VLE normally works over the internet. It has many uses, students can submit their work to their teacher to be marked and have their work sent back to them with corrections. It can also be used as remote access to files and folders, including programs.

Advantages
Students are already using this technology thanks to the government making law that every school sets up a virtual learning environment. I’m sure that there is ample room for us to display our logo on the system and a little bit about ourselves and perhaps offer discounts to music students.

Disadvantages
There is no set guidelines on how schools, universities create a virtual learning environment, for example I have been to two secondary schools in Reading area, one had a very good VLE where I could access my files and save changes to them from any computer. The other school had a VLE provided by the local council, it wasn’t as good as the first one but I could still get the files I needed.

WWW (World Wide Web)

E-mail: E-mail is an online correspondence system. With e-mail you can send and receive instant electronic messages, which works like writing letters. Your messages are delivered instantly to people anywhere in the world, unlike traditional mail that takes a lot of time.
Access Information: The Internet is a virtual treasure trove of information. Any kind of information on any topic under the sun is available on the Internet. The ‘search engines’ on the Internet can help you to find data on any subject that you need.
Shopping: Along with getting information on the Internet, you can also shop online. There are many online stores and sites that can be used to look for products as well as buy them using your credit card. You do not need to leave your house and can do all your shopping from the convenience of your home.
Online Chat: There are many ‘chat rooms’ on the web that can be accessed to meet new people, make new friends, as well as to stay in touch with old friends.
Downloading Software: This is one of the most happening and fun things to do via the Internet. You can download innumerable, games, music, videos, movies, and a host of other entertainment software from the Internet, most of which are free.

- From accessed 09/12/09