Media and Culture Chapter 2
Instant Messaging
A Web feature that enables users to chat with buddies in real time via pop-up windows assigned to each conversation.
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
A company that provides Internet access to homes and businesses for a fee.
World Wide Web
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.
Search Engines
A program for the retrieval of data from a database or network, esp. the Internet.
Portal
An entry point to the Internet, such as a search engine.
Phishing
An internet scam that begins with phony e-mail messages that appear to be from an official site and request that customers send their credit card numbers and other personal information to update the account.
Opt-In/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 Web sites can automatically collect personal data unless the consumer goes to the trouble of filling out a specific form to restrict the practice.
Broadband
Data transmission over a fiber-optic cable- a signaling method that handles a wide range of frequencies.
Social Media
Digital applications that allow people world-wide to have conversations, share common interests, and generate their own media content online.
E-Commerce
Electronic commerce, or electronic commerce, or commercial activity, on the Web
Electronic mail messages sent over the Internet; developed by computer engineer Ray Tomlinson in 1971.
Digital Communication
Images, texts, and sounds 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 then reassembled (decoded) as a precise reproduction of a TV picture, a magazine article, or a telephone voice.
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.
Browsers
Information-search services, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome, that offer detailed organizational maps to the Internet.
Microprocessors
Miniature circuits that process and store electronic signals, integrating thousands of electronic components into thin strands of silicon along which binary codes travel.
Open Source Software
Noncommercial software shared freely and developed collectively on the Internet.
Content Communities
Online communities that exist for the sharing of all types of content from text to photos and videos.
Social Networking Sites
Sites on which users can create content, share ideas, and interact with friends.
Blogs
Sites that contain articles in reverse chronological journal-lke form, often with reader comments and links to other articles on the Web.
Spyware
Software with secretive codes that enable commercial firms to "spy" on users and gain access to their computers.
ARPAnet
The original Internet, designed by the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).
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.
Digital Divide
The socioeconomic disparity between those who do and those who do not have access to digital technology and media, such as internet.
Data Mining
The unethical gathering of data by online purveyors of content and merchandise.
Internet
The vast network of telephone and cable lines, wireless connections, and satellite systems designed to link and carry computer information worldwide.
HTML
The written code that creates Web pages and links; a language all computers can read.
Fiber Optic Cable
Thin glass bundles of fiber capable of transmitting alone 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.
Wiki Web Sites
Web sites that are capable of being edited by any user; the most famous is Wikipedia.
Telecommunications Act of 1996
the sweeping update of telecommunications law that led to a wave of media consolidation.
