Module 2: News Groups and Internet Chat

News Groups
I found a group on Google Groups about Dubai, I followed it for a couple of days and posted the following message. Unfortunately after three weeks I received no replies. It may have to do with the size of the group as it was rather large with over 300 group members. I was disapointed to not receive any feedback, it has however allowed me to discover how groups work, and was amazed at the amount of detail people go into. It is a very interesting way of communicating with people for all different walks of life. Still I dont think it will be a method I will use that often in the future.

I was surprised to read some of the views of Dubai by people who obviously haven't been there. I agree that it has its fair share of desert, but calling it culture less is somewhat narrow minded. While it may not have some of the architecture that Vienna or Florence have, Dubai is history in the making. Dubai is rapidly developing and building architectural feats, what country can claim to have developed as much as it has in the past 20 years? It may not have many historical features now, but can you imagine in a hundred years time? Not only is it developing the tallest building in the world, but it has managed to make a hostile environment a completely flourishing economical hub. The opportunities here are endless.
As for things to do, have you ever been desert bashing? Diving in the Gulf? Camping in amazing Mars like wadis? Stayed and eaten in some of the best restaurants and hotels in the world? Smoked sheisha whilst playing chess? Gone skiing in a mall? Watched locals through Ramadan all sit outside the Mosque together getting ready to break their fast? Had a bbq on a sailboat whilst dolphins frolic around you? Seen hundreds of nationalities all in one place getting along with little crime and trouble?
No one can deny that Dubai is in fact a flourishing hub, regardless of which airlines are going where. And it should be respected for just that, what an amazing place has been created, out of nothing, and still it gets bigger, they do have a final picture in mind, and I think once all the hammering has stopped, Dubai will be quite amazing. It might not be an ideal place, but you have to give it some credit, no matter how you feel about it.


Internet Chat

I have been using MSN Messenger since I was 14 years old and have managed to stay in contact with my friends from around the world, which is something I could never have achieved without it. It was my life line when I was travelling, allowing me to talk to family and friends at minimal cost, and lets face it, its so much better than dodgy phone lines!

I was able to chat to Lyn from the the NET11 unit, but failed to have a group discussion. From my own experience I would say that MSN is probably the most widely used Chat programme, allowing for video chat and even conversations with a little delay. It is used in every country I have ever been to and so easy to use.

Chat is a fantastic way to stay in contact with people world wide at minimal cost, its easy to use, quick, you get instant gratification and are able to to have multiple conversations at once. Businesses are now buying into it too, using Chat programmes instead of phones. It is also true that having information written allows us to carry out more than just the one conversation, allowing for time to reflect on what has been said.

I really do believe that chat is the best invention since sliced bread!!!

Module 2: Lists

My personal opinion is that email lists seem very dated, and a little questionable.

From what I gather anyone in front of a computer with Internet can start a list, about basically any subject, it is an electronic mailing list for those interested in the subject list they join. From the lists that I saw (which were not many, due to the length of time all the listing web sites took to download), it seemed as though people go and make a list and then forget about it! 90% of the lists I tried to join required a subscription fee. Maybe due to my lack of willing to pay for one of these list subscriptions, I missed out on something really fantastic. But am I really willing to pay for something that I am unable to see.

I would be more likely to choose a discussion board than a list, I believe discussion boards create more of a community for the user, there is a quicker response time and while there is probably not as much filtering of information, you just assume that you do have to take all the information read with "a pinch of salt". I understand that lists do have a moderator to filter out any spam or abusive messages, which is a definite bonus when looking into such sites.

Discussion sites such as the one we use for this course are easy to follow, accessible, and most of the sites do not allow other members to edit other peoples entries.