Glogster!!!

Today we researched into the media/social networking website of Glogster (http://www.glogster.com/). It involves registered users making their own personalised Glog (or web page) which allows you to post a variety of media such as photos, graphics, music, videos, text etc and therefore allows users to create their own personalised page to represent themselves and their views, morals, friends, ideas etc.

This provides a unique format in which to communicate and share personalised media and creations with others which in turn provides an entertaining and satisfying site. When compared to the ruling networking giants such as Facebook, Myspace and of course the very similar Blogger, many similarities can be seen. However, it is Glogsters unique ability to hold, run, import and edit a great variety of media and to portray it in a personalised way that makes Glogster stand out from the rest. Definitely worth a try.

Calculating Distances Online

Using Multimap.com I was able to calculate the directions, distances and estimated time of traveling from my teachers house, to Alton Towers. This was based upon the post codes of each, and the software would automatically locate the two distances and create the quickest driving route.

This is similar to how a GPS works. Where all the information on destinations, roads and their lengths is stored in a massive database of information- making finding the distances very easy. Here is what I found:

• Distance: 272.25 km - 169.17 miles
• Approx time: 1h 13min

Note that this is based on the quickest route for driving only, yet further options allow the shortest route to be selected instead or even walking distances/times.

Processes of an online purchase

Making an online purchase on a transactional website involves an array of mouse/keyboard inputs and visual 'informative' outputs. The general process is outlined clearly below and remains true for most online shops, despite some variation due to preferences, technical requirements etc.

1. Identify and authenticate the customer (using a user name and password e.g. Tesco, Sainsbury's) - unless a casual one time buyer is not required by the site to register (e.g. like on amazon.com)
2. Track consumer actions - an they search for items when browsing by category/by product/through search etc.
3. Maintain the shopping basket. Consumers may add to, remove from, edit and abandon the basket.
4. Checkout the goods. This is where items in a basket are confirmed for purchase and consumer/shipping/payment/order details are collected and/or confirmed.
5. Authorise payment and confirm order to complete the process.

This information can be seen in more detailed and clear view using a flowchart of the processes and transactions. In reality the five points above are all interlinked into a complex data flow process involving the sales/stores/dispatch and accounting departments to successfully collect payment and dispatch the goods accurately and on time. For this reason data flow diagrams will be latter on used to represent my coursework 'website processes' for an in depth analysis.

Evisu - A Transactional Website

Evisu is an online clothes shop, selling a wide variety of garments under the Evisu brand name. Being transactional lots of data is required (captured) from consumers in order to successfully complete the process and order/receive the goods.

I compressed this collected data into specific lists :
Consumer - Information relating to the consumers personal details

• First and last name name (and title)
• Email address (primary key)
• Phone and mobile number
• Address 1 and 2
• City
• Postal code
• Country
• Billing address

Transaction - The payment and shipping details

• Shipping method
• Payment method
• Card number
• Security code
• Expiry date
• Card holders name

Transaction-Item - Shopping basket information relating specifically to the item(s) desired.

• Size
• Price
• Quantity required

While this is for Evisu, it holds much similarity to other transactional websites and the relational databases they will hold. In some cases the site may require the buyer to register/sign in before or during the process using a user name (often e-mail) and password. This enables this information to be saved and re-used in the future for further buys. 'Casual consumers' may only buy once and therefore would not need an account. For more information on the processes involved see 'Processes of an online purchase'.

Facebook Groups

The social networking site of Facebook involves a large number of groups with ranging topic from sports and recreation, entertainment, arts, organisations, common interest, Internet and technology, student groups and just for fun.

Members will join these groups for fun, out of morel or to help be connected and informed on the topic concerned. I will look in depth at a group i find interesting and assess the reasons and benefits for joining that group.

Group: Formula 1 (automotive and racing)
Members: 3,402
Content: F1 race results, discussion board (e.g. podium predictions), event times and dates, posted links, related contacts.
Purpose: for fun, to discus the sport of F1 as the season progresses and to inform members on results and up and coming races/events they may not aware of.
Reason for me joining: Mainly as I am a big fan of F1 and wish to be part of the network of other big fans who can share similar with me interest. It is also hand to have constant access and reminders of events/results/races that occur, while on the Facebook site.
Stengths: Evert thing an F1 fan needs - discussion, results, reviews, events and contacts/links.
Weaknesses: There are few, but you must have a Facebook account first to access the group, which requires a registration process. It is not a quick process to get onto the group as you must first log onto Facebook.

Overall still an extremely useful and practical site to use and access while I'm on Facebook. The various group on Facebook fulfil a range of useful and entertaining purposes.

SMS Language

SMS has evolved based on abbreviations and informal phonics in order to keep message times as short as possible. This is a conversation recorded between me and a friend via an SMS mobile text.

Scott: Wtp sm hwz lf. Tis is borin, hope u lk it.
Sam: ya im gd, im so bord aswl. Bt the txt is quit fun.

TRANSLATION:
Scott: Whats up Sam. This is boring, hope you like it.
Sam: Yea i am good, I'm board aswell. But the texting is quite fun.

SMS allows users to quickly send short burst of textual data to other mobile users, in a quick, convenient and cheap way. This has made it the communication medium choice of many people in the information age. However, in turn it is limited in the amount of information/data that can be sent and there may be no instant or any feedback if the user does not reply.

E-mail - what, how, where and why?

E-mail basically stands for electronic mail, and involves the sending of a message over the Internet from one computer (user) to another desired computer (domain). This may be done using an client such as Outlook Express or a browser based client such as Yahoo and Hotmail which are provided by online websites.

E-mailing requires connection to a mail server in order to manage the storage and distribution of the messages. When Emails are received they are sent from one users mail server to other server(s) for retrieval. Once the email is in the desired server the email client will take control and collect the mail.

Messages are usually sent using a SMPT sever (simple mail transfer protocol-port 25)

Messages are usually received using a PoP3 (post office protocol-port 110)

or a IMAP (Internet mail access protocol-port 143 server)

See diagram below*.

A typical Email system will allow you to...

• Receive and read mail
• Create and send mail (both text and also attachments like files and photos).
• View sent, deleted, draft and junk email
• Add contacts/email addresses for future reference
• Delete mail
  

Advantages of Email

• simple and easy to use
• reasonably fast
• provides permanent record (unlike telephone)
• can deliver wide range of messages, attachments, file types
• can deliver to almost any recipient(s), provided they have and Internet connection.
• can be informal or formal
• safe and secure (can't be read by others e.g. fax)

Disadvantages of Email

• often misused - spam mail can block up mailboxes
• viruses, worms and Trojans can be attached
• is only read when recipient downloads mail from server.

The Email system and its protocols POP3 and SMTP* (source-www.applix.com-http://www.applix.net/images/pop%20and%20smtp.jpg)