Communication and Collaborating on the Web

The internet has becomes one of the worlds greatest tools for communication.  People are now able to access information almost instantly as well as communicate with people across the globe in a matter of seconds.  In order to communicate and collaborate on the web effectively one must know the proper ways to communicate.

The most important aspect of online communication is understand the concept of "netiquette."  Netiquette is the set of standards used for how to properly conducts oneself and communicate on the web.  It is extremely important to understand this because messages can easily be misunderstood when there is no physical interaction.  The main thing that I try to do when communicating via email is to be as specific and concise as possible.  For example,  if I am emailing a  teacher about a question I have in class I will let them know what class I am in, the section number and my full name before even asking the question.  After a proper introduction, I would then give a very detailed explanation about my question and what I am specifically confused on.  I also think that it is extremely important to keep all of my emails professional and tailor them to your specific audience.  I stick to the same format for most of my emails and always have a signature with my contact information at the bottom.

The internet is also a great source for collaboration.  Our generation now has the ability to edit documents, presentations, movies and a variety of other things over the internet by sharing them via air drives.  I personally use Google Docs for many of my classes that I work on group projects with because it is a easy way to post work in a neutral location.  I believe that the main thing one has to be careful with when using Google Docs or something similar is to be sensitive to other peoples work when making comments or revisions.  In the past groups I have worked with I have saw disputes because one group member felt that the other group member was being disrespectful with the tone of their comment.  It is very important to monitor your tone of writing because people can misinterpret things when just reading them rather than someone talking to you face to face.

Lastly, the internet is great for scheduling people.  We all now can create calendars that we can share with people to schedule appointments and can use doodle for large groups.  I think doodle is a great resource for college students because it is usually easier for us to list our availability for a time period then try figure out every ones individual schedule.