MAC 204: INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

CLASS NOTE

UNDERSTANDING ICT
Definition
ICT, or information and communications technology (or technologies), is the
infrastructure and components that enable modern computing.
Although there is no single, universal definition of ICT, the term is generally accepted to
mean all devices, networking components, applications and systems that combined allow
people and organizations (i.e., businesses, nonprofit agencies, governments and criminal
enterprises) to interact in the digital world.
Historical Background
The first commercial computer was the UNIVAC I, developed by John Eckert and John
W. Mauchly in 1951. It was used by the Census Bureau to predict the outcome of the
1952 presidential election. For the next twenty-five years, mainframe computers were
used in large corporations to do calculations and manipulate large amounts of information
stored in databases. Supercomputers were used in science and engineering, for designing
aircraft and nuclear reactors, and for predicting worldwide weather patterns.
Minicomputers came on to the scene in the early 1980s in small businesses,
manufacturing plants, and factories.
In 1975, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed microcomputers. In 1976,
Tandy Corporation's first Radio Shack microcomputer followed; the Apple
microcomputer was introduced in 1977. The market for microcomputers increased
dramatically when IBM introduced the first personal computer in the fall of 1981.
Because of dramatic improvements in computer components and manufacturing, personal
computers today do more than the largest computers of the mid-1960s at about a
thousandth of the cost. Computers today are divided into four categories by size, cost,
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and processing ability. They are supercomputer, mainframe, minicomputer, and
microcomputer, more commonly known as a personal computer. Personal computer
categories include desktop, network, laptop, and handheld.
Information Technology (IT)
IT consists of study, design, advance development, accomplishment, support or
administration of computer foundation information system, mostly software application
and computer hardware. Information technology works with the use of electronic
computers and computer software to renovate, defend, development, and broadcast and
other information. Information technology has overstuffed to cover many features of
computing and technology, and this word is more familiar than ever before. Information
technology subject can be quite large, encompassing many fields. IT professionals
perform different types of responsibilities that range from installing applications to
designing complex computer networks.
 IT professional's responsibilities are data management, networking, database, software
design, computer hardware, management and administration of whole system. IT
(Information Technology) is combined word of computer and communications or
"InfoTech". Information Technology illustrates any technology which helps to
manufacture, manipulate, accumulate, communicate or broadcast information.
Recently it has become popular to broaden the term to explicitly include the field of
electronic communication so that people tend to use the abbreviation ICT(Information
and Communications Technology).
The term "information technology" evolved in the 1970s. Its basic concept, however, can
be traced to the World War II alliance of the military and industry in the development of
electronics, computers, and information theory. After the 1940s, the military remained
the major source of research and development funding for the expansion of automation to
replace manpower with machine power. Since the 1950s, four generations of computers
have evolved. Each generation reflected a change to hardware of decreased size but
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increased capabilities to control computer operations. The first generation used vacuum
tubes, the second used transistors, the third used integrated circuits, and the fourth used
integrated circuits on a single computer chip. Advances in artificial intelligence that will
minimize the need for complex programming characterize the fifth generation of
computers, still in the experimental stage.
Growth of Information Technology
Premechanical
The premechanical age is the earliest age of information technology. It can be defined as
the time between 3000B.C. and 1450A.D. We are talking about a long time ago. When
humans first started communicating they would try to use language or simple picture
drawings known as petroglyths which were usually carved in rock. Early alphabets were
developed such as the Phoenician alphabet.
Petroglyph
As alphabets became more popluar and more people were writing information down,
pens and paper began to be developed. It started off as just marks in wet clay, but later
paper was created out of papyrus plant. The most popular kind of paper made was
probably by the Chinese who made paper from rags.
Now that people were writing a lot of information down they needed ways to keep it all
in permanent storage. This is where the first books and libraries are developed. You’ve
probably heard of Egyptian scrolls which were popular ways of writing down information
to save. Some groups of people were actually binding paper together into a book-like
form.
Also during this period were the first numbering systems. Around 100A.D. was when the
first 1-9 system was created by people from India. However, it wasn’t until 875A.D. (775
years later) that the number 0 was invented. And yes now that numbers were created,
people wanted stuff to do with them so they created calculators. A calculator was the very
first sign of an information processor. The popular model of that time was the abacus.
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Mechanical
The mechanical age is when we first start to see connections between our current
technology and its ancestors. The mechanical age can be defined as the time between
1450 and 1840. A lot of new technologies are developed in this era as there is a large
explosion in interest with this area. Technologies like the slide rule (an analog computer
used for multiplying and dividing) were invented. Blaise Pascal invented the Pascaline
which was a very popular mechanical computer. Charles Babbage developed the
difference engine which tabulated polynomial equations using the method of finite
differences.
Difference Engine
There were lots of different machines created during this era and while we have not yet
gottent to a machine that can do more than one type of calculation in one, like our
modern-day calculators, we are still learning about how all of our all-in-one machines
started. Also, if you look at the size of the machines invented in this time compared to the
power behind them it seems (to us) absolutely ridiculous to understand why anybody
would want to use them, but to the people living in that time ALL of thse inventions were
HUGE.
Electromechanical
Now we are finally getting close to some technologies that resemble our modern-day
technology. The electromechanical age can be defined as the time between 1840 and
1940. These are the beginnings of telecommunication. The telegraph was created in the
early 1800s. Morse code was created by Samuel Morse in 1835. The telephone (one of
the most popular forms of communication ever) was created by Alexander Graham Bell
in 1876. The first radio developed by Guglielmo Marconi in 1894. All of these were
extremely crucial emerging technologies that led to big advances in the information
technology field.

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The first large-scale automatic digital computer in the United States was the Mark 1
created by Harvard University around 1940. This computer was 8ft high, 50ft long, 2ft
wide, and weighed 5 tons - HUGE. It was programmed using punch cards. How does
your PC match up to this hunk of metal? It was from huge machines like this that people
began to look at downsizing all the parts to first make them usable by businesses
andeventually in your own home.
After years of drift and inattention to the problems of global development, during the past
half decade the international community has dramatically increased its focus on strategies
to help the people of the world’s poorest countries share in the benefits of globalization
and escape the traps of poverty, disease, and lack of education. The decision of the
world’s leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit in September 2000 to adopt
eight specific development goals provided an agreed political benchmark for measuring
progress. Left open, however, were crucial issues about how best to achieve those goals.
A key unanswered question is the potential contribution that information and
communication technology (ICT) can make to this effort. The question is not new. In
1984 the Commission for Worldwide Telecommunication Development (the Maitland
Commission) issued an influential report, The Missing Link, citing the lack of telephone
infrastructure in developing countries as a barrier to economic growth. The advent of the
global information technology revolution in the 1990s set off a heated, sometimes
acrimonious debate among development specialists and policymakers about the place of
ICT in development.
On the one hand are those who see wiring the global South as a way to transcend decades
of painful economic development and catapult even the poorest countries into the
information age. As United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan observed in his
Millennium Report, “New technology offers an unprecedented chance for developing
countries to ‘leapfrog’ earlier stages of development. Everything must be done to
maximize their peoples’ access to new information networks.” Proponents of this view
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not only stress the potential benefits of ICT but also argue that in an increasingly
globalized economy, countries that fail to “get connected” will fall further and further
behind.
At the opposite end are those who assert that “you can’t eat computers.” In the words of
Microsoft’s Bill Gates, “Let’s be serious. Do people have a clear view of what it means to
live on $1 a day? . . . There are things those people need at that level other than
technology. . . . About 99 percent of the benefits of having [a PC] come when you’ve
provided reasonable health and literacy to the person who’s going to sit down and use it.”
Investing in ICT for poor countries, they argue, draws precious resources away from
more urgent development needs. The lack of critical infrastructure, such as adequate
energy grids, and of education keeps citizens of poorer countries from tapping ICT’s
potential.
Modern ICT began to have an impact in some developing countries even before
widespread adoption of the Internet. In Brazil, for example, the computer industry
accounted for more than 74,000 jobs and $4 billion in revenue by 1990. In 1988 India
launched a set of policies that fostered a software-development industry whose exports
grew to $5.7 billion by 1999-2000.
But the explosive growth of the Internet in the mid- to late 1990s drew increasing
attention to the so-called digital divide. Just how serious is the gap? For telephones, the
picture is mixed. In 1991, total telephone penetration (fixed plus mobile) per 100
inhabitants stood at 49.1 for the developed world, 3.3 for emerging economies such as
Eastern Europe and China, and only 0.3 in the least developed countries (LDCs). By
2001, the gap between developed (121 per 100) and emerging (18.7) had narrowed
considerably (from a ratio of 15:1 to 6:1), but that between emerging countries and LDCs
had grown (from 12:1 to 17:1). For the Internet, the gap remains significant, although
bright spots exist. China, for example, saw a 75 percent increase in Internet users, to 59
million, from 2001 to 2002, making it the second-largest Internet-using country in the
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world (in addition to being the largest mobile telephone market). Africa now has 5
million Internet subscribers. Moreover, according to the IMF World Outlook, 2001, “The
rate of diffusion of IT to developing countries has been rapid compared to earlier all-
purpose technologies” such as railroads. But today, says the International
Telecommunications Union’s World Telecommunications Report 2002, “[T]he 400,000
citizens of Luxembourg between them share more international bandwidth than Africa’s
760 million citizens.” In October 2000, 95.6 percent of all Internet hosts were in the
industrialized countries; Africa had only 0.25 percent and its share was falling.
Taking Action
Growing awareness of the digital divide spurred several initiatives by the developed
world and the international organizations responsible for development, including the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank. At its July 2000
summit the Group of Eight (G-8) industrial countries created the Digital Opportunity
Task (DOT) Force. The DOT Force, composed of representatives of G-8 and developing
countries, as well as members of industry and nongovernmental organizations, was asked
to make concrete recommendations for fostering policy, regulatory, and network
readiness; improving connectivity; increasing access and lowering cost; building human
capacity; and encouraging participation in global e-commerce networks. Its
report, Digital Opportunities for All: Meeting the Challenge, became the basis of the
Genoa Action Plan, adopted at the G-8 2001 summit. The focus of the plan was on
“mainstreaming” ICT as an essential component of overall development strategies “as a
fundamental tool for reducing poverty and for spurring sustainable development.”
The private sector also stepped up. In January 2000 the World Economic Forum launched
its Global Digital Divide Initiative involving leading ICT, communications, and media
executives. Hewlett Packard announced a $1 billion “World e-inclusion” program to sell,
lease, and donate products and services to developing countries. Cisco Systems (in

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partnership with the ITU) set up Internet training centers for students and ICT and
telecommunication professionals in the developing world.
The increasing international attention to the digital divide has moved to the forefront a
key policy question—just how significant is the divide for the overall prospects for
developing countries, and what role should closing that gap play in overall development
strategies?
Four characteristics of ICT make it an attractive element of any strategy to meet
development challenges. First, ICT is highly versatile. It can be tailored to meet a variety
of diverse challenges and need not be “purpose built.” The same network, server, and
peripheral devices (such as PCs or cell phones) can help support distance education and
remote health delivery and connect rural communities to global markets. Second, ICT can
help transcend barriers of geography. It allows individuals and entities anywhere in the
world access to the same information without the time and cost associated with physical
transportation, an advantage substantially enhanced by the advent of wireless and satellite
communications, and voice-over-Internet protocol long-distance service. Third, it allows
users, even in poor and small communities, to harness the benefits of scale and “network
effects” (the exponential increase in value that comes with each additional user). Finally,
it facilitates the transfer of know-how across the full spectrum of knowledge, allowing
developing countries to reap productivity gains and harness state-of-the-art technology.
Several problems have nevertheless impeded the widespread adoption of ICT in the
developing world and led to some deep disillusionment. Images of unused computer
screens in rural schools and telecenters attest to good intentions gone awry. Among the
reasons for ICT’s failure to deliver on some of its more overheated hype are lack of
skilled workers to maintain equipment and train potential users, inadequate infrastructure
(such as electricity), poor government telecommunication policies that have put costs for
interconnection out of reach, and lack of applications tailored to meet the unique needs of
developing countries (including language barriers).
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ICT and Development
Assessing the potential value of ICT in supporting development requires addressing the
three different channels through which it could work: its inherent worth in bringing new
ideas to those outside the global mainstream; its part in helping to achieve specific
development objectives; and its role in fostering broader economic development.
First, ICT has enormous potential to enrich the lives of people everywhere—regardless of
any instrumental role it may play in meeting broader development needs. These
technologies can help bring ideas and experience t even the most isolated, opening to
them the world outside their village, town, and country—including family members and
friends who have moved away. It also allows their experience to be shared with the world
at large, at the tap of a keystroke or the touch of a cell phone keypad. The case for
including information technology in development strategies would be strong even if it
contributed little to explicit development goals. ICT can also empower individuals to
participate in the social and political institutions of their community, giving voice to
those who have traditionally been excluded.
Second, ICT-based solutions have already proved their value in addressing several
specific challenges identified in the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
Health care workers in more than 150 countries, for example, are using Health Net to
bring needed expertise and help deliver health services in underserved, often remote
communities. Distance learning initiatives, such as those at the University of South
Africa, are training a new generation of teachers, who are critical to meeting the MDG’s
objective of universal primary education by 2015. The contribution of ICT is not
confined to Internet-related projects: radio- and telephone-based services, for example,
are making real contributions in areas such as training for health workers in Uganda and
Kenya.
Third, in the end the key to self-sustaining development is economic growth. Although
supporters have a strong intuitive sense that ICT can make a significant contribution to
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economic growth by increasing productivity, the empirical evidence remains somewhat
uncertain. Anecdotal evidence suggests that effective use of ICT does, at least under
some circumstances, make a difference. In the first place, it can provide an important
source of income. India’s software sector attests to as much. And Costa Rica has attracted
some 32 foreign electronic firms since 1995, including Intel and its investment of more
than $1 billion. Even more important in the long run, however, ICT can strengthen
overall productivity in developing countries by increasing efficiencies and technological
competitiveness and by linking local producers to global markets. The experience of
Estonia, which sought to overcome its lack of natural resources and outdated
manufacturing sector by embracing an all-encompassing strategy of promoting ICT
throughout its society and economy is an example of ICT’s potential. A recent study
analyzing the positive impact of access to telephones on income in rural China has helped
further our understanding of the ways in which ICT can contribute to overall
development.
Other studies seem to confirm that with the proper “enabling environment,” developing
countries can increase their rate of adoption of ICTs, a valuable, though not sufficient,
condition for accelerating economic growth.
In 2001 a report by the Digital Opportunity Initiative, a collaboration between the Markle
Foundation, the UNDP, and Accenture, identified five core elements to a comprehensive
approach to create such an enabling environment—infrastructure (the hardware and
“pipes,” physical and wireless); human capacity (skilled individuals who can maintain,
adapt, train, and use the technology); government policies (telecommunication policies
that facilitate the adoption of ICT, along with sound governance and trained regulators
more generally); content (applications geared to the specific need of developing
communities, such as local language and tools for rural agricultural development); and
support for enterprise (much of the ultimate gains from employing ICT largely stem from

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a vibrant private sector, but the public sector too can improve productivity and
performance through ICT).
Although getting each element right can make a significant contribution, an integrated
strategy offers the best promise for greatest gain. As a result, many developing countries
—from Tanzania to Kyrgyzstan—are beginning to adopt “national strategies” to address
in a comprehensive way these various elements. A key to success is to bring together all
the stakeholders—government, the local private sector, and civil society, as well as the
donor community—both to develop the plans and to oversee their implementation.
Studies suggest that local “ownership” and the involvement of stakeholders is especially
critical to successfully harnessing ICTs.
How can the developed world help developing countries make effective use of ICTs? The
lesson of the 1990s was that simply providing technology will have marginal impact.
This supply-side approach has led to inflated expectations and mistrust that the purveyors
of the technology care more about opening markets than helping the poor. Rather, the
idea behind mainstreaming ICT into a broader development context is to seek ways to
leverage ICTs to achieve core objectives. Sharing expertise (such as training programs
for policymakers and regulators in the developing world) and best practices is often more
valuable than the hardware itself. Recognizing the limits on the role of official assistance
is also critical. Ultimately the broad-scale adoption of ICTs in the developing world will
depend on the private sector. But government assistance can play an essential role, both
in providing public goods and in helping to create the enabling environment that will
encourage private investment.
For developing countries to benefit fully from the ICT revolution, they must have a voice
in setting the policies that will affect them—and that voice must be heard not simply in
organizations involved in development policy, such as the World Bank and UNDP. On
issues ranging from international telephone tariffs to spectrum allocation to property
rights, in institutions ranging from ICT-specific groups like the ITU and ICANN (the
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Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), to the multisector World Trade
Organization, key decisions are often made with little or no input from the poorest
countries. All these institutions will need to take concrete actions ranging from increased
transparency, to technical assistance, to training and financial support if these nations are
to overcome structural barriers to participation.
Debate on the place of ICT in development has moved beyond the black-and-white
arguments of proponents and skeptics in the 1990s. These new technologies, it is now
clear, are not an end in themselves. Nor will a one-size-fits-all approach work—the
challenges faced by developing countries vary too greatly by history, geography, and
level of economic attainment. In particular, the challenges facing larger countries and
economies (even where the overall level of poverty is high) differ considerably from
those facing smaller nations whose internal markets are small and who are thus critically
dependent on linkage to markets and knowledge beyond their borders. But evidence is
growing that ICT is a potentially powerful tool when used judiciously as a part of an
overall development strategy. The challenge, both for developing countries and for the
broader international community, is to build on the experience to date to make these tools
available to the stakeholders who are best positioned to adapt and apply them to their
most pressing needs.
Benefits and Limitations
1.Communication - Speed / time – money can be saved because it’s much quicker to
move information around. With the help of ICT it has become quicker and more efficient.
Internet of Things (IoTs)
2. Globalization - Video conferencing saves money on flights and accommodation. ICT
has not only brought the countries and people closer together, but it has allowed the
world's economy to become a single interdependent system to contact either a business or
family member.
3. Cost effectiveness - It feels free to send an email (although it isn’t); it’s without doubt
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cheaper than phone calls. ICT has also helped to automate business practices, thus
restructuring businesses to make them exceptionally cost effective.

4.Greater Availability - ICT has made it possible for businesses to be automated giving
clients access to a website or voicemail 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
5.Bridging the cultural gap – Greater access to technology has helped to bridge the
cultural gap by helping people from different cultures to communicate with one another,
and allow for the exchange of views and ideas, thus increasing awareness and reducing
prejudice.
6.Creation of new jobs - Probably, the best advantage of ICT has been the creation of
new and interesting jobs.
7.Education – Computer’s along with their programs and the Internet have created
educational opportunities not available to previous generations.
8.Through ICT , images can easily be used in teaching and improving the retentive
memory of student.
9.Complex structure - through ICT, teachers can easily explain complex
structure ,instruction and ensure students comprehension.
10.Through ICT , teachers are able to create  interactive classrooms and make the lesson
more enjoyable..
Limitations
1.Education – Computer’s along with their programs and the Internet have created
educational opportunities not available to previous generations.
2.Lack of job security – Experts in a wide variety of fields believe that ICT has made job
security a big issue, since technology keeps on changing nearly every day. This means
that individuals need to be constantly studying or at least keeping up with changes in
their profession, if they want to feel secure in their jobs to be secure.

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3.Overriding Cultures - While ICT may have made the world a global village, it has also
contributed to one culture consuming another weaker one. For example, it is now argued
that teenagers in the US influence how most young teenagers all over the world now act,
dress, and behave
4.Privacy - Though information technology may have made communication quicker,
easier, and more convenient, it has also brought along privacy issues. From cell phone
signal interceptions to e-mail hacking, people are now worried about their once private
information becoming public knowledge.
5. Reliance on Technology – Professor Ian Robertson, a neuropsychology expert based at
Trinity College Dublin who carried out the study, said: “People have more to remember
these days, and they are relying on technology for their memory but the less you use of
your memory, the poorer it becomes. . people don’t bother learning to spell because they
use spell-checker, or need a calculator do perform minor addition or subtraction.
6. Reliability of Information – Anyone with access to a computer and an internet
connection internet can start a blog or post something up on a website, so just because
something’s on the web doesn't mean it’s reliable. A prime example of this is  the open
source  encyclopedia, Wikipedia, although considered a good source of information it is
not recognized by academic institutions  as a trustworthy reference.
7.Computer viruses, worms, Trojans, malware, spam, phishing- any or all can cause
chaos and disrupt our daily lives
8.Setting - setting up the device can be very trouble some.
9.Expansive - too expansive to afford.
10.Lack of experience - hard for teachers to use with a lack of experience using ICT
tools.
Computer Programming
Computer Programming allows the programmers to communicate with the machines that
they program , we can instruct the computer what to do in the human-readable form,
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Programming allows new interactive web applications which can access to the system
resources and offer the same level of control such as desktop applications , especially in
the web development.
Programming language helps the programmer to structure the instructions into the
functions , the procedures , etc , It allows the program to be broken into “chunks” which
can be developed by a group of developers , It offers portability , the low-level
instructions of one computer will be different from that of another computer .
Programming can be used in many applications , It is used on online learning platforms,
It is a sequence of instructions to enable the computer to do something , Documenting the
program is the most annoying activity by many programmers , The logic is the most
difficult part of programming , depending on the programming language , writing the
statements may be laborious.
Computer programmer
The computer programmer can perform important responsibilities  , The first is to
develop new computer programming methods , These may include anywhere from
basic computer programming methods to more in-depth methods .
The computer programmer should undertake the development of the
programs themselves in his daily job role , He consults with outside parties in relation to
the construction of the computer programming methods & the programs themselves , He
has to follow the progress of programs , He is operating correctly & fix any program
errors that might occur along the way & he can use the computer systems .
The benefit of being a computer programmer is that you can get to work in teams , apply
your knowledge at home & have a positive job growth , The drawback in this business is
that the work environment tend to be the same , high level of stress and need to be
committed to the job and work long hours .
Advantages of being a computer programmer

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Computer programming is high job satisfaction  , You can use your creativity &
mind , You can develop your own software product , There is no career limit for talented
and hard working programmers and you can determine your destiny .
Computer programming is well paying job , As a computer programmer , You can have
multiple career options , The computer programming can prepare you for the careers in
the other related technology , Many computer programmers can work under an
assortment of titles , such as the system analyst , Web programmer & the application
programmer , According to the indeed website .
Pay is the biggest benefit of working as a computer programmer , The computer
programmers who write computer code which enables the computer to perform certain
tasks , work in every industry such as the engineering , educational & medical fields .
Computer programming does not need lease office space or chain yourself to an etched-
in-stone work schedule , Computer programming can be performed from anywhere , you
can carry the laptop computer , You can access to the Internet &  you can complete the
jobs from home .
The computer programmer does not need to embark on a four-year college degree path to
be a profession , Some computer programming training programs can be completed in
just six months , Ask IT Career Coach reports that entry requirements for computer
programming are low , Motivated individuals have taught themselves the skills
& computer languages needed to land a job as a computer programmer .
Job security is a superb benefit enjoyed by most computer programmers , The
computer technology advances at a fast rate , keeping the demand for computer
programmers at a high level , as long as the society relies on computing technology ,
there will be a demand for the computer programmers .
Disadvantages of being a programmer

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Computer programming is fast paced , As a programmer , you have to learn new
information quickly and competently , You should have hardcore reading , Read many
books each year just to keep up with new technologies or new computer upgrade .
Computer programming is technology driven , If you are not passionate about technology
at heart , you may become unhappy over the influence it exerts on your
values , Computer programming causes health problems , You spend a lot of time sitting ,
typing in front of the computer , your wrist , eyes & back may cause some pain or
injures .
The programmer sits in the chair while looking at a bright screen for long hours &
working to finish the project , There are many health risks on the body & mind , The
programmers work indoors in front of the computer for the vast majority of their workday
.
You’ll find yourself sitting in a chair , tapping keys & clicking a mouse button for many
hours straight , which can lead to musculoskeletal pain & disorders as well as eyestrain 
, Most programmers work for long hours and they can work roughly 40 hours per week .
The programmer has the ability & desire to learn new languages , pick up & apply new
concepts and adjust to new tools , He may see this need for adaptability exciting , but
when he don’t like sudden and constant change , He won’t enjoy this particular facet of
being a programmer .
Computer Assisted Instruction
Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) is defined as the use of computers and software
applications to teach concepts or skills.
Computer programming helps in developing programming languages which are used for
transforming computing problems into instructions. While there is a long history of
programming languages, popular programming languages that have been developed
include Action Script, C++, C#, Haskell, PHP, Java, Python, Ruby, Smalltalk, SQL and

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Visual Basic. These are increasingly abstracted language, allowing programmers to
develop source code much easily.
Programming languages have helped in the development of the internet which has
brought people closer.
Programming is one of the chief stages of software development process. Software is a
collection of computer programs and other data. Software development involves several
stages including programming, testing, bug fixing documenting etc. A software developer
or a programmer has to have the knowledge of all the stages and also a specialized
knowledge about one particular field.
Finally from the point of view of students, programming helps them to understand how to
solve computing problems. As you develop more and more programs, your confidence
level surges.

Types of Communication Technology

Technology has enabled a plethora of ways for humans to communicate with each other
and broadcast information to vast audiences. Early inventions like radio and the
telephone have evolved into vast, worldwide networks of undersea cables and satellites.
Technology has expanded how fast we can communicate and in how many ways, even
letting us send photos and video across the world from a device that can fit in our pocket.
Telephone/Mobile Phone
Since the telephone's invention by Alexander Graham Bell in March of 1876, the
telephone has come a long way. Telephones used landlines to send signals across the
country, and later made use of undersea cables to let people communicate with those in
other countries. The first cell phone, as the term is commonly understood, was invented
in 1973, the first call being made by Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola to his rival at Bell
Labs. Since then, phones have come to enable much more than vocal communication,
using tower and satellite signals to send text messages and data such as video and images.
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Radio Emmanuel 1034
Early radio communication was used primarily by the sea vessels in the 1900s and 1910s,
with naval and merchant vessels making use of the technology for communicating with
other ships. Radio on land started with advertising, but producers knew that people
wouldn't listen unless they were entertained. Drama programs soon became a staple of
popular radio in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Radio has since expanded to be a
dominant form of communication technology; in September 2011, the FCC reported that
there were 14,865 radio stations in the U.S. alone.
Television
Full-scale television broadcasting in the US began in 1947, and at first, many thought it
would not last. Inventor Lee DeForest said, "While theoretically and technically
television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility." However,
in the year 2010, U.S. households had over 115 million TVs, with almost 99 percent of
households reporting owning at least one set. There are now thousands of TV channels
covering everything from sports and music to reality shows, game shows and even adult
entertainment.
Telegraph
A variety of inventors developed versions of the telegraph in the early 1800s, although
Samuel Morse's design was one of the most practical. The system was a simple electrical
circuit consisting of a battery, a switch and an electromagnet. Pressing the switch key
closed the circuit; this energized the electromagnet which produced a clicking sound from
a piece of metal. Operators sent messages as a series of coded key taps; the receiving
station heard the corresponding clicks produced with virtually no delay. Telegraph wires
eventually connected cities across the country, carrying news, commerce and personal
messages.
Telephone

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In the late 1800s, further experiments in electricity led inventors to develop the
telephone. As with the telegraph, the telephone sends electrical signals through wires to a
distant receiver; in place of staccato clicks which take training to understand, telephone
wires carry the sounds of actual speech. Although telephones and telegraphs coexisted for
several decades, telegraphs are now mostly museum pieces; in 2012, telephones continue
to be a dominant form of personal communications.
Radio
Radio systems send voice, data and video by means of wireless signals. Not long after
Bell developed the telephone, other inventors such as Nikola Tesla and Guglielmo
Marconi experimented with sending signals over the air using high-frequency electronic
circuits and antennas. Radio systems introduced the concept of broadcasting, in which
thousands of listeners hear speech and music sent by a single transmitter. Today, the
concept of radio extends from traditional broadcast stations to cell phones and wireless
data networks.
Satellites
Although radio waves carry signals reliably, long-distance transmissions are complicated
by the ionosphere, a layer of thin, energetic gas that lies above the breathable atmosphere.
Satellites solve the distance problem by receiving radio signals in space, amplifying and
retransmitting them to ground-based receivers thousands of miles from the original
source. In the 1960s, networks of satellites permitted the first instantaneous, world-wide
communications.
Internet
The Internet had its beginnings in a military research project called the Advanced
Research Projects Agency Network in the 1960s. It was an early data network which
permitted computer users at different locations to share information. ARPANET was a
testing ground for ideas such as dividing large amounts of data into same-size chunks
called packets. In addition to the user's data, the packet has the network addresses of the
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sender and receiver. Devices called routers pass packets along from one system to
another until they arrive at their destination. Users added more computers to the network,
and in the early 1980s, the ARPANET became the larger Internet. Originally, researchers
used the Internet for data and simple emails, but in the late 1980s, Tim Berners-Lee
developed a standard format for linked pages of text, and the World Wide Web was born.
Today, the Internet continues to grow and develop, both in the services it offers and the
speed of the network hardware which carries data.

IoT - Internet of Things

The Internet of Things refers to the ever-growing network of physical objects that feature
an IP address for internet connectivity, and the communication that occurs between these
objects and other Internet-enabled devices and systems.

IoT Extends Internet Connectivity

The Internet of Things extends internet connectivity beyond traditional devices
like desktop and laptop computers, smartphones and tablets to a diverse range of devices
and everyday things that utilize embedded technology to communicate and interact with
the external environment, all via the Internet.

IoT Examples
Examples of objects that can fall into the scope of Internet of Things include connected
security systems, thermostats, cars, electronic appliances, lights in household and
commercial environments, alarm clocks, speaker systems, vending machines and more.  
Businesses can leverage IoT applications to automate safety tasks (for example, notify
authorities when a fire extinguisher in the building is blocked) to performing real-world
A/B testing using networked cameras and sensors to detect how customers engage with
products.

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The Future of IoT
As far as the reach of the Internet of Things, there are more than 12 billion devices that
can currently connect to the Internet, and researchers at IDC estimate that by 2020 there
will be 26 times more connected things than people.
According to Gartner, consumer applications will drive the number of connected things,
while enterprise will account for most of the revenue. IoT adoption is growing, with
manufacturing and utilities estimated to have the largest installed base of Things by 2020.
Distant Signal
Whenever a radio picks up a signal from a very long distance, it is referred to as a DX, or
distant reception. "DXing" is the act of trying to pick up distant radio signals.
Early History
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated the band for FM broadcasting
in 1940 and soon discovered that distant FM radio signals, as far as 1,400 miles away,
could interfere with other radio broadcasts. In 1942, FM Magazine published the first
known report of a FM signal traveling well outside of its broadcasting area. The signal,
which originated in Illinois, was heard in Monterrey, Mexico, more than 1,000 miles
away.
DXing
hose who are interested in picking up distant radio signals can achieve this by simply
scanning their radio dials. As soon as you hear a radio signal that isn't within your local
FM broadcasting area, you are officially DXing.
In general terms, a satellite is a smaller object that revolves around a larger object in
space. For example, moon is a natural satellite of earth.
We know that Communication refers to the exchange (sharing) of information between
two or more entities, through any medium or channel. In other words, it is nothing but
sending, receiving and processing of information.

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If the communication takes place between any two earth stations through a satellite, then
it is called as satellite communication. In this communication, electromagnetic waves are
used as carrier signals. These signals carry the information such as voice, audio, video or
any other data between ground and space and vice-versa.
Soviet Union had launched the world's first artificial satellite named, Sputnik 1 in 1957.
Nearly after 18 years, India also launched the artificial satellite named, Aryabhata in
1975.
Need of Satellite Communication
The following two kinds of propagation are used earlier for communication up to some
distance.
Ground wave propagation: Ground wave propagation is suitable for frequencies up to
30MHz. This method of communication makes use of the troposphere conditions of the
earth.
Sky wave propagation: The suitable bandwidth for this type of communication is broadly
between 30–40 MHz and it makes use of the ionosphere properties of the earth.
The maximum hop or the station distance is limited to 1500KM only in both ground
wave propagation and sky wave propagation. Satellite communication overcomes this
limitation. In this method, satellites provide communication for long distances, which is
well beyond the line of sight.
Since the satellites locate at certain height above earth, the communication takes place
between any two earth stations easily via satellite. So, it overcomes the limitation of
communication between two earth stations due to earth’s curvature.
How a Satellite Works
A satellite is a body that moves around another body in a particular path. A
communication satellite is nothing but a microwave repeater station in space. It is helpful
in telecommunications, radio and television along with internet applications.

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A repeater is a circuit, which increases the strength of the received signal and then
transmits it. But, this repeater works as a transponder. That means, it changes the
frequency band of the transmitted signal from the received one.
Satellite Communication
The frequency with which, the signal is sent into the space is called as Uplink frequency.
Similarly, the frequency with which, the signal is sent by the transponder is called as
Downlink frequency. The following figure illustrates this concept clearly.

The transmission of signal from first earth station to satellite through a channel is called
as uplink. Similarly, the transmission of signal from satellite to second earth station
through a channel is called as downlink.
Uplink frequency is the frequency at which, the first earth station is communicating with
satellite. The satellite transponder converts this signal into another frequency and sends it

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down to the second earth station. This frequency is called as Downlink frequency. In
similar way, second earth station can also communicate with the first one.
The process of satellite communication begins at an earth station. Here, an installation is
designed to transmit and receive signals from a satellite in an orbit around the earth. Earth
stations send the information to satellites in the form of high powered, high frequency
(GHz range) signals.
The satellites receive and retransmit the signals back to earth where they are received by
other earth stations in the coverage area of the satellite. Satellite's footprint is the area
which receives a signal of useful strength from the satellite.
Pros and Cons of Satellite Communication
Following are the advantages of using satellite communication:
1. Area of coverage is more than that of terrestrial systems
2. Each and every corner of the earth can be covered
3. Transmission cost is independent of coverage area
4. More bandwidth and broadcasting possibilites

Following are the disadvantages of using satellite communication:

1. Launching of satellites into orbits is a costly process.
2. Propagation delay of satellite systems is more than that of conventional terrestrial
systems.
3. Difficult to provide repairing activities if any problem occurs in a satellite system.
4. Free space loss is more.
5. There can be congestion of frequencies.
6. Applications of Satellite Communication

Satellite communication plays a vital role in our daily life. Following are the applications
of satellite communication:
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Radio broadcasting and voice communications
TV broadcasting such as Direct To Home (DTH)
Internet applications such as providing Internet connection for data transfer, GPS
applications, Internet surfing, etc.
Military applications and navigations
Satellite Communication- Orbital Mechanics
Remote sensing applications

Weather condition monitoring & Forecasting

We know that the path of satellite revolving around the earth is known as orbit. This path
can be represented with mathematical notations. Orbital mechanics is the study of the
motion of the satellites that are present in orbits. So, we can easily understand the space
operations with the knowledge of orbital motion.
Orbital Elements

Orbital elements are the parameters, which are helpful for describing the orbital motion
of satellites. Following are the orbital elements.
Semi major axis
Eccentricity
Mean anomaly
Argument of perigee
Inclination
Right ascension of ascending node

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The above six orbital elements define the orbit of earth satellites. Therefore, it is easy to
discriminate one satellite from other satellites based on the values of orbital elements.
Semi major axis
The length of Semi-major axis (a) defines the size of satellite’s orbit. It is half of the
major axis. This runs from the center through a focus to the edge of the ellipse. So, it is
the radius of an orbit at the orbit's two most distant points.
satellite’s orbital period is equal to Earth’s rotation period of 23 hours and 56 minutes.
A spacecraft in this orbit appears to an observer on Earth to be stationary in the sky. This
particular orbit is used for meteorological and communications satellites. The
geostationary orbit is a special case of the geosynchronous orbit, which is any orbit with a
period equal to Earth’s rotation period.
The concept for such an orbit was proposed in 1945 by British author and scientist Arthur
C. Clarke in an article entitled “Extra-Terrestrial Relays” for Wireless World. The
article envisioned the current communications satellite system that
relays radio and television signals throughout the world. The U.S. communications
satellite Syncom 3, which was launched on Aug. 19, 1964, was the first object to be
placed in geostationary orbit.

Direct broadcast satellite television

Communications satellites located in geostationary orbit about the Earth are used to send
television signals directly to the homes of viewers—a form of transmission called direct
broadcast satellite (DBS) television. Transmission occurs in the Ku band, located around
12 gigahertz (12 billion cycles per second) in the radio frequency spectrum. At these high
frequencies, the receiving antenna is a small dish only 46 cm (18 inches) in diameter.
More than 100 programs are available over a single DBS service. Since competing
services are not compatible, separate equipment is needed for each. Also, the receiving
antenna must be carefully aimed at the appropriate satellite.
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DBS transmission is digital. Normally, considerable bandwidth would be required for a
digital television signal; however, by capitalizing on the redundancies inherent in a series
of moving pictures, compression techniques reduce the transmission rate to 2–4 million
bits per second. Decoding of the signal is performed by a set-top convertor box that is
also connected to a telephone line. The telephone connection is used to send data about
which shows are being watched and also to obtain permission to receive premium
programs.
Teletext
Although relatively unknown in North America, teletext is routine throughout Europe.
Teletext uses the vertical blanking interval (see the section The picture signal: Wave
form) to send text and simple graphic information for display on the picture screen. The
information is organized into pages that are sent repetitively, in a round-robin fashion; a
few hundred pages can be sent in about one minute. The page selected by the viewer is
recognized by electronic circuitry in the television receiver and then decoded for display.
The information content is mostly of a timely, general interest, such as weather, news,
sports, and television schedules. Graphics are formed from simple mosaics. The British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) developed teletext and initiated teletext transmission in
1973. The BBC ended the service in 2012, but teletext is still used in several European
countries.
Reception
At the television receiver the sound and picture carrier waves are picked up by the
receiving antenna, producing currents that are identical in form to those flowing in the
transmitter antenna but much weaker. These currents are conducted from the antenna to
the receiver by a lead-in transmission line, typically a 12-mm (one-half-inch) ribbon of
plastic in which are embedded two parallel copper wires. This form of transmission line
is capable of passing the carrier currents to the receiver, without
relative discrimination between frequencies, on all the channels to which the receiver
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may be tuned. Television signals also are delivered to the receiver over coaxial
cable from a cable service provider or from a videocassette recorder. In addition, some
television receivers have an input that bypasses the tuner and detector so that an
unmodulated video signal can be viewed directly, in effect making the television receiver
into a video display terminal.

Basic receiver circuits

At the input terminals of the receiver, the picture and sound signals are at their weakest,
so particular care must be taken to control noise at this point. The first circuit in the
receiver is a radio-frequency amplifier, particularly designed for low-noise amplification.
The channel-switching mechanism (tuner) of the receiver connects this amplifier to one
of several individual circuits, each circuit tuned to its respective channel. The amplifier
magnifies the voltages of the incoming picture and sound carriers and their side bands in
the desired channel by about 10 times, and it discriminates by a like amount against the
transmissions of stations on other channels.
From the radio-frequency amplifier, the signals are passed to a superheterodyne mixer
that transposes the frequencies of the sound and picture carriers to values better suited to
subsequent amplification processes. The transposed frequencies, known as intermediate
frequencies, remain the same no matter what channel the receiver is tuned to. In typical
receivers they are located in the band from 41 to 47 megahertz. Since the tuning of the
intermediate-frequency amplifiers need not be changed as the channel is switched, they
can be adjusted for maximum performance in this frequency range. Two to four stages of
such amplification are used in tandem, increasing the voltage of the picture and sound
carriers by a maximum of 25 to 35 times per stage, representing an overall maximum
amplification on the order of 10,000 times. The amplification of these intermediate-
frequency stages is automatically adjusted, by a process known as automatic gain control,

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in accordance with the strength of the signal, full amplification being accorded to a weak
signal and less to a strong signal. After passage through the intermediate amplifiers, the
sound and picture carriers and their side bands reach a relatively fixed level of about one
volt, whereas the signal levels applied to the antenna terminals may vary, depending on
the distance of the station and other factors, from a few millionths to a few tenths of a
volt. Intermediate-frequency amplifiers are especially designed to preserve the
chrominance subcarrier during its passage through these stages.
From the last intermediate amplifier stage, the carriers and side bands are passed to
another circuit, known as the video detector. From the detector output, an averaging
circuit or filter then forms (1) a picture signal, which is a close replica of the picture
signal produced by the camera and synchronizing generator in the transmitter, and (2) a
frequency-modulated sound signal. At this point the picture and sound signals are
separated. The sound signal is passed through a sound intermediate amplifier and
frequency detector (discriminator, or ratio detector) that converts the frequency
modulation back to an audio signal current. This current is passed through one or two
additional audio-frequency amplifier stages to the loudspeaker (see the figure).
The video detector develops the luminance component of the picture signal and applies it
through video amplifiers simultaneously to all three electron guns of the colour picture
tube. This part of the signal thereby activates all three primary-colour images,
simultaneously and identically, in the fixed proportion needed to produce white light.
When tuned to monochrome signals, the colour receiver produces a black-and-white
image by means of this mechanism, the chrominance component being absent. The
separation of the luminance information from the composite picture signal can be
accomplished through the use of a comb filter, so called because a graph of its frequency
response looks like the teeth of a comb. This comb filter is precisely tuned to pass only
the harmonic structure of the luminance signal and to exclude the chrominance signal.

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The use of a comb filter preserves the higher-frequency spatial detail of the luminance
signal.
When the receiver is tuned to a colour signal, the chrominance subcarrier component
appears in the output of the video detector, and it is thereupon operated on in circuits that
ultimately recover the primary-colour signals originally produced by the colour camera.
Recovery of the primary-colour signals starts in the synchronous detector, where the
synchronizing signals are passed through circuits that separate the horizontal and vertical
synchronizing pulses. The pulses are then passed, respectively, to the horizontal and
vertical deflection generators, which produce the currents that flow through the
electromagnetic coils in the picture tube, causing the scanning spot to be deflected across
the viewing screen in the standard scanning pattern. (See the section Picture tubes.)
The synchronous detector is followed by circuits that perform the inverse operations of
the addition and subtraction circuits at the transmitter. The end result of this manipulation
is the production of three colour-difference signals that represent, respectively, the
difference between the luminance signal (already applied to all three electron guns of the
picture tube) and the primary-colour signals. Each colour-difference signal reduces the
strength of the corresponding electron beam to change the white light, which would
otherwise be produced, to the intended colour for each point in the scanning line. The net
control signal applied to each electron gun bears a direct correspondence to the primary-
colour signal derived from the respective camera sensor at the studio. In this manner, the
three primary-colour signals are transmitted as though three separate channels had been
used.
In addition to the amplifiers, detectors, and deflection generators described above, a
television receiver contains two power-converting circuits. One of these (the low-voltage
power supply) converts alternating current from the power line into direct current needed
for the circuits; the other (high-voltage power supply) produces the high voltage,
typically 15,000 to 20,000 volts, needed to create the scanning spot in the picture tube.
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Controls
Receivers are commonly provided with manual controls for adjustment of the picture by
the viewer. These controls are (1) the channel switch, which connects the required
circuits to the radio-frequency amplifier and superheterodyne mixer to amplify and
convert the sound and picture carriers of the desired channel; (2) a fine-tuning control,
which precisely adjusts the superheterodyne mixer so that the response of the tuner is
exactly centred on the channel in use; (3) a contrast control, which adjusts the voltage
level reached by the picture signal in the video amplifiers, producing a picture having
more or less contrast (greater or less range between the blacks and whites of the image);
(4) a brightness control, which adjusts the average amount of current taken by the picture
tube from the high-voltage power supply, thus varying the overall brightness of the
picture; (5) a horizontal-hold control, which adjusts the horizontal deflection generator so
that it conforms exactly to the control of the horizontal synchronizing impulses; (6)
a vertical-hold control, which performs the same function for the vertical deflection
generator; (7) a hue (or “tint”) control, which shifts all the hues in the reproduced image;
and (8) a saturation (or “colour”) control, which adjusts the magnitudes of the colour-
difference signals applied to the electron guns of the picture tube. If the saturation control
is turned to the “off” position, no colour difference action will occur and the reproduction
will appear in black and white. As the saturation control is advanced, the colour
differences become more accentuated, and the colours become progressively more vivid.
Since the late 1960s, colour television receivers have employed a system known as
“automatic hue control.” In this system, the viewer makes an initial manual adjustment of
the hue control to produce the preferred flesh tones. Thereafter, the hue control circuit
automatically maintains the preselected ratio of the primary colours corresponding to the
viewer’s choice. Thus, the most critical aspect of the colour rendition, the appearance of
the faces of the performers, is prevented from changing when cameras are switched from
scene to scene or when the receiver is tuned from one broadcast to another. Another
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enhancement is a single touch-button control that sets the fine tuning and also adjusts the
hue, saturation, contrast, and brightness to preset ranges. These automatic adjustments
override the settings of the corresponding separate controls, which then function over
narrow ranges only. Such refinements permit reception of acceptable quality by viewers
who might otherwise be confused by the many maladjustments possible when ordinary
manual controls are used.
Modern remote controls, employing infrared radiation to send signals to the receiver, are
descended from earlier models of the 1950s and ’60s that used electric wire, visible light,
or ultrasound to control the power, channel selection, and audio volume. Today’s
television sets have no knobs; instead, their features are controlled through on-screen
displays of parameters that are adjusted by the remote control.

Social Media

Social media basically means any human communication or sharing information on internet that
occurs through the medium of computer, tablet or mobile. There are numerous websites and apps
that make it possible. Social media is now becoming one of the largest means of communication and
is gaining popularity rapidly. Social media enables you to share ideas, content, information and news
etc. at a much faster speed.

In last few years social media has grown tremendously at an unexpectedly fast rate and has
captured millions of users around the world.

Advantages of Social Media: Social media comes with a lot of advantages in fact we can owe a
substantial part of our society’s growth to social media. We have witnessed a blast of information
and content in last few years and cannot deny the power of social media in our lives.
Social media is widely used to create awareness for causes that are important for the society. Social
media can also help many noble causes run by NGOs and other social welfare societies. Social
media can also aid government in other agencies in spreading awareness and also fight crime. For

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 many businesses social media is strong tool for business promotion and marketing. Many
communities are built through social media platforms which are essential for our society’s growth.

Disadvantages of Social Media:

Social media is considered as one of the most harmful elements that we have in our lives these
days. Wrong use can lead to bad conclusion. There are many disadvantages of social media like:
1. Cyberbullying: many children have become the victims of cyberbullying that has caused them a lot of
harm.
2. Hacking: The loss of personal data that can lead to security issues. There are crimes like identity
theft and bank details theft that can harm any individual.
3. Addiction: Prolonged use of social media can lead to addiction in youth. Addiction causes to lose
focus of other important things like studying etc. People get so absorbed that they get cut off from
the society and harm their personal lives.
4. Scams: Many predators are looking for vulnerable users that they can scam and make profit off.
5. Relationship frauds: Honeytraps and MMS porn are the most caused frauds online. People are lured
in to relationships and love schemes and then they are cheated on.
6. Health issues: The excess use of social media can affect your physical and mental health in a big
way. People often complaint of becoming lazy, fat, itchy eyes, loss of vision and stress issues after
excessive use.
7. Loss of social and family life: Everyone busy on phone is one of the most common sites in a family
gathering nowadays.

Categories of Social Media

 Social networks—Connect with people

 Media sharing networks—Share photos, videos, and other media
 Discussion forums—Share news and ideas
 Bookmarking and content curation networks—Discover, save, and
share new content
 Consumer review networks—Find and review businesses
 Blogging and publishing networks—Publish content online
 Interest-based networks—Share interests and hobbies
 Social shopping networks—Shop online
 Sharing economy networks—Trade goods and services
 Anonymous social networks—Communicate anonymously

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1. Social networks
Examples: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
Why people use these networks: To connect with people (and brands) online.
How they can benefit your business: Let us count the ways. Market research, brand
awareness, lead generation, relationship building, customer service… the list is pretty
much endless.
Social networks, sometimes called “relationship networks,” help people and
organizations connect online to share information and ideas.
2. Media sharing networks
Examples: Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube
Why people use these networks: To find and share photos, video, live video, and other
media online.
How they can benefit your business: Like the major relationship networks, these sites
are invaluable for brand awareness, lead generation, audience engagement, and most of
your other social marketing goals.
Media sharing networks give people and brands a place to find and share media online,
including photos, video, and live video.
The lines between media sharing networks and social networks are blurring these days as
social relationship networks like Facebook and Twitter add live video, augmented reality,
and other multimedia services to their platforms. However, what distinguishes media
sharing networks is that the sharing of media is their defining and primary purpose.
While the majority of posts on relationship networks contain text, posts on networks like
Instagram and Snapchat start with an image or video, to which users may decide to add
content like captions, mentions of other users, or filters that make you look like a bunny.
Similarly, on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo, video is the primary mode of
communication.

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When determining whether or not your business needs to establish a presence on a media
sharing network, it’s important to consider your available resources. If there’s one thing
the most successful brands on platforms like YouTube or Instagram have in common, it’s
a thoroughly planned mission and carefully designed media assets, usually following a
specific theme.
To increase your business’s chances of success on media sharing networks, see our
guides to marketing on Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Vimeo.
3. Discussion forums
Examples: reddit, Quora, Digg
Why people use these networks: To find, discuss, and share news, information, and
opinions.
How they can benefit your business: These networks can be excellent resources for
market research. Done right, you can also advertise on them, though you’ll need to be
careful to keep your ads and posts separate.
Discussion forums are one of the oldest types of social media.
Before we connected to our first university friends on The Facebook, we discussed pop
culture, current affairs, and asked for help on forums. Take a look at the wide reach and
massive user numbers on forums such as reddit, Quora, and Digg and you’ll see that the
public’s thirst for collective knowledge and wisdom remains unquenchable.
These are the sites where people go to find out what everyone’s talking about and weigh
in on it—and users on these sites generally aren’t shy about expressing their opinions.
While social relationship networks are increasingly implementing measures to reduce
anonymity and create a safe space online, discussion forums generally allow users to
remain anonymous, keeping some of the “wild west” feel that used to define the online
experience.
This can make discussion forums such as reddit (the self-styled “front page of the
internet”) and Quora great places to go for deep customer research and brutally honest
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opinions. If you’re careful to keep ads and posts separate, they can even be a place to
advertise—for all the details, see our guide to reddit advertising.
4. Bookmarking and content curation networks
Examples: Pinterest, Flipboard
Why people use these networks: To discover, save, share, and discuss new and trending
content and media.
How they can benefit your business: These networks can be highly effective for driving
brand awareness, customer engagement, and website traffic.
Bookmarking and content curation networks help people discover, save, share, and
discuss new and trending content and media.
These networks are a hotbed of creativity and inspiration for people seeking information
and ideas, and by adding them to your social media marketing plan, you’ll open up new
channels for building brand awareness and engaging with your audience and customers.
Bookmarking networks like Pinterest help people discover, save, and share visual
content. An easy first step for getting started with Pinterest is to make your website
bookmark-friendly. This entails optimizing headlines and images on your blog and/or
website for the feeds these networks use to access and share your content. You should
also pay close attention to the images featured on your site or blog—these are the
window displays of Pins, so you want them to be good representations of your content.
Image via Pinterest.Content curation networks like Flipboard are similar to bookmarking
networks, but with a focus on finding and sharing articles and other text content. You can
create your own Flipboard magazine to sort through the most engaging content on your
topic of choice from third-party sources, and to showcase your own content.
Other types of networks are also adding bookmarking and curation features. For example,
Instagram now offers features for users to save content and create private collections.

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To start planning your strategy for bookmarking and content curation networks, see our
guides on using Pinterest and Flipboard. And if you’re looking for inspiration, check out
these 10 Pinterest accounts that will make you a better social media marketer.
5. Consumer review networks
Examples: Yelp, Zomato, TripAdvisor
Why people use these networks: To find, review, and share information about brands,
products, and services, as well as restaurants, travel destinations, and more.
How they can benefit your business: Positive reviews bring social proof to your claims.
Handled well, you can resolve issues with unhappy customers.
Consumer review networks give people a place to review brands, businesses, products,
services, travel spots, and just about anything else.
Reviews are a type of content that adds a lot of value to many websites and online
services—think about the buying experience on Amazon, or the experience of searching
for a local business on Google Maps. Consumer review networks take it one step further
by building networks around the review as a core part of the value they provide.
Image via Zomato.
Location-based review services such as Yelp and Zomato continue to grow as
personal social networks adopt geolocation and more users choose to consult the internet
along with their friends for recommendations of best dining spots.
There are sites to review anything from hotels and restaurants to the business where
you’re thinking of applying for a job—and user reviews have more weight than ever
before. In fact, according to a survey by BrightLocal, 88 percent of consumers trust
online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.
It’s vital for your brand to have the ability to attract positive user reviews and handle
negative ones. To do this, you can select a customer success team member to address
reviews on sites relevant for your business. Entrust them with answering any questions or
concerns from clients with average or negative experiences, and see if there is anything
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that can be done on your end to turn a possible detractor into a fan. For more on this
topic, read our blog posts on how to respond to negative reviews and online reputation
management.
6. Blogging and publishing networks
Examples: WordPress, Tumblr, Medium
Why people use these networks: To publish, discover, and comment on content online.
How they can benefit your business: Content marketing can be a highly effective way
to engage with your audience, build your brand, and generate leads and sales.
Blogging and publishing networks give people and brands tools to publish content online
in formats that encourage discovery, sharing, and commenting. These networks range
from more traditional blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger to microblogging
services like Tumblr and interactive social publishing platforms like Medium.
If your promotion strategy includes content marketing (and if it doesn’t, you might want
to consider it), your business can gain visibility by keeping a blog. A blog doesn’t just
help increase awareness of your business and generate more engaging content for your
social channels such as Facebook; it can also help carve out a niche for your brand as a
thought leader in your industry.
If you’re getting started with blogging and content marketing, see our guides to starting a
blog, promoting your blog, content marketing strategy, and creating great content.
7. Social shopping networks
Examples: Polyvore, Etsy, Fancy
Why people use these networks: To spot trends, follow brands, share great finds, and
make purchases.
How they can benefit your business: Brands can build awareness, increase engagement,
and sell products via new channels.
Social shopping networks make ecommerce engaging by adding a social element.

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Of course, elements of ecommerce appear in many other types of social networks—for
example, Pinterest features Buyable Pins, and Instagram provides call-to-action tools in
the form of “shop now” and “install now” buttons. Social shopping networks take it one
step further by building their site around a focused integration between the social
experience and the shopping experience.
Services like Etsy allow small businesses and individual crafters to sell their products
without an existing brick-and-mortar location, and networks such as Polyvore aggregate
products from different retailers in a single online marketplace, and. Polyvore is one of
the largest social style communities on the internet, and it’s a good example of a network
designed to integrate the social experience with the buying experience. Most of the
content is generated by users, who choose products they like, create collages, publish
them as a set, and then share sets with other users.
.
For more information about these networks and how they can benefit your business, see
our guide to social commerce.
8. Interest-based networks
Examples: Goodreads, Houzz, Last.fm
Why people use these networks: To connect with others around a shared interest or
hobby.
How they can benefit your business: If there’s a network devoted to the kind of
products or services you provide, these networks can be a great place to engage with your
audience and build brand awareness.
Interest-based networks take a more targeted approach than the big social networks do by
focusing solely on a single subject, such as books, music, or home design.
While there are groups and and forums on other networks that are devoted to these
interests, focusing solely on a single area of interest allows these networks to deliver an
experience tailor-made for the wants and needs of the people and communities who share
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that interest. For example, on Houzz, home designers can browse the work of other
designers, create collections of their own work, and connect with people looking for their
services.
Networks such as Last.fm (for musicians and music lovers) and Goodreads (for authors
and avid readers) also provide an experience designed specifically for their niche
audience.
If your customers and social audience share a common interest (for example, if you’re
a publishing house), an interest-based network can be a good place to keep up with
current trends among fans of a your industry or its products.
9. ‘Sharing economy’ networks
Examples: Airbnb, Uber, Taskrabbit
Why people use these networks: To advertise, find, share, buy, sell, and trade products
and services between peers.
How they can benefit your business: If you happen to offer the kind of products or
services traded here, these networks can be another channel for bringing in business. (For
example, if you operate a bed-and-breakfast, Airbnb could help you find customers.)
“Sharing economy” networks, also called “collaborative economy networks,” connect
people online for the purpose of advertising, finding, sharing, buying, selling, and trading
products and services.
And while you’re probably already familiar with big-name networks like Airbnb and
Uber, there are a growing number of niche networks you can use to find a dogsitter,
a parking spot, a home-cooked meal, and more.
This online model for peer commerce has become viable and popular in recent years as
people started trusting online reviews and feeling comfortable using them to gauge the
reputation and reliability of sellers and service providers. According to a report by digital
research firm Vision Critical, “The collaborative economy today works because trust can

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be verified electronically through social networks… social media lets the collaborative
economy run smoothly.”
While most marketers will find these networks too specifically targeted or restrictive, if
you happen to provide the kind of product or service that’s traded on a particular
network, you might want to look into it as another channel to generate leads and sales.

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