ect one-on-one chat or text-based group chat (formally also known as synchronous conferencing), using tools such as instant messaging applications—computer programs, Internet Relay Chat, talkers and possibly MUDs, MUCKs, MUSHes and MOOes.While many of the Internet's well-known services offer online chat and messaging services for free, an increasing number of providers are beginning to show strong revenue streams from for-pay services. Again it is the adult service providers, profiting from the advent of reliable and high-speed broadband, (notably across Eastern Europe) who are at the forefront of the for-pay online chat revolution.
For every business traveller engaging in a video call or conference call rather than braving the check-in queue, there are countless web users replacing traditional conversational means with online chat and messaging. Like email, which has reduced the need for and usage of letters, faxes, and memos, online chat is steadily replacing telephony as the means of office and home communication. The early adopters in these areas are undoubtedly teenage users of instant messaging. It might not be long before SMS text messaging usage declines as mobile handsets provide the technology for online chat.
Online discussion
Online discussion is a relatively new form of communication, facilitated usually by computer networks. The first such communications were on bulletin board systems or "BBS's" in the mid to late 1980s. As networks became more sophisticated, and access to said networks became easier (such as through universities and "dial-up" access), networks li
ke USENET hosted an immense range of discussions. In the early 1990s, Internet relay chat became (and remains) popular. With the advent of the World wide web (WWW), myriad web forums have become new forums for discussion.
Online discussion groups tend to have a social element to them similar to a clique. There are generally established leaders (perhaps the owner of the medium the communication travels across), as well as more and less frequent communicators (or "posters"). Additionally, a discussion of the social properties of online discussion would not be complete without mention of the internet troll. These social networks can be very dynamic, can contain many thousands of members, and can even originate swarms such as the 1999 Seattle protests.
ke USENET hosted an immense range of discussions. In the early 1990s, Internet relay chat became (and remains) popular. With the advent of the World wide web (WWW), myriad web forums have become new forums for discussion.Online discussion groups tend to have a social element to them similar to a clique. There are generally established leaders (perhaps the owner of the medium the communication travels across), as well as more and less frequent communicators (or "posters"). Additionally, a discussion of the social properties of online discussion would not be complete without mention of the internet troll. These social networks can be very dynamic, can contain many thousands of members, and can even originate swarms such as the 1999 Seattle protests.
