Concept 24 and Concept 12 / My thoughts ..

Client-server two-way interactions: Concept 24 (my thoughts :)

While FTP is different from HTTP, the two technologies often work closely together. An example of this is a HTTP based website used to contain the necessary information such as the server address and any associated username and passwords for accessing an FTP server.

FTP is used as the primary technology for uploading website files to a web server so in many ways HTTP expansion relies heavily on FTP.

The ability to upload and download files to FTP servers from any locations connected to the internet has been a huge enabler for business throughout the evolution of the internet. This tool is now widely relied upon by a large portion of businesses IT requirements. The ability to push a file from one location to many users and alternatively to allow many users to pull a file from a central location is great.

FTP being a client driven tool is good because it allows the client to be in charge of what material is delivered to their computer. In addition to a client to server interaction an FTP server can push a file to a client if the FTP server has the necessary credentials to access the client over the internet. In this way a user is responsible for the files that end up on their machine either by download directly from the server or by allowing their security credentials for their computer to be available to the person behind the FTP server.

The usability of newer FTP clients with their easy to digest graphical user interfaces has helped to expand cyberspace by allowing non-technical people to contribute to the internet. This is fantastic as it allows people who have perhaps different ideas and biases compared to those with technical knowledge to share their opinions and creative talent with cyberspace.

The same way people converse face to face has transferred to the internet in the way of two way communication. When people are speaking with one another they expect a response from the recievee of the communication (could also be referred to as data both verbal and non-verbal such as tone and body language). The Internet is built upon much the same expectation with most technologies. Some of the key tools used via the internet are communication mediums such as chat, email and forums as just a few examples.

There are many different ways of asynchronous communication both with people and with the internet devices themselves. When we upload a file to a server we would expect to see some confirmation that the file has been received. Generally this is just via something as little as seeing the file now appear in the file list on the FTP server. Something that can be very frustrating with internet tools is the lack of messages indicating that status of the task we are attempting to perform. Almost every task you undertake on the internet provides a two way street of information, you request information by sending data to a server or person and generally data is received back in some form or another (even the absence of data can be a communication in itself.)

Communication and Information are related: Concept 12 (my thoughts :)

Electronic communications allow us to create a message and send it forth into cyberspace with the necessary instructions for reaching its intended audience. The difference between written non-electronic communications ends here. Whilst a letter contains an address, during its travel its very unlikely and inconvenient to take a copy of the data within the letter. However, with electronic communications it is very easy to take a copy of the information and continue to send it on its way to its address without any evidence of it being copied.

Because the information in electronic communications are generally recorded this creates a need for having secure communication channels for much of the information.

The simplicity of storing communications received electronically is a huge part of being an internet user. An example of this can be seen with email. Because of the simplicity of sending electronic communication to many users much email is sent to recipients without necessarily a need. Many of our client side applications such as an email client are set to download a copy of this communication and store it. Without explicit instructions to delete this data it will remain stored in electronic format.

The use of client side tools can also make it very easy to recover electronic communications which can also be dangerous if these are not stored with some indication of the context the message was received in and also ensuring it contains the necessary information to know the origin of the communication and its reason.

The relationship between an electronic communication, its source and destination is much looser than many forms of non-electronic communication. Because of the distance in our electronic forms of communication this can cause problems with the accountability or at least the feeling of accountability for what is communicated. Most forms of common electronic communication, email, SMS etc lack the necessary non-verbal communication that is so relied upon in human interaction. Due to this the meaning of many messages can be distorted over the space it travels. In addition to the lack of non-verbal communication it can also be easier to communicate data to others via electronic means rather than traditional means as the response to this information is generally delayed and doesn’t contain that instant interaction with the other party. An example of this is a work colleague may feel more empowered whilst angry to flick an aggressive email to another colleague without the fear of an immediate response.

Because of the easy recording of electronic communications it is important to insure that information received via electronic means is stored in a way that allows us personally to interpret the information at a later date. The context of many electronic communications may get lost over time if not recorded properly. This is especially important in asynchronous communication via email as an example. When a vast amount of communications can be stored and recalled easily its important then when recalling this information the original context in which it was delivered can be retained. The information needed for this can be a subject, additional recipients of this information, the origin of the communication and the time it was sent.

When looking at an electronic communication the meta data such as who it was sent by, at what time, which servers it was handled by etc can be completely irrelevant to the message that electronic communication is attempting to deliver. The subject of the information is far more important. An example of this is an electronic communication that is sent containing a set of instructions. Without knowing what these instructions are relating to they can be come completely useless.

The use of filing systems for electronic communications is just as important as filing systems used for non-electronic communication methods if not more so due the easiness to record and distribute information via electronic means. Many ways exist to store the information an example of this is using email folders to contain different messages. An advanced internet use may for example use a detailed filing system for their inbox which allows them to store communications into different subject folders. This can be taken to another step by having automatic processes interpret certain parts of incoming communications and file these automatically for the user allowing them to read the communications in the correct context upon receipt. For example, a system administrator of a computer network may have automatic updates sent to him in the case of a critical system failure with their network. In this case they may have an email sent to their email address. This email communication is downloaded by their client and read by an inbox rule that searches for who the email is from and any important keywords in the subject line. This message may then dropped into a specified mail folder that is setup to alert the systems administrator via SMS that a problem has occurred. This allows the necessary communication of the urgency in the message to be delivered to the receiver of this data.

Much of the information available on the internet is repetitive. An example of this is its like having the same website in different languages. We all interpret what we see differently and it can be more efficient for us to have our information arranged in a way that allows us to quickly find what we are looking for. Another good example is you might have two websites one lobbying for an idea and one against which contain identical links to 10 reports. The information on each site which puts this link into context will vary differently between the two sites but the collection of data on the site is similar in addition to this due to the contexts this link is delivered in may have an impact on the way you read the information in the reports.