Electronic Communication Tools
By Corr S. Pondent
The development and use of the Internet has changed the way we communicate with each other. This change extends to personal and business communications. The instantaneous nature of electronic communication has expanded our reach and created a world without boundaries. There are a number of popular electronic communication tools.
Email lets you send a message from your computer or handheld device to another person’s computer or mobile device. This is one of the earliest electronic communication tools and still one of the most popular. You can get an email account through work or school. You could also sign up for an account with an Internet service provider, or get a free Web-based account, such as a Yahoo account.
Mailing Lists
You can use mailing lists to communicate with a specific group of people. These are groups of people that share some kind of interest. For instance, Listserv is an email-based software that facilitates mailing lists that go out to a group of people that can be based anywhere in the world. The person who creates the list, known as its owner, can set it up as a private list so that only certain people can join the list and view the messages. If the list is public, anyone can join the group. The owner can also set up mailing privileges regarding which members can send email to the group.
Chat Rooms
Chat rooms provide another tool for electronic communication. In this type of communication, a group of two or more individuals send instant messages back and forth. You send and receive the messages in real time. To make use of this electronic communication tool, you will need software such as Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Some Internet service providers also provide chat capabilities.