This page provides details of and links to some of the important movements in the development of software or e-tools that have impacted on, and continue to impact on, how individuals and communities communicate.
The software used to create the CCEEG Portal is called "Drupal". It is a free and open source content management system. Using open source software enables web developers to avoid the dangers of "lock-in" - where once you start using a certain piece of proprietary software you are locked in to using it on a continuing basis. It also avoids the expense of licensing and permits adaptation of the software to local needs.
The most noticeable development in terms of e-tools for inclusion is what is known as "Web 2.0", in which social software is used to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users. This computer-mediated communication has become very popular with sites like MySpace and YouTube. These tools encourage self-publishing or online journalism, where people express their points of view on their websites. There is a wide range of these types of tools, including:
Bibliography: A shared "library" of citations for books, periodicals, articles, web resources, etc compiled on a specific topic, author, or some element common to the entries which are systematically arranged and searchable. With suitable software (such as that on this CCEEG Portal), items can be added to these bibliographies by users so as to compile a socially-shared resource.
Blogs: Short for weblog. Journal or newsletter that is frequently updated and intended public viewing. Users post informal journals of their thoughts, comments, and philosophies and reflecting their views.
Chats: Places on the Internet where people with similar interests meet and communicate together by typing instant messages. Can involve two or more people.
Discussion boards or forums: Online discussion groups, where participants with common interests exchange open messages. Subscribers post messages for others to read, and to reply to messages posted by other users.
E-mail: Electronic mail system that can be used to send plain text or text with attachments.
Instant messages: Programs that instantly send messages from one computer to another. Usually one-on-one communication.
Podcasts: The term is derived from Apple’s iPod. It is a method of publishing mostly audio and video files to the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to receive new files.
Social bookmarking: A system that enables users to store links to web pages and the resulting lists can be made accessible to other users of that bookmarking system.
Social network sites: These are sites where users can maintain links with their social networks and perhaps link to new people on the same site.
Wikis: Server software that allows users to freely create and edit Web page content and hyperlinks using a web browser. Wiki comes from the Hawaiian word ‘wiki wiki’ meaning fast. The most famous wiki is wikipedia.
This page also provides details of how some of the social software or e-tools developed can be used for e-governance and community engagement. More links can be found in the CCEEG Bibliography.
