Key Concepts of the Web, Digital Culture & Licensing
Understanding the Web
Semantic Web
The Semantic Web refers to a World Wide Web (WWW) designed to process information in natural, human language.
Private Web
The Private Web consists of web content whose owners have intentionally taken steps to prevent it from appearing in search engine results.
Password-Protected Sites
Content requiring a password for entry, often intentionally kept private and part of the Deep Web.
Deep Web / Invisible Web
The Deep Web (or Invisible Web) encompasses content not indexed by standard search engines. The information available on the surface web is estimated to be significantly smaller than the content within the Deep Web. Non-indexing often occurs due to configuration, access restrictions (like passwords), or dynamic content generation.
Opaque Web
The Opaque Web includes files that could be indexed by search engines but are not, often due to reasons like:
- Indexing cost exceeding the benefit.
- Limited capacity of search engines to index or rank all available pages.
- Frequently changing or unknown URLs.
Digital Society & Culture
Digital Divide
The Digital Divide refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology (ICT), and those that don’t or have restricted access. It can manifest in several ways:
- Economic Divide: Lack of financial resources to afford internet access or necessary devices.
- Power Divide: Disparities in the ability to use the internet effectively to influence others or participate in online discourse.
- Usability Divide: Differences in digital literacy and skills, leading to underutilization even when access is available.
Note: Historical statistics on internet access percentages change rapidly; significant divides persist globally.
Viral Marketing
Viral Marketing is a strategy where consumers are encouraged to share information about a company’s goods or services via the internet, often relying on social networks.
Culture Commodification
This concept critiques the process where cultural elements are transformed into commodities primarily for economic gain. When a culture is commodified, it risks losing its complexity and unique artistic features, becoming simplified for mass consumption. The idea suggests that if all cultural forms are treated solely as market products, their intrinsic value may disappear.
Critiques of Studying Information Commodification
Potential biases acknowledged when investigating concepts like information or culture commodification (IC):
- Concepts may be inherently ideological.
- Research might follow potentially utopian logics of the Information Society.
- Risk of accepting that technology + market inherently equals progress, overlooking critical perspectives.
The Long Tail
The Long Tail describes a business strategy realizing profits by selling low volumes of many hard-to-find items, instead of only high volumes of popular items, enabled by digital distribution.
Streaming
Streaming allows users to watch or listen to content (like music or videos) directly from a server over the internet without needing to download the entire file first.
Civic & Participatory Journalism
Forms of journalism where citizens play an active role in collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news. Key aspects include Counter-Reporting, the Blogosphere, and Citizen Journalism, leveraging ubiquitous technologies.
Net Art
Net Art refers to art created specifically for, by, and on the internet, often involving interactivity and collaboration.
Blogosphere
The Blogosphere is the collective network of blogs and their interconnections, where individuals publish content and interact. Types include personal blogs, microblogging (e.g., Twitter), podcast blogs, and professional blogs.
P2P (Peer-to-Peer) Networking
P2P (Peer-to-Peer) is a distributed network architecture where participants share resources directly without central servers. It enables direct information exchange but raises copyright challenges.
Information Society
An Information Society is one where the creation, distribution, and manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity.
Software, Licensing & Rights
Free Software
Free Software grants users the freedom to use, copy, study, modify, and redistribute the software. It can be sold commercially, but the freedoms must be preserved.
Related Concepts: GPL & GNU
Examples within free software:
- GPL (General Public License): A widely used free software license ensuring user freedoms.
- GNU: A project for a completely free software operating system (often used as GNU/Linux).
Copyleft
Copyleft uses copyright law to grant freedoms, requiring derivative works to preserve the same freedoms. It ensures works remain free.
Copyright
Copyright is a legal right granting creators exclusive rights over their works’ use and distribution. Authors can decide the conditions or license/waive these rights.