RUBRIC

Model for Viability
In determining a blog for business use, the acronym RUBRIC (Figure 1) reflects the six tests that make up the model for the blog’s viability. RUBRIC stands for Reliability, Usability, Behavior, Reflection, Information, and Creativity.
Reliability
At the core of the RUBRIC model is reliability. When reliability ceases to exist, the blog, however aesthetically gratifying it may be, will not be useful in a business context. Reliable sources include C-level executives, industry experts and strategists, and well-respected thinkers in the field.
Usability
A reliable blog can only be effective if intuitively navigable by its target audience. The second layer of this model is “ease of use.” A graphic, table, text, and other navigation tools should be appropriately placed to reflect the mission, vision, and goal of the blog. Any decision on pop-up windows, links to other sites, shopping carts, advertisements, font sizes, colors, backgrounds, audio, and use of multimedia software like Flash, should thematically alignment with the business directives of the blog.
Behavior
A layer above “ease of navigation” is the “appropriateness” of the blog. A blog written in the first person can reflect accessibility to the writer while a scholarly written blog shows an authority in the field. There can be many perceptions of blogs and a survey should be conducted to determine if the audience’s perception aligns with the corporate culture intended by the blog developers. When this behavior is inconsistent across all blog pages and/or posting entries, then the “idea” of the blog crumbles.
Reflection
It is important for a blog developer to be flexible in their product. When a poll of the target audience results in confused readers or requests made for increased updates to the blog, for example, the developers should be immediate in their response. “Reflection” wraps the three other layers of this model as it is in this stage where there may be constant flux due to the many external factors affecting the blog’s content, appearance, and navigation. Another example would be a merger by the blog sponsor resulting in combining two or more seemingly disparate blogs into a cohesive website. In as much as the blog is updated frequently, so does the design to reflect the state of the business as well as the needs of the audience.
Information
The blog information should always be current and relevant. The main concept of a blog is its ability to be practically instantaneous in its postings. When this inherent blog characteristic fails, the website as a whole becomes ineffective. The sources of information can be very reliable but if the information is not current, audiences do not to use this blog as a reference.
Creativity
The overall layer that surrounds this RUBRIC model is the blog’s ability to shine above the rest. The creativity of a blog comes through in the form of the “spirit” of the developers and its writers. The uniqueness of a blog provides a lasting imprint to its readers. When readers use a blog’s links to leave the blog without returning, then the site’s “hook” is lost. When the blog is noted for its overall refined state, then its creativity edge is engaged.
This six-component blog-model-for-viability to corporate use can be utilized in the form of a checklist, discussion points with developers and project supporters, audience surveys as well as focus group topics. It is important for developers to have a clear understanding of their corporate mission to have a direct alignment with the blog being developed.

Reference:http://itdl.org/Journal/Nov_05/article06.htm

HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

Prior to the widespread internetworking that led to the Internet, most communication networks were limited by their nature to only allow communications between the stations on the network, and the prevalent computer networking method was based on the central mainframe method. In the 1960s, computer researchers, Levi C. Finch and Robert W. Taylor pioneered calls for a joined-up global network to address interoperability problems. Concurrently, several research programs began to research principles of networking between separate physical networks, and this led to the development of Packet switching. These included Donald Davies (NPL), Paul Baran (RAND Corporation), and Leonard Kleinrock's MIT and UCLA research programs.
This led to the development of several packet switched networking solutions in the late 1960s and 1970s, including ARPANET and X.25. Additionally, public access and hobbyist networking systems grew in popularity, including UUCP and FidoNet. They were however still disjointed separate networks, served only by limited gateways between networks. This led to the application of packet switching to develop a protocol for inter-networking, where multiple different networks could be joined together into a super-framework of networks. By defining a simple common network system, the Internet protocol suite, the concept of the network could be separated from its physical implementation. This spread of inter-network began to form into the idea of a global inter-network that would be called 'The Internet', and this began to quickly spread as existing networks were converted to become compatible with this. This spread quickly across the advanced telecommunication networks of the western world, and then began to penetrate into the rest of the world as it became the de-facto international standard and global network. However, the disparity of growth led to a digital divide that is still a concern today.
Following commercialisation and introduction of privately run Internet Service Providers in the 1980s, and its expansion into popular use in the 1990s, the Internet has had a drastic impact on culture and commerce. This includes the rise of near instant communication by e-mail, text based discussion forums, the World Wide Web. Investor speculation in new markets provided by these innovations would also lead to the inflation and collapse of the Dot-com bubble, a major market collapse. But despite this, Internet continues to grow.

Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet

LITERACY

The traditional definition of literacy is considered to be the ability to read and write, or the ability to use language to read, write, listen, and speak[1]. In modern contexts, the word refers to reading and writing at a level adequate for communication, or at a level that lets one understand and communicate ideas in a literate society, so as to take part in that society. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has drafted the following definition: "'Literacy' is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society."[2] In modern times, illiteracy is seen as a social problem to be solved through education.

Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy

SEARCH ENGINE

A Web search engine is a search engine designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. Information may consist of web pages, images, information and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in newsbooks, databases, or open directories. Unlike Web directories, which are maintained by human editors, search engines operate algorithmically or are a mixture of algorithmic and human input.

Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_search_engine