Chapter 1: We’re All Web Workers Now
In the first chapter of “Journalism Next,” Mark Briggs, the author, guides through basic technological terms and jargons that are essential for journalists. Beginning with briefs on etiquettes, how it is important not to attach large digital files in emails, because large files can affect the transactions between email servers.
Briggs then explains basics of the internet: How web servers work, how a URL (uniform resource locator) can route to the correct IP address, and how web browsers interpret and display contents on the computer screen in conjunction with plug-ins and extensions.
When viewing a website, the computer processes the content in the following three steps to display on the screen:
- Web browser finds Web page on Web server
- Web browser retrieves Web page from Web server, makes a copy on local computer
- Web browser displays Web page on the local computer
RSS
Image via Wikipedia
RSS is the abbreviation of Really Simple Syndication, which helps efficiently delivering new information available on personally selected websites right on the user’s screen without repeatedly performing the same task of searching through the website. RSS plays a significant role in internet traffic, as 30 to 70 percent of traffic to news sites are directed by instant routing utilities, including RSS.
FTP
FTP, which is abbreviated form of File Transfer Protocol, is used to transfer large digital files that email cannot deliver. FTP is also used as the primary method for uploading and publishing a website. FTP generally consists of the following items: account name, host, login and password. Once logged in, files are sorted out in folders as if navigating a personal computer, and files can be downloaded by clicking on the name of the files.
HTML
Web pages can be created using HTML, a universal coding language. Although there are many tools available on the internet that enables users to create their own websites without knowing how to use HTML, such as Blogger, WordPress or Facebook, learning HTML will help when a Web page needs a troubleshooting or more in-depth editing.
HTML, however, is limited in its designing capability. CSS, or Cascading Style Sheet, fills this gap in HTML and helps Web designers to create websites that look prettier. CSS consists of rules and logics to declare the style of fonts and other elements.
Extensible Markup Language, abbreviated as XML, is commonly used in RSS feeds and uses tags to describe the content. Compared to HTML, XML provides simple set of contents for fast information transaction.
