Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Woodworking (rec.woodworking) Discussion forum covering all aspects of working with wood. All levels of expertise are encouraged to particiapte. |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Usenet Discovered By The Local Newspaper
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted on Sun, Mar. 13, 2005 There's still a lot of use for Usenet The Internet's defining characteristic is its interactivity, and one of the oldest tools for this is Usenet. America Online recently decided to drop Usenet from its services. This, along with generating howls of protest from some, has led others to question the viability of Usenet as a useful tool for individuals and businesses. Created in 1979 by two Duke University graduate students, Usenet is still the world's largest gabfest, with nearly 100,000 separate discussion groups covering the humanities, the sciences, business, politics, computers, and other areas. Though they are formally called "newsgroups," most Usenet groups deliver far more opinion, debate, rumor, advice, camaraderie, humor, flirting and spam than hard news. Despite the fact that Americans, and English speakers in general, are disproportionately represented, participation is worldwide, which has led some over the years to suggest that Usenet can help people better understand one another and bridge differences between countries and cultures. But discussion on Usenet is text-based, and other online communication and community-building tec hnologies have come along with more graphical pizzazz. Blogs, short for Web logs, and Web-based discussion groups get more attention today. Many people who have gone online since the Web became popular in the mid-1990s do not even know about Usenet. Usenet can still be a valuable resource, for discussing what is on your mind and gauging what is on the mind of others. "AOL doesn't get it," Nathan Boyle said in a discussion at CNET, a technology news and information site, following a CNET article about AOL's decision to drop Usenet. Boyle, a financial services consultant in Bowling Green, Ohio, has his own blog in addition to participating in Web-based discussion groups. But he still appreciates Usenet for its research and archival benefits. "It's an amazing resource," he said in a telephone interview. Blogs are typically sounding boards for individuals, controlled by them. Web-based discussion groups are controlled by the Web site or company that runs them. With Usenet, "anybody can speak his mind," Boyle said. Boyle's sentiments were echoed in the same discussion by Jeff Barringer. "Usenet is the ultimate leveler when it comes to free speech," said Barringer, who runs OnlineHobbyist.com Inc., a Web-based community for pet lovers. In a phone interview, Barringer said he used Usenet for marketing and research. By participating in Usenet discussions, he attracts people to his own service's online discussions. He also finds background material useful for his business through his Usenet involvement. The premier tool to mine Usenet for informational nuggets is Google Groups, a free service of Google, the popular Web search engine. Along with letting you participate in Usenet discussions, Google Groups also provides advanced search tools to help you find out what people are saying about your organization, your competition, or yourself. A lesser-known but interesting Usenet search tool is a free offering from Microsoft called Netscan. It excels at providing aggregate information on the level of discussion activity about specific subjects. Despite AOL's move, many Internet service providers continue to offer access to Usenet through Usenet programs, or "newsreaders," such as Forte Agent, or through e-mail programs that offer newsreading capabilities, such as Microsoft Outlook Express. Participating in Usenet discussions this way is more convenient than through Google Groups, which is primarily a search and archiving service. If your ISP does not offer Usenet access, two popular options for obtaining it are Giganews and News.Individual.NET. On the Web www.cnet.com www.nwlbnet.blogspot.com www.pethobbyist.com http://groups.google.com http://netscan.research. microsoft.com www.forteinc.com/agent www.giganews.com http://news.individual.net -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact columnist Reid Goldsborough at . Read his recent work at http://go. philly.com/reidgoldsborough. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.philly.com Thomas J. Watson - WoodDorker tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email) http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1 (webpage) |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Find local home builders | Home Ownership | |||
New Boiler Installation and Local Council? | UK diy | |||
$0 to try - Local Phone Service/Unlimited Long Distance $49.95/month | Home Ownership | |||
Generator Grounding | UK diy |