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Since its inception in 1992, the portion of the Internet known as the World Wide Web—or more simply as the Web—has grown at virtually an exponential rate. Most organizations of any size and thousands of individuals have Web sites, which consist of one or more pages of information. One of the reasons that the Web has grown at such a phenomenal rate is that it provides many of the advantages of the other communication channels with very few of their disadvantages.
Information presented on the Web can include text, graphics, sound, and video. It can be prepared quickly or carefully, depending on the purpose of and audience for the message. It can also allow for immediate feedback by providing email addresses or special forms for feedback on specific topics. Web sites can be designed for access by anyone with an Internet connection or for a limited audience on an organization-specific Intranet.
Materials for the Web use a special computer programming language known has Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML, for formatting text and graphics for online readability. The inclusion of feedback forms and other types of interactivity requires additional software. While programs, such as Microsoft’s FrontPage and Netscape’s Composer, can help individuals prepare acceptable Web pages, effective Web site design and management usually requires special training.
The advantages of the Web as a communication channel is that Web pages can communicate quickly using text, graphics (including animated graphics), sound, and video with anyone with an Internet account and allow for immediate feedback. Web page authors have considerable control over the appearance of their material using HTML and other programming languages.
The principal disadvantage of using the Web to communicate is that the receiver must want the information badly enough to look for it. Most communication channels allow the sender to initiate the process, perhaps even at times inconvenient for the receiver. To communicate on the Web, however, the sender places the information on a Web site and then must wait for the appropriate receivers to access it. Another disadvantage is that the sender forfeits some Communication in general and verbal communication in particular is arguably the most important of all human behaviors. Our use of language defines us as a species and profoundly influences all our other behaviors. Communication makes human organization and cooperation possible, and verbal communication establishes culture and civilization.
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