The “Get Geeky” series is designed to demystify the latest online collaboration and communication tools. Each topic is covered in simple terms; however, links to additional resources are included for those that want to know more. When possible a screen cast is provided to make the concepts easier to understand.
This resource will always be provided at no charge and all the content in this section is open for any non-commercial use, which means when you contribute to the “Get Geeky” Series your contribution will not be used for commercial gain. So, go ahead and register so you can join the conversation by commenting on the topics listed below.
Obviously, this topic list will grow over time as technology evolves and you can recommend a new topic for this series with this form.
Series Topic List
Online & Social Bookmarking
In the good old days, when you wanted to remember a site you would use a browser based tool to store a bookmark (often called favorites) on your computer. With so many people using multiple computers, having your bookmarks stuck on one computer is “old school”. This topic covers how you can store your bookmarks online so you can access them from any computer and even share them with others.
Advanced Web Searching
Due to the extreme growth in the number of web sites, it is becoming a challenge to sift through it all and get the results you were looking for. This topic will cover the different types of searches and when you should use a search engine vs a search directory.
Blogs
Blogging software has matured beyond just being an easy way to keep an online. Some of the more developed platforms, like WordPress, are now considered content management systems (CMS) and can run just about any website. This topic will cover how you can use a blog to establish an online presence for little of no investment.
When you open a browser, it will start with a page often called the “home” page. You can change the default homepage to any web page you want. So might as well start at your own online page that you customize to your needs. This topic covers all the popular portal pages.
Podcasting
Podcasting is a file delivery system that is typically used to send out new audio (and video) files to subscribers. This technology is similar except it is handling media files instead of text files. Read this topic to have podcasting explained in great detail.
RSS Syndication
If you have websites that you monitor for new content, by going to the website an having a look around, there is likely a much better way to do this. Most websites will offer a RSS feed that contains information about the placement of new content. You can use a special reader to read the feed and present to you a summary of the new content. Use this topic to learn how to use RSS feeds to leverage you time spent researching online.
Smart Phones & Other Digital Devices
Mobile phones (and more specifically smart phones) have come a long way. Current smart phones are looking more and ore like a mobile computing platform. This topic will cover all that you need to know about the new breed of smart phones.
Voice over IP (VoIP) – Skype
There was a time when a phone was a phone and a computer was a computer, but that line is now blurred. The Internet can be used to carry voice communications and many computer based phone systems have emerged. One of the more popular ones is Skype. This topic will cover the different types of VoIP services and how you can even utilize a free VoIP service to conduct a two way video call to any where in the world.
Wikis & Online Documents
The earlier years of the Internet were considered a “Read” technology. Most people read the material on a web page and only a choice few actually authored web content. Software is now available to allow those without advanced computer skills to get involve on developing web content. The web is now considered a Read – Write technology. This topic will cover the more popular software systems that support online collaboration by individuals with basic computer skills.
