For the process of communication, the question of the means and methods of transferring information becomes important, for the success or failure of communication also depends on it. The essence of the expression “the medium is the message”, formulated by him back in the 60s of XX century, boils down to the fact that in the communicative environment of the new “electronic society” it is not the information itself (message) but its transmission medium that becomes important. Communication processes are also carried out in the computer environment with the use of computer communication channels and telecommunications, which allows us to speak of the formation of computer-mediated communication, or digital communication.
To date, there is no single definition of the term “digital communication” and there is no complete list of information transmission channels. Usually digital communication channels include the Internet with all its features, but this is not enough.
It is better to define digital communication as the process of information transmission in oral or written form, which is carried out with the help of computer networks, telecommunications, the Internet and multimedia.
By means of information transmission in digital communication we understand: computer, computer network, telephone, television and so on.
Ways of transmitting information, or channels of communication we propose to define as follows:
- Information system.
- Web-site.
- Virtual and TV advertising.
- Channels of internal corporate information.
- Channels of remote communication.
Let’s consider the listed channels and their functions in more detail.
Information system
According to the definition given in the State Standard (GOST), an information system is a system that organizes the accumulation and manipulation of information about a problem area.
The information system is designed to provide management bodies with necessary and sufficient information in a timely manner to make decisions, the quality of which ensures highly effective operation of the control object and its subdivisions. In each of the 1C is organized and carried out in such areas:
- identification of information needs;
- selection of information sources;
- information gathering;
- input of information from external or internal sources;
- processing of information, assessment of its completeness and relevance, its presentation in a convenient form;
- output of information to provide it to consumers or transfer it to another system;
- organizing the use of information to assess trends, develop forecasts, evaluate alternatives to decisions and actions, and develop strategies;
- organizing feedback of information processed by people of this organization, correction of input information.
Web-site of the company.
Site (engl. website, from web – the web and site – “place”) is one or more web-pages, which are available on the Internet via HTTP /HTTPS.
Pages of the site, linked by the same address and basically the same theme, a single design.
The site of the enterprise performs the following functions:
1) Information. Providing information about the company is one of the most important functions of the site. The site will contain general information about the company, a description of its activities, a list of major clients and their reviews, information about the location and contacts. New customers often have to tell the same information, which is an irrational waste of time, in addition the information about the company changes from time to time. Filled corporate website greatly simplifies the work with customers, the site is a kind of analogue of a round-the-clock virtual office.
2) Advertising. Internet advertising is the cheapest and one of the most effective types of advertising. The popularity of the Internet over time is only increasing and information about the company may see a large number of people. Potential customers are increasingly looking for information about the product or service they need on the Internet.
3) Commercial. Through the site may be the sale of goods to customers.
4) To support the corporate image. On the business card of each major firm, in addition to address and phone number is always present address of the site, where you can learn about the services of the company. Most people prefer products and services of those companies that have a good image and openly talk about their activities, creating a corporate website is an excellent way to demonstrate openness and create a serious, reliable company image.
3) Virtual and TV advertising.
To the most effective and actively used in the Internet industry areas of advertising can be attributed the following types:
- Placement of information in directories of Internet resources.
- Registration in search engines and search engine promotion.
- Rating organization.
- Message boards and forums.
- E-mail marketing.
- Link exchange.
- Affiliate programs.
- Sponsorship.
- Banner advertising.
Set of possibilities of direct advertising of the goods and services by means of Internet includes: placing the information on the goods on own Web-server, placing advertising on other servers, distribution of electronic letters; participation in teleconferences. Peculiarity of advertising on the Internet is the need for additional advertising own Web-server.
Advertising on television has the following advantages:
- wide coverage;
- high degree of attraction of attention;
- high quality reproduction of the advertising message using images, sound, motion.
Disadvantages:
high cost of production and placement of advertising;
short duration of advertising contact;
low selectivity of the audience;
saturation of advertising.
Channels of transfer of intracorporate information.
Intranet – the intracorporate network using standards, technologies and software of the Internet.
A computer network which uses Internet technologies, but at the same time is a private corporate network. The network supports Internet services such as e-mail, Web sites, FTP servers, etc., but within the corporation. An intranet, connects to external networks, including the Internet, but usually through means of protection against unauthorized access. An intranet can be isolated from external users or function as an autonomous network with no external access.
All communication channels can be divided according to the type of communication into:
- Electronic communication tools: e-mail, audio mail.
- Electronic conference communication tools: conference i data; audio conference; video conference; discussion forums; friendly conversation systems; electronic meeting systems.
Electronic conferencing tools allow you to send messages, documents and data in text, voice, multimedia over a network to a computer. E-mail is a quick and convenient way to communicate and form strategic relationships with business partners. It has also been moved into the medium of transporting electronic copies of documents, data archives, and contains multimedia information.
The downside of e-mail is the information overload caused by the large number of messages from many sources. Especially the large flow of unnecessary information without protection.
