Online chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, that offers a real-time direct transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver, hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions. Online chat may address point-to-point communications as well as multicast communications from one sender to many receivers and voice and video chat or may be a feature of a Web conferencing service.

Instrumentation[link]

Online chat in a lesser stringent definition may be primarily any direct text-based or video-based one-on-one chat or one-to-many group chat (formally also known as synchronous conferencing), using tools such as instant messengers, Internet Relay Chat, talkers and possibly MUDs. The expression online chat comes from the word chat which means "informal conversation". Online chat includes web-based applications that allow communication - often directly addressed, but anonymous - between users in a multi-user environment. Web conferencing is a more specific online service, that is often sold as a service, hosted on a web server controlled by the vendor.

History[link]

The first online chat system was called Talkomatic, created by Doug Brown and David R. Woolley in 1974 on the PLATO System at the University of Illinois. It offered several channels, each of which could accommodate up to five people, with messages appearing on all users' screens character-by-character as they were typed. Talkomatic was very popular among PLATO users into the mid-1980's.

The first^[1] dedicated online chat service that was widely available to the public was the CompuServe CB Simulator in 1980,^[2] created by CompuServe executive Alexander "Sandy" Trevor in Columbus, Ohio. Ancestors include network chat software such as UNIX "talk" used in the 1970s.

Chatiquette[link]

The term chatiquette (chat etiquette) is a variation of netiquette (internet etiquette) and describes basic rules of online communication.^[3][4][5][6] To avoid misunderstandings and to simplify the communication between users in a chat these conventions or guidelines have been created. Chatiquette varies from community to community, generally describing basic courtesy; it introduces new user into the community and the associated network culture. As an example, it is considered rude to write only in upper case, because it looks as if the user is shouting. The word chatiquette has been used in connection with various chat systems (e.g. IRC) since 1995.^[7][8]

Cultural impact[link]

Despite being virtual, chat can spill into the outside world.^[9] There can also be a strong sense of online identity leading to impression of subculture.^[10] Compare Internet sociology.

Chats are valuable sources of various types of information, the automatic processing of which is the object of chat/text mining technologies.^[11]

Social criticism[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (May 2010)

There has been much criticism about what online chatting has done in today’s society. Many people^[who?] are accusing it of replacing proper English with short hand with an almost completely new hybrid language.^{[citation needed]}

Writing is changing as it takes on some of the functions and features of speech. Internet chatrooms and rapid real-time conferencing allow users to interact with whoever happens to coexist in cyberspace. These virtual interactions involve us in `talking' more freely and more widely than ever before (Merchant, 2001).^[12] With chatrooms replacing many face-to-face conversations it is necessary to be able to have quick conversation as if the person were present, so many people learn to type as quickly as they would normally speak. Critics^[who?] are wary that this casual form of speech is being used so much that it will slowly take over common grammar; however, such a change has yet to be seen. With the increasing population of online chatrooms there has been a massive growth^[13] of new words created or slang words, many of them documented on the website Urban Dictionary

Sven Birkerts says

“as new electronic modes of communication provoke similar anxieties amongst critics who express concern that young people are at risk, endangered by a rising tide of information over which the traditional controls of print media and the guardians of knowledge have no control on it”.^[14]

This person is arguing that the youth of the world may have too much freedom with what they can do or say with the almost endless possibilities that the Internet gives them, and without proper controlling it could very easily get out of hand and change the norm of literacy of the world. In Guy Merchant’s journal article Teenagers in Cyberspace: An Investigation of Language Use and Language Change in Internet Chatrooms; he says

“that teenagers and young people are in the leading the movement of change as they take advantage of the possibilities of digital technology, drastically changing the face of literacy in a variety of media through their uses of mobile phone text messages, e-mails, web-pages and on-line chatrooms. This new literacy develops skills that may well be important to the labor market but are currently viewed with suspicion in the media and by educationalists.^{[who?] [15]}

Merchant also says “Younger people tend to be more adaptable than other sectors of society and, in general, quicker to adapt to new technology. To some extent they are the innovators, the forces of change in the new communication landscape. (Merchant, 2001).”^[16] In this article he is saying that young people are merely adapting to what they were given.

Software and protocols[link]

The following are common chat programs and protocols:

Chat programs supporting multiple protocols:

• Adium
• Google Talk
• IMVU
• Kopete
• IBM Sametime
• Miranda IM
• Pidgin
• Quiet Internet Pager
• Trillian

Web sites with browser-based chat services (also see web chat):

• eBuddy
• Facebook
• FilmOn
• Gmail
• MeBeam
• Meebo
• Mibbit
• Omegle
• Souguide
• Tokbox No longer available
• Tinychat
• Trillian
• Userplane
• Convore
• Woo Media
• Google+
• Wireclub

See also[link]

• Instant messaging
• Chat room
• Collaborative software
• Real-time text
• Live support software
• Online dating service
• List of virtual communities with more than 100 million users

References[link]

Austin Carter Mahone^[1] (born April 4, 1996) is an American pop singer who became popular in 2011 due to viral videos of his performances. Mahone's debut single 11:11 was released on February 14, 2012. He headlined his first proper concert at the Czar Lounge in Houston, Texas on November 26^th, 2011 ^[2]

Background[link]

Mahone first starting posting videos on YouTube with his friend Alex Constancio in June 2010.^[3] Music videos followed by January 2011, and he quickly began to build an online following. The young male singer has even been called the "second coming of Justin Bieber".^[4] Mahone's video covering Bieber's Mistletoe, released in late October 2011, became so popular that it eclipsed the views of Bieber's original.^[4][5]

In September 2011, Mahone debuted at No. 38 on the Billboard Social 50 chart, the youngest to appear on the list.^[4] He rose to No. 28 on the list as of December 2.^[6] And as of May 2012, Mahone has over 700,000 Twitter followers and 350,000 YouTube subscribers.^[5][7] Like previous teen heartthrobs, Mahone's growing fan base is dominated by teenage females.^[3][4][8] His fans have been dubbed "Mahomies."^[9]

On May 22th, Mahone played the first Q102 Springle Ball music concert.

Personal life[link]

Mahone's father died when he was 16 months old, and he grew up in Texas with his mom Michele, living in the towns of Seguin, San Antonio, and La Vernia. After his mother divorced her second husband, Mahone moved back to San Antonio and briefly attended Lady Bird Johnson High School, but soon had to drop out and be home-schooled due to his growing fame.^[4] In May 2012 Austin and his mum moved to Miami, Florida.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

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