CONTENTS

➢ e - Governance
❖ Major E-governance Projects in India
❖ Social Impacts of e-Governance
➢ e - Groups
❖ Features and Benefits of e-Groups
➢ Social Networking
❖ Merits and Demerits of Social Networking
❖ Features available on Social Networking Sites
❖ Ethics in Social Networking
❖ Service Providers in different types of social networking
➢ Mobile Technologies
❖ SMS (Short Message Service)
❖ MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service)
❖ 3G (Third Generation)
❖ 4G (Fourth Generation)
E - GOVERNANCE
Electronic governance or e-governance is the application of information
and communication technology(ICT) for delivering government services,
exchange of information, communication transactions, integration of
various stand-alone systems between government to citizen (G2C),
government-to-business (G2B), government-to-government (G2G),
government-to-employees (G2E) as well as back-office processes and
interactions within the entire government framework.
Due to the rapid rise of the internet and digitization, governments all over
the world are initiating steps to involve IT in all governmental processes.
This is the concept of e-government. This is to ensure that the govt.
administration becomes a swifter and more transparent process.
Through e-governance, government services are made available to
citizens in a convenient, efficient, and transparent manner.
The National e-governance Plan (NeGP) has been formulated
by the government to promote e-government on a massive
scale. The vision of NeGP states :
“Making all Government services accessible to the
common man in his locality, through common service
delivery outlets and ensure efficiency, transparency and
reliability of such services at affordable costs to realise the
basic needs of the common man.”
MAJOR E-GOVERNANCE PROJECTS IN INDIA
Some of the major e-governance projects are :
➢MCA 21 India’s Prestigious G2B Services Portal
➢Consular Passport and VISA Division (Indian Passport Office)
➢Income Tax Portal
➢National Portal of India
➢DRDO
➢Supreme Court of India
➢Indian Courts
➢RTI Portal
There are many more websites and portals that are part of e-governance mission of India.
Some of these URLs are given below :
www.indianairforce.nic.in www.indiannavy.nic.in
www.indianarmy.nic.in www.goidirectory.nic.in
www.pensionersportal.gov.in www.indiaimage.nic.in
SOCIAL IMPACTS OF E-GOVERNANCE
➢ POSITIVE IMPACTS :
❖ ‘E-governance’ programs have improved the efficiency of administration and service delivery.
❖ ‘E-governance’ programs have resulted in reduced waiting time before the work is done.
❖ People have also benefitted from e-governance in the form of reduced cost of availing the services.
❖ E-governance has proved successful in keeping a tab on corruption to some extent.
❖ ‘E-governance’ programs have resulted in increased public participation.
❖ These programs have resulted in increased transparency and accountability of government offices.
➢ NEGATIVE IMPACTS :
❖ People living in rural and remote areas could not benefit from the e-governance initiatives because of lack of
computerization in these areas.
❖ Not all services are part of e-governance, so manual methods cannot be avoided.
❖ Lack of awareness of e-governance programs has prevented people to benefit from it.
❖ Incompatibility of software and hardware has prevented people to fully benefit from it.
❖ Users also find it inconvenient to make payments online due to limited number of certified branches of banks.
❖ Some people have their apprehensions about using credit cards for making online payments.
❖ Many people find the websites to be slow vis-à-vis other websites and feel that appropriate steps should be
taken to improve the performance and speed of the portals.
E-group or simply a group refers to an online environment
where users sharing common views and ideas can come
together to meet and discuss topics of interest. Group members
give their opinion in messages , known as a post , which are
posted on a common location known as a discussion board.
E-group is also known as online clubbing. It provides an
opportunity for like-minded users to exchange their views on
any topic of interest. The members of an e-group can perform
various actions, such as posting a message on the discussion
board, replying to a post, and uploading or downloading a file to
a group. The two popular e-groups are groups.yahoo.com,
groups.google.com.
FEATURES OF E-GROUPS
➢ A conversation on e-group can have original message
and its responses and replies. All these (belonging to
single conversation i.e., single topic) are together known
as threaded conversation or threaded message.
➢ The members of an e-group can post a message on the
group’s discussion board, reply to a post (i.e., posted
message) and upload as well as download files from
group. A google group offers space for files uploaded by
the group-members.
➢ e-groups are perfect for people with busy schedules.
There are no specific time one “must” be online to
participate.
 ADVANTAGES OF E-GROUPS
Flexible: E-groups are accessible 24/7, anywhere as long as there is an
internet connection.
Leveling: E-groups encourage usually shy people to “speak up” and say as
much as they want, while those who are usually outgoing cannot interrupt.
Documented: Unlike verbal communication, online discussions can be
revisited and can be stored for a long time.
Reflection: E-group members are given a lot of time to reflect or think about
what they can say about an event, idea, or issue before they share their
thoughts.
Relevance: E-groups provide members a chance to share real-life
experiences or give up-to-date information on new places in the city, for
instance, that can be useful to the members of the group in this day and age.
Community: It lets you build a community without the technical hassle. You
don’t have to be well-versed in HTML or web design to create an online
community. The entire process of creating and maintaining an e-group is very
simple.
Limitless: There are no boundaries as to where the discussions can go.
DISADVANTAGES OF E-GROUPS
Text-based- the whole set-up of e-groups relies mainly on text. This is challenging for those who do not like to write or have slow keyboard
skills.
No physical cues- one member cannot see the facial expressions or gestures of another member. There is also the lack of ability to retract a
statement immediately, increasing the risk of big misunderstandings.
Information overload- e-group threads usually send to members a large volume of messages. This can be overwhelming and hard to follow.
Threads- it is hard to follow the logical sequence of discussion when it is broken by users not sticking to the topic thread.
Time lag- discussion gets often delayed since not all members log on 24/7. It may take a long time before receiving a reply, or sometimes no
reply is received at all.
Isolation- Some members of e-groups prefer to learn on their own and not participate in discussions.
Directionless- E-groups depend on a moderator to direct the conversations/discussions, so without one, the conversation can become
directionless sometimes.
SOCIAL NETWORKING
Social networking has become an everyday,
mainstream way to use the internet. Social
networking refers to the use of social
media websites and apps, such as Facebook,
Instagram, and twitter, to connect with family,
friends, and people who share your interests.
Alternatively referred to as a virtual
community or profile site, a social network is a
website that brings people together to talk, share
ideas and interests, or make new friends. This type
of collaboration and sharing is known as social
media. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Flickr,
LinkedIn, WordPress, Wikipedia, YouTube etc. are
examples of social networking sites.
• Social networks
If you're participating in social networking, it means you're using
social media sites, also known as social networks, to connect to
others. Some of the most popular social media sites are Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
While various social media sites attract certain types of users,
Facebook is a good example of a general social network. When you
join Facebook, you may know some other people who use the site
and add them as friends. As you use the platform more, you may add
friends who share your interests or discover people you know and
add them, as well. Other people may find you on Facebook and seek
to connect with you.
The more you interact with a social media site like Facebook, the
more your network of friends and interests will grow. It's similar to
networking in real life, for example at a business conference. The
more you interact with other people and discover common friends and
interests, the wider your circle becomes.
 Features available on Social Networking Sites
User profiles Represent information about a user in organized format
Blog engine Facility to create blogs, blog posts, tags and categories to
each user.
Photo albums Facility to upload and organize photos using the album
infrastructure.
Groups Groups allow users to interact with each other around a
common topic.
Discussion boards Allow users to easily post messages and comments to the
community in a way that all the responses will be viewable
no matter how much time passes between each post.

Media galleries A generic architecture that allows users to host videos,

photos, resumes, or any other kind of physical files.
Activity streams Users can track the activity of their friends and be instantly
notified when somebody publishes an interesting blog
post, uploads a photo, joins the community.
Messaging It allows users to communicate with each other (or a whole
group) directly, resembling the look and feel of traditional
mail clients.
Walls Wall is a kind of virtual space on every user’s profile or
group page that allows friends to post messages for other
users to see. In essence, this is usually the central
gathering point for all users of a community.
Comments Comment modules allow users to interact with the content
and other members of the social network.
Tags Similar to comments and ratings, tags can be attached to
different types of content, allowing users to build an
independent form of navigation and/or categorization.
MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES
Mobile technology is the technology used for cellular
communication. It is the technology that goes where the user
goes. It consists of portable two-way communications devices,
computing devices and the networking technology that connects
them. Mobile technology has evolved rapidly over the past few
years. Since the start of this millennium, a standard mobile
device has gone from being no more than a simple two-
way pager to being a mobile phone, GPS navigation device, an
embedded web browser and instant messaging client, and
a handheld gaming console.
SMS (SHORT MESSAGE SERVICE)
SMS stands for short message service and is the most widely used type
of text messaging. With a SMS, you can send a message of up to 160
characters to another device. Longer messages are normally split up into
multiple messages. Most cell phones support this type of text messaging.
While SMS is most commonly used for text messaging between friends or
co-workers, it has several other uses as well. For example, subscription
SMS services can transmit weather, news, sports updates, and stock
quotes to users' phones. SMS can also notify employees of sales
inquiries, service stops, and other information pertinent to their business.
Doctors can receive SMS messages regarding patient emergencies.
Fortunately, text messages sent via SMS do not require the recipient's
phone to be on in order for the message to be successfully transmitted.
The SMS service will hold the message until the recipient turns on his or
her phone, at which point the message will be sent to the recipient's
phone. Most cell phone companies allow you to send a certain number of
text messages every month for no charge.
MMS (MULTIMEDIA MESSAGING SERVICE)
MMS stands for stands for “Multimedia Messaging Service." MMS is mobile phone service
that allows users to send multimedia messages to each other. This includes images, videos,
and sound files.

MMS is an extension of SMS, which is used to send and receive text messages. Like text
messages, multimedia messages are first transmitted to a central server maintained by the
cellular service provider. Once the message has been received by the server, it is forwarded
to the recipient. If the recipient's phone is off or he/she does not have cell phone service
when the message is sent, the server will hold the message and send it once the recipient's
phone is available.

Most modern cell phones and smartphones support MMS messaging. MMS support is
typically integrated into the text messaging interface and activates automatically when
needed. For example, if you type a text-only message, it will be sent using SMS. If you add a
graphic or video, the multimedia portion will be transmitted via MMS. Similarly, if someone
sends you an multimedia message, your phone will automatically use MMS to receive the
file. If your phone does not support MMS messages, you will most likely receive a text
message that includes a URL where you can view the file from a web browser.
3G (THIRD GENERATION)
The “G” used with 1G,2G,3G,4G, etc. stands for generation of mobile
technology . When mobile technology came into existence, communications
happed through initial technology called 1G (analog cell phones), then came 2G
(digital phones) and now 3G and 4G are more prevalent.
3G stands for “Third Generation” and originally enabled wireless devices to
operate at speeds which made web browsing a more enjoyable experience on
mobile devices. Whilst this gave users the ability to regularly use the Internet
when ‘on the go’, speeds were still not very high as pages needed time to load
and open. 3G speeds can produce download data rates of typically up to 384 kb/s
under normal conditions and up to 2Mb/s in some instances.
The 3G craze of the early 2010s has receded; most devices now support the 4G
standard, using 3G as a fallback if 4G connections are not available. In some
parts of the world, particularly in rural areas, 3G remains a backbone service.
4G (FOURTH GENERATION)
4G is the next generation of mobile technologies. with enhanced download and
upload speeds, and better connectivity. This allows users to do far more than
check emails and basic web browsing; 4G allows for music streaming, fast and
reliable web browsing and the ability to use a device as a portable entertainment
center. A 4G network offers peak data rates for at least 100 megabits per second
for high mobility communication (users in cars, trains etc.), and at least 1 Gigabit
per second for low mobility communication (pedestrians and stationary users).
The speed that you receive in your mobile device also depends on the device
being used, since older devices can’t use the full power of an area with higher
coverage. A 3G phone will work in an area with 4G coverage, but will only connect
at 3G speeds, and likewise a 4G phone will work in an area with 3G, but only
connect at 3G speeds.
With standard 4G you can download a 2GB HD film in 3 minutes 20 seconds on a
standard 4G mobile network, while it would take over 25 minutes on a standard
3G network.