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Page updated:
10 February 1997
Page owner:
ETO Site Team
How does Telecooperation work?
Telecooperation starts with electronic mail (email). Once you know someone's email address you can exchange messages with them at any time of your choosing, for a very small cost per message, and with a high degree of reliability - and both parties can keep track of their exchanges, since both can retain a copy of what has been sent and received. Telecooperation can be further enhanced by bringing in new capabilities, the main ones today being:- Online discussion or conferencing, so that a group
or three or more people can exchange messages easily. For very small groups
this can be done by simply using the "copy addressees" facility
of each person's email service, while larger groups can establish centralised
"discussion list" or more sophisticated "computer conferencing"
facilities.
- Information sharing, which today means mainly the
World Wide Web - instead of sending documents and information to each other,
each person places pages of information on the web so that others can find
and use them. Like email and discussion groups this means that the information
can be made available anywhere world wide in a few seconds or minutes and
at a marginal cost per page.
- Video conferencing, using the Internet or other networks
to hold live, person-to-person or group meetings without the need for travel.
- Computer data and application sharing, in which people in an online meeting can actively share, manipulate and contribute data using application tools such as spreadsheets, databases, graphics and drawing "at a distance".