Digital Literacy For Dummies

Chapter 8

Clouds and Online Communication

In This Chapter

Using online applications

Storing files online with Microsoft OneDrive

Exploring blogging and online discussions

Participating in social networking

Using instant messaging

As the Internet has gotten faster and more universally adopted, many people have found that it’s just as easy — if not easier — to store files and run applications directly from the Internet than it is to do so from an individual computer. That’s the basic idea behind cloud computing, which means to store, manage, and process data on remote servers on the Internet.

Different companies out there want you to use their online applications and storage systems — and luckily for you, it’s all mostly free. (The companies make money by selling advertising on their websites and by selling enhanced packages of features to power-users.) In this chapter, you’ll learn about some of the cloud-based applications and storage systems available on the Internet, including ...