Is it Computer Science? Is it Communications?
What branch of study deals with:
– mastering the most advanced programs
– mastering Social Media (like SnapChat and WhatsApp)
– mastering best programs for one’s computer
– mastering webpage building tools
You have listed a lot of disparate things there. Start studying eg Computer Networks by Tanenbaum et al. ; sure, we ought to consider this a branch of computer science.
ETA building programs like WhatsApp is more related to programming and applying software, of course after you have understood the computer-scientific/theoretical/engineering issues involved…
He isn’t asking about building programs–he is asking about learning how to use them. (See his many other threads aking how to use programs.)
Depends on quite what you mean by “mastering”. There are specialists in different social sciences/humanities who study the uses of internet/social media, how people interact with them and how social behaviour is affected by them: Psychology, Sociology, Management, Communication/Information Management, and so on.
According to Library of Congress Subject Headings, Webcasting falls under Telecommunication as the broader term, with Internet radio broadcasting, Internet television, and Podcasting as narrower terms under Webcasting. Sound about right?
Thank you.
The fact that I did not learn Telecommunication and Computer Science is a huge mistake.
Definitely. Someone who does not know the basics – the names of branches of Computer Science and Telecommunications can not build any software.
Sadly, I do not even know Snapchat and WhatsApp.
Using the programs is totally different from building them. To master their usage, just keep using them and googling/asking until you figure it out. Seriously, I’ll bet you many kids know more about social media than some computer scientists, as users, just because they spend so much time using them.
If you want to learn to make the stuff, you want to learn programming. Those things you listed (computer programs, web pages, phone apps) use different programming languages, but once you learn the first one and understand the basics, the others are much easier to pick up.
It’s never too late to start if you you’re curious enough.
Try:
https://www.codecademy.com/ (interactive lessons)
https://www.codingame.com/start (game-based lesson)
https://www.lynda.com/ (videos)
Or take an (online, postapocalyptic) class at your local community college.
You don’t really need a degree (any degree) for most of that. A lot of tech people just sort of learn by doing; it’s one of the few high-paying, professional careers that don’t necessarily require an educational background.
For me, learning new programs is a matter of browsing through all the menus, trying the various options to see what they do. When something is still obscure, I google. As a last resort, I can also RTFM.
Is a “master of snapchat” someone who knows how to use all of the features and options in the program? Or is it someone who manages to get millions of likes and followers? Or, for that matter, is it someone who’s able to create an app like Snapchat (and then, is it one with lots of useful features, or one that they manage to get a lot of people to install)? These are completely unrelated subjects.
I do not know!
Sadly I have not learned even the basics!
Given my Autism, learning new stuff is difficult. Yet I must!
When the bookstores open again, go to their computer section. You should find multiple books that teach using Snapchat, WhatsApp, and every other program.
If all you want to do is learn the basics from a user perspective, just try it. Same for Instagram etc. There is a learning curve that just takes some time.
Download Snapchat, find a friend that has it and just start “snap-chatting” and don’t be afraid to ask questions of a more experienced user. Just jump in feet first.
Bear in mind with Snapchat in particular that it’s features have been designed so that it’s not intuitive or easy to use for “older” people. They want a younger target, 85% of users are <35.
Even then, my kids Snapchat constantly and I ask them about features and they often have no clue. They are much more comfortable learning on the fly than adults like me. They’re also very comfortable asking a friend “How’d you do that?” That’s a much better way to approach it. I try to learn that attitude from them.
I must!
Autism makes it harder. Harder is not impossible.
The other thing with learning computer programs is, you shouldn’t be afraid of “What does this button do?”. Try it and see. Even the worst screw-ups you can pull that way are usually easily fixed (and if the app is so poorly designed that you can screw things up in a way that you can’t easily fix, then what you’ve learned is that you shouldn’t use that garbage app).
If you want to learn the guts of programs and their myriad options, how to make them more efficient,etc - that’s computer science.
If you want to learn how to make effective communications - good screen designs, fonts and how to use them, effective writing to get people’ attention, use of graphics, how people respond and how to get a message across clearly, etc. - that’s communications, or media theory, or whatever they call it nowadays. It would have roots in both graphic artist training and journalism with an emphasis on using appropriate computer tools, I would think.
Wozniak made computers, electronics and programming. Steve Jobs did graphic design and was the salesman. Together, they made history.
“Communications” is probably too broad a field for that nowadays and would get you a general look at journalism, PR, marketing, etc. Everyone uses computers, but not every field of study specifically focuses on maximizing the impact of digital communications.
As it specifically relates to computers and internet stuff, Human-Computer Interaction, User Experience, and Digital Marketing would probably be more directly relevant.
Of note, nowadays you wouldn’t have a single person doing the electronics and the programming. The computer field has specialized well beyond that, into many layers, and there’s nobody who’s an expert at more than a couple of those layers.
Eh, sometimes you do. I design hardware and software for a company that makes industrial controls and controllers. I have done hardware, firmware, and software for some projects.
It’s definitely not as common as it used to be though.
Though I would hope that anyone who has studied computer science has at least a superficial knowledge of electronics and can learn more as needed. That said, if, for example, someone wanted to develop an Internet communications/media app today, there is no need for that person to worry about precisely how the ICs in network switches are fabricated. There is no need + it is impossible to become an “expert” in every tangentially related field. Or even if it is possible, you wouldn’t have time to develop your product!