Integrated Professional Skills in the Digital Age

This report discusses the positive and negative aspects of the internet for individuals and businesses, challenges and measures of security, and the difference between a blog and a website. It also focuses on the development of online research skills and digital communication skills.

Integrated
Professional
Skills in the
digital age

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.................................................................................................................................................3
Positive and negative aspects of Internet................................................................................................3
Challenges and measures of security......................................................................................................5
Difference between blog and website.....................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Online business refers to a form of business which is conducted digitally using the help
of various tools and techniques (Baker, 2017). It has become extremely popular especially in the
21st century due to the advent of technology in the lifestyle of various types of customers. Many
businesses are looking to go to the online route because it is slowly becoming the preferred way
of conducting a business. Going on this way helps the businesses in increasing their overall
efficiency, effectiveness and productivity level and also helps in the maximization of profits. In
this report, detailed analysis will be made on understanding of key terms and considerations
which are associated with internet, taking responsibility of personal safety and security while
using it. Also, detailed focus will be made on development of online research skills and digital
communication skills.
MAIN BODY
Positive and negative aspects of Internet
Nowadays, world is connected through the internet. However, there are various aspects of
internet both for an individual as well as businesses.
Positive aspects of internet for individuals-
 Communication- Internet has made it possible for the individuals to connect easily with
each other and has facilitated better communication between them (Becker, 2018). It has
removed the boundaries and has allowed people sitting far away to communicate with
each other.
 Lifestyle changes- Internet has brought lifestyle changes for the individuals as they now
have the options of doing many things online. Shopping can be also done on the internet
easily without any issues and problems.
 Connections- Internet has facilitated creation of connections for the individuals. These
connections help them a lot in doing various things.
Negative aspects of internet for individuals-
 Addiction- Internet has created and addiction for the social media which is not good for
the prospects of the individuals.
 Illegal activities- Some individuals indulge in conducting illegal activities on the
internet. This is not good for them as well as society as a whole.
 Leakage of information- Certain miscreants make use of the internet to leak the
available information of the individuals which is quite sensitive in nature and which can
harm their prospects in the future.

Positive aspects of being offline for individuals-
 Better connection with the loved ones- Being offline helps the individuals in creating
better connection with their loved ones as one gets to spend more time with family
(Goldie, 2016).
 Safety of information- Safety of information can be assured for the individuals staying
offline because their sensitive data is not available on the internet which can be used by
miscreants.
 Privacy- There is more privacy of data for the individuals in staying offline because there
is no personal data which is provided on the internet.
Negative aspects of being offline for individuals-
 Lack of access- If individuals choose to stay offline, they lose their access to
important information which is made available only on the internet. Thus it creates a
lack of access for them.
 Lack of connectivity- If individuals choose to stay offline, they lose the connectivity
they have with their loved ones staying far away.
 Low awareness- By choosing to stay offline, individuals display low awareness
towards the important developments which are happening in the society.
Positive aspects of internet on the businesses-
 Easier to conduct trade- Internet makes it extremely easy to conduct trade and
therefore this can be termed as a positive impact which it has on the businesses
(Bridgstock, 2016).
 24 * 7 monitoring- Internet has made it possible to conduct 24 * 7 monitoring for the
businesses. A businessman can easily monitor the business anytime as per will.
 Faster transactions- Taking the digital route has made it easier for businesses to
conduct faster transactions.
Negative aspects of internet on the businesses-
 Sensitive data available online- The sensitive data of businesses is available online
which can be used by miscreants for the purpose of scams and doing transactions which
can create losses for them.
 No privacy of data- As the sensitive data is available online therefore there is lack of
privacy of data for the businesses. This can create problems as the information can be
misused by miscreants.
 Lack of productivity- Conducting business online is also full of challenges as the level
of productivity falls.
Positive aspects of being offline for the businesses-

 Safety of information- The crucial data related to the transactions of the businesses are
quite safe as it is not available on the internet. Therefore there is no problem related to
leakage of crucial information of business transactions on the internet.
 No scams- A lot of scams are happening nowadays which can result in losses for the
businesses (Hohpe and et.al., 2016). If the businesses choose to stay offline they can stay
quite protected from these scams and can protect themselves from such scams and the
resultant losses.
 More monitoring- Sometimes it is difficult to conduct the monitoring of transactions of
the business which are conducted online. Therefore staying offline can help the
businesses a lot in proper monitoring of their financial transactions physically which can
help in finding errors and faults if any.
 Protection from hackers- By staying offline, businesses can stay easily protected from
the different types of hackers who are trying to take the advantage of their information
which is available on the internet. Therefore, this offers a good protection to the
businesses from the hackers.
Negative aspects of staying offline for businesses-
 Lack of global trade- By staying offline, businesses can stay limited only till their own
city or country. There is a lack of global trade which is conducted mostly on the internet.
 Loss of opportunities- By staying offline, businesses can lose the varied opportunities
which the internet offers them to expand their activities and maximize their level of
profits easily. Thus these opportunities are missed by the businesses and therefore they
lose the chance of making more profits in the process.
 No adaptability to dynamic changes- As the business environment is quite
unpredictable in nature which changes quite rapidly it is required that the businesses take
the online route in order to be more adaptable to the dynamic changes. If they don’t take
this route then this can result in losses for them.
Challenges and measures of security
There are various types of challenges and measures of security which the individuals take
when they go on the online route. These are as follows-
 Use of password manager- It is difficult for the individuals to remember so many
passwords they use for digital websites (Huda, Jasmi and et.al., 2017). Thus they need to
use a good password manager which can manage all of their passwords without any
problems and issues. This is a measure which is required to be taken by them for their
own safety.
 Using multi-factor authentication- For Individuals using the internet, it is necessary
that they should not rely just on the use of passwords (Jacobs, Amuta and Jeon, 2017).
They should use the multi-factor authentication system effectively. By using this system,
they would be able to easily protect their sensitive data from the attack of the hackers.

 Use of antivirus- Individuals need to use a strong antivirus which can protect them from
the virus and malware attacks which the miscreants can target at them. This will allow
them to reduce this threat to a great extent. Thus good antivirus software must be used by
the individuals. This will ensure that their sensitive data and information stays protected
from the attack of hackers and there is no loss of money to them due to scams which
happen online.
 Safe browsing- Safe browsing has to be practiced by the individuals by turning the
privacy filters on so that the hackers are not able to access the sensitive and critical
information (Khalil and Osman, 2017). This will ensure that the individuals are able to
make their data safe on the internet.
 Using VPN- With the use of VPN, the individuals can easily stay safe and protected
against any attack on the internet (Liu and Burns, 2018). This will make sure that they
keep their data secure from the hackers and thus stay protected from attacks on their
money as well as personal information.
 Creation of strong passwords- It is required that the individuals should create strong
passwords for usage at the internet. This will protect them from miscreants using their
information illegally and will ensure the privacy of their data.
 Posting carefully- It is required that the individuals should post carefully on the social
media. By doing so, they can easily evade and mitigate the risks their information has on
the internet. Thus adequate precautions are required to be taken by them.
Like individuals, businesses also have various types of challenges and thus they need to
take the required measures for their protection on the internet. These measures are as
follows-
 Different passwords- Different types of passwords must be used by the businesses for
the users. When the users of the business website use multiple passwords the data safety
and security can be ensured to a large extent possible. Therefore, it is quite necessary for
them to take this adequate precaution which will enable them to stay protected from the
cyber crimes.
 Monitoring of traffic- Traffic has to be monitored effectively by the businesses so that
they are able to check whether there has been suspected activity at their website
(Mahoney and Khwaja, 2016). By doing this, they can make sure that they check the
activities which has been taking place at the website. By doing so, it can be ensured that
digital transaction of business take place safely without the leakage of any kind of
sensitive information.
 Making a secured site- A secure website should be developed by the businesses to make
sure that their information related to financial transactions stays well-secured from
attacks of hackers and miscreants. For this they will have to make sure that they get a
secured website developed.

 Risk assessment- Businesses should regularly conduct risk assessment of the techniques
they are using for trading online. If they find out that the risk has increased significantly
in a certain technique which they are using it should be discarded with immediate effect.
 Changing passwords regularly- Businesses need to make sure that they are changing
the passwords regularly so that they can take a right approach towards ensuring their
safety. By changing the passwords regularly, the financial data and information stays
well-secured and the transactions can be done without any problems and issues.
 Limiting access- By limiting the access to the critical data about the operations of the
business, it can be ensured that the important facts, figures and the information stays with
the business only and is not provided to the hackers (McKnight and et.al., 2016). Thus
this is a step which is required to be taken.
 Using third-party tools with caution- If the businesses are using third-party tools then it
should be done with a caution because not doing so can create problems and issues as the
sensitive and important data can be leaked (O’Mara and Harris, 2016).
 Responsibilities of the users- The users which are accessing the data of business have
this responsibility that they should be able to tell their owners about any suspected
activity which has been witnessed by them on the website. This will allow taking a quick
action so that the safety and security of data can be ensured.
Thus, it can be said that both the individuals and businesses face certain
challenges and issues when they go online. But with the use of effective measures
undertaken they can be managed without facing any kind of problems. With the use of
right measures, the data safety can be ensured.
Difference between blog and website
A blog refers to a website which is updated regularly and is run by a particular individual
or a group of individuals. The content which is written in it is in an informal style which can
attract the viewers and communicate the right message to them.
A website is a collection of web pages which have a particular domain name. It can be
run and managed by a particular person or an organization.
` There is a difference between a blog and a website. This is stated as follows-
Basis Blog Website
Content The content in a blog is
updated very regularly by the
user or the group of users. The
focus here is mainly on
creation of attractive content
which can help to attract the
attention of the users.
The content in a website may
not be updated as frequently
as a blog is updated. The focus
here is mainly on providing of
relevant information to the
users and the content here is
not required to be very

attractive.
Maintenance Generally, a blog is
maintained by an individual
user or a group of users. It is
not maintained by a firm or a
company.
A website can be maintained
by individual users, group of
individual users as well as also
by firms and companies.
Scope A blog can be a part of a
website.
A website cannot be a part of
a blog.
Conversation A conversation is encouraged
by the blogs.
Websites are not designed in a
way to encourage
conversations.
Availability of content The availability of content on
a blog is generally more than
that of the website. It has
dynamic as well as interesting
content which can interest the
various users.
The availability of content on
a website though good is less
than that of a blog. It is not
required to have dynamic and
interesting content on the
websites.
Different types of tools can be used in order to create a blog. These tools are as follows-
 Evernote- Evernote is a tool which can be used for the creation of different ideas and is
used by the bloggers to write information in their blogs (The Most Powerful Writing
Tools For Bloggers: Mac, PC, Mobile & Online, 2020). It is available on a freemium
basis that means that it is free to use initially with limited features. However certain
advanced features require payment to be made in order to facilitate usage.
 Pockets- Pockets is an interesting tool which allows the bloggers to save a certain
interesting article they have found on the internet and view it later. It can archive the page
and format it so as to facilitate easy reading.
 Drafts (iOS only) - Drafts has been designed for iOS usage and it is a great tool which
facilitates taking down of notes. Thus it is very useful for the bloggers.
 Trello- Trello is a tool which is used for project management. It can help the bloggers as
it facilitates the creation of raw ideas, finalized ideas, drafts and ultimately in publishing
them.
Blogs can help businesses in directly communicating with their customers. This can be
done in the following manner-
 Ideas- Proper ideas are generated with the use of blogs and therefore they can help a lot
for the business to communicate them to the customers (Pianta, 2018). If they like a
particular idea, it can easily be converted into a required product or a service. Thus using
it, businesses can get to know the proper needs and requirements which they have.
 Feedback- Since most of the blogs have comments section, different users can comment
and can put their feedback about their requirements from the business. If there are any

shortcomings about the product they can be put too. Thus this helps a lot for the
businesses in doing the necessary improvements in the products and services.
 Attracting of customers- Since dynamic and interesting content is posted on the blogs
this can help the businesses in attracting a lot of customers towards them (Tammaro,
2016). For this, fresh ideas are required and the blog needs to be made very interesting so
that the customers are able to be drawn towards it. If the clients are impressed by the
content of the blog and the offerings of the business then this will ensure that the level of
profits of a business increases steadily and it will witness sustainable growth in the
market leaving all its competitors behind. Proper expertise is therefore required for
creating as well as maintaining a blog.
 Promotion of business- Blogs can be used by the businesses in order to promote their
own products and services. If the blog becomes popular and is visited by thousands of
customers every day chances are high that they will get interested in the products and
services offered by the company which can not only increase its revenue but can also
result in raise in the level of profits effectively and efficiently. Thus promotion of
business can be done using the blogs in the right manner.
 Views- Blogs are also very much helpful for registering the views of the customers as
well as clients of the business who are interested in purchasing the product or availing the
service (Urbach and Röglinger, 2019). This can help a lot as by getting the views the
product can be developed as per the necessity and services can be provided as per the
requirements. Also views help in getting the review about the quality of products as well
as the services.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that internet is a good medium for both
individuals as well as businesses. It can help them in sustaining in this digital age with the use of
right tools and techniques. Usage and Non-Usage of internet has its own advantages as well as
disadvantages for them. There are various types of challenges which both individuals as well as
businesses face while using online medium and there are certain methods which can be used by
them for evading the risks which are present. Also, there is a difference between a blog and a
website, different types of tools can be used to create blogs and they are quite helpful for the
purpose of facilitating direct communication with the customers and getting their views about the
products and services.

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