Absolute URL
The full Internet address of a page or other World Wide Web resource. The absolute URL includes a protocol, such as "http," network location, and optional path and file name. For example, http://example.microsoft.com/ is an absolute URL. See also URL.

Active Hyperlink
A hyperlink that is currently selected in a Web browser. Some Web browsers indicate the active hyperlink by changing its color.

Active Page
The page currently being edited in the FrontPage Editor.

ADSL
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines. Technology that allows more data to be sent over existing copper telephone lines. Most popular modem technology worldwide for broadband access.

Ad Server
A system used to determine which ads to serve based on the priority of an ad. It is also responsible for pacing the campaign, tracking and reporting on impression delivery and click-thru rates.

AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)
A Rich Internet Application (RIA) used for creating interactive and more responsive web applications. Rich Web Sites and Internet applications such as YouTube are generally heavy in media content, meaning larger downloads and slower performance for the end user. In order to make web pages more responsive and user-friendly, AJAX exchanges small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes, so that the entire web page does not have to be reloaded every time the user requests a change. Each time a content element changes, only that particular piece of content is then updated.

Such a technology impacts Page Views as a measurement system in that users can be engaged with various amounts of content on a particular site, but that user interaction only shows up as one page view.

Applet
see Java applet

ARPU
Average Revenue per Unit/User. Term used by telephone carriers for measure of average monthly revenue generated by each customer unit.

Article
A single entry in a discussion group or newsgroup. An article can be a response to a previous article.

ASP
(Active Server Page) A method for connecting data from an Access database to a webpage.

ATIS
Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Standards

Atlas
An ad server used by advertisers and agencies to create and track ads.

Avatar
Graphic representation of a person online, usually used to navigate a virtual world such as Second Life. Some try to make their avatars look like themselves, and others go for idealized/stylized visions.

AVC
Advanced video compression, like MPEG-4.

Background sound
A sound file that you associate with a page. When the page is displayed in a Web browser, the sound file plays or repeats the number of times that you specify.

Bandwidth
The capacity of a communication line to carry information (measure in bits/sec).

Banner
An image, usually displayed at the top of each page in a Web site, containing text and design elements. In the ad industry, this is generally associated with the 468x60 size ad.

Behavioral Ad
An advertisement that may appeal to a viewer based on that person's past experience with the product

B.P.L. (broadband over powerline)
Broadband access via utility powerlines.

Blog
Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.

Blogosphere
The totality of weblogs or blog-related webs.

Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a computing and telecommunications industry specification that describes how mobile phones, computers and PDAs can easily interconnect with each other and with home and business phones and computers using a short wireless connection.

Bookmark
A named location on a page that can be the target of a hyperlink. A bookmark can be applied to a set of characters or it can exist on a page separately from any text. Bookmarks allow authors to link to a specific section of a target page. In a URL, a bookmark is preceded by a pound-sign character (#). Also called an anchor.

Bounce Rate
Single page view visits divided by entry pages.

Bounces
See Single Page View Visits

Breadcrumb
On web pages, the link to all levels of the hierarchy above the current location, showing the route a searcher has taken, and the context of the current page.

Broadband
Describes any transmission medium that supports a wide frequency range, including audio and video frequencies. It can be multiplexed to carry several independent channels, each in its own bandwidth. Broadband transmission is often in the range of 1 MHz or more. At the minimum, the term refers to bandwidth greater than that required for voice, which telecommunications standards have set at 4 kHz.

Browser
A World Wide Web (www) client. An information retrieval tool. Netscape Navigator is an example of a browser.

Buffering
A process used as a part of streaming media technologies whereby a certain amount of data is fed into the player to allow it to begin playing before fully downloading the file.

CADD - AutoCAD (Computer-Aided Design and Drafting)
The use of computers to design various engineering, architecture, and industrial objects. Also refers to the software and hardware used to design models of those products.

CERN
The European Laboratory for Particle Physics. The originators of the HTTP and HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) concepts.

CGI (CGI coding - Common Gateway Interface)
A standard method of extending Web server functionally by executing programs or scripts on a Web server in response to Web browser requests. A common use of CGI is in form processing, where the browser sends the form data to a CGI script on the server, and the script integrates the data with a database and sends back a results page as HTML.

Channel
A push technology that allows users to subscribe to a Web site to browse offline, automatically display updated pages on their screen savers, and download or receive notifications when pages in the Web site are modified. Channels are available only in browsers that support channel definitions, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0.

Classifieds
Fees advertisers pay on-line companies to list specific products or services.

CLEC
Competitive local exchange carrier, such as Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) GTE, AllNet, etc. Telephone company that competed with the already established local telephone businesses.

Click Command
A unique URL placed in front of a “raw” URL, which enables the system that created it to track the click activity.

Click stream
A click stream is the sequence of clicks or pages requested as a visitor explores a Web site.

Click farm
Company set up to manually click on web ads 24 hours per day to either deplete a competitor's ad budget or to increase a website owner's own revenue.

Click-through
Number of times a link was clicked by a visitor.

Click-through Rate/Ratio
The number of click-throughs for a specific link divided by the number of times that link was viewed.

Click-to-call
The ability of an online user to click on an icon to be connected to a marketer for product information and/or ordering.

Client
A small software program downloaded to the wireless phone to enable a specific function.

CGM (Consumer Generated Media)
Word-of-mouth behavior on the Internet, including opinions, experiences, advice and commentary about products, brands, companies and services.

Compression
The process of reducing the size of a media file by eliminating data. Higher compression means that the compression utility defines greater amounts of data as redundant. This can lead to loss of image quality, but highly compressed images can be delivered more efficiently over a network.

Contextual Ad
An advertisement in which the product may be of particular interest to the viewer

Contextual Search
Text links appear in an arlicle based on the context of the content. Advertiser pays when the link is clicked.

Converged services
Combined services of voice, data, and video from one company.

Conversion
A visitor completing a target action.

Cookie
A handle, transaction ID, or other token of agreement between programs. The purpose of a cookie is to relate a later transaction to the current one. When a web server places a cookie on a client's hard disk, it can use that information in a subsequent connection to determine how information should be sent to that particular client. Netscape originated the concept. The decision of whether to accept a cookie offered by a web server is entirely up to the client. There is nothing inherently harmful or dangerous in accepting cookies, except that the client has no idea what information is transferred in the process.

Cost-Per-Acquisition
A payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying actions such as sales or registrations.

Cost Per Action (CPA)
A cost model incurred based on a user taking some specifically defined action in respond to an ad. Examples of actions include sales transaction, customer acquisition or registration.

Cost-Per-Click
System where an advertiser pays an agreed amount for each click someone makes on a link leading to their web site. Also known as CPC.

Cost-Per-Lead
The price of placing an ad on a site based on how many leads the ad generates.

Cyberspace
From the fabulously prophetic works of William Gibson in his science fiction classic, Necromancer, to describe an information Network (or super highway). Gibson coined the word and now it is commonly used to describe the universe of electronic information represented by all the interconnected networks, computers, and communication systems scattered all over the
world.

Data Rate
An attribute assigned to a media file by a compression utility. It is a measure of the amount of digital information transmitted in a given unit of time, usually a second. Thus, a video could be encoded to play back at a rate of 500 kb/s.

Deck
The portal screen on a wireless phone where the wireless carrier places links to content.

Demographic Ad
An advertisement in which the product may be of particular interest to a viewer based on the group to which the consumer belongs

Digital Television (DTV)
Digital TV is the umbrella term encompassing High-definition Television and several other applications, including Standard Definition Televison, datacasting, multicasting and interactivity.

Display Advertising
A static or hyper-linked ad banner or logo on one or more of a site's pages.

DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)
Consumer electronics companies trying to establish standards for digital home concept.

Domain
In an Internet address, the part of the naming hierarchy that consists of a sequence of characters separated by dots. The five most common types of domains are .com for company, .org for nonprofit organization, .edu for educational institution, .net for network operations, and .gov for government agency. The domains are administrated by Internet Network Information Center (InterNIC).

Dongle
A computer hardware device that acts as copy protection for a particular software application. The device must be present for the software application to function.

DRM (Digital rights management)
Term referring to technical methods used to handle the valuation and monitoring of rights held over a digital work.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)
A twisted-pair copper wire connection with a special modem at either end that filters out background noise and interference and allows high-speed data transfer. It is limited to a transmission distance of 18 000 feet.

DTH (Direct-to-home satellite television)
A digital receiver is needed to receive the multiplexed signals and view them on a TV.

DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television)
The means of receiving digital television using an aerial.

DVB Forum
Digital Video Broadcasting Project, an industry-led consortium of over 300 broadcasters, manufacturers, network operators, software developers, regulatory bodies and others in 40 countries committed to designing global standards for the delivery of digital television and data services.

Editor
An interactive program that can create and modify files of a particular type.

Electronic Programming Guide (EPG)
An on-screen display of channels and program data.

Email Advertising
Banner ads, links or advertiser sponsorships that appear in emial newsletters, marketing campaigns and other commercial email communications.

Embed Tag
An HTML tag used to place a media file (such as an audio, video, or flash file) into a web page. The embed tag defines an area on the page in which the media file will appear if it involves graphic elements, helps the browser understand what type of file it is, and specifies other info such as whether the file will play automatically when the page loads.

Encrypt
The act of encoding a file for the purpose of preventing other from gaining access to its contents.

Entry Page
The first page of a visit. Entry page should not be equated or confused with landing page.

Ergonomics
The study or science of how people interact with their work.

Event
Any logged or recorded action that has a specific date and time assigned to it by either the browser or server.

The occurrence of an event can be counted in three ways:
Event - Each occurrence of the event is counted.
Visit - Each visit where the event occurs at least once is counted.
Visitor - Each unique visitor that executed the event at least once is counted.

Exit Page
The last page on a site accessed during a visit, signifying the end of a visit/session.

External Referrer
The external referrer is a page URL where the traffic is external or outside of the website or a web-property defined by the user.

FiOS (Fiber Optic Service)
A fiber to the premises (FTTP) telecommunications service offered by Verizon, the first major U.S. carrier to offer broadband Internet access. Verizon is also developing a television service with its fiber optic lines, and is expected to become a major competitor of local cable television companies over the next 10 years. It will compete with current “Triple Play” offers, where the local cable company offers broadband Internet access, digital cable, and VoIP telephone service. FiOS started as a pilot program in Keller, Texas, but is now expanding to other places.

Filtered Click
A non-billable click.

Flame
A web term used to describe and angry email message or newsgroup post.

Flash
Flash is a vector-based animation technology. Flash animations are quick to download, are of high quality, and are browser independent (they look the same on different browsers). Flash animations also scale to fit the browser window. Flash animations are created using Macromedia Flash software.

Flickr
A digital photo sharing website.

Floating Ads
An ad that appears within the main browser window on top of the webpage’s normal content, appearing to “float” over the top of the page.

Fold
A term to describe content placement on a page. The fold is the part of the screen that divides what can be seen initially (above the fold) from the content that is only visible by scrolling down (below the fold).

Folksonomy
A group of people cooperating spontaneously to organize information into categories.

Frames Per Second (fps)
The number of video frames displayed each second (also called frame rate). Continuous motion is believed to be achieved at about 17 fps. A common standard for video delivered over the web is 15 fps, which reduces file sizes substantially (since most video is shot at roughly 30 fps) but still allows for fairly smooth motion.

FTP
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is one method used to move files from a local computer to a web server. Generally one uploads a website via FTP.

FTTP
Fiber to the Premises or Fiber to the Home (FTTH) refers to a broadband telecommunications system based on fiber optic cables for delivery of multiple advanced services such as the triple play of telephone, broadband Internet and television to homes and businesses.

Geographic Ad
An advertisement for a product that may appeal to a viewer based on the location of the business

GIF
Stands for "Graphics Interchange Format." A graphical file format commonly used to display color images on the web.

Graphic
The digital version of an image, photograph, or picture that is displayed on a monitor screen.

High Definition Television (HDTV)
One mode of operation of digital TV whereby the broadcaster transmits a wide-screen picture with many times more detail than is contained in current analog television pictures. HDTV has 1125 lines of resolution vs. NTSC signals which have 525 lines of resolution.

Highlight
The act of selecting a block of text with a mouse. After highlighting text a user can then "copy" and "paste" into a new document.

Hotspot
A graphically defined area in an image that contains a hyperlink.

HTML
Stands for "Hyper Text Markup Language". The language used to develop and create webpages.

Hyperlink
A graphic or word that when clicked will open another document. Hyperlinks are the primary way to navigate between webpages and websites.

IIF
IPTV Interoperability Forum created to coordinate standards activities, develop agreements and assess interoperability issues.

ILEC
Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier. Telephone company that was providing local service when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted.

Image
A picture or graphics file that can be inserted on a webpage.

Image-Based Technology
Any ad that contains an image.

iMP
Interactive media player

Impression fraud
Repeatedly clicking on web pages to generate false impressions.

In-focus
The browser that is currently being viewed when a user has multiple browsers open.

Install
The process of setting up a piece of hardware or software for operation.

Interactive TV
A TV broadcast that allows a user to do something other than watch the program, from getting more information, submitting an email, or making a purchase.

Internal Referrer
The internal referrer is a page URL that is internal to the website or a web-property within the website as defined by the user.

IPG
Interactive electronic program guide

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television)
Television and/or video signals are distributed to subscribers or viewers using a broadband connection over Internet Protocol.

Java
A general-purpose programming language created by Sun Microsystems.

Java applet
A short program written in Java that is inserted into a webpage to perform some function outside of the realm of HTML.

JavaScript
A cross-platform, World Wide Web scripting language developed by Netscape Communication.

Joy Stick
A peripheral input devices that simulates arcade like play for computer games.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
Refers to an image file format popular for delivery over the web because of its relatively high quality and low file size. Before uploading JPEGs to the web, users can determine the amount of compression assigned to them, usually on a scale from 1 to 10.

Keyboard
The main input devices connected to a computer. A keyboard is made up of individual keys representing individual letter, numbers, and symbols.

Kilobytes
A unit of measurement for the speed of data transferred.

Landing Page
A page intended to identify the beginning of the user experience resulting from a defined marketing effort. Landing pages are often optimized for specific keywords, audiences, or calls to action, since they represent a touch point or an opportunity to present your message to the visitor. They have a particular importance in conveying information to motivate the visitor to become more engaged with the site.

Leaderboard
A horizontal ad unit that measures 728x90 pixels.

LLU
Local loop unbundling. the process of allowing telecommunications operators to use the twisted-pair connections from the telephone exchange’s central office to the customer premises. This local loop is owned by the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC).

Log
A detailed list of a systems or applications activities.

Logic
A list of instructions that tells a program or circuits in a piece of hardware how to operate.

Login
The process users must complete to gain access to a computer or computer network.

Long Tail Theory
Because the Internet allows for a vast variety of content, consumers will turn away from mass-marketing hits and embrace niche products.

Marquee
A region on a web page that displays a horizontal scrolling text message.

Mashup
A web service or software tool that combines two or more tools to create a whole new service. The term is also used to describe user generated remixes of content from different sources.

Message Unit
An ad unit that measures 300x250 pixels.

Microsite
A custom website designed specifically for an advertiser.

Moblog
Mobile-enabled blogs that let users post photos from anywhere.

Mobile Video
Video distributed via a mobile device.

Mobisode
Mobisode is a media industry term for a broadcast television episode specially made for viewing on a mobile telephone screen and usually of short duration.

MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)
A series of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for digital video and audio, designed for different uses and data rates.

MPEG-1
Was designed for playback of video on CD and includes MP3 for audio playback.

MPEG-2
Is the standard for DVD video.

MPEG-3
Is the next-generation format improving adaptability and flexibility for use in digital television, animation graphics, web video and its extensions, offering more control and copyright protection functionality.

Multicast
Method of carrying a compressed video signal across multiple routers to various clients in streaming media.

Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPD)
Suppliers of video content to various distribution platforms.

Netiquette
A web term for the unwritten rules of Internet courtesy. For Example USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING.

Network
A set computer connected so that they can share storage devices, peripherals and applications.

New Visitor
The number of Unique Visitors with activity including a first-ever Visit to a site during a reporting period.

Newsreader
Gathers the news from multiple blogs or news sites via RSS, allowing readers to access news from a single web site or program. Online newsreaders (like Bloglines, Pluck, or Newsgator) are web sites that allow you to read RSS feeds from within your web browser.

Opt in
A direct, pro-active request by an individual e-mail recipient to have their e-mail address added to a specific mailing list.

Opt out
An email subscription practice by which users request to be deleted from an email distribution list by either selecting a link, or sending an email that requests their address be deleted.

Original Referrer
The original referrer is the first referrer in a visitor's first session, whether internal, external or null.

Out-of-focus
Those browsers not being viewed when a user has multiple browsers open.

Packet Switched Network
Network technology that breaks up a message into small packets for transmission. Unlike circuit switching, which requires the establishment of a dedicated point-to-point connection, each packet in a packet-switched network contains a destination address. Thus, all packets in a single message do not have to travel the same path. As traffic conditions change, they can be dynamically routed via different paths in the network, and they can even arrive out of order. The destination computer reassembles the packets into their proper sequence. Network protocols such as IP and IPX were designed for packet-based networks.

Page
A page is an analyst definable unit of content.

Page Exit Ratio
Number of exits from a page divided by total number of page views of that page. Page exit ratio applies to all visits regardless of length.

Page-takeover
An ad that prohibits a user from viewing content on web page until the ad is complete or closed.

Page View
The loading of a webpage by a browser

Page Views
The number of times a page (an analyst-definable unit of content) was viewed.

Page Views per Visit
The number of page views in a reporting period divided by number of visits in the same reporting period.

Paid Inclusion
A marketer's URL is indexed by a search engine so as to appear at or near the top of search results.

Paid Listings
Text links appear at the top or side of search results for specific keywords. Payment is based on user clicks on the text link.

Password
A string of characters that allow users access to an ISP or a protected webpage.

Pay-per-action
An Internet ad model in which the advertiser only pays if a visitor both clicks on the ad and does something like generates a lead or makes a purchase.

Pay-per-call
The ability to track offline sales through unique toll-free phone numbers.

Pay-per-click
An advertising pricing model in which advertisers pay agencies based on how many consumers clicked on a promotion.

Peer-to-peer (P2P)
Relies primarily on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively low number of servers. Although Napster no longer allows the free sharing of music from one user to another, it helped spawn video companies such as BitTorrent that utilize P2P protocol to distribute video.

Plug-in
3rd party software that increases the features of a web browser.

Podcasts
a method of publishing files to the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically by subscription.

Pop-Under Ad
An ad that displays in a new browser window behind the current browser window.

Pop-Up
a pop-up is a small window that appears over a visual interface (your screen). A pop-up can be initiated by clicking a link or a mouse rollover. Pop-up ads are advertisements that work in the same way, but are not welcome or expected by the user.

Portal
A Web site or service that offers a broad array of resources and services, such as e-mail, forums, search engines, and on-line shopping malls.

POTS
Plain old telephone services, delivery over copper telephone lines/wires.

Premium Content
Content purchased via wireless phones by wireless subscribers.

Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP)
Digital information transmitted by a DTV station that includes the time and date, major and minor channel numbers, and program information.

Pull
Term used to describe how a wireless subscriber obtains content when they ask (i.e., pull) content to themselves.

Pure-play
An entity whose primary choice of order processing and collection is Internet based.

Push
Term used to describe how a wireless subscriber obtains content when they don’t specifically ask for it each time.

Query
To request information from a database. When you use a search engine you are actually querying a database.

Quick Time
One of many methods to present audio and video on a web page.

Quit
To end a session with a program by closing the application

QWERTY Keyboard
The most common key layout for standard keyboards. Look at the top row of letter keys on your keyboard, the first six spell out QWERTY.

Radio Button
A form field that presents the user with a selection of choices and can by chosen by clicking on it. Similar to a check box.

RBOC
Regional Bell Operating Company, like GTE, AllNet, etc.

Referrals
Fees advertisers pay to on-line companies that refer qualified leads or purchase inquiries.

Referrer
The referrer is the page URL that originally generated the request for the current page view or object. Types of referrers include, Internal Referrer, External Referrer, Search Referrer, Visit Referrer, Original Referrer.

Registered User
A user of a website whose name and password have been recorded within the website. Some web sites only allow registered users access to their content.

Repeat Visitor
The number of Unique Visitors with activity consisting of two or more Visits to a site during a reporting period.

Return Visitor
The number of Unique Visitors with activity consisting of a Visit to a site during a reporting period and where the Unique Visitor also Visited the site prior to the reporting period. New Visitors and Return Visitors qualifies when the Visitor started visiting the site. It is possible for a visitor to be counted as both New and Repeat or both Return and Repeat during a reporting period.

Rich Internet Applications (RIA)
Web applications that have the features and functionality of traditional desktop applications. RIAs typically transfer the processing necessary for the user interface to the Web client but keep the bulk of the data (i.e., maintaining the state of the program, the data etc) back on the application server.

RIAs offer a richer functionality and more engaging applications in the technology being used on the client side, including drag and drop, using a slider to change data, calculations performed only by the client and which do not need to be sent back to the server, for example, a mortgage calculator. Google Maps is an example of a site using RIA technology.

Rich media
Advanced technology used in Internet ads, such as streaming video, applets that allow user interaction, and special effects.

RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication)
Rich Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication - A lightweight XML format for distributing news headlines and other content on the Web.

Search
Any database query that results in successful retrieval of records.

Search Advertising
Advertisers pay on-line companies to list and/or link their compnay site domain name to a specific search word or phrase.

Search Engine
A database front end that allows a user to seek information on the Internet by keyword. Search engines may look for titles of documents, URLs, headers, or text.

Search Referrer
The search referrer is an internal or external referrer for which the URL has been generated by a search function.

Server
A computer that houses websites and is connected to the Internet 24hrs a day.

Serial Port
A connection point on the computer that allows you to connect peripheral devices. Your mouse is probably connected to a serial port.

Session
See visit

Share-of-Voice (SOV)
A ratio of impressions bought to the total impressions available on a website.

Simulcast
Simulcast is a contraction of "simultaneous broadcast" and refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium at the same time. As an example, many broadcasters use simulcasting to deliver foreign language programming.

Single Page View Visits (Bounces)
Visits that consist of one page-view.

Single-Page Visits
Visits that consist of one page regardless of the number of times the page was viewed. For a single-page visit, the entry page and exit page are the same page. Single-page visits should not be equated or confused with single page view visits.

Site Optimization
A website modification to make it easier for search engines to index the site, leading to better placement in results.

Skyscraper
A vertical ad unit that measures 160x600 or 120x600 pixels.

Slotting Fees
Fees charged to advertisers by on-line companies to secure premium positioning of an advertisement on their site, category exclusivity or similar preference positioning.

SMS (Short Message Service)
Text messaging via a mobile device.

Social bookmarking
The ability to save and categorize a personal collection of bookmarks and share them with others. Users may also take bookmarks saved by others and add them to their own collection, as well as to subscribe to the lists of others.

Social media
Online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other.

Social Networking
Web sites that allow people to link to others to share opinions, insights experiences and perspectives, whether it's music fans on MySpace, business contacts on LinkedIn, or classmates on Facebook. Many media sites have adopted social networking features such as blogs, message boards, podcasts and wikis to help build online communities around their content.

Splog
Blogs which are intentionally fake and are created to increase a page rank, get ad impressions and/or use the blog as a link to get new sites indexed.

Sponsored Link
Text-based ads that appear as a result of a keyword search.

Sponsorship
Advertiser sponsors targeted website or section of website, usually containing some banner ad element.

Standard Definition TV Format (SDTV)
There are two main digital formats - HDTV and SDTV. SDTV typically does produce better quality images than that of traditional analog TV and pictures somewhat akin to digital cable. However, its images are not nearly as sharp as the images from the ultimate form of digital television: High-definition TV (HDTV).

Streaming Media
Video or audio transmitted over a network that users can begin to play immediately instead of waiting for the entire file to download. RealMedia, QuickTime and Windows Media are the most common streaming formats.

SVOD
Subscription video on demand.

Tags
Keywords attached to photos or web pages to help identify them and allow them show up in search engines.

TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, a set of rules that establish the method by which data is transmitted over the Internet.

Telnet
A program that allows you to connect to other computers on the Internet.

TIFF
Stands for Tagged Image File Format. A high resolution, tag-based image format. TIFF is used for the universal interchange of digital images.

Triple Play
Expression used by service operators describing a consumer package including telephony, data and video. Offering triple play on a broadband connection requires the use of IPTV and IP Telephony (VoIP).

Upconverting
Process by which a standard definition picture is changed to a simulated high-definition picture.

UPS
Stands for uninterruptible power supply. A back up battery connected to a computer system that will supply power to the system if the electricity goes out. This allows users time to save work and shut down their systems safely.

Unicast
Point-to-point, one-to-one transmission of data. Unicasting is the standard transmission method on the Internet. Webcasting, by contrast, is the process of broadcasting digital information to all parties tuned in to a channel through which data is pushed, or it is the process of sending software updates on request to multiple points.

Unique Page View
The review of a web page by an individual visitor.

Unique User
Unique individual or browser which has either accessed a site or which has been served unique content and/or ads such as e-mail, newsletters, interstitials and pop-under ads.

Unique Visitor
A unique IP address visiting a website for the first time in a specified period, usually a 24-hour period.

Unique Visitors
The number of inferred individual people (filtered for spiders and robots), within a designated reporting timeframe, with activity consisting of one or more visits to a site. Each individual is counted only once in the unique visitor measure for the reporting period.

UNIX
A multi-user, multitasking operating system. Many web servers run on UNIX systems.

URL
Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. A string that supplies the Internet address of a web site or page on the World Wide Web.

User
Person using or accessing the World Wide Web.

User-generated content
Various kinds of media content that are produced by end-users, as opposed to traditional media producers, licensed broadcasters and production companies.

VDSL
Very high bit-rate DSL.

Video Clip
A movie that can be embedded into a web page.

Video Conferencing
Similar to teleconferencing, except the participants have cameras and microphones attached to their computers and are able to see and hear each other using their computers and a computer network, or the web.

Viral Marketing
Any marketing technique that induces Web sites or users to pass on a marketing message to other sites or users.

Viral Video
Video content, usually humorous in nature, made popular through sharing, typically through email or media sharing websites.

Visit
A visit or session is an interaction, by an individual, with a website consisting of one or more requests for an analyst-definable unit of content (i.e. "page view"). If an individual has not taken another action (typically additional page views) on the site within a specified time period, the visit session will terminate.

Visit Duration
The length of time in a session. Calculation is typically the timestamp of the last activity in the session minus the timestamp of the first activity of the session. When there is only one piece of activity in a session (a single-page visit or single-event visit), no visit duration is typically reported.

Visit Referrer
The visit referrer is the first referrer in a session, whether internal, external or null.

Visitor
A single Internet user using a program (usually a Browser) to access a Site page.

Vlog
Video-based journals posted online.

VOD (Video on demand)
A system that allows users to select video programming from a broadband network. The system affords the user playback controls over a video.

Vodcast
The online delivery of video-on-demand (VOD) content via RSS enclosures. It is an evolution of "podcast," the term for audio-based content delivery. From OMMA magazine.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
The routing of voice conversations over the Internet or any other IP-based network. The voice data flows over a general-purpose packet-switched network, instead of traditional dedicated, circuit-switched voice transmission lines.

VRML
Stands for Virtual Reality Modeling Language and is used to create 3D environments or web pages that allow users to move around within the environment.

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)
WAP is a widely used set of protocols that standardize the manner in which wireless devices, such as cell phones and some PDAs, are able to access parts of the Internet, such as e-mail and the Web.

Web 2.0
The transition of the World Wide Web from a collection of websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users.

Web 3.0
The evolution of Web usage and interaction along several separate paths, including transforming the Web into a database and a move towards making content accessible by multiple non-browser applications.

Web Browser
A World Wide Web (www) client. An information retrieval tool. Netscape Navigator is an example of a browser.

Web Page
A Web Page is a document written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) that can be accessed on the internet

Web Site
A location managed by a single entity that provides information such as text, graphics, and audio or video files to users as well as connections (called hyperlinks or links) to other websites.

Webcasting
Communicating to multiple computers at the same time over internet by "streaming" live audio and/or live video through compression and decompression of the signal.

Webisode
A short video available only on the Web.

Wide screen
A term given to picture displays with a wider aspect ratio than NTSC 4:3. Digital HDTV or SDTV is referred to as "16:9 wide screen." Most motion pictures also have a 16:9 wide screen aspect ratio. Most Digital TVs have a screen that is wider than it is tall (if a Digital TV screen is nine inches high, it's 16 inches wide.) When watching a show recorded in the wide screen format on a Digital TV, viewers see more of the movie, while when viewing wide screen format on an analog TV, cropped edges are evident.

Widget
A third party item that can be embedded in a web page.

Wiki
A website or similar online resource which allows users to add and edit content collectively.

Wikipedia
A free content, multilingual encyclopedia written collaboratively by contributors around the world. The site is a Wiki - anybody can edit and add to an article. Offers quick understanding on controversial issues. Strong in current affairs.

Wireless Mesh Router
A system whereby a computer communicates with a router, which passes the data along to other routers within a WiFi mesh, until a route out to the Internet is found.


XML (Extensible Markup Language)
A general purpose standard for describing, or marking up, documents and data distributed on the web. XML allows authors to create customized tags that can help them efficiently achieve their goals.

Zip Drive
A zip drive is a removable hard drive that can be added to a computer system for added storage capabilities. A zip drive writes data to a zip disc, which can be used similarly to a floppy disc, but with 100mb of storage space.

Zip File
Not to be confused with a Zip Drive or disc, is a compressed file that contains data. When the file is unzipped using a program like WinZip, the files are uncompressed and readable in their original format. It is common to zip up a large file before attaching it and sending it in a e-mail. The zipped file is smaller and doesn't take as long to download. All zip file have a .zip file extension.

Zombie Network
Linking together multiple personal computers to target and perpetrate click fraud.