<s>
Backchannel	B-Protocol
is	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
networked	O
computers	O
to	O
maintain	O
a	O
real-time	O
online	O
conversation	O
alongside	O
the	O
primary	O
group	O
activity	O
or	O
live	O
spoken	O
remarks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
"	O
generally	O
refers	O
to	O
online	O
conversation	O
about	O
the	O
conference	O
topic	O
or	O
speaker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Occasionally	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
provides	O
audience	O
members	O
a	O
chance	O
to	O
fact-check	O
the	O
presentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
growing	O
in	O
popularity	O
at	O
technology	O
conferences	O
,	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
is	O
increasingly	O
a	O
factor	O
in	O
education	O
where	O
WiFi	O
connections	O
and	O
laptop	B-Device
computers	I-Device
allow	O
participants	O
to	O
use	O
ordinary	O
chat	O
like	O
IRC	B-Protocol
or	O
AIM	B-Protocol
to	O
actively	O
communicate	O
during	O
presentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
recent	O
research	O
include	O
works	O
where	O
the	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
is	O
brought	O
publicly	O
visible	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
ClassCommons	O
,	O
backchan.nl	O
and	O
Fragmented	O
Social	O
Mirror	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Twitter	B-Application
is	O
also	O
widely	O
used	O
today	O
by	O
audiences	O
to	O
create	O
backchannels	B-Protocol
during	O
broadcasting	O
of	O
content	O
or	O
at	O
conferences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Victor	O
Yngve	O
first	O
used	O
the	O
phrase	O
"	O
back	B-Protocol
channel	I-Protocol
"	O
in	O
1970	O
in	O
a	O
linguistic	O
meaning	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
following	O
passage	O
:	O
"	O
In	O
fact	O
,	O
both	O
the	O
person	O
who	O
has	O
the	O
turn	O
and	O
his	O
partner	O
are	O
simultaneously	O
engaged	O
in	O
both	O
speaking	O
and	O
listening	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
existence	O
of	O
what	O
I	O
call	O
the	O
back	B-Protocol
channel	I-Protocol
,	O
over	O
which	O
the	O
person	O
who	O
has	O
the	O
turn	O
receives	O
short	O
messages	O
such	O
as	O
'	O
yes	O
 '	O
and	O
'	O
uh-huh	O
'	O
without	O
relinquishing	O
the	O
turn.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
famous	O
instance	O
of	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
communications	O
influencing	O
a	O
talk	O
occurred	O
on	O
March	O
26	O
,	O
2002	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
PC	O
Forum	O
conference	O
,	O
when	O
Qwest	O
CEO	O
Joe	O
Nacchio	O
famously	O
lamented	O
the	O
difficulties	O
of	O
raising	O
capital	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
commentators	O
later	O
attributed	O
the	O
audience	O
's	O
hostility	O
to	O
the	O
information	O
people	O
shared	O
while	O
surfing	O
and	O
communicating	O
on	O
their	O
laptops	B-Device
during	O
Nacchio	O
's	O
remarks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Research	O
has	O
demonstrated	O
that	O
backchannels	B-Protocol
help	O
participants	O
to	O
feel	O
as	O
contributing	O
members	O
,	O
not	O
passive	O
followers	O
and	O
make	O
them	O
feel	O
more	O
social	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
research	O
is	O
mixed	O
on	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
this	O
discussions	O
,	O
and	O
especially	O
regarding	O
social	O
interaction	O
on	O
the	O
backchannels	B-Protocol
:	O
some	O
cases	O
report	O
vast	O
interaction	O
where	O
as	O
others	O
highlight	O
that	O
interaction	O
on	O
the	O
platform	O
was	O
considered	O
low	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
its	O
inception	O
in	O
1998	O
at	O
Argonne	O
National	O
Laboratory	O
,	O
the	O
Internet2	O
initiative	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Access	B-Application
Grid	I-Application
(	O
a	O
large-format	O
presentation	O
,	O
video	B-Application
conferencing	I-Application
and	O
interactive	O
environment	O
)	O
has	O
used	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
communications	O
to	O
permit	O
the	O
node	O
operators	O
to	O
pass	O
URLs	O
for	O
display	O
at	O
another	O
site	O
,	O
troubleshoot	O
problems	O
and	O
even	O
discuss	O
what	O
's	O
for	O
lunch	O
at	O
their	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Access	B-Application
Grid	I-Application
backchannel	B-Protocol
has	O
evolved	O
from	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
MOO	B-Application
to	O
XMPP	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2009	O
Purdue	O
University	O
developed	O
a	O
tool	O
called	O
Hotseat	O
that	O
enabled	O
students	O
to	O
comment	O
on	O
the	O
course	O
lectures	O
in	O
near	O
real-time	O
using	O
social	O
networking	O
tools	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	O
and	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
a	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
for	O
educational	O
purposes	O
can	O
function	O
as	O
a	O
formal	O
class	O
activity	O
or	O
even	O
an	O
independent	O
discussion	O
without	O
instructor	O
participation	O
and	O
awareness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aside	O
from	O
the	O
normal	O
discussion	O
,	O
a	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
note	O
taking	O
,	O
asking	O
questions	O
,	O
offering	O
suggestions	O
on	O
different	O
topics	O
,	O
and	O
sharing	O
resources	O
with	O
other	O
students	O
and	O
faculty	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
many	O
different	O
media	O
networks	O
out	O
there	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Including	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
Facebook	O
,	O
Yammer	O
and	O
Instant	O
Messaging	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
USC	O
Interactive	O
Media	O
Division	O
has	O
experimented	O
with	O
"	O
Google	O
Jockeys	O
"	O
to	O
feed	O
visual	O
information	O
and	O
search	O
results	O
between	O
the	O
speakers	O
and	O
the	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
,	O
projected	O
on	O
multiple	O
screens	O
surrounding	O
their	O
seminars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
like	O
SubEthaEdit	B-Operating_System
allows	O
for	O
more	O
formal	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
:	O
collaborative	O
notetaking	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
the	O
in	O
Boston	O
,	O
Massachusetts	O
used	O
tools	O
such	O
as	O
Twitter	B-Application
and	O
Skype	B-Application
to	O
create	O
backchannels	B-Protocol
that	O
included	O
participants	O
who	O
were	O
not	O
on	O
location	O
and	O
at	O
times	O
in	O
remote	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
times	O
presenters	O
were	O
not	O
aware	O
of	O
the	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
and	O
other	O
occasions	O
the	O
presenters	O
themselves	O
were	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
backchannel	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
