Chapter 1:
What is e-commerce? How does it differ from e-business? Where does it intersect with e-business?
E-commerce, in the popular sense, can be defined as: the use of the Internet and the Web to conduct business transactions. A more technical definition would be: e-commerc e involves digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals. E-commerce differs from e-business in that no commercial transaction, an exchange of value across organizational or individual boundaries, takes place in e-business. E-business is the digital enablement of transactions and processes withina firm and therefore does not include any exchange in value. E-commerce and e-business intersect at the business firm boundary at the point where internal business systems link up with suppliers. For instance, e-business turns into e-commerce when an exchange of value occurs across firm boundaries.
Compare online and traditional transactions in terms of richness.
Traditional transactions can provide more richness in terms of face-to-face service including visual and aural cues. However, traditional transactions are limited in terms of how many people can be reached at a single time. Online transactions, which can be global in reach, can provide content that is both complex and rich, overcoming the traditional trade-off between reach and richness.
What is Web 2.0? Give examples of Web 2.0 sites and explain why you included them in your list.
Web 2.0 is a set of applications and technologies that allows users to create, edit, and distribute content; share preferences, bookmarks, and online personas; participate in virtual lives; and build online communities. In other words, Web 2.0 is the set of new, advanced applications that have evolved along with the Web’s ability to support larger audiences and more involved content. Students may list Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Photo bucket, Google, Wikipedia, Second Life,
Digg, and WordPress, among others, as example sites.
How are the Internet and the Web similar to or different from other technologies that have changed commerce in the past?
The Internet and the Web are similar to other technologies that have changed commerce in the past in that each new technological innovation spawns explosive growth characterized by thousands of startup companies. Many of these fail in the period of retrenchment and consolidation that follows. As with other technological revolutions, eventually it is the large, already established firms who have the resources to exploit the new technology. The growth of the Internet, when compared to other electronic technologies such as radio and television, has been much more rapid: the Internet and Web achieved a 53percent share of U.S households in only 10 years. In comparison, it took 38 years for radio and 17 for television to achieve a 30 percent share
What are some of the major advantages and disadvantages of being a first mover?
The major advantages of being a first mover are the ability to build a brand name early on and establish a large customer base before followers enter the market, and the ability to build switching costs into the technology or services offered sothat customers will find it discomfiting to change to a late entering competitor. The major disadvantage is that historically, many first movers have not succeeded and are instead replaced by the fast follower, larger firms with the financial, marketing, legal, and production assets necessary to develop mature markets. Generally, only a handful of first mover firms become successful long-term businesses as the start-up costs and time it takes to build a profitable business are often underestimated.
Define disintermediation and explain the benefits to Internet users of such a phenomenon. How does disintermediation impact friction-free commerce?
Disintermediation means the removal of the market middlemen—the distributors, wholesalers, and other intermediaries—between producers and consumers. The predicted benefits to Internet users include the decline of prices for products and services as manufacturers and content originators develop a direct relationship with their customers, and the elimination of payments to these middlemen. Disintermediation of markets would create intense competition. This, along with lowered transaction costs, would eliminate product brands, eventually resulting in the elimination of unfair competitive advantages and extraordinary returns on capital: the vision of friction-free commerce.
Discuss the ways in which the early years of e-commerce can be considered both a success and a failure
The early years of e-commerce can be considered a success because of the technological success that occurred as Web-enabled transactions grew from thousands to billions. The digital infrastructure proved to be a solid foundation on which to build a viable marketing channel. From a business perspective, the early years of e-commerce were a mixed success with just a tiny percentage of dot-com companies surviving. However, the survivors have benefited from the continued growth in B2C revenues. The early years of e-commerce can also be considered a
success in that the transfer of information has been a huge accomplishment as consumers learned to use the Web to procure information about products they wanted to purchase (Internet-influenced commerce)
Describe the three different stages in the evolution of e-commerce.
The three stages in the evolution of e-commerce are innovation, consolidation, and reinvention. Innovation took place from 1995–2000 and was characterized by excitement and idealistic vision s of markets in which quality information was equally available to both buyers and merchants. However, e-commerce did not fulfill these visions during its early years. After 2000, e-commerce entered its second stage of development: consolidation. In this stage, more traditional firms began to use the Web to enhance their existing businesses. Less emphasis was placed on creating new brands. In 2006, though, e-commerce entered its current stage, reinvention, as social networking and Web 2.0 applications rein vigorated e-commerce and encouraged the development of new business models
Given the development and history of e-commerce in the years from 1995–2013, what do you predict we will see during the next five years of e-commerce? Describe some of the technological, business, and societal shifts that may occur as the Internet continues to grow and expand
Although each student’s answer may differ depending on their personal perspective on e-commerce, here are some possible predictions:
Technological Shifts: the Internet will continue to grow, but at a slower pace. Internet usage, however, will become more focused, targeted, and intense. New client platforms like tablet computers will emerge. New networking technologies will emerge to permit mobile commerce.
Business Shifts: Larger traditional firms will come to dominate e-commerce. There will be a greater emphasis on profitability for online ventures.
Societal Shifts: There will be a greater emphasis on regulation and control over the Internet and e-commerce in areas such as taxation, content, and entertainment.
Chapter-2:
What are Amazon’s primary customer value propositions?
Ans: Amazon’s primary customer value propositions are unparalleled selection and convenience.
Values play an important role in Amazon.com's succeeding. A value is like a goal and forms an ongoing objective. There are two strong values that are practised by Amazon.com. These include customer satisfaction and operational frugality. A value proposition can be a goal and it can be something that the company aspires to as part of their ongoing objectives, but to say "a value is like a goal" is not the same as saying that "a value proposition is like a goal .. Value proposition": The unique value a business offers to its customers. It's why your customers will want to do business with you.
Why is targeting a market niche generally smarter for a community provider than targeting a large market segment?
Targeting a market niche is generally a smarter strategy for a community provider than targeting a large market segment because targeting large market segments will only pit a company against bigger and more established competitors. Small sub-segments of larger markets have a greater potential for growth without the intense competitive pressure. Communities that place a strong emphasis on the advertising revenue model will find marketers more interested in placing ads on a site that targets a specific niche
What are some of the specific ways that a company can obtain a competitive advantage?
Some specific ways a company can obtain a competitive advantage are by developing a global market while its competitors only have a national or regional market; by obtaining favorable terms from shippers, suppliers, or labor sources that its competitors do not have; by developing a more experienced, knowledgeable, and loyal employee base than its competitors; by obtaining a patent on a product that its competitors will not be able to imitate; by having an inside track to investors willing to put up capital; by establishing a powerful brand name or a popular image that it will be difficult for competitors to duplicate; and by any type of asymmetry that will give it more resources than its competitors in any area such as financial backing, knowledge, information, and/or power.
Why is it difficult to categorize e-commerce business models?
It is difficult to categorize e-commerce business models because the number of models is limited only by the human imagination, and new business models are being invented daily. Even within the broad-based generic types, there are overlaps, and fundamentally similar business models may appear in more than one. The type of e-commerce technology used can also affect the classification of a business model. Also, some companies may employ multiple business models.
For example, eBay is essentially a C2C marketplace, but also functions as a B2C market maker, and in addition, has an m-commerce business model.
Besides the examples given in the chapter, what are some other examples of vertical and horizontal portals in existence today?
Some other examples of vertical portals (vortals) include ESPN.com (sports), iVillage.com (women’s issues), Bloomberg.com (business), NFL.com (sports), WebMD.com (medical issues), Gamers.com (games), Away.com (travel), and Sina.com (China and Chinese communities). Some other examples of horizontal or general portals include Lycos.com and Sympatico.ca (Canadian). Note that many of these can also be considered community sites as well.
Besides news and articles, what other forms of information or content do content providers offer?
Besides news and articles, content providers may also supply music, photos, video, artwork, educational materials, or games.
What are four generic business strategies for achieving a profitable business?
The four generic business strategies for achieving a profitable business are differentiation, cost, scope, and focus. Differentiation involves setting your firm or product apart from the competition by establishing some unique property or consumption experience that your competitors do not have. A firm that adopts a cost strategy must have a unique set of business processes, a unique resource, or a low cost supplier. It is essential that other firms in the marketplace do not have access to, or cannot duplicate, this because it will allow them to charge a lower price while still making a profit. A scope strategy sets out to compete in all markets around the globe, rather than just locally or regionally. A focus strategy on the other hand, is a plan to compete within a narrow market segment or product segment. Specialization strategists seek to become the premier provider in a small market segment or niche.
Chapter 3:
What are the three basic building blocks of the Internet?
The three basic building blocks are packet switching, the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) communications protocol, and client/server computing. Packet switching is a method of splitting messages up into parcels, routing them along available communications paths, and reassembling them at the destination point. The TCP protocol is the set of rules that specifies how these messages should be formatted, ordered, compressed, and error-checked. The IP protocol provides the addressing scheme for the Internet. Client/server computing refers to networks of powerful client computers that are connected to one or more server computers. The clients are powerful enough to display, process, and store very large files including graphics and sound files. The servers are dedicated to common functions that all of the clients need including file storage, and they also house many software applications and utility programs that the clients frequently use.
How is the TCP/IP protocol related to information transfer on the Internet?
The TCP/IP protocol determines how messages are formatted, compressed and error-checked and how they are addressed so that they reach the correct destination in the correct order and format. TCP establishes the connections between sending and receiving computers, and it handles the assembly of packets at the point of transmission and their reassembly at the receiving end. IP provides the Internet’s addressing scheme, and is responsible for the actual delivery of the packets.
What is cloud computing, and how has it impacted the Internet?
What are the some major limitations of today’s Internet?
The four major limitations of today’s Internet are bandwidth, quality of service, network architecture, and language development. There is insufficient bandwidth capacity throughout the backbone, the metropolitan switching centers, and most importantly, to the houses and small businesses at the end of the information pipeline. Due to insufficient bandwidth and the circuitous nature of packet switching, video and voice traffic suffers from latency. This causes these types of messages to arrive with noticeable delays and a jerky quality. Because today’s Internet uses “best efforts” quality of service, each packet is provided with the same level of service. This means that all packets traveling through the communication system are treated the same, no matter who is sending them or what type of message they are.
Network architecture restrictions also limit the performance of the Internet. A thousand requests for the same file result in a server having to download the file one thousand times rather than being able to transmit it once to all one thousand computers at the same time. This significantly slows down network performance. Finally, HTML, the language for displaying Web pages, has proven to be insufficient for displaying rich documents such as database files, business documents and graphics.
What are some of the challenges of policing the Internet? Who has the final say when it comes to content?
One challenge of policing the Internet is that there are multiple organizations that influence the system and monitor its operations. It is hard to make the Internet conform to the laws of the sovereign nation states in which it operates, and it is difficult to enforce the various and often contradictory laws of all of these nations. Many countries want to put far stricter restrictions on freedom of expression than the U.S. does. Different cultures have different social morals, and what is acceptable in some countries is decidedly not in others. The issue of who has the final say is also quite controversial and varies from country to country. For instance, in China, the Chinese government has “the final say” about what content is available to viewers who access the Internet from within China. Other countries also regulate the availability of certain types of content. Critics complain that attempting to create “legal harmony” will result in major content restrictions on the Internet with only content that is legally acceptable worldwide being made accessible.
What are some of the major technological advancements that are anticipated to accompany Internet II? Define and discuss the importance of each.
First, a bandwidth explosion fueled by fiber optic technology, will allow the Internet to move from narrowband to broadband digital service. Second, wireless Web and 3G technologies, will allow the Internet to move from cable-based stationary service to mobile service. Third, wireless LANS will allow laptop computers to be connected to other computers, as well as to other digital devices including: home appliances, vending machines, and remote sensors. Fourth, new Internet appliances will make it possible to connect nearly all the electronic devices in our lives to the Internet and to private intranets. These new Internet appliances will include thin client computing devices (PCs without hard drives), which rely totally on the Internet server to handle all information processing. Lightweight, portable, full-function PCs and handheld devices will be able to activate and deactivate virtually any device that can be connected to the Internet. This is expected to include home appliances-- TVs, stereos, telephones, games, security systems, cars and Net PCs-- which will be interconnected so that they can all be controlled from one source.
Describe the potential capabilities of internet of future
Investigate the Internet of Things. Select one example and describe what it is and how it works.
Broad Question:
Please describe with examples the unique features of e-commerce technology today
Ans: Ubiquity: It is available just about everywhere and at all times. Consumer can connect it to the Internet at any time, including at their homes, their offices, on their video game systems with an Internet connection and mobile phone devices. ECommerce is ubiquitous technology which is available everywhere and can access all times by using internet and Wi-Fi hotspot such as airport, coffee cafe and hill station places.
Global reach: The potential market size is roughly equal to the size of the online population of the world. Ecommerce Technology seamlessly stretch across traditional cultural and national boundaries and enable worldwide access to the client. ECommerce website have ability to translate the multilingual websites as well as allow the access to international visitors all over the world.
Universal standards: The technical standards of the Internet and therefore of conducting eCommerce, are shared by all of the nations in the world. The whole online tradition are growing and expanding their own features in the world. To development the any kind of business need Internet and communication application which make the business relationship more lovingly and attractive for secure business and successful business. ECommerce Technology provide us powerful application to access our social networking and online eCommerce store any time and everywhere.
Richness: Information that is complex and content-rich can be delivered without sacrificing reach. It has been so simple to keep the record of our tradition communication within the eCommerce time. You can save your audio, video, sent files, received files or data in your user account.
Interactivity: E-commerce technologies allow two-way communication between the merchant and the consumer. You can call them by using the voip and track the communication record. And second is is email communication which allow you to access all kind of mailing systems and tracking.
Information density: The total amount and quality of information available to all market participants is vastly increased and is cheaper to deliver. Most business owners use the shopping cart and do the order of product and purchasing online. Online shopping process allows a consumer or company to receive personal details, product shipping, billing and payment information from a customer all at once and sends the customer's information to the appropriate departments in a matter of seconds priority.
Personalization/Customization: E-commerce technologies enable merchants to target their marketing messages to a person’s name, interests and past purchases. They allow a merchant to change the product or service to suit the purchasing behavior and preferences of a consumer.
Social technology: User content generation and social networking technologies is most useful features which accelerate the client activity to share the information and content with one click. ECommerce technology has tie up the social media networking application to provide the best source of content sharing technology and eMarketing systems. You can share you content or data easily in just one click.
Identify the key components of e-commerce business models.
A successful business model effectively addresses eight key elements:
●Value proposition - how a company's product or service fulfills the needs of customers. Typical e-commerce value propositions include personalization, customization, convenience, and reduction of product search and price delivery costs.
●Revenue model -- how the company plans to make money from its operations. Major e-commerce revenue models include the advertising model, subscription model, transaction fee model, sales model, and affiliate model.
●Market opportunity -- the revenue potential within a company's intended marketspace.
●Competitive environment-the direct and indirect competitors doing business in the same marketspace, including how many there are and how profitable they are.
●Competitive advantage - the factors that differentiate the business from its competition, enabling it to provide a superior product at a lower cost.
●Market strategy -- the plan a company develops that outlines how it will enter a market and attract customers.
●Organizational development - the process of defining all the functions within a business and the skills necessary to perform each job, as well as the process of recruiting and hiring strong employees.
●Management team - the group of individuals retained to guide the company's growth and expansion.
Describe the key B2C business models.
There are a number of different business models being used in the B2C e-commerce arena. The major models include the following:
• Portal—offers powerful search tools plus an integrated package of content and services; typically utilizes a combined subscription/advertising revenue/transaction fee model; may be general or specialized (vortal).
• E-tailer—online version of traditional retailer; includes virtual merchants (online retail store only), bricks-and-clicks e-tailers (online distribution channel for a company that also has physical stores), catalog merchants (online version of
direct mail catalog), and manufacturers selling directly over the Web.
• Content provider—information and entertainment companies that provide digital content over the Web; typically utilizes an advertising, subscription, or affiliate referral fee revenue model.
• Transaction broker—processes online sales transactions; typically utilizes a transaction fee revenue model.
• Market creator—uses Internet technology to create markets that bring buyers and sellers together; typically utilizes a transaction fee revenue model.
• Service provider—offers services online.
• Community provider—provides an online community of like-minded individuals for networking and information sharing; revenue is generated by advertising,
referral fees, and subscriptions.
During the early days of e-commerce, first-mover advantage was touted as one way to success. On the other hand, some suggest that being a market follower can yield rewards as well. Which approach has proven to be more successful—first mover or follower? Choose two e-commerce companies that prove your point and prepare a brief presentation to explain your analysis and position.
For students that argue for first mover advantage as a way to success, examples might include Amazon, Yahoo, Travelocity, eBay, VeriSign, Priceline, E*Trade, and PayPal. Although each of these has encountered competition, their early arrival and commitment to becoming the predominant player in their respective marketspace have helped to assure their continuing success.
Those who argue for market followers can point to the demise of many of
e-commerce’s first movers. Examples might include Pets.com, Garden.com, Webvan, eToys.com, Kozmo.com, and theGlobe.com. They might point instead to companies who were not among the first on the Web, but today are successful such as Walmart.com, JCPenney.com, PetSmart.com, Williams-Sonoma.com, Fidelity.com, and Bluenile.com
Describe how Internet and Web features and services support e-commerce
Ans from book.
What is e-commerce? How does it differ from e-business? Where does it intersect with e-business?
E-commerce, in the popular sense, can be defined as: the use of the Internet and the Web to conduct business transactions. A more technical definition would be: e-commerc e involves digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals. E-commerce differs from e-business in that no commercial transaction, an exchange of value across organizational or individual boundaries, takes place in e-business. E-business is the digital enablement of transactions and processes withina firm and therefore does not include any exchange in value. E-commerce and e-business intersect at the business firm boundary at the point where internal business systems link up with suppliers. For instance, e-business turns into e-commerce when an exchange of value occurs across firm boundaries.
Compare online and traditional transactions in terms of richness.
Traditional transactions can provide more richness in terms of face-to-face service including visual and aural cues. However, traditional transactions are limited in terms of how many people can be reached at a single time. Online transactions, which can be global in reach, can provide content that is both complex and rich, overcoming the traditional trade-off between reach and richness.
What is Web 2.0? Give examples of Web 2.0 sites and explain why you included them in your list.
Web 2.0 is a set of applications and technologies that allows users to create, edit, and distribute content; share preferences, bookmarks, and online personas; participate in virtual lives; and build online communities. In other words, Web 2.0 is the set of new, advanced applications that have evolved along with the Web’s ability to support larger audiences and more involved content. Students may list Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Photo bucket, Google, Wikipedia, Second Life,
Digg, and WordPress, among others, as example sites.
How are the Internet and the Web similar to or different from other technologies that have changed commerce in the past?
The Internet and the Web are similar to other technologies that have changed commerce in the past in that each new technological innovation spawns explosive growth characterized by thousands of startup companies. Many of these fail in the period of retrenchment and consolidation that follows. As with other technological revolutions, eventually it is the large, already established firms who have the resources to exploit the new technology. The growth of the Internet, when compared to other electronic technologies such as radio and television, has been much more rapid: the Internet and Web achieved a 53percent share of U.S households in only 10 years. In comparison, it took 38 years for radio and 17 for television to achieve a 30 percent share
What are some of the major advantages and disadvantages of being a first mover?
The major advantages of being a first mover are the ability to build a brand name early on and establish a large customer base before followers enter the market, and the ability to build switching costs into the technology or services offered sothat customers will find it discomfiting to change to a late entering competitor. The major disadvantage is that historically, many first movers have not succeeded and are instead replaced by the fast follower, larger firms with the financial, marketing, legal, and production assets necessary to develop mature markets. Generally, only a handful of first mover firms become successful long-term businesses as the start-up costs and time it takes to build a profitable business are often underestimated.
Define disintermediation and explain the benefits to Internet users of such a phenomenon. How does disintermediation impact friction-free commerce?
Disintermediation means the removal of the market middlemen—the distributors, wholesalers, and other intermediaries—between producers and consumers. The predicted benefits to Internet users include the decline of prices for products and services as manufacturers and content originators develop a direct relationship with their customers, and the elimination of payments to these middlemen. Disintermediation of markets would create intense competition. This, along with lowered transaction costs, would eliminate product brands, eventually resulting in the elimination of unfair competitive advantages and extraordinary returns on capital: the vision of friction-free commerce.
Discuss the ways in which the early years of e-commerce can be considered both a success and a failure
The early years of e-commerce can be considered a success because of the technological success that occurred as Web-enabled transactions grew from thousands to billions. The digital infrastructure proved to be a solid foundation on which to build a viable marketing channel. From a business perspective, the early years of e-commerce were a mixed success with just a tiny percentage of dot-com companies surviving. However, the survivors have benefited from the continued growth in B2C revenues. The early years of e-commerce can also be considered a
success in that the transfer of information has been a huge accomplishment as consumers learned to use the Web to procure information about products they wanted to purchase (Internet-influenced commerce)
Describe the three different stages in the evolution of e-commerce.
The three stages in the evolution of e-commerce are innovation, consolidation, and reinvention. Innovation took place from 1995–2000 and was characterized by excitement and idealistic vision s of markets in which quality information was equally available to both buyers and merchants. However, e-commerce did not fulfill these visions during its early years. After 2000, e-commerce entered its second stage of development: consolidation. In this stage, more traditional firms began to use the Web to enhance their existing businesses. Less emphasis was placed on creating new brands. In 2006, though, e-commerce entered its current stage, reinvention, as social networking and Web 2.0 applications rein vigorated e-commerce and encouraged the development of new business models
Given the development and history of e-commerce in the years from 1995–2013, what do you predict we will see during the next five years of e-commerce? Describe some of the technological, business, and societal shifts that may occur as the Internet continues to grow and expand
Although each student’s answer may differ depending on their personal perspective on e-commerce, here are some possible predictions:
Technological Shifts: the Internet will continue to grow, but at a slower pace. Internet usage, however, will become more focused, targeted, and intense. New client platforms like tablet computers will emerge. New networking technologies will emerge to permit mobile commerce.
Business Shifts: Larger traditional firms will come to dominate e-commerce. There will be a greater emphasis on profitability for online ventures.
Societal Shifts: There will be a greater emphasis on regulation and control over the Internet and e-commerce in areas such as taxation, content, and entertainment.
Chapter-2:
What are Amazon’s primary customer value propositions?
Ans: Amazon’s primary customer value propositions are unparalleled selection and convenience.
Values play an important role in Amazon.com's succeeding. A value is like a goal and forms an ongoing objective. There are two strong values that are practised by Amazon.com. These include customer satisfaction and operational frugality. A value proposition can be a goal and it can be something that the company aspires to as part of their ongoing objectives, but to say "a value is like a goal" is not the same as saying that "a value proposition is like a goal .. Value proposition": The unique value a business offers to its customers. It's why your customers will want to do business with you.
Why is targeting a market niche generally smarter for a community provider than targeting a large market segment?
Targeting a market niche is generally a smarter strategy for a community provider than targeting a large market segment because targeting large market segments will only pit a company against bigger and more established competitors. Small sub-segments of larger markets have a greater potential for growth without the intense competitive pressure. Communities that place a strong emphasis on the advertising revenue model will find marketers more interested in placing ads on a site that targets a specific niche
What are some of the specific ways that a company can obtain a competitive advantage?
Some specific ways a company can obtain a competitive advantage are by developing a global market while its competitors only have a national or regional market; by obtaining favorable terms from shippers, suppliers, or labor sources that its competitors do not have; by developing a more experienced, knowledgeable, and loyal employee base than its competitors; by obtaining a patent on a product that its competitors will not be able to imitate; by having an inside track to investors willing to put up capital; by establishing a powerful brand name or a popular image that it will be difficult for competitors to duplicate; and by any type of asymmetry that will give it more resources than its competitors in any area such as financial backing, knowledge, information, and/or power.
Why is it difficult to categorize e-commerce business models?
It is difficult to categorize e-commerce business models because the number of models is limited only by the human imagination, and new business models are being invented daily. Even within the broad-based generic types, there are overlaps, and fundamentally similar business models may appear in more than one. The type of e-commerce technology used can also affect the classification of a business model. Also, some companies may employ multiple business models.
For example, eBay is essentially a C2C marketplace, but also functions as a B2C market maker, and in addition, has an m-commerce business model.
Besides the examples given in the chapter, what are some other examples of vertical and horizontal portals in existence today?
Some other examples of vertical portals (vortals) include ESPN.com (sports), iVillage.com (women’s issues), Bloomberg.com (business), NFL.com (sports), WebMD.com (medical issues), Gamers.com (games), Away.com (travel), and Sina.com (China and Chinese communities). Some other examples of horizontal or general portals include Lycos.com and Sympatico.ca (Canadian). Note that many of these can also be considered community sites as well.
Besides news and articles, what other forms of information or content do content providers offer?
Besides news and articles, content providers may also supply music, photos, video, artwork, educational materials, or games.
What are four generic business strategies for achieving a profitable business?
The four generic business strategies for achieving a profitable business are differentiation, cost, scope, and focus. Differentiation involves setting your firm or product apart from the competition by establishing some unique property or consumption experience that your competitors do not have. A firm that adopts a cost strategy must have a unique set of business processes, a unique resource, or a low cost supplier. It is essential that other firms in the marketplace do not have access to, or cannot duplicate, this because it will allow them to charge a lower price while still making a profit. A scope strategy sets out to compete in all markets around the globe, rather than just locally or regionally. A focus strategy on the other hand, is a plan to compete within a narrow market segment or product segment. Specialization strategists seek to become the premier provider in a small market segment or niche.
Chapter 3:
What are the three basic building blocks of the Internet?
The three basic building blocks are packet switching, the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) communications protocol, and client/server computing. Packet switching is a method of splitting messages up into parcels, routing them along available communications paths, and reassembling them at the destination point. The TCP protocol is the set of rules that specifies how these messages should be formatted, ordered, compressed, and error-checked. The IP protocol provides the addressing scheme for the Internet. Client/server computing refers to networks of powerful client computers that are connected to one or more server computers. The clients are powerful enough to display, process, and store very large files including graphics and sound files. The servers are dedicated to common functions that all of the clients need including file storage, and they also house many software applications and utility programs that the clients frequently use.
How is the TCP/IP protocol related to information transfer on the Internet?
The TCP/IP protocol determines how messages are formatted, compressed and error-checked and how they are addressed so that they reach the correct destination in the correct order and format. TCP establishes the connections between sending and receiving computers, and it handles the assembly of packets at the point of transmission and their reassembly at the receiving end. IP provides the Internet’s addressing scheme, and is responsible for the actual delivery of the packets.
What is cloud computing, and how has it impacted the Internet?
What are the some major limitations of today’s Internet?
The four major limitations of today’s Internet are bandwidth, quality of service, network architecture, and language development. There is insufficient bandwidth capacity throughout the backbone, the metropolitan switching centers, and most importantly, to the houses and small businesses at the end of the information pipeline. Due to insufficient bandwidth and the circuitous nature of packet switching, video and voice traffic suffers from latency. This causes these types of messages to arrive with noticeable delays and a jerky quality. Because today’s Internet uses “best efforts” quality of service, each packet is provided with the same level of service. This means that all packets traveling through the communication system are treated the same, no matter who is sending them or what type of message they are.
Network architecture restrictions also limit the performance of the Internet. A thousand requests for the same file result in a server having to download the file one thousand times rather than being able to transmit it once to all one thousand computers at the same time. This significantly slows down network performance. Finally, HTML, the language for displaying Web pages, has proven to be insufficient for displaying rich documents such as database files, business documents and graphics.
What are some of the challenges of policing the Internet? Who has the final say when it comes to content?
One challenge of policing the Internet is that there are multiple organizations that influence the system and monitor its operations. It is hard to make the Internet conform to the laws of the sovereign nation states in which it operates, and it is difficult to enforce the various and often contradictory laws of all of these nations. Many countries want to put far stricter restrictions on freedom of expression than the U.S. does. Different cultures have different social morals, and what is acceptable in some countries is decidedly not in others. The issue of who has the final say is also quite controversial and varies from country to country. For instance, in China, the Chinese government has “the final say” about what content is available to viewers who access the Internet from within China. Other countries also regulate the availability of certain types of content. Critics complain that attempting to create “legal harmony” will result in major content restrictions on the Internet with only content that is legally acceptable worldwide being made accessible.
What are some of the major technological advancements that are anticipated to accompany Internet II? Define and discuss the importance of each.
First, a bandwidth explosion fueled by fiber optic technology, will allow the Internet to move from narrowband to broadband digital service. Second, wireless Web and 3G technologies, will allow the Internet to move from cable-based stationary service to mobile service. Third, wireless LANS will allow laptop computers to be connected to other computers, as well as to other digital devices including: home appliances, vending machines, and remote sensors. Fourth, new Internet appliances will make it possible to connect nearly all the electronic devices in our lives to the Internet and to private intranets. These new Internet appliances will include thin client computing devices (PCs without hard drives), which rely totally on the Internet server to handle all information processing. Lightweight, portable, full-function PCs and handheld devices will be able to activate and deactivate virtually any device that can be connected to the Internet. This is expected to include home appliances-- TVs, stereos, telephones, games, security systems, cars and Net PCs-- which will be interconnected so that they can all be controlled from one source.
Describe the potential capabilities of internet of future
Investigate the Internet of Things. Select one example and describe what it is and how it works.
Broad Question:
Please describe with examples the unique features of e-commerce technology today
Ans: Ubiquity: It is available just about everywhere and at all times. Consumer can connect it to the Internet at any time, including at their homes, their offices, on their video game systems with an Internet connection and mobile phone devices. ECommerce is ubiquitous technology which is available everywhere and can access all times by using internet and Wi-Fi hotspot such as airport, coffee cafe and hill station places.
Global reach: The potential market size is roughly equal to the size of the online population of the world. Ecommerce Technology seamlessly stretch across traditional cultural and national boundaries and enable worldwide access to the client. ECommerce website have ability to translate the multilingual websites as well as allow the access to international visitors all over the world.
Universal standards: The technical standards of the Internet and therefore of conducting eCommerce, are shared by all of the nations in the world. The whole online tradition are growing and expanding their own features in the world. To development the any kind of business need Internet and communication application which make the business relationship more lovingly and attractive for secure business and successful business. ECommerce Technology provide us powerful application to access our social networking and online eCommerce store any time and everywhere.
Richness: Information that is complex and content-rich can be delivered without sacrificing reach. It has been so simple to keep the record of our tradition communication within the eCommerce time. You can save your audio, video, sent files, received files or data in your user account.
Interactivity: E-commerce technologies allow two-way communication between the merchant and the consumer. You can call them by using the voip and track the communication record. And second is is email communication which allow you to access all kind of mailing systems and tracking.
Information density: The total amount and quality of information available to all market participants is vastly increased and is cheaper to deliver. Most business owners use the shopping cart and do the order of product and purchasing online. Online shopping process allows a consumer or company to receive personal details, product shipping, billing and payment information from a customer all at once and sends the customer's information to the appropriate departments in a matter of seconds priority.
Personalization/Customization: E-commerce technologies enable merchants to target their marketing messages to a person’s name, interests and past purchases. They allow a merchant to change the product or service to suit the purchasing behavior and preferences of a consumer.
Social technology: User content generation and social networking technologies is most useful features which accelerate the client activity to share the information and content with one click. ECommerce technology has tie up the social media networking application to provide the best source of content sharing technology and eMarketing systems. You can share you content or data easily in just one click.
Identify the key components of e-commerce business models.
A successful business model effectively addresses eight key elements:
●Value proposition - how a company's product or service fulfills the needs of customers. Typical e-commerce value propositions include personalization, customization, convenience, and reduction of product search and price delivery costs.
●Revenue model -- how the company plans to make money from its operations. Major e-commerce revenue models include the advertising model, subscription model, transaction fee model, sales model, and affiliate model.
●Market opportunity -- the revenue potential within a company's intended marketspace.
●Competitive environment-the direct and indirect competitors doing business in the same marketspace, including how many there are and how profitable they are.
●Competitive advantage - the factors that differentiate the business from its competition, enabling it to provide a superior product at a lower cost.
●Market strategy -- the plan a company develops that outlines how it will enter a market and attract customers.
●Organizational development - the process of defining all the functions within a business and the skills necessary to perform each job, as well as the process of recruiting and hiring strong employees.
●Management team - the group of individuals retained to guide the company's growth and expansion.
Describe the key B2C business models.
There are a number of different business models being used in the B2C e-commerce arena. The major models include the following:
• Portal—offers powerful search tools plus an integrated package of content and services; typically utilizes a combined subscription/advertising revenue/transaction fee model; may be general or specialized (vortal).
• E-tailer—online version of traditional retailer; includes virtual merchants (online retail store only), bricks-and-clicks e-tailers (online distribution channel for a company that also has physical stores), catalog merchants (online version of
direct mail catalog), and manufacturers selling directly over the Web.
• Content provider—information and entertainment companies that provide digital content over the Web; typically utilizes an advertising, subscription, or affiliate referral fee revenue model.
• Transaction broker—processes online sales transactions; typically utilizes a transaction fee revenue model.
• Market creator—uses Internet technology to create markets that bring buyers and sellers together; typically utilizes a transaction fee revenue model.
• Service provider—offers services online.
• Community provider—provides an online community of like-minded individuals for networking and information sharing; revenue is generated by advertising,
referral fees, and subscriptions.
During the early days of e-commerce, first-mover advantage was touted as one way to success. On the other hand, some suggest that being a market follower can yield rewards as well. Which approach has proven to be more successful—first mover or follower? Choose two e-commerce companies that prove your point and prepare a brief presentation to explain your analysis and position.
For students that argue for first mover advantage as a way to success, examples might include Amazon, Yahoo, Travelocity, eBay, VeriSign, Priceline, E*Trade, and PayPal. Although each of these has encountered competition, their early arrival and commitment to becoming the predominant player in their respective marketspace have helped to assure their continuing success.
Those who argue for market followers can point to the demise of many of
e-commerce’s first movers. Examples might include Pets.com, Garden.com, Webvan, eToys.com, Kozmo.com, and theGlobe.com. They might point instead to companies who were not among the first on the Web, but today are successful such as Walmart.com, JCPenney.com, PetSmart.com, Williams-Sonoma.com, Fidelity.com, and Bluenile.com
Describe how Internet and Web features and services support e-commerce
Ans from book.
