Topic 12 Questions

Question 1

See if you can find an example of a privacy breach that was reported in the Australian or international news in the last 6 months. What were the consequences? i.e. legal, political, financial, personal etc. What action was taken in response to the privacy breach?

Sony Playstation had hackers access its network. On the 3^rd of April Sony took legal action against the hackers GeoHot and Graf Chokolo, who have both been releasing tools to jailbreak and add, or replace functionality to the gaming console. More information at http://www.businessinsider.com/playstation-network-users-hackers-may-have-all-your-personal-info-now-2011-4

Topic 11 Questions

Topic 11 Web 2.0

Exercise - select five applications that you have not heard of before from Popular URL's Web 2.0 awards or the webware awards and describe on your blog page how they could be useful to a business.

1.    Yelp.com: Yelp is an online reviews service for local eateries and attractions. Users can leave reviews for any business they've been to, including photos and personal anecdotes. Yelp then gives the establishment a 1-5 star rating based on the total number of user ratings, which makes it easy to find out whether or not a restaurant is worth going to

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13546_109-10237738-29.html#ixzz1NW7HZUWF

2.    YouSendIt.com: YouSendIt is a file-sharing service. It allows receivers to get files by clicking standard URL links. Since YouSendIt stores files on its own servers, you have to upload what you want to share, but then you don't have to leave your PC on to allow people to pick it up. The hosted transfer model isn't as flexible as peer-to-peer sharing, but it is easier to use for both senders and receivers.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13546_109-10237779-29.html#ixzz1NW7YRM6V

3.    OpenTable.com: OpenTable is an online reservation service. It lets people find reservations at local restaurants and book them from their computer or mobile phone; all the while, not having to use the traditional system of calling or visiting the restaurants in person.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13546_109-10237740-29.html#ixzz1NW7l0Wob

4.    EventBrite.com: Eventbrite is an events management service. If you're having an event and want to manage the entire thing online, Eventbrite lets you set up a customized destination page where attendees can register and buy tickets. It can also take the event you created and send it out to other events services in order to promote it.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13546_109-10237666-29.html#ixzz1NW7yfDBm

5.    Etsy.com: Etsy is an online marketplace for buying and selling handmade goods. Users can create their own virtual shopfronts to sell almost anything they'd want. Etsy has an integrated search tool that lets anyone search the site for goods and services out of a centralized directory. Users can also get into the nitty-gritty and design the specific look and feel of their own shops.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13546_109-10237640-29.html#ixzz1NW88iFgB

Topic 10 Questions

Topic 10: Trust

1.    What is meant by the following statements?

i.              Trust is not associative

Trust is not symmetric when buying or selling products on the internet, this is because a seller will only has to wait for a buy to place the money in there account before sending out the goods and because of this there is no trust in the relationship, the seller could not send the product.

ii.             Trust is not transitive

This means that you can refer customers to people whom you trust but it does not necessarily mean that they themselves will trust that person.

iii.            Trust is always between exactly two parties

This makes a point of trust being between 2 parties as a whole rather than trust being between individuals. This allows an individual party to trust a collection of individuals in a party.
                                                           

iv.           Trust will involve either direct trust or recommended trust

This means

2.    a) Have a look at the following websites. What are some of the elements that have been incorporated to increase your trust in the sites? If there are also some aspects which decrease your level of trust, describe them as well.

i.              http://www.eBay.com.au

You have to be registered before you can sell any goods. They also allow ratings for each seller so a potential customer can see all the reviews based on that seller.

ii.             http://www.anz.com.au

The bank provides a lot of precautious such as;

-          constant reminder to change passwords regularly

-          security and privacy statements

-          the use and disclosure of information

-          Record of IP addresses

(ANZ, 2010)

iii.            http://thinkgeek.com

Thinkgeek.com uses the following forms of security that users can implement and are more willing to trust them:

· 128-bit encryption to and from the servers and web browser.

· Credit card numbers are not stored in our database. We keep on file only the last 5 digits in cases where we need to verify the card that was used.

· Once the information is transmitted to our servers for processing, we use even stronger encryption in the back end to transmit the request to our payment processor to verify the credit card and place an authorization for the order total.

· If the authorization, address verification and risk assessment all clear, the order is accepted and a one-time unique ID is associated with the order for purposes of billing the previous authorization. This ID cannot be used to place further authorizations or bill more than the original auth. It contains no identifiable link to the credit card number.

· Once that ID has been used to bill the order (which happens only once the order begins shipping), it is no longer valid and cannot be used to authorize or bill again

iv.           http://paypal.com.au

b) Find a website yourself that you think looks untrustworthy

www.mcrosoft.com

Topic 8 Questions

Topic 8: Online Auctions Questions

1.       eBay is one of the only major internet “pure plays” to consistently make a profit from its inception. What is eBay’s business model? Why has it been so successful?

eBay’s business model is the brokerage model. It is so successful because it allows customers to purchase items that are no longer in stores or not in stores close to their region. They can also purchase items at a cheaper price than stores and customers tend to have a better experience as they have control of the situation – i.e. they provide feedback about the seller for future customers.

2.       Other major websites like Amazon.com and Yahoo! have entered the auction marketplace with far less success than eBay. How has eBay been able to maintain its dominating position?

eBay has been able to maintain this success by the way it is operated.  eBay has a larger range of stock compared to Amazon.com and for the most part tends to be cheaper than retail stores. eBay also allows customers to bid for an item, the highest bidder winning the auction and this effectively taps into people’s competitive nature.

3.       What method does eBay use to reduce the potential for fraud among traders on its site? What kinds of fraud, if any, are eBay’s users most susceptible?

eBay produces security information on their website for customers to be aware of security risks when purchasing items online.  They also provide feedback and complaint areas where customers can complain if they feel they have been cheated in any way. Some examples from their website include; only using safe payment methods such as PayPal, to never trade outside the eBay site as items purchased outside the site are not eligible for buyer protection, to never use western union, MoneyGram or other instant wire transfer services and if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. eBay’s users are most susceptible to identity thief, seller’s fraud, buyer’s fraud and fraudulent emails.

4.       eBay makes every effort to conceptualize its users as a community (as opposed to, say “customers” or “clients”). What is the purpose of this conceptual twist and how does eBay gain something by doing it?

eBay does this to make everyone feel equal and not be put pressure on them. eBay wants customers to return to their website so they interact as a ‘community’ to let people have a good experience and feel welcomed.

5.       eBay has long been a marketplace for used goods and collectables. Today, it is an increasingly a place where major businesses come to auction their wares. Why would a brand name vendor set-up shop on eBay?

Brand name vendors may choose to set up an online presence as well as a real world presence. This may be part of a marketing strategy where it allows customers to be aware of multiple locations where the brand is located, compared to just one store in one region. This allows customers to have access to the brand 24/7 from whatever location they may be from. This may also let customers bid on the brand, in the hopes of purchasing the brands at a cheaper price than what they would have compared to retailed prices.

6.       I have a few businesses, and I have used eBay for about 12 years on and off. Currently I have about 600 books listed. I stopped selling on eBay for a few years but they changed the rules this July and it is viable again (for me). What do you think changed?

This was caused by changes from the introduction of a new policy in July 2010. eBay overhauled the ‘Accepted Payments Policy”. This meant that it gave the option to offer a number of trusted payment options, allowing customers to recognise safer and protected methods of payments. This also allows a certain amount of insurance and intervention on behalf of eBay if they were to be a corrupt transaction.  

Topic 7 Questions

Topic 7 Digital Automata

1.       Write one paragraph describing the Turing test and another paragraph describing an argument again the Turing test, known as the about the Chinese room.

The Turing test was introduced by Alan Turing in the 1950’s. The Turing test is a test of a machines ability to demonstrate intelligence. The test involves two humans and one machine. A human talks, in natural language conversation, with both one human and one machine, both of them trying to appear human. If the human cannot tell which the machine is and which is the human, then the machine is said to have passed the test.

The Chinese room was an argument against the Turing Test. It was developed by John Searle in 1980. Searle argued that the software ‘could pass the Turing test simply by manipulating symbols of which they had no understanding’.  Searle stated that without understanding, machines could not be described as ‘thinking’ in the same sense people do therefore the Turing test cannot prove that machines can think.

Turing, A (1950). As cited by Wikipedia (2011). The Turing Test. Retrieved on 13th of April 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test.

2.       Can virtual agents succeed in delivering high quality customer service over the web? Think of examples which support or disprove the question or just offer an opinion based on your personal experience.

There are different types of agents. These include mobile, distributed, autonomous, fuzzy and intelligent agents. I think that virtual agent will eventually be able to successfully delivering high quality customer service over the web. As technology advances, so will virtual agents. The advantages of having virtual agents deliver customer service is no waiting in a queue on the phone to speak to another human but instant communication 24/7. A problem that could arise is the ability for the agent to pick up everyday language and interpret it and give the relevant answer. People may be annoyed if they were given irrelevant answers and therefore lead bad customer service.

Rappa, M. (2005) Automata. Retrieved on 13^th April 2011 from http://digitalenterprise.org/transcripts/automata_tr.html

Topic 6 Questions

Topic 6: Digital Markets

1.       a) What experience have you had with shopping online?

I have bought numerous items off Amazon.com and many other online stores.

b) Describe a good experience.

The items I bought off online stores were cheaper and easier to purchase than those in a normal store.

c) What did you like about the online store you used?

It gave me more variety of products compared to stores where I lived and tended to be cheaper, including the postage.

d) Describe a bad experience.

Some of the online stores don’t have a specific shipping date so you can wait up to 4 weeks for a certain product.

e) What problems did you have with the online store?

 I have not had any problems with online stores

f) What features make an online store more appealing?

An online store is more appealing to me when they have all the little information on the product such as specifications and include realistic pictures. It also is good when there is customer ratings of the product of those who have already purchased the product.

g) What features make an online store less appealing?

The first impression is somewhat vital when I am browsing for new products on the internet so the layout, colours and style of the web page is quite important.

h) Should we expect to see the prices of goods and services rise or fall due to the migration of consumers online?

I think that we should expect to see the prices fall due to the migration of consumers online. People are becoming more aware of the popularity of purchasing online. It draws in a lot of customers because it tends to be cheaper to purchase things on the internet compared to in a store. Online stores have much less costs involved and they can target a much larger audience compared to a store in a certain town, state or country.

2.       Please discuss the following statements and indicate if you agree with them or not. No right or wrong answers.

a)      The dispersion or prices (that is, the spread between the lowest and highest price for a particular product) will narrow.

I agree. I think that as more and more people are attracted to purchasing items on the internet, the competition will become very fierce. Rappa mentions that customers will become more aware of the pricings on the internet and easily be able to compare multiple sites and prices very quickly.

b)      The importance of brand names will decrease.

I disagree. I still believe that customers will remain brand loyal. Even today, customers are still buying items that are branded no matter the cost because of the image and style they want to uphold. I think that customers will try to find places where they can get their brands cheaper.

c)       Price competition will make all products cheaper

I disagree.  I think that this statement is applicable with some items but not all. People are still willing to pay high costs for what they believe to be a high quality product.

d)      Digital markets will become dominated by a handful of mega-sites like Amazon.com.

I agree. I think just as it has happened in the real world, there will be dominant sites over the internet. Also, just as the real world, there will also be speciality stores where online stores will be able to make sales but I believe that the giants will be dominate over the internet.

e)      How do you think the balance of power between buyers and sellers will change?

I think the balance will increase on the buyer’s side. They have more information available to them, being able to compare prices with multiple stores. Sellers will now have to compete with so many more businesses and constantly view competitor prices to make sure they are in level with them.

f)       Prices are clustered online.

It depends. I think that may be the case with some products where it can be lowered constantly but with other products such as brands and expensive items it becomes more complicated.

g)      Online prices are elastic (i.e. immune to change up and down with demand)

I disagree. I think that prices will rise and fall according to the demand of a particular product. The more a product is demanded by customers, the more sellers will stock them and a price war may erupt to gain potential clients.

h)      Online prices are generally transparent ( the extent to which prices for a given product or service are known by buyers in the marketplace)

Yes, I agree. Most buyers would do research on certain products based on price to see where they can source the product at the cheapest price.

3.       a) What types of m-commerce services does your cell phone provider offer?

Mobile bill payment, banking and financial services, wireless advertising, location-based services and games and entertainment, Bluetooth, emails.

b) Which of these services do you use?

I use emails, games and entertainment and Bluetooth.

c) What types of transactions do you perform through your cell phone or other wireless device?

I would check my emails when I am not at home, Bluetooth files and pictures and play games with my iPhone.

d) What types of transactions would you like to perform, but currently unable to?

I don’t have any because I prefer using my laptop. I tend only to use my iPhone if I am away from home to check emails or am bored.

e) What is your opinion of wireless advertising/mobile marketing?

I think it is a very effective way of marketing to people as most have mobile phones compared to internet at home. It would be, however in my opinion very frustrating to be bombarded with mobile advertising while I am trying to perform tasks on my phone.

Topic 5 Questions

Topic 5: Business Models

Moodle Discussion (Collaborate Consumption) – ‘I agree with Cheyne on the meaning of collaborative consumption but i also fell it has a lot to do with money. Yes it brings out the idea of sharing but it also looks at other possibilities of receiving income as opposed to investing capital or funds into a business. In a way, it's a cheap way to make money if you have underused assets. on the other hand it can be the stepping stone for people to be able to travel cheaper (swapping houses in another country). I think the idea of collaborative consumption was raised after the recession and people were trying to find ways to either make a bit of extra 

money or travel cheaper. Let me know if I'm totally off what it means'

Question 1: Describe the features of each of these business models, giving an example of each.

Brokerage: The main aim for brokers is to bring the buyer and seller together to consummate a successful transaction. They usually charge a fee or commission for each transaction. Brokering occurs literally everywhere, therefore brokerage models can vary between businesses with a particular industry, and across different industries. The web is nicely suited for the brokerage model as there are large numbers of customers that can be matched up with a large number of potential sellers. An example of this is EBay (Auction broker). Other examples of brokerage models include marketplace exchange, buy/sell fulfilment, demand collection system, transaction broker, distributer, search agent and virtual marketplace.

http://ubonline.ballarat.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=51561

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brokerage_firm

Advertising: the web advertising model is a further technological advance of the tradition broadcasting model where websites provide content and services mixed with advertising banners. Advertising has become more important in two ways; the basic image advertising has evolved to become ‘rich media’ with the help of advanced technology, and the introduction of the ‘paid placement’ approach. An example of this is Google, use adwords and adsense as more efficient way to advertise. Portals, classifieds, user registrations, contextual advertising, intromercial and ultramercials are all different types of elements in the advertising model.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising

http://www.digitalenterprise.org/models/models.htm

Infomediary: The infomediary model refers to mass data relating to consumers and their consumptions habits to help understand a particular market for use by marketers or advertisers. An example of this is Nielson.  The different types of models include advertising networks, audience measurement services, incentive marketing and metamediary.

http://www.digitalenterprise.org/models/models.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infomediary

Merchant: The merchant model consists of wholesalers and retailers of goods and services in the attempt for a profit. They are intimately involved with in the distribution so it becomes a more complicated business, logistically, to managed, compared with brokerage. There are four types of merchant models; virtual (Amazon.com), catalogue (Lands’ End), Click and Mortar (Barnes and Noble) and bit vendor (Apple iTunes Store).

http://www.digitalenterprise.org/models/models.htm

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/merchant

Manufacturer (Direct): This model relates to the notion to reach buyers directly, therefore compressing ‘the distribution channel’. This is an advantage as customers may feel more secure when dealing with the manufacturer compared to an online shop. An example of this is Dell Computers who sell their products directly to customers.

http://www.digitalenterprise.org/models/models.htm

Affiliate: the affiliate model refers to companies who offer financial incentives to affiliated partnering sites. This includes banner exchange, pay-per-click and revenue sharing. An example of this is Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

http://www.allbusiness.com/glossaries/affiliate/4943862-1.html

http://www.digitalenterprise.org/models/models.htm

Community: the main function of community business model is for consumer loyalty and the notion that customers will continue to go back to that specific site or shop. This could range from anything between open sources and content to public broadcasting and social networking services. An example of the community model is Flickr where this social networking site allows opportunities for companies to advertise on and users to subscribe for premier services.

http://www.digitalenterprise.org/models/models.htm

Subscription: the subscription model is the basic concept that users are charge a periodic fee, whether it is daily, monthly, or yearly to subscribe to a particular service. This includes content services, person to person networking, trust services and internet services providers.  An example of this is Netflix

http://www.digitalenterprise.org/models/models.htm

http://ubonline.ballarat.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=51561

Utility: This model is referring to the ‘on demand’ concept where a user pays for what they use. This tradition means of usage is now being outdated by things such as phones plans and broadband. This model includes the metered usage, which measures the amount owed based on user usage, and metered subscriptions, which allows users to purchase a given amount of content, e.g. number of pages viewed.

http://www.digitalenterprise.org/models/models.htm

Question 2

Spend time looking at the Technology report. Use some of the data analysis tools to answer the following-

a)      What is the Mobile phone use per 100 population. Compare Australia, USA, China, India, Your Country.

Australia 105.0, USA 86.8, China 47.9 and India 29.4

b)      Internet use per 100 population. Compare Australia, USA, China, India, Your Country.

Australia 72.0, USA 74.0, China 22.3 and India 4.4

c)       Compare main strengths and weaknesses of Australia or your home country in the survey.

The main strengths of Australia are the E-Participation index, time required to start a business, number of procedures required to start a business and the level of competition.

The possible weaknesses of Australia are the fixed telephone lines tariffs, the mobile cellular tariffs, the total tax rate and the business monthly telephone subscription.

d)      What does the survey suggest to you about the Information Technology readiness of Australian Business compared to Australia consumers?

This information shows that the information technology readiness of Australian businesses are ranked 22^nd in the world whereas the information technology readiness of Australian consumers are ranked at 13^th. This shows that business still have to be with par to be able to utilise the technology available for their business. Australian consumers are very technology savvy, therefore leaving a wide gap that businesses need to use to the full extent. 

Topic 4 Questions

Topic Four

Analytics

1.       Looking at the site usage, what does the term visits, page views and pages/visits mean? What does the bounce rate mean and does it vary much from day to day?

Term visits refers to the number of people that have visited the site, page views means the number of times the page has been viewed and pages/visits means the amount of pages one person viewed on average when they visited the site. The visits for the ePortfolio were 7,586, the page views 80,898 and the pages/visit 10.66. The bounce rate represents the percentage of users who enter the specific site and then leave the site rather than viewing the pages within that site. The bounce rate for today (26/03/11) was 36.95%. this bounce rate does vary from day to day, seeming to increase the percentages on weekends. On Sunday 20^th March the bounce rate was 47.98% compared with 32.27% on Tuesday 22^nd March.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounce_rate

https://www.google.com/analytics/reporting/?reset=1&id=19270945&pdr=20110224-20110326

2.       Now look at the traffic sources report. What are the three sources of traffic and where has most of the traffic come from?

The three sources of traffic are direct traffic (44.48%), search engine (30.74%), and referring site (24.78%).  The main search engine which has given most traffic to the ePortfolio site is Google.

Sources: https://www.google.com/analytics/reporting/sources?id=19270945&pdr=20110224-20110326&cmp=average&trows=10&gdfmt=nth_day&rpt=TrafficSourcesReport&tab=0&tchcol=0&tst=0&tscol=v0&tsdir=0&mdet=WORLD&midx=0&gidx=0&glcnt=1#lts=1301184804225

3.       What was the most popular web browser used to access the site?

The most popular web browser used to access this site was Internet Explorer (50.45%) with 3,829 clicks. This was followed by Firefox (20.11%) with 1,526 clicks, Safari (20.03%) with 1,520 clicks, Chrome (8.93%) with 678 clicks and Opera (0.11) with 8 clicks.

Sources: https://www.google.com/analytics/reporting/visitors?id=19270945&pdr=20110224-20110326&cmp=average&trows=10&gdfmt=nth_day#lts=1301185404421

4.       How many countries did visitors to Foliospaces come from and what were the top four countries?

Visitors came from 76 different countries/territories (7589 visits). The top four countries were Australia with 2,916 visits, USA with 2,039 visits, United Kingdom with 1,005 visits and New Zealand with 677 visits.

Sources: https://www.google.com/analytics/reporting/maps?id=19270945&pdr=20110224-20110326&cmp=average&trows=10&gdfmt=nth_day&rpt=GeoMapReport&tab=0&tchcol=0&tst=0&tscol=v0&tsdir=0&mdet=WORLD&midx=0&gidx=0&glcnt=1#lts=1301185641970

5.       Having clicked every possible link on my analytics, make a few comments on a) what you can track b) what you can track over time and c) what you can’t track.

a) Visitor information; visits, page views, bounce rate, traffic source, time on site, how often they visit your site,  and how they accessed the site; keywords, search engines, countries, direct traffic and referring sites.

b) You can track all of the things listed in a. plus statistical data such as increase/ decreases in visitor information over a time period (i.e. each year)

c) You can’t track specific visitor information such as age, gender and the direct location of the user (suburb or city).

6.       What do the following terms mean? These are just a few, you may like to add some more and perhaps include them on your Moodle glossary.

High bounce rate;  A bounce rate is a statistical data measurement of how many people visit a website and then exit from the same page then entered on without clicking through to any other pages. The bounce rate becomes high when a large proportionate percentage of those visitors exit from the same page.

http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/seoandinternetterms/g/What-Is-Bounce-Rate-Definition-Of-Bounce-Rate.htm

Key words:  An index term, subject term, subject heading, or descriptor, in information retrieval, is a term that captures the essence of the topic of a document.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyword_(internet_search)

Average page depth: In Google Analytics, it is the average number of pages on a site that visitors view during a single session.

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/average_page_depth.html

Click through rate: The click through rate is the number of users who clicked on a specific advertisement on a web page divided by the number of times that the advertisement was delivered. It is a way of measuring the success of an online advertising campaign.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clickthrough_rate

Click: click means pushing either the right or left buttons on your mouse to command the computer to do something.

Cookie: A cookie is a piece of text stored on a user’s computer by their web browser. A cookie can be used for authentication, storing site preferences, shopping cart contents, the identifier for a server-based session, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing text data.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie

Impression: Impression is the viewing of a web page or internet advertisements by an internet user.

http://www.agbnielsen.co.uk/agb/index.ph

Hyperlink: A hyperlink is a reference to a document that the reader can directly follow or that is followed automatically.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlink

Navigation: Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement from one place to another such as when a person goes to a website through an  internet browser.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navigation

Page view: A page view is a request to load a single page of an internet site.

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&biw=1600&bih=809&defl=en&q=define:Page+view&sa=X&ei=cqqOTeaNL8n4ceC0rfsJ&ved=0CBkQkAE

Session: The session refers to the amount of time spent on a particular website

Unique visitors (or absolute unique visitors): Unique visitors is how many visitors came to your site , counting each person only one for the entire time period.

http://groups.google.com/group/analytics-help-basics/browse_thread/thread/4e08a41ed825a891?pli=1

URL: URL stands for Universal Resource Locator. This is a way of identifying files on the internet.

http://www.everlands.co.uk/glossary.htm

Visitor:  A visitor is a person/user who visits a site or webpage on the internet.

Visitor session: Visitor session is the interaction by a site visitor. The session ends when the visitor leaves the site.

www.formicmedia.com/sem-glossary.htm

Comparison shopping: Comparison shopping is the act of comparing process of something in advance before shopping for the best bargain.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/comparison_shopping

Topic 3 Questions

Topic 3

Digital Design

1.       In 2 paragraphs explain why a customer centric web site is so important, yet so difficult to accomplish.

A customer centric web is so important because it is ultimately centred on the customer’s needs and wants. Businesses need to focus their site on customer satisfaction and making sure that users will remember the experience they received. It is so difficult to accomplish because the needs and wants of customers are ever changing every day. Also, one person’s needs and wants may be completely different to those of another.

Businesses can’t please everyone so businesses need to realise the five basic elements that are involved with customer centric web. These are evaluating competing businesses and products, selecting the product and making a transaction, relevant information about help and contact, feedback about products and/or customer service and for customers to stay informed about the business (product updates etc)

2.       Define the term ‘presence’. Write an additional paragraph that describe why firms that do business on the web should be more concerned about presence than firms that operate in the physical world.

Presence, defined by Answers.com as ‘the state or fact of being present; current existence or occurrence’.

Firms that do their business online should be more concerned because potential customers may not know about them, as the internet has billions of websites and it may not be one of the top rated results when searching for the specific product/service. This is different to firms that operate in the physical world because it is a physical object that is seen by many (passing traffic) and can get a lot more attention without effort compared to an online business. The online business will need to promote their business to the applicable target audience.

3.       Write 3 paragraphs to briefly describe the things that Real Estate Agents can be accomplished through a) their web sites b) Mass media advertising and c)Personal contact

Websites; they can upload photos and all the information about current properties for sale. This allows potential customers who do not live close to the physical agent such as out of state or international clients. It also allows customers to access the information after hours 24/7 whenever they like and not have to make appointments with an agent.

Mass media advertising; by mass advertising, Real Estate Agents can advertise their company, their staff and the current properties that they are trying to sell. By mass advertising, they are setting up new opportunities for potential customers to see their displays and also gaining a greater audience that they would have achieved with physical advertising (newspapers, billboards, in the company’s’ building etc)

Personal contact; Personal contact will need to be established if there are potential buyers as Real Estate Agents would not have the same process of processing a transaction such as Amazon or EBay. Paying for such a large amount would be dangerous and unprofessional so personal contact must be made in the form of emails and video and voice calls. The Real Estate agents can then give more information on the specific property such as price (if not stated) and process the transaction manually (purchase agreements, payments), not over the internet.

References

 http://www.answers.com/topic/presence#ixzz1HJEzdmuP

http://digitalenterprise.org/transcripts/design_tr.html

Topic 2 Questions

Part 1: Navigation

Listen to the podcast on Navigation

a.       What are the four main points Michael Rappa makes about search?

1. It’s a database; full of everything in the world – books, information, news, images.

2. It’s a collection mechanism for adding data into that database; generate a lot of data and can be stored for a long time.

3. Search protocol (used to query database)

4. The ranking algorithm for listing the results; there is too much information on the web so it is difficult to sort and organise what is most relevant to what the user is find.

b.      Watch or read Marissa Mayer interview. Write a paragraph or two, on four points made by Marissa, that you think were the most interesting or significant for business.

§  I found it interesting to find out that Marissa said that search was still in its infancy. Even though there are over a trillion url’s on the web and Google has 2/3 share, we have still not yet managed to fully access the webs full potential in regard to search capabilities. Marissa mentioned that we are more developed in voice technology that search capability. (Mayer 2009)

§  The process of a successful idea has a process which starts with an idea. Mayer says it can come from anywhere – users, engineers, executives or just analysis of existing products. The idea then must be run through a prototype stage where it is designed, developed and then rated and given feedback from potential users. (Mayer 2009)

§  The next big idea Mayer has for Google is developing the ‘killer app’ which has a abundance of information that helps people connect with each other, find out where people are situated(GPS) and to connect with and find new contacts. The issue about this app is that too much information may be given out. Mayer comments by saying that in this modern day that users will have to decide at which level they will give up their privacy for functionality. (Mayer 2009)

§  The last point I found interesting was that Google sets aside 25% of employees in her area just for women so that it is not mainly dominated by men. She said this can build stronger influence on women in the main dominated workplace but also be a role model and hope that more women will choose to study in the computer science area.  (Mayer 2009)

Part 2: History of the Internet

Watch the Bill Joy video

a.       So what are the six webs

1. The near web; defined by information. In front of a computer screen, keyboard and mouse such as yahoo.

2. The far web; the experience such as sitting on the couch watching the television from a distance.

3. The here web; in Bill Joy’s opinion the most important. When the device is on a person at all times – becomes you identity (personalised mobility).

4. The weird web; most pervasive, using voice, most commonly seen in a car (voice recognition)

5. The B2B web; Business to Business. Can be business computers talking to each other. Purpose is to reduce friction and allow systems to work efficiently together.

6. The D2D web; Device to device. Embodied or meshed network, sensors self organising and sensibly manage and control. (Joy, 2005)

b.      Could there be more?

Yes, I believe there can be more as technology and innovation improves, so will the different sources of web that can be invested, used and accessed.

c.       What does it mean for business?

It means that there will be more ways to run a business more efficiently and can help reduce administrative costs for the business. Another view is that businesses have more access to their target market through the web via other elements such as advertisements.

References

Mayer, 2009, http://techcrunch.com/2009/03/06/marissa-mayer-on-charlie-rose-the-future-of-google/

Joy. B, 2005, http://ubonline.ballarat.edu.au/course/view.php?id=2240

http://digitalenterprise.org/transcripts/navigation_tr.html

Topic One Questions

1. Internet risks – give examples of four things that can go wrong with a transactional site?

1. Breaches of security; revealing your personal information over the internet can lead to identity theft as hackers may steal you information

2. Computer/Network crash; a computer or network crash can cause the company to seize trading until the problem can be fixed

3. SPAM; some websites have a clause in their privacy policy that a customers email may be shared with third parties to send relevant offers. This can result the customer to be bombarded with unnecessary emails and make them angry/

4. Incorrect reviews; Market competition is cut throat, so this has resulted in shopping website owners to hire goons to put biased reviews on certain products to either promote or turn away customers to benefit company sales

Source: http://www.fido.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byheadline/Credit+cards%3A+when+things+go+wrong+

2. Definitions of e-commerce and e-business

E-commerce; ‘consists of buying and selling products or services over electronics systems such as the internet and other computer networks (Wikipedia, 2011)

E-business; ‘defined as the utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT) in support of all activities of business (Wikipedia, 2011)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_commerce and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-business

3. What is the difference between buy side and sell side e-commerce?

Buy side of e-commerce is when a business buys from another entity, such as a manufacturer on the intent of selling to customers. Sell side is on the other hand when businesses are focused specifically on selling their products and services over the internet on a website.

Source: http://www. Inquirer.net/infotech/oct99wk3/info_7

4. Describe the different types of e-business

C2C- Consumer to Consumer such as Skype

C2B – Consumer to Business such as Priceline

C2G – Consumer to Government such as customers providing information and feedback to the government

B2C – Business to Consumer such as Amazon

B2B – Business to Business such as companies purchasing stock from manufacturers to on sell the products

G2C – Government to Consumer such as local government services

G2B – Government to Business, working out things like legal regulations

G2G – Government to Government, exchanging services within the government.

Source: http://ubonline.ballarat.edu.au/file.php/2240/Topic1/Topic_1_Introduction_to_eBusiness.ppt#288,13,Slide 13

5. Which digital technology has the highest penetration rate? Explain and source your answer.

Mobile phones have the greatest penetration rate. This is because most people have and use regularly at least one or more phones and this amount is larger than any other digital product. ‘By the end of 2007, almost one out of two people had a mobile phone. In Europe, penetration has surpassed the 100% mark. More than one out of 4 African and one out of 3 Asian have a mobile phone. A high level of competition and a decrease in prices have been able to reduce the digital divide in mobile telephone, substantially’.

Source: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/statistics/ict/index.html

6. List four drivers to adoption of sell side e-commerce by business?

-         There is a reduced amount of administrative expenses because most of the business is completed online

-         There is an increased amount in sales because you can sell to any person in the world 24/7

-         There would be a decrease in marketing expenses because all the marketing would be online

-         There would be a supply-chain cost reduction a shorter cycle in ordering and distributing products

Source: http://ubonline.ballarat.edu.au/file.php/2240/Topic1/Topic_1_Introduction_to_eBusiness.ppt#296,17,Tangible and intangible benefits

7. List four barriers to adoption of sell side e-commerce by business?

-         The staff employed might not be as competent selling products over the internet rather than face to face

-         The start up costs of setting up a business may be high and this can be a barrier in starting an e-business for some people

-         A lack of knowledge can become a barrier if they do not know how to effectively run a business online

-         The reluctance of staff wanting to switch to an online business rather than selling products face to face

Source: http://ubonline.ballarat.edu.au/file.php/2240/Topic1/Topic_1_Introduction_to_eBusiness.ppt#300,20,Slide 20

8. How might a restaurant in
   Sturt Street
   Ballarat benefit from an online presence?

The restaurant could benefit form having an online presence because:

-         it can make potential customers aware of the restaurant if they live outside Ballarat

-         Customers may stumble across this restaurant in an search engine and want to try it

-         It gives customers all the information about the restaurant e.g. operating hours, the menu, photos of the restaurant and location

9. What are some examples of Digital Information?

Some examples of digital information are CD’s, Digital Camera’s, Mobile phones, DVD’s, digital television and Internet

Source: http://www.techterms.com/defintion/digital

10. What is the semantic web? Are we there yet?

The semantic web is a ‘web of data’ (Wikipedia, 2011) used on the World Wide Wed to allow users to use the information provided on the web to its full potential by searching, processing and combining information. The semantic web of a vision of information that can be sorted by machines, so all the difficult work can be done by machines for the benefits of users. We are unfortunately still in the infant stages, so it is unsure what direction the semantic web will take, but it is looking bright.

Sources: http://infomesh.net/2001/swintro/#itWorks