Week 3 Post

1. In two paragraphs explain why a customer centric Web site design is so important, yet so difficult to accomplish

Customer centric websites are websites, which basically are designed specifically for customers to cater for all their wants and needs. A customer centric website is very important yet difficult to accomplish because the company has to aim the website to cater for the consumer’s wants and not necessarily what the company thinks the consumers want and need thus advertising products which are somewhat popular and not products which do not sell. The company needs to advertise products which consumers want and advertise them on the website

The design of a customer centric webpage is another important aspect that needs to be considered. If the website is not user-friendly the consumers wont last long. When designing a customer centric web site the company has to ensure that the website is catering for the consumers needs of convenience, speed and price. Hence the website should cater the all the needs of consumers no matter if they are buying the product or not and it should also be reliable and faster to use.

2. Define the term 'presence'. Write an additional paragraph that describes why firms that do business on the Web should be more concerned about presence than firms that operate in the physical world.

The term presence can be defined as “being present; existence, occurrence or attendance at some place or in something”

The presence in terms is certainly very essential because in today's world, it is easier to spot a physical business like a shop on the street but in terms of online businesses, it is very hard for the consumers to the know the existence of some businesses unless they are advertised on popular medias. Therfore the presence is very important for online businesses.

3. Write three paragraphs to briefly describe the things that Real Estate Agents can best accomplish through (1) their web sites (2) Mass media advertising (3) Personal contact

Websites:

Almost all realestate have started using WebPages to advertise properties be it home or a business location. It is rather convenient for the consumers instead of having to physically spot the properties that they are interested in. Virtual tours come in handy in such websites. They provide the consumers with similar effects of almost going and seeing the properties in person.

Mass media advertising:

Mass media plays a vital role in a real estate business. The major mass media include television, radio and catalogues. By advertising in one or all of these, the consumers get a better idea on what is available and what they actually want rather than going through a whole bunch of properties that they are not even interested.

Personal contact:

Personal contact is the direct contact between the consumers and the real-estate people t offer them a qualitative service by catering the specific needs of the client. Personal contact does play a important role for some clients who are looking for something extra-ordinary and hence the end results are better.

Week 2 Post

Part 1 - Navigation

One of the biggest challenges for businesses and customers alike is navigating the Internet. This week please answer the following questions on your blog -

1) Listen to the podcast on Navigation which can be found on the Digital Enterprise Page (Google - the digital enterprise).

a) What are the four (4) main points Michael Rappa makes about search? Please write them on your blog page

Database

Collection mechanism for adding data into database

Search protocol to enable users to query the database

A ranking algorithm that determines the resuts are presented to the user

b) Watch or read the Marissa Mayer interview. Write a paragraph or two, on four points made by Marissa Mayer, that you think were the most interesting or significant for business. There are no right or wrong answers here, I just want your opinion.

Marissa Mayer, the vice president of search products and user experience at Google made a few interesting points concerning business. The points I found most interesting were:

· By using her experience at Google Mayer talked about how they created the prototype. She discussed how they used the feedback and information gathered from users of the prototype to see if it satisfied their needs. They also used this information to see where they need to improve. Businesses have to do this to see where they need to improve their product and even to see if the product is successful. If companies do not use the feedback that they obtain then the company might hit some obstacles and not know how to deal with issues surrounding a particular product or service. Companies need to satisfy consumer’s needs and wants or consumers would not buy or use the product/service.

· Mayer also talked about advertisements on the internet. Businesses can pay such internet sites/businesses like Google to advertise their business since people browse search engines. People browse search engines and may pay attention to ads being advertised. Mayer states “the amount of attention that a user pays on each page...is fundamentally different” . This means that when ads appear on search engines when people are searching information the ads might only attract or catch the focus of a few people but not everyone. Companies can use this information to their advantage by having advertisements on the internet that attract the user’s attention.

Week 1 Post

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

Credit Card Fraud

Phishing

Identity Theft

Personal information compromised


2) Write down a definition for each:

a) E-commerce:

E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods or products over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer network.

b) E-business:

Electronic business is defined as the application of information and communication technologies in support of all the activities of business.

3) What is the difference between buy side and sell side e-Commerce?

Buy-side e-commerce refers to transactions to buy/procure resources needed by a business from its suppliers and the difference is that sell-side e-commerce is the transactions that are involved with selling products to a businesses customers

4) Describe the different types of e-Business

B2C: B2C stands for Business to Consumer as the name suggests, it is the model taking businesses and consumers interaction. Online business sells to individuals. The basic concept of this model is to sell the product online to the consumers.

B2B: B2B stands for Business to Business. It consists of largest form of Ecommerce. This model defines that Buyer and seller are two different entities. It is similar to manufacturer issuing goods to the retailer or wholesaler.

C2C: C2C stands for Consumer to Consumer. It helps the online dealing of goods or services among people.

B2C: B2B stands for Business to Consumer. It is the activity of businesses providing consumers with products or services. An example of Business to Customer transaction would be a person buying a product from a retailer.

C2B: C2B stands for Consumer to Business. It helps consumers or individuals offer products and services to companies and the companies pay them.

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

The digital technology, which has the highest penetration rate, is mobile phones.

A new study by ABI Research today confirms that mobile subscriptions worldwide passed the 5 billion mark. (MoBlog)

6) List:: Four drivers to adoption of sell-side e-commerce by business.

Drivers to the adoption of sell-side e-commerce:

Expansion of their market -

Businesses could become difficult to do business within specific geographic locations. It can be beneficial for businesses to utilize sell-side e-commerce to increase the amount of consumers they can target across a larger geographic area.

Decrease amount of inventory needed - This will benefit the business would be able to implement timely manner distribution system reducing the amount of inventory they would need to store.

Reduced Costs - Physical space is not required. This will reduce the cost by saving the rent and labor wages. Commercial tax imposed on the business can be limited.

Reduced risk of Cost - Trading can be done anytime and from anywhere. Whereas, Physical stores are closed after the trading hours, so business is not done before or after the trading hours.

7) Four barriers to adoption of sell-side e-commerce by business.

Start Up Costs - Cost involved in starting up a e-Commerce business will be the major barrier.

Time and Resources - As trading can be done anytime; the business should be supervised by all the time. This involves staffs, which involves cost. If the business expands a physical location is required which involves cost time and resource.

Lack of knowledge - Lack of knowledge provides a barrier because a person without basic knowledge of e-Business would lose the business and well as the investment.

Lack of Communication - Communication plays a vital role in e-business because without effectively communicating what their service or product is can lead to dissatisfaction and eventual decrease in business.

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

Online presence for a restaurant in Sturt Street Ballarat will benefit the growth of restaurant in different ways. Internet users would be able to place online order. Costumers can check the trading hours of the restaurant. Costumers can reviews the restaurant. Even menu and prices can be searched.

9) What are some examples of Digital information?

- Internet

- Mobile Phones

- CD's

- DVD's

- Television

- Digital Camera's

- E-books

- Video Consoles

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

The Semantic Web is an evolving development of the World Wide Web in which the meaning of information and services on the web is defined, making it possible for the web to "understand" and satisfy the requests of people and machines to use the web content.

No we are not at the stage of semantic web yet.