TUTORIAL THREE

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

ANS

 Customer centric web site design is highly important but difficult to do as customers always changing. These are websites that are designed specifically to suit the customers and cater to their needs and wants (Pivarnik, 2000). It is a very important but difficult thing to accomplish for a company because it would have to aim the website to cater only for what the customer wants rather than what the company thinks or assumes that the customers want. Therefore, advertising must be done for products that are already popular and not products that don't sell. (McGovern, 2006) 

When designing a customer centric website, it has to be easy to use, convenient, fast and have all the necessary information. Customers would leave the site if it is highly complicated to use, slow and full of blocks and takes a long time to download a page. They would also leave if there is no sufficient information, like the price of the product or how to buy it.

Source: Pivarnik, C. (2000). Is your Website Customer-centric?

McGovern, G. (2006). Catalog success. Retrived on 24th Sept. 2012 from the website: http://www.catalogsuccess.com/article/e-commerce-10-tips-more-customer-centric-web-site-41482_1.html

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.

ANS         

 Presence, is defined as "being present; existence; occurence or attendance at some place or something" (Oxford, 2006) This is the liteal meaning.

However, in my opinion, firms that do business over the internet have to be much more concerned about presence as consumers might not know the business and would never actually search for that particular product or service, if they don't know. Therefore they must be more concerned to make their presence and name and make consumers wonder, "Okay what is this? This looks interesting", "I am interested in this, where can I get more information?" This would lead them to search for the particular product. This is where online advertising is again quite important. Online businesses have to be more concerned about "presence" because businesses in the physical world already have a presence in terms of shops which people can see and physically visit, while online businesses don't. If people do not know about it, they wouldn't even have a business because noone would know about it, to actually go to their site and buy. Thus advertisements are really important to make the consumers realise the company's presence. 

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  

ANS 

Websites:

              Real estate agents use websites since most people use Internet to find out information. Real estate agents can use it to advertise property, houses, land, and other things so consumers can see the product and not have to leave home or work. This can be easier for the consumer and the real estate agent as either of them would have to leave the comfort o their homes and can update and in the customer's case, look at the website anytimes and see if there is anything they are interested in, instead of making time from work to actually go to a house or property, only to be disappointed once there. Having virtual tours, pictures, videos and necessary information about the house/property allows the agents to cater to the needs of the consumers by giving them information that lets the consumer, 

a.) see the house

b.) know what the house would have to offer.  

This allows busy people who are working to look at websites in their free time and not work about having to make time to travel to the area itself.

Mass media Advertising 

      Mass media can be used to advertise not only the business but to also receive recognition to show potential customers houses that might interest them. The best way to advertise is television, catalogues or even newspapers and radio. In newspapers we often see a section where people sell stuff or are looking for stuff in the wanted section, there there is often a section for real estate where there are pictures of houses for sale, giving a good description of the house and the price. Potential customers look at these pictures and see if they are interested in what the agents have to offer. By using media like television, business can get recognised because the consumers can physically see the business and put an image to the mind of the consumers about the business. 

Personal contact

        Real estate agents use personal contact to create relationships with the client to help them feel comfortable. Personal contact allows the real estate agent to be able to see what the client is looking for and is able to give help in the way of searching for things in the price range of the client. Personal contact is in a way a method to allow the agents to have a personal one on one contact with the client and are able to try and cater to their needs and wants.

    
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TUTORIAL Two

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.

ANS.

• It allows users to find products and services online. This is the first point that Michael Rappa makes about search. This can mean that paying search engines like Google a small payment can allow the particular advertisement to be on the first page of a search. This is called paid placement which has already become a huge business in the advertising field. This also means that companies are required to advertise online. 

• Some users are not aware of methods to extract the exact information they are looking for from the search to their best advantage. As Rappa said, "They put a word, or a question, or a few words in a toolbar on a search engine, and hope for the best". (Rappa, 2008). Users are unaware of how to narrow their search sot hat it would result in the exact thing that they are looking for. Some people don't even know how a search engine works. What we must understand that databases only account for a very minuscule amount of information that its actually existing. Less is more. Key words, phases have to searched to get the results you were looking for.           

• What actually is a "search engine"? Rappa says that it is "simply a database of urls, and associated key words, and text and or images which get compiled through some kind of collection mechanism." (2008) Earlier there were two types of search engines: the automated approach and "others which automatically crawl around the web, using automated processes to visit websites, and to, in a sense, collect the web pages which they can collect, and database some or all of that information on a network of servers" (Rappa, 2008). However we mostly only rely on automatic search engine approach which collects and searches through information on the internet. 

• The ranking algorithm for listing results is the last point Michael Rappa makes. This is how the order for the list of results in a search are determined. 

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.

ANS

Marissa Mayer is the vice president of user experience and search products at the infamous, Google. She helps to decide which new ideas are presented to the founders of Google. She is 36 years old and one of the youngest members on the executive operating committee at Google. She is also the president and CEO of yahoo. 

Mayer said that Google takes note and interest in the opinions and feedback of the users. By developing prototypes, Google, is able to collect information in order to conceive if they are meeting the needs of their users. The prototype sees if there is a need for improvement. This information also helped developers improve their products.

Marissa also talks about  Businesses are willing to pay to advertise on search engines like Google. She mentioned the possibility of paying for searches by annual subscriptions, etc. Mayer also talked about Google in other countries and how their effect and it can be accessed from anywhere around the world. However, some products are more popular in some countries rather than others. Google is a engineering company, so it is very technologically driven, which according to her, is one of the reasons Google dominates 64% of the search market. Marissa also believes that Microsoft and Yahoo have lost their position in the market as they have focused more on marketing rather than technology. Mayer added the opportunities of global marketing as the ad put over the net goes all around the world. 

She also states that there aren't many female engineers and that she does set a role model to motivate more females to study engineering. 

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

2) Please watch the Bill Joy video, and it will give you a good background to the Internet and particularly to the emergence of the World Wide Web.

From the video, please answer on your blog page -

a) So what are the 6 webs?
ANS

According to Bill Joy, the 6 webs are: 

1. The NEAR WEB is the PC internet
2. The HERE WEB is mobile internet 
3. The FAR WEB is internet via HD screens and games online
4. The WEIRD WEB is using internet via voice recognition
5. Business to Business (B2B) where business systems talk to each other without human interaction
6. Device to Device (D2D) is where devices talk to each other via data collected by sensors

b) Could there be more?
ANS

Of course there will be more, as the world develops further, and newer and newer mechanisms are being discovered, we might discover an entire new dimension and as a result there could be many more to come, for example, mental telepathy, etc. 

c) What does it mean for business?

ANS

Businesses must embrace the new technological advancements that come through if they want to continue being successful and continue existing as a matter of fact. Most businesses would want to be first to implement these new technologies to show their clients/customers that they are providing them with the best products and services available. By adapting to the dynamic, changing environment and keeping track of the new technologies that enter the market/industry, businesses are ensuring that they keep their competitive edge. 



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Tutorial ONE

1.) Internet risks - Give 4 examples of things that can go wrong with a transactional site.       

Ans:  The internet represents something that people almost can't live without these days. Almost any and every transaction takes place with the help of or over the net. However, one cannot ignore the risks that also underlie the use of the internet. 

• One such risk that is highly important is security. Since it doesn't involve a face to face transaction, where confidentiality can be assured, there is the high risk that private banking information, for example Credit card account numbers and personal information could be exposed to millions of people over the internet.
• Hackers can take private information through personal sites, for example, photos using   Facebook or hack your email address, which can be quite dangerous.
• Accessing the internet could also give an easy risk to catch viruses and spams over the internet which could effect the function of your personal computer, or alter it to no use. 
• Sites could have certain technical issues and may not work or may take a long time to access or there is a risk that the site could be jammed especially if many people are using it at the same time.
• The next involves the technical skill involved. Some people aren't very friendly with using technology and may not understand the technicalities involved, which might drive off people (potential business for the company) if they don't know how to use or do not trust transactions through internet. 
• There is also an easy risk for fraud and thieving to occur. 

2.) Write down a definition for each

       a.) E-business

       b.) E-commerce

Ans:  "E-business (electronic business), derived from such terms as "e-mail" and "e-commerce," is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners." 

- Source: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/e-business

         "E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet or other computer network."

-Source: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/definition-ecommerce-e-business-2255.html

        E-business is used when talking about the digital component of the internet, while E-commerce is used when we talk about the financial component, which solely involves the transaction part of it. There are three definitions that define the relationship between the two. One is that, e-commerce has some degree of overlap with e-business. The next is that, the two are equivalent. The third is that e-commerce is a subset or part of the broader "e-business". 

3.) What is the difference between buy side and sell side eCommerce?

Ans: Sell side E-commerce is an e-commerce transactions between a supplier organization and its customers which are shown as customers and customers' customers in the diagram below. This is based on the model of B2C shown below. Buy side E-commerce transactions between a buying organization and its suppliers can be taken as Suppliers and suppliers' suppliers respectively in the diagram below. This is based on the B2B model shown below. 

The diagram below shows the difference between the buy side and sell side e-commerce. 

4.) Describe the different types of E-Business.

Ans:   
C2C – This is consumer to consumer, where the consumers sell their products or services to other consumers. For example, eBay, groups on FB to exchange mobiles, etc.

·         C2B – This is consumer to business where the consumers sell to businesses, for example, blogs offering advertising service.

·         C2G – This is consumer to government where the consumers sell to the government or government agencies. An example would be feedback to the government through pressure groups and also individuals who sell web space to government.

·         B2C – this is business to consumers where businesses sell to consumers, for example Amazon.com.

·         B2B – This is business to business where businesses sell to other businesses.

·         B2G – this is business to government where businesses sell to government or govt. agencies, for example feedback to government businesses and non-government organizations.

·         G2C – This is government to consumers where government sells to consumers, such as tax, national government information, local government services, etc.

·         G2B – This is government to business where government sells to businesses, for example tax and legal regulations.

·         G2G – This is government to government where governments and government agencies sell to other governments or government agencies, for example inter-government servers and exchangers of information. 

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

Ans: The digital technology which has the highest penetration rate is definitely the mobile phone, which according to Moco news.net, is 61.1%. This is reasonable as most people have mobile phones which are becoming more and more popular as newer, more advanced versions and brands come out. This report where this information is taken is from http://paidcontent.org/tech/419-4-1-billion-mobile-subscribers-mobile-helping-reduce-digital-divide-sli/.
Looking at the research done by MORI Technology conducted in January 2006 as wel, we can see that the use of mobile phones has increased from about 14% in 1997's January to 85% in December, 2005 in the UK, while the rise of digital TV was only 64% and internet, 61%. 


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

Ans: Cost/efficiency drivers

• ·         Increasing the speed in which supplies can be obtained
• ·         Increasing speed with which goods can be dispatched/delivered
• ·         Reduced sales and purchase costs
• ·         Reduced operating costs

Competitiveness drivers

• ·         Customer demand
• ·         Improving the range and quality of services offered
• ·         Avoid losing market share to businesses already using e-commerce.

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

Ans: 

•               Identification of the different products and services may be difficult due to the poor quality content which includes bad descriptions, images and searching abilities.
•       Cultural barriers including the accessibility of internet and language barrier.
•             The fear of change of customers. Some customers would gladly use the net as a way to buy goods/services while others might not. Therefore the target market has an effect on whether the customer base would be reduced by adoption of sell side E-commerce.
•        Lack of technical skills.

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

    

     Ans:  There would be a reduction in the costs as the advertising would be much cheaper. They would be able to reach a different target audience, especially the younger crowd, and would be able to communicate the menu, prices, and attract customers by having pictures and information to tantalize the potential customers. Customers might come across the particular restaurant accidentally while searching other information over the net. It is much easier to change, edit, and update a website rather than a magazine. It is also much cheaper to advertise in this way. There is also a better chance at providing a good customer service and building a customer relationship. Having an online website/presence would be a competitive advantage for the customer and be able to reach more market which could increase sales and customers. 

     9.) What are some examples of Digital information??

    Ans: Digital information means the meaningful processed data that has been stored in a digital format. Therefore, CDs, DVDs, digital TV, digital camera, mobile phones, etc can be considered digital information. However, when we consider it in terms of E-business, we can take databases, images, and other forms of digital content that could be used to gain information.  

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

     Ans: The Semantic web is a collaborative movement led by the World Wide Web Consortium. It is meant to encourage the inclusion of semantic content in web pages and aims at converting the current web dominated by unstructured and semi-structure documents into a "web of data". It would be a framework which allows data to be shared and reused across enterprise, application and community boundaries. The semantic web is meant to be a web of data that can be processed and understood directly and indirectly by machines. The main purpose of it would be that this would allow users to find, combine and share information so much more easily. Before web pages were designed to be read only by people, not by machines. However, the semantic web would serve as a vision of information that could be easily interpreted by machines so that these machines could perform a lot of the tedious work including the finding, acting on and combining of information. Machines would be able to understand and respond to the requests of humans though they are complicated. There are some form of semantic web products up to date, including search engines and the like, however, we aren't truly there yet, because we haven't reached that high of a level yet. 

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