The End

I have gained so much from undertaking this subject. The content that was delivered was extremely useful and relevant, especially because I endeavour to set up my own online business in the future. My favourite topic would have to be Web Analytics - I was just blown away by this! I know that we, as online consumers, could be monitored, but not to that extent! I will certainly employ this application onto my business web site in order to gain a better understanding of my users and usage rate.

A big thank you to Ian for running this subject. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has been useful in the fact that I can now use my blog page as a reference site whenever I need to read up again on a particular topic.

I hope that I will be able to use you as a personal reference for jobs in the future. All the best to students for the remainder of the semester.

Lucy :)

Week Twelve - Reflection on Learning

After researching this topic, it made me take a step back and realise how far the web has actually come. From initially having just simple, static pages such as advertisements, it has grown and developed so far as to include interaction between users and the content of the web site. It has experienced phenomenal growth and will no doubt continue to grow in the future.

Topic Twelve - Web 2.0

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.
According to Webopedia.com, Web 2.0 is basically the transition from static HTML web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organised and is based on serving Web applications to users. I had a browse through POPURLS, and although the five applications I selected are similar, I had never heard of them before:

• Flickr
Flickr is an application that helps store, sort, search and share photos online. It assists users in organising huge masses of photos and offers a way to tell stories about the people in the photos. Businesses would benefit from using Flickr as it allows them to upload photos of their products and for people to comment on them. Furthermore, it is an economical way to advertise as can load two videos or up to 100MB or photos for free each month.

• Yahoo Buzz
Yahoo Buzz allows users to discuss the top stories people are reading currently. This particular application would be useful to a business as it could gain exposure to the marketplace (e.g. it could submit an article about its product/service and include a URL), and it could read up on the latest ‘buzz’ to identify the general opinions and consensus of the market.

• Metafilter
Metafilter is a weblog that anyone can contribute a link or a comment to. A typical weblog is one person posting their thoughts on the unique things they find on the web. This website exists to break down the barriers between people, to extend a weblog beyond just one person, and to foster discussion among its members. Metafilter would be beneficial to a business as it could set up its own weblog, direct the discussion and allow users to interact. For example, after launching a new product, the business could post on its weblog outlining the benefits of the new product and give potential customers the opportunity to respond.

• Digg
Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. This is probably the most useful application out of all five applications that I listed. Businesses are able to provide sponsored content to users. While it looks and feels like an organic news items, Digg Ads are created by advertisers and direct users to an advertiser’s content. Digg ensures that publishers receive predictable, relevant traffic from a highly engaged community. From small bloggers to large media brands, publishers everywhere are using Digg to engage with their readers and increase traffic to their content.

• Reddit
Reddit is a source for what's new and popular online. Users can vote on links that they like or dislike and can help decide what's popular. Links that receive community approval move up the page towards number one, so the front page is constantly in motion and filled with fresh, interesting links. Furthermore, users have the opportunity to submit their own links. Businesses can submit a link provided they have an account. The submissions can be deleted by the business at any time. In order to get submissions noticed, businesses should choose its title carefully, make the content useful to its target audience, provide context and be descriptive. A title such as ‘Vote this up to spread the word’ can grab viewers’ attention.

Week Eleven - Reflection on Learning

This week's topic was eBusiness Trust. Without trust, customers, and sellers for that matter, are less likely to make a transaction with the other party. The main component that I learned from this topic was that without reputation and loyalty, there is very little trust.

Topic Eleven - eBusiness Trust

1. What is meant by the following statements:

• Trust is not associative (non-symmetric)
In terms of buyers and sellers, trust is not equal on both sides. The buyer may have increased or decreased trust in regarding the following: will the product arrive as advertised, will the seller stand by the warrantee, will there be recourse if not fully satisfied, and will payment information remain secure and private. In contrast, the seller may be concerned whether the buyer is legitimate and the payment for goods or services rendered is drawn on a valid account.

• Trust is not transitive
Although sellers cannot directly pass on trust to consumers in its immediate form (or vice versa), it can be built up over time. For example, they can rely on word of mouth, the size of the organisation, brand names and certain seals of approval such as ‘TRUSTe’.

• Trust is always between exactly 2 parties
Generally, trust is generally between two or more parties. The above statement is true when a transaction occurs between a buyer and a seller. However, trust becomes more difficult when additional parties such as suppliers and resellers are involved.

• Trust will involve either direct trust or recommender trust
Direct trust occurs when a consumer (or seller) makes a judgment about the transaction first hand. For example, a consumer making a purchase over eBay. In contrast, recommender trust occurs when someone is given an approval or a referral to another regarding a particular product or service. For example, Customer A recommends Customer B do their online banking with the Commonwealth Bank.

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.

http://www.eBay.com.au
The elements that are incorporated into eBay’s web site in order to increase consumer trust are:
• Security centre: this includes information about avoiding scams, protecting yourself and safe transactions.
• PayPal: enables anyone with an email address to safely send and receive payments online.
• Brand: eBay is recognised world-wide.
• Feedback: allows buyers and sellers to make a comment about their experience.

http://www.anz.com.au
The elements that are incorporated into ANZ’s web site in order to increase consumer trust are:
• Security and privacy statement: to inform consumer about the information they collect, how they advertise, cookies, email handling, use and disclosure of information and the security of information.
• Web site design: professional image and layout.
• Contact information: available for consumers who have any queries.
• Secure login: for internet banking.
• Security alerts: informs customers about recent scams and hoaxes to avoid.

http://www.thinkgeek.com
The elements that are incorporated into Think Geek’s web site in order to increase consumer trust are:
• Customer certified: it is a site that has been given the seal of approval by customers.
• Contact information: customers have the ability to contact the company.
• Brand name products: use a photo of the iPhone to advertise and instil trust in consumers. I.e. ‘Quality’ products are sold.
• Easy navigation
• Loyalty program: shows that customers come back to the store.

http://www.paypal.com.au
PayPal is a transaction site that deals with buyers and sellers of products and services. Trust needs to be incorporated since the transaction of money is involved. The precautions that PayPal uses to ensure clients trust are:
• An overview of the process
• The information that is collected
• The use and disclosure of information
• Information security
• Accessing and changing information
• How to contact the company

2.b. Find a web site yourself that you think looks untrustworthy.
I found a couple of web sites that looked untrustworthy. However, I will not name them as I don’t want to ‘further’ damage their brand. The reasons why I found them to be untrustworthy were because the information was out of date and inaccurate, some of the information was unclear (the spelling and grammar was incorrect), too many advertisements that created clutter, the web site design was messy and complex, and there was no contact information.

Week Ten - Reflection on Learning

This week we had notes to read on 'channel conflict'. However, most of our time was dedicated to working on our web site analysis. I watched the the video about how to create a view when using Foliospaces. I found it extremely useful. When I was doing eMarketing last year, I didn't fully understand the concept of Foliospaces, and now the penny has finally dropped! Better late than never!

Topic Ten - Channel Conflict

This week there were no set questions. We learnt the concept of 'channel conflict', which basically occurs when a producer or supplier bypasses the normal channel of distribution and sells directly to the end user. For example, selling over the Internet while maintaining a physical distribution network. This can also be called 'disintermediation'.