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'.

Week Nine - Reflection on Learning

This week's topic was online auctions. It got us to think about the different types of auctions that are available and how they can assist in pricing, also known as 'dynamic' or 'fluid' pricing. eBay is one of the more successful companies that has used this type of trading. However, it has not come without its issues. Due to numerous amounts of fraud associated with auctions, it has had to implement systems such as PayPal and online feedback to ensure buyers and sellers conduct business in an ethical manner.

Topic Nine - Online Auctions

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 is a major auction service on the Web. It promoted the theory of buying and selling online, and both individuals and commercial enterprises list items for sale. There is no charge to browse the site or make bids and purchases, but there is a fee to list items. If an item is purchased, the seller pays eBay an added fee. Numerous items are offered, and billions of dollars’ worth of merchandise is sold every year through this service.

eBay follows the brokerage business model where it links buyers with sellers, or vice versa. Its success is based on its ability to transform many small markets into one large global market at a small cost to its users. In the past, people have bought and sold used and collectible items through garage sales, classified advertising in local newspapers, and flea markets. However, the number of people available to complete a transaction was limited because a face-to-face meeting was typically required.

2. Other major web sites, like Amazon.com and Yahoo!, have entered the auction marketplace with far less success than eBay. How has eBay been able to maintain its dominant position?
eBay, Yahoo! and Amazon are all popular sites for online shopping as they provide consumers ample convenience. Amazon and Yahoo! operate similarly to regular stores and offers stocks of the products to consumers. They are required to offer some level of service and warranties to customers. In contrast, eBay is not an online store, it is an auction house and it does not actually sell anything. eBay is a site where people go to buy and sell their stuff.

The reason why eBay is so successful is because it facilitates the transaction between buyers and sellers. With eBay, you are basically dealing with another person and not the site itself. In case your transaction goes awry, eBay is not legally bound to compensate you. eBay does not control the price or quantity sold. It leaves it up to the forces of supply and demand in order to reach equilibrium.

http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/internet/difference-between-ebay-and-amazon/)

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 users most susceptible?
The methods that eBay used to reduce the potential for fraud among traders are that it never asks for personal, identifying information in an email. In addition, eBay has a feedback system that enables consumers to give a positive, negative or neutral rating, along with a short comment. This information is available in each member's Feedback Profile, and helps prospective trading partners buy and sell with confidence.

The main types of fraud that eBay is susceptible to are:
• Unwarranted returns: Occurs when an item is purchased, used and attempted to be returned for a refund after the buyer has tampered with it.
• Service blackmail: This occurs when a buyer uses some kind of power to obtain better pricing, additional goods or accessories, or enhanced service from a seller.
• Payment fraud: The most common types of payment fraud are credit card fraud and PayPal payments made with stolen accounts, both of which can leave the seller holding the bag. Also common are bad checks or bad money orders.
• Auction tampering: Occurs when a buyer bids for an item with no intention of ever paying for it.

(http://ebay.about.com/od/resolvingdispute1/a/rd_buyerfraud.htm)

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 does eBay gain something by doing it?
eBay sees its customer base as a community as it believes that everyone is a unique individual and has something to contribute. By allowing customers to contribute to all aspects of its planning and decisions, it has made the company an evangelism marketing pioneer. Customers feel valued which builds their loyalty to the company.

5. eBay has long been a marketplace for used goods and collectibles. Today, it is increasingly a place where major businesses come to auction their wares. Why would a brand name vendor set-up shop on eBay?
As the Internet is becoming more prominent compared to bricks-and-mortar stores, an increasing number of businesses are utilising eBay as another avenue to sell their wares. The reasons for this are due to the convenience of online shopping, and the ability for the market to set the price. Setting prices can be difficult to establish, especially in regards to new product releases. If prices are set too high then inventories increase. But setting the price too low creates product shortages and lost revenue. Setting up shops on eBay increases brand presence, which also can result in increased brand loyalty as customers can provide feedback if they are satisfied with a product.

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 on eBay (seller name ozrural). 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?
According to eBay.com.au, the change that eBay made from 14 July 2010 was new accepted safer payment options for sellers. The revised policy requires sellers to offer one or more of the following three safer payment methods to buyers: PayPal, Paymate or Merchant credit card. The change provides both sellers and buyers increased choice among safer payment options. In addition, increasing the number of accepted payment methods also helps eBay develop an enhanced checkout experience in line with industry best practice.

Week Eight - Reflection on Learning

I thought aspects of this week's topic, Digital Automata, were quite amusing! I absolutely loved the cybertwin and the random responses that it gave me. For example, I typed in the 'winking' emoticon and the cybertwin's response was: "Do you have a pin in your eye?"

I found the Turing Test to be an interesting experiment, as well as the Chinese Room objection. I can see both sides of the argument, although I'd like to think that computers will eventually develop human-like thinking - even if it does gather its information from a variety of sources first. That's how humans learn also!

Topic Eight - Introduction to Digital Automata

1. Check out the link to my ‘intelligent’ cybertwin. Imagine if we had a cybertwin that could answer your questions about the course?
I thought that chatting to the cybertwin was bizarre! At the start I thought it was Ian playing a joke! I think that technology has progressed so quickly and much further than we could have ever imagined. It is difficult to keep up! It would be great to have a cybertwin able to answer questions about this course. It would save a lot of time and effort researching and trawling through the Internet and other resources.

2. Write a one paragraph describing the Turing Test and another paragraph describing an argument against the Turing Test, known as the Chinese Room.
According to Webpedia.com, the Turing Test is a test that was devised by the English mathematician Alan M. Turing to determine whether or not a computer can be said to think like a human brain. In an attempt to cut through the philosophical debate about how to define "thinking," Turing devised a subjective test to answer the question, "Can machines think?" and reasoned that if a computer acts, reacts and interacts like a responsive being, then call it responsive. The test is simple: a human interrogator is isolated and given the task of differentiating between a human and a computer based on their replies to questions that the interrogator poses. After a series of tests are performed, the interrogator attempts to determine which subject is human and which is an artificial intelligence. The computer's success at thinking can be measured by its probability of being misidentified as the human subject.

An argument against the Turing Test is in reference to the Chinese Room. The Chinese Room objection suggests that machine thought is not possible. Although a computer may be able to pass the Turing Test, a man may also be able to do the same thing without fully understanding the content. For example, he is given a book telling him how to respond to the different Chinese symbols and therefore is able to write the appropriate responses. The man may not understand Chinese, but, it is argued, he is doing the same thing that the computer is and thus the computer doesn't understand Chinese.

3. With reference to the video 'Creativity: The Mind, Machines and Mathematics: Public Debate' consider the following question - 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.
Virtual agents interact with programs with some degree of understanding of what the user’s goals and desires are in completing a particular task. I believe, to a certain extent, that virtual agents are able to succeed in delivering ‘satisfactory’ customer service in that they will be able to answer the basic or common customer queries. The more complex queries, however, would be better suited to real life customer service representatives. For instance, a problem may have a number of different expressions in terms of how the question is asked and when a question is asked, and therefore may not get the appropriate automated response.

Companies such as Google have agents which when a user types in a word or question into the search engine the agent gives a reply with similar websites relating. Depending on the word or question that is requested, the search results are not always satisfactory. For example, I was searching for some advice on how to recover after having wisdom teeth removed. To my horror, I got a list of links that lead me to responses made by people stating how painful the actual process was! That was not my initial question, and certainly not what I wanted to read five days prior to surgery!

Week Seven - Mid Semester Exam

This week there was no topic set as we had our mid semester exam. Although the exam was challenging in parts, it was highly beneficial as it reinforced everything that we have learned so far and tested our research skills. Hopefully my research has paid off! All the best to students in completing a successful exam.

Week Six - Reflection on Learning

This week we were encouraged to think about various questions in relation to digital markets, including what impact is digital technology having on prices? Do we see lower prices or higher prices? How does it change the variation in prices? Do we see lower variation? Do sellers start to converge on a particular price? Or do we see a wide variation from high to low in prices? What’s the variability in terms of demand, potentially? Do changes in demand have a significant change in price? That is, are prices elastic or are they inelastic? Does price transparency increase? Are we more aware of the range of prices in the marketplace? Or are prices becoming less transparent? To what extent are prices known?

As demonstrated above, there are numerous questions to consider about digital markets. What we might have assumed initially, such as low entry barriers, actually are different. Different kinds of products and services are going to experience different market dynamics because of digital technologies, and the history of the last decade is going to have some influence in terms of where we are today and where we’re heading into the future.

I really enjoyed this week's topic, and it certainly change my perception on how I viewed the world of online enterprises. I especially found 'The Long Tail' theory interesting.

Topic Six - Digital Markets

QUESTION 1
a) What experiences have you had with shopping online?
I do a lot of online shopping with StrawberryNet. StrawberryNet is the world's leading provider of discounted designer skin care, make-up, cosmetics, perfume, fragrances, cologne and hair care. It has the largest supply of products from a range of top brands. Apart from StrawberryNet, I prefer the interactive experience of physical going it to an actual store.

b) Describe a good experience.
I was informed by a friend that StrawberryNet sells discounted beauty products. I went online and saw that they sold the product that I use at a discounted rate. The process of submitting my order and paying by credit card was quick and simple. I received my products within three days instead of the estimated seven days. Furthermore, I received a ten percent discount for being a first-time customer which added to my delight.

c) What did you like about the online store you used?
I liked the prices and the diverse product range. They were quality brands at minimal costs.

d) Describe a bad experience.
I have heard a lot about eBay, so I decided to give it a try. I browsed through the products and clicked on a hair straightener that I liked to view the product specifications. I decided I didn’t like the product, so I closed out of the window. A week later I got an email from eBay saying I had been blocked from the website as I didn’t pay for my order. I didn’t even realise I had it in my checkout trolley!

e) What problems did you have with the online store?
Being a first-time user, I didn’t fully understand the process of purchasing online. Therefore, I made the mistake of ordering a product that I did not intend to purchase. There should have been some sort of introductory page to assist first-time customers.

f) What features make an online store more appealing?
The features that make an online store more appealing are page design, simplicity, colour and images suited to the product/service, a shallow site structure, highly interactive (e.g. changing the colour of the text when the mouse is placed over a text menu option), and high security for transactions and for the disclosure of personal information.

g) What features make an online store less appealing?
The features that make an online store less appealing are having too many graphics or being text intensive, poor typography, a deep site structure that can make navigation difficult, broken links and no after-support systems (e.g. telephone numbers, email address and FAQs).

h) Should we expect to see the prices of goods and services rise or fall due to the migration of consumers online?
I believe that as customers become more price transparent due to the ease of searching and comparing products and services, the prices of goods will decrease. Buyers will have the power to negotiate prices and demand higher quality.

QUESTION 2
Please discuss the following statements and indicate if you agree with them or not. Please note there may not be a right or wrong answer.

a) The dispersion of prices (that is, the spread between the lowest and highest price for a particular product) will narrow.
As search costs are lower in Internet markets and consumers are more readily informed of prices, then it can be assumed that the dispersion of prices will be narrow.

b) The importance of brand names will decrease.
I believe that importance of brand names will always remain high. Brands produce customer loyalty, and as a result, build trust. A customer that has a positive experience with a particular brand, whether it be online in in the physical world, are less price sensitive and therefore retailers are more able to charge a price premium.

c) Price competition will make all products cheaper.
Depending on the brand, retailers can charge a price premium if they have loyal consumers. However, due to the ever increasing amount of online businesses and the growing awareness of consumers in regards to price, buyers have a bargaining power.

d) Digital markets will become dominated by a handful of mega-sites, like Amazon.com.
Although mega-sites have experience and vast resources to be dominant players in the digital market, small businesses that have a niche, such as Netflix, may hold a competitive advantage as they are able to cater to a specific need that other large businesses cannot.

e) How do you think the balance of power between buyers and sellers will change?
I believe the balance of power will be with the buyers in a market due to their price transparency and low search costs for products and services. They will go with the seller with the lowest price product that is comparable with other similar products.

f) Prices are clustered online.
Depending on the brand, I believe that retailers will prices their goods/services relative to other products. Therefore, I think there will be numerous clusters for different product categories and product types.

g) Online prices are elastic (i.e. Immune to change up and down with demand).
As the Internet has served to increase market efficiency, I believe that prices are elastic to cater to demand. Retailers can alter their prices instantaneously due to the nature and ease of technology. They can use web analytics to monitor and predict future demand, and therefore adjust prices accordingly.

h) Online prices are generally transparent (the extent to which prices for a given product or service are known by buyers in the marketplace).
Prices on the Internet have become highly transparent as buyers compare a range of products and services. Prices should be clear to consumers because if they want to purchase a particular product, they must provide their credit card details. Accordingly, they would want to know how much they are being charged.

QUESTION 3
a) What types of m-commerce services does your cell phone provider offer?
I have recently purchased an iPhone4 through Vodaphone. The types of m-commerce services it provides are:
• Content purchase and delivery: E.g. The sale of ring-tones, wallpapers, and games.
• Location-based services: E.g. Local weather and GPS.
• Information services: E.g. News, sports scores, financial reports and traffic reports.
• Mobile banking: E.g. CommBank.
• Mobile browsing: E.g. Safari.

b) Which of these services do you use?
I predominantly use mobile browsing (via Safari) and mobile banking (through CommBank). It is extremely useful due to the ease and convenience of accessing important details through a mobile device.

c) What types of transactions do you perform through your cell phone or other wireless device?
I generally use CommBank through the Safari web browser on my iPhone. It is a site that I trust and I can access it anywhere at any time.

d) What types of transactions would you like to perform, but are currently unable to?
I don’t have the knowledge about other transactions that are available to me. However, due to the high cost associated with data usage and data transfer speeds, I prefer to use the Internet on my laptop when I can.

e) What is your opinion of wireless advertising/mobile marketing?
I think that mobile marketing is a good thing, and it just demonstrates that we are progressing and making use of new technology. It provides information to customers who are time and location sensitive, personalises information to promote goods and services, and generates value for all stakeholders.

QUESTION 4
Conduct your own research about ‘The Long Tail’, and state your opinion in favour or against the theory. It is also worth reading about Pareto’s Principle, the 80/20 Rule. How do the two relate to each other?
I am in favour of the theory of ‘The Long Tail’. I believe that due to the nature of digital markets, sellers have the ability to expand their catalogue, therefore being able to cater more to individual tastes and needs. For example, Professor Michael Rappa makes a good point about the catalogue differences between Blockbuster and Netflix. Although Netflix entered the industry as a relatively small online business against the industry giant Blockbuster, they were able to gain greater market share due to their extensive catalogue. They had a larger number of products available (as depicted by the ‘X’ axis) compared to just a limited number of the “popular” products that Blockbuster had (as depicted by the ‘Y’ axis). If you plot both the X and Y axis over time, you will notice the sheer length of the X axis, even if only one product in the category of each was purchased.

I believe that my example of Blockbuster relates more to Pareto’s Principle of the 80/20 rule. They stock their most popular DVDs (the top 20 percent) and disregard the remaining 80 percent. This is because they cannot physically stock all 100 percent of DVDs.

Week Five - Reflection on Learning

This week I spent a large amount of my time trying to incorporate web analytics into my blogger page. However, I was unsuccessful. Even though I watched the YouTube video numerous times, it still wouldn't work. I would have been really interested to keep track of the analytics of my blogger.

I enjoyed this week's topic as I have always been interested in how online businesses generate their revenue (such as Google), especially due to the fact that one day I would like to establish my own online business.

Topic Five - Business Models

Describe the features of each of these business models, on your blog page, giving an example of each.

• Brokerage: Brokers links buyers with sellers, or vice versa. They can charge a flat rate, a percentage of each transaction, or a combination of both. E.g. EBay
• Advertising: Advertising on the web has become less invasive over the years. People can either ignore the advertisement or look further into it. Advertisements can include either banners on a web page or posted as a link on a search engine. E.g. Google. The advertising model works best when there is a large flow of traffic.
• Infomediary: Informediaries assist buyers and sellers in understanding the market. For example, companies may require users to register before gaining access to their web site. This means that businesses can capture contact information and other valuable data of their consumers.
• Merchant: Merchants are wholesalers and retailers of products and services. E.g. Amazon is an example of a merchant as it organises its value chain, warehousing and sells directly to consumers.
• Manufacturer (direct): A manufacturer compresses its distribution channel by selling directly to consumers. The manufacturer model can be based on efficiency, improved customer service, and a better understanding of customer preferences. E.g. Dell computers.
• Affiliate: The affiliate model provides purchase opportunities wherever people may be surfing. It does this by offering financial incentives (in the form of a percentage of revenue) to affiliated partner sites. If an affiliate does not generate sales, it represents no cost to the merchant. E.g. Barnes & Noble.
• Community: The viability of the community model is based on user loyalty. Users have a high investment in both time and emotion. Revenue can be based on the sale of ancillary products and services or voluntary contributions; or revenue may be tied to contextual advertising and subscriptions for premium services. E.g. Wikipedia.
• Subscription: Users are charged a periodic fee to subscribe to a service. E.g. Netflix.
• Utility: The utility or "on-demand" model is based on metering usage, or a "pay as you go" approach. E.g. Slashdot.

1. What is the Mobile phone use /100 population? Compare Australia, USA, China and India.
• Australia: 104.96
• USA: 86.79
• China: 47.95
• India: 29.36

2. Internet use /100 population? Compare Australia, USA, China and India.
• Australia: 71.98
• USA: 74
• China: 22.28
• India: 4.38

3. Compare main strengths and weaknesses of Australia or your home country in the survey.
According to the survey, Australia’s strengths are individual readiness, business usage and government readiness. The weaknesses are government usage, political & regulatory environment and infrastructure environment.

4. What does the survey suggest to you about the Information Technology readiness of Australian business compared to Australian consumers?
The report suggests that consumers have a high level of readiness (31) compared to Australian business (21). The top three weaknesses of Australia (government usage, political & regulatory environment and infrastructure environment) need to be improved before business readiness can increase.

Week Four – Reflection on Learning

I found that this week’s topic was the most interesting topic that we have studied so far. I had no idea about the depth that web site owners went into in order to gather information about users and their usage habits. It has given me a whole different perspective on the value of information gathering (i.e. Web analytics). I encourage everyone to really look into this topic – you’ll be surprised!

Topic Four – Web Analytics

1) Looking at the site usage, what do the terms ‘visits’, ‘page views’ and ‘pages/visit’ mean? What does the bounce rate mean and does it vary much from day to day?
•Visits: A sequence of requests from a uniquely identified client that expired after a certain amount of inactivity, usually 30 minutes.
•Page views: A request made to the web server for a page, as opposed to a graphic.
•Pages/visit: The number of pages views divided by the number of visits.
•Bounce rate: The bounce rate for a homepage, or any other page through which visitors enter your site, tells you how many people 'bounce' away (leave) from a site after viewing one page. If the bounce rate from a homepage is 30% (which is relatively low), that means that 30% of visitors ‘bounce away’ from a homepage. The bounce rate for foliospaces.com is 45.91%, which means 45.91% bounce away from the site. It varies quite considerably from day to day, with Saturdays generally having the highest bounce rate.

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 search engines, direct traffic and referring sites. The majority of traffic has come from search engines as search engines are the most widely used due to convenience and the vast amounts of data they can produce.

3) What was the most popular web browser used to access the site?
The most popular web browser to access the site is Internet Explorer, followed by Firefox and Safari.

4) How many countries did visitors to Foliospaces come from and what were the top four countries?
Visits to Foliospaces came from 55 countries, with the top four countries being Australia, United States, Spain and the United Kingdom.

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) After navigating through the analytics, you are able to keep track of the site usage on a day to day basis, traffic sources overview, map overlay, visitors overview, content overview, visits for all visitors and search engines.
(b) You can keep track of these results over time by looking at the past results. This may give you an indication of what the future results will look like.
(c) You can’t keep track of the actual profile of a visitor, although you can record their user habits.

6) What do the following terms mean?
• High bounce rate: Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page. Use this metric to measure visit quality - a high bounce rate generally indicates that site entrance pages aren't relevant to your visitors.

• Key words: A word used as a reference point for finding other words or information.

• Average Page Depth: the average number of pages on a site that visitors view during a single session.

• Click through rate: The average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, expressed as a percentage.

• Click: An instance of pressing down and releasing a button on a pointing device, such as a mouse.

• Cookie: A cookie, also known as a web cookie, browser cookie, and HTTP cookie, is a piece of text stored by a user's 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.

• Impression: An advertisement's appearance on an accessed web page.

• Hyperlink: A word, phrase, or image that you can click on to jump to a new document or a new section within the current document.

• Navigation: Facilitates movement from one Web page to another Web page.

• Pageview: Each time a user visits a Web page, it is called a page view.

• Session: A session is a series of interactions between two communication end points that occur during the span of a single connection. The session begins when the connection is established at both ends and terminates when the connection is ended.

• Unique Visitors (or Absolute Unique Visitors): A unique visitor is a person who visits a web site more than once.

• URL: Stands for "Uniform Resource Locator." A URL is the address of a specific Web site or file on the Internet.

• Visitor: A visitor is a person who only visits a web site once.

• Visitor Session: A series of one or more page impressions, served to one user, which ends when there is a gap of 30 minutes or more between successive page impressions for that user.

• Comparison Shopping: Compare prices for a given item.

Week Three - Reflection on Learning

This week I learnt that websites should be customer centric if they are to be successful. Online businesses also need to be concerned with presence due to the vast number of online businesses that are available to consumers and the increased amount of competition. Well designed websites have to ability to reach a large audiences and provide them with information, access and interactivity with ease and convenience.

I found it difficult to upload an image for my blog this week as Blogger wouldn't accept any of the URLs I submitted, so I apologise for the blandness of my blog!!

Topic Three - Digital Design

1. In two paragraphs explain why a customer centric website design is so important, yet so difficult to accomplish.
Online businesses must remember that websites exist for one reason and one reason only – to help customers. A customer centric website is a design that is centered around customer wants and needs. Savvy businesses are realising that focusing their site on customer benefits and ensuring its visitors a unique experience are key drivers of sales, loyalty, and much-desired word-of-mouth advertising. By considering the needs and wants of customers, businesses can make more effective decisions about the content, offerings, design, and processes available on the site.

A customer centric website design is difficult to accomplish as customer needs continually change. Businesses must remain customer-oriented to ensure the viability and relevance of the product/service available, and to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Some things that businesses should keep in mind when designing a successful website include: valuable and timely information, credible content, sparing use of graphics, easy to read, interactive, organised and secure.

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.
According to the Free Online Dictionary, presence can be defined as “the state or fact of being present; current existence or occurrence’.

Online businesses should be more concerned about presence compared to bricks-and-mortar stores due to the sheer size of the web. There are numerous online businesses nowadays and consumers have vast choice and the ability to compare and evaluate alternatives. Bricks-and-mortar stores have an advantage as they can be physically seen, are highly interactive and tangible. Although online businesses have the advantage of convenience, consumers may not be able to locate them on the web because of unsuitable domain names, lack of knowledge from the consumer (i.e. they might not know what they are looking for or how to find it) and competition from similar businesses. Online businesses must ensure that they target the right consumers, have a well-designed website that facilitates interest, ease of use and interactivity, and advertise appropriately to heighten 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.
Websites
We live in a time deficient society and more and more people are turning to the web to perform searches. Real Estate Agents are able to better connect with their market by making the process of searching for a house less time-consuming, more efficient and convenient. Potential customers can browse through homes and compare from the comfort of their own computer. Websites allow Real Estate Agents to clearly display homes, list prices and locations that maximises consumer satisfaction. Consumers are able to go on virtual tours to see what the house has to offer.

Mass Media Advertising
Mass media is media, such as radio, newspaper and magazines, which is designed specifically to reach large audiences. The Internet has become a powerful avenue through which Real Estate Agents can use to exploit their products as it reaches a great deal of people. It evokes consumer interest which causes them to look further into their product/service offering with comfort and ease.

Personal Contact
Personal contact is important as it forms the basis of a relationship. Without personal contact, it is difficult for a consumer to build trust and form an opinion about the business. It allows Real Estate Agents to better cater to the personal needs and wants of a customer on an individual basis. It customises the service offering.

Week One & Two - Reflection on Learning

The first two weeks of doing this course online was a bit of a struggle as I had to remember how to use all of the different programs, such as ePortfolio and Blogger. But I can happily say that I am officially back into the swing of things.

The week one topic, 'Introduction to eBusiness' was a useful revision topic, which covered the definitions of eBusiness and eCommerce, and the differences between each. What I found interesting was the vast types of eBusiness and the importance of the relationships between these groups and eBusiness.

In week two I watched the Bill Joy video. Although it was long he expressed some interesting concepts regarding the six different webs. I thoroughly enjoyed the Michael Rappa interview as I was not aware of how ill-informed people were about search, and the vast amount of information that is now available to users.

Topic Two - Navigating the Web

Part 1 - Navigation

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?
The four main points that Michael Rappa makes about search are:
• Most users are fairly inexperienced when it comes to searching for information. They rarely know any of the specialized syntax, or logical expressions that could be used that would help narrow their search, and target it in such a way that they would more likely find more accurate results.
• Databases only make up a small portion of the digital information available. The collection mechanisms for search engines are not able to crawl and collect all of the information that’s out there, especially realising the fact that the amount of information is growing rapidly each year.
• People aren’t fully aware of what search engines are and what the protocol is. For example, Can they ask a question and get a result? Do they use some kind of key word structure? Is there a kind of logical set of expressions or Boolean type logic that can be used? Those kinds of structures can be essential for improving the accuracy of a search.
• The ranking algorithm for listing the results occurs once a user searches on a key word or phrase and a set of links are returned. As there are numerous numbers of links, what kind of algorithm is used to rank or order the results, with the goal of providing the user with the things that they are most likely looking for at the top?

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.
Marissa Mayer states an interesting fact that one of the reasons why Yahoo! hasn’t succeeded is because they have lost a lot of their good people. She believes that talent is the key to achieving a successful business. Furthermore, Yahoo! presents a good source of competition for Google as users are able to have their needs better fulfilled.

Marissa states that search is a growing problem as there are so many URLs out there. Businesses must be careful and tactical when selecting a URL otherwise they may be difficult to find on a search engine, especially due to the ranking algorithm.

I found it interesting that where search engines get approximately get 15, 20, 25 page views from a single person in a single day, social networking gets around 50 to 100 page views as people are very interested in finding their friends and reading other people’s profiles, forming those connections and messaging.

Mobile search has changed the way people search due to accessibility and convenience. It unleashes a whole new market, especially for advertisers as they can take advantage of capturing the attention of time deficient consumers. However, there are many problems associated with mobile search, such as the interface, the smaller screen and getting the user’s attention on the advertisements.

Part 2 - History of the Internet

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.

a) What are the 6 webs?
The six webs are the “far” web (the typical TV viewer experience), the “near” web (desktop computing), the “here” web (mobile devices with personal information one carried all the time), the “weird” web (voice recognition systems), “B2B” web (business computers dealing exclusively with one another), and “D2D” web (intelligent buildings and cities).

b) Could there be more?
As technology is constantly changing, it is almost certain that the six webs will grow to a larger number. Technological innovation, knowledge and consumer demand will all play vital roles in the evolving and expanding nature of the webs.

c) What does it mean for business?
Continuing advances in technology, for less money, means companies will be able to apply automation to their businesses at a level never before imagined. Most important, this will mean the harnessing of knowledge within organisations to a degree that was never before possible.

Topic One - Introduction to eBusiness

1) Internet risks – give examples of four things that can go wrong with a transactional site?
Examples of four things that can go wring with a transactional website include:
• Computer crash or network problems may mean trading stops.
• Breaches of security may cause problems.
• Customers may have difficulty contacting a business if there are problems - lacks the personal touch.
• Customers can only read about and see the goods for sale. They are unable to smell or touch them.

2) Write down a definition for each:
a) E-commerce:
E-commerce (electronic commerce or EC) is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet (http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid182_gci212029,00.html).

b) E-business:
eBusiness (electronic business) is, in its simplest form, the conduct of business on the Internet. It is a more generic term than eCommerce because it refers to not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners (http://www.mariosalexandrou.com/definition/ebusiness.asp).

3) What is the difference between buy-side and sell-side eCommerce?
Buy-side e-commerce refers to transactions to obtain resources needed by an organisation from its suppliers. Sell-side e-commerce refers to transactions involved with selling products to an organisation’s customers. So e-commerce transaction between organisations can be considered from two perspectives: sell-side from the perspective of the selling organisation and buy-side from the perspective of the buying organisation (http://www.davechaffey.com/E-business/C1-Introduction/E-business-E-commerce-defined).

4) Describe the different types of eBusiness.
There are many different types of eBusiness. Examples include:
• B2B: (Business to business). B2B is when a business sells a product to another business such as a manufacturer selling to a distributor and a wholesaler to a retailer.
• B2C: (Business to consumer). B2C is when a business sells to an actual consumer. Such businesses are Amazon which sells products to consumers via the internet.
• C2B: (Consumer to business). C2B occurs when a consumer wants a certain product or service that they displays what they want and their budget. This allows businesses to present their bid and allows the consumer to choose which business they want to use.
• C2C: (Consumer to consumer). C2C is when a consumer can buy or sell products over the internet to other consumers. For example, E-Bay.
• G2G: (Government to government). The government exchanges information with another government.
• C2G: (Consumer to government). This is when consumers tell the government their thoughts and opinions through pressure groups.
• G2B: (Government to business). This is when the government charges the business tax. The Internet can be used to lodge tax returns.
• B2G: (Business to Government). This is when a business tells the government their thoughts and opinions which might be through a lobby group.
• G2C: (Government to consumer). This is when the government charges the consumer tax and the consumer can lodge their tax return over the internet

http://www.digitsmith.com/ecommerce-definition.html

5) Which digital technology has the highest penetration rate? Explain and source your answer.
Mobile phones are a digital technology with the highest penetration rate. A new research report claims that 30 countries around the world now have a greater number of mobile phone subscriptions than the size of their population (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ECZ/is_2006_June_9/ai_n16464839/).

6) List four drivers to adoption of sell-side e-commerce by business.
The four drivers to adoption of sell-side eCommerce by business are:
• Marketing costs are reduced as the sales and advertising is conducted online.
• Increase in revenue such as selling to new customers, repeat selling to customers and cross selling to customers.
• Reduction in administrative costs which saves time, money and resources.
• Reduction in the supply chain which decreases the time to order and receive stock to sell to the customer.

7) Four barriers to adoption of sell-side e-commerce by business.
The four barriers to adoption of sell-side eCommerce by business are:
• Start up costs of online businesses can be high.
• Lack of time and resources to invest into the online business.
• Lack of knowledge in regards to technology and the Internet. This could make the online business complex and difficult for customers to use.
• Reluctance of online suppliers.

8) How might a restaurant in Sturt Street Ballarat benefit from an online presence?
As there are an increasing number of people using the Internet, a restaurant in Sturt Street would benefit from going online. The Internet is an easy and convenient way of searching for information. Users could obtain information about the restaurant in regards to location, contact details, menu options and prices. A website gives general information and allows the observer to look at the website to see what kind of experience the restaurant offers.

9) What are some examples of digital information?
Examples of digital information include mobile phones, compact discs, digital video, televisions, e-books, Internet, video games and game consoles.

10) What is the semantic web? Are we there yet?
According to searchSOA.com, the Semantic Web is an idea of World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee that the Web as a whole can be made more intelligent and perhaps even intuitive about how to serve a user's needs. Berners-Lee observes that although search engines index much of the Web's content, they have little ability to select the pages that a user really wants or needs. He foresees a number of ways in which developers and authors, singly or in collaborations, can use self-descriptions and other techniques so that context-understanding programs can selectively find what users want.

I don’t think we are quite there with the semantic web. Although we have search engines that narrow down our search criteria, a portion of the information can be irrelevant. Technology is always progressing and I believe that there will be a semantic web in the near future.