ONLINE AUCTIONS

 

Q1: eBay is one of the only major Internet “pure plays” to consistently make a profit from its inception. What is eBay’s business model? Why has it been so successful?

eBay’s business model is a Brokerage model. eBay  is an online auctioneer acts as a broker, bringing buyers and sellers together and facilitates the transaction. eBay,  generates revenue through listing and selling fees and through advertising. eBay conduct advertisement on different media and become an interest to a consumers. It also offers goods which is often cheaper than in retail which is attractive to customers. In addition eBay is constantly researching ways for improvement and customer satisfaction. They always look and use customer feedback which help them to make strong consumer loyalty that is why eBay is so successful and popular on online  auction.

Q2: 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 has been able to maintain its dominant position on online auction. The Amazon sells products by itself but eBay does not sell goods by itself. The seller registers and sells through eBay. Everyone can sell and buy on the eBay, it is more freedom.  It delivers good service at lower price, it offers free to bid and has its own safe payment method which provides security to its customers.

Q3: 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?

eBay offers  safety procedures such as, identity safety, computer safety and how to avoid fraud through its security center . Security center has a reporting facilities where users can report fraud. eBay allows all its members to use PayPal as a method of payment. PayPal helps to protect financial information of customers. eBay also use to reduce the potential fraud through its use of feedback. This allows eBay to know about people trying to scam the system.

Types of fraud that eBay users are susceptible are:

· Identity theft

· Sellers fraud

· Fraudulent emails

Q4: 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 makes every effort to conceptualize its users as a community than as clients or customers to help  users feel more involved in its services . It allows customers to feel part of a community and it is helpful for them to feel comfortable in the auction. Being a community member also help users feel more secure and gives a sense of trust in using eBay services.. eBay’s success is based on its community members success. 

Q5: 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?

A brand name may choose to set up shop on eBay because of the high number of users in eBay. This is an opportunity for the brand name to create awareness and interest of customers. Potential buyers may also be looking for discounted brand name products rather than paying full price in physical stores. Online vendors also can reach to customers who are geographically far.

Q6. 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?

In july 2010 eBay changed its fixed price listing in the books and music categories.The new basic store fees for books and music are designed to help media sellers optimize their profitability by lowering the cost of listing on eBay.

Source:http://pages2.ebay.com.au/News/InsideSelling/New_Fees_for_Books_and_Music_Listings

Retrieved May11,2013

DIGITAL AUTOMATA

A. Write a one paragraph describing the Turing test and another paragraph describing an argument against the Turing Test, known as the about the Chinese room.

The Turing Test is a method for determining whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human. The test is described as a test that assesses a machine’s ability to think or understand. The test is named after Alan Turing, an English mathematician who pioneered artificial intelligence during the 1940s and 1950s. According to this kind of test, a computer is considered to have artificial intelligence if it can imitate human responses under specific conditions. In Turing's test, if the human being conducting the test is unable to consistently determine whether an answer has been given by a computer or by another human being, then the computer is considered to have "passed" the test (Techtarget 2013).

The Chinese Room developed by John Searle, is an argument against the possibility of  Artificial Intelligence. The argument talks about thought experiment in which someone who knows only English sits alone in a room following English instructions for manipulating strings of Chinese characters, such that to those outside the room it appears as if someone in the room understands Chinese. The argument is intended to show that while suitably programmed computers may appear to converse in natural language, they are not capable of understanding language. Searle concludes that the experiment underscores the fact that computers merely use syntactic rules to manipulate symbol strings, but have no understanding of meaning or semantics. Chinese room argument is a direct challenge to the supporters of Artificial Intelligence. This argument also has broad implications for functionalist and computational theories of meaning and of mind. There have been many criticism to the argument (Cole David 2009).

References:

Cole, David (2009). The Chinese Room Argument. Retrieved May 3, 2013 from

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/chinese-room/

Techtarget. 2013).Turing Test. Retrieved May 3, 2013 from

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Turing-Test


B. 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.

We can see gradual changes towards digital development .Virtual agent will eventually be able to successfully delivering high quality customer service over the web.  Virtual agents are used by big companies, and hundreds of smaller businesses to increase sales, improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs. The internet has many virtual agents. Companies as Google have agents, when a user put in a word or question into the search engine the agent gives a reply with similar websites. Virtual agent can chat to thousands of people at the same time, delivering instant 24/7 customer service.  Main purpose is to have conversations with site visitors and direct them to the part of the website that fits their needs. Customer doesn't have to wait in a queue for an agent to become available. They click to chat and the majorities have a good experience, getting the help they need. This is helpful to save precious time and money of every business.

References:

Artificial intillengence (2011). Retrieved May 4, 2013, from

http://business.nab.com.au/artificial-intelligence-171/

Rappa M. (2006) Digital Automata. Retrieved May 4, 2013, from

http://digitalenterprise.org/transcripts/automata_tr.htm

DIGITAL MARKETS

QUESTION 1

A. What experiences have you had with shopping online? 

I use online shopping often. I have purchased many things from different website such as eBay, dell, catchoftheday etc. I have purchased laptop from dell.com.au and mobile accessories from ebay.com.au. Sometimes I also buy airline ticket from online.

B. Describe a good experience.

I bought a Dell laptop from dell.com.au and it was so great experience. They allow customers to customize their computers, laptops while adding more features or removing unwanted items with very attractive price. That is much cheaper than in retail shop and express delivery which I really loved about Dell. Website is easy to navigate and to find products. While doing check out I can review all my items and paying for the items is also very simple process.

C.What did you like about the online store you used?

While using dell and eBay the most important things I like that it is easy to navigate and find products in website. Price is cheaper than in retail shop and simple process of payment.

D. Describe a bad experience.

Once I bought some clothes from eBay and first of all it was delivered three days late and one of the items is different as shown in website.

E. What problems did you have with the online store?

Sometimes there is not much information about products description which customer needs.Some websites have lengthy payment process.

F. What features make an online store more appealing?

Easy navigation and attractive layout for the website, clear pictures and descriptions of the products, attractive prices compared to others , very clear return policy, safe transactions and receiving the goods on time are the features that makes online store more appealing.

G. What features make an online store less appealing?
Unattractive layout, difficult to navigate, high price, too many process to complete the transaction makes online store less appealing.

H. Should we expect to see the prices of goods and services rise or fall due to the migration of consumers online?
A movement of consumers’ online means competition will rise in markets. Therefore the prices will sooner or later need to fall down if business wants to make sales.


QUESTION 2

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

Customers are always looking for a bargain to purchase products. Brand awareness and the products in general still have different value and quality so prices dispersion will be there. For the particular product in physical and online market the price dispersion will narrow.

B. The importance of brand names will decrease.

The brand names are very important for customers when they purchase products online. Brand name shows quality of product. Because of the brand name customers feel the quality of products and satisfaction.  So that in my view the importance of brand name will not decrease.

C. Price competition will make all products cheaper.

This depends on the products and brand names but in general price competition will make all products cheaper.

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

Customers are always looking for different websites to find new products before purchasing goods. Many stores are starting online business because of market demand and easy to maintain. Therefore it will be difficult to be dominated by a handful of mega sites, like Amazon.com in digital markets.

E. How do you think the balance of power between buyer’s and seller’s will change?

The balance of power is more in support of the buyer. Customers have a wide range of place and products to choose. They have the possibility to compare the price and quality and the other hand seller are more exposed to strong competitions. They have to adapt their marketing and pricing strategies according to market demand to satisfy customers.

F. Prices are clustered online.

I disagree that prices are clustered online because prices are determined by the supply, demand and quality of the products.

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

I agree that online prices are elastic. If demand is high prices will be up and price will be down if demand is low.

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

It is true that online prices are transparent because the customers are able to view and compare the prices of different products in different websites to decide before buying products.

QUESTION 3

A. What types of m-commerce services does your cell phone provider offer?

Services that my cell phone provider offer are: mobile bill payment, banking, games and entertainment, location based services.

B. Which of these services do you use?

I use all of those services which I have mentioned.

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

Transactions that I perform through my cell phone are bill payment, buying plane tickets, internet banking.

D. What types of transactions would you like to perform, but are currently unable to?

There is not any transaction that I would like to perform.

E. What is your opinion of wireless advertising/mobile marketing?

In today’s wireless world, mobile advertising is now essential to the foundation of any successful marketing. Customers can visit website at anytime and from anywhere using their mobile phones. Mobile advertising will be useful for making influence over consumer decisions.

BUSINESS MODELS

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

1. Brokerage model - The brokerage business model bring buyers and sellers together to make possible business transactions. Brokers can facilitate consumer-to-consumer, consumer-to-business or business-to-business markets. This business model earns money by charging a fee or commission for each transaction. The eBay website is the clearest example of this model.

www.ebay.com.au

2. Advertising model - Advertising is probably the most widely used model online and it is the sole way of profit for many organizations. With the advertising model, websites can choose to put up some form of advertising on their site in exchange for money. According to Michael Rappa (2010) the online publishing model opens up subscription revenue options because companies can charge fees to access some or all of the content they produce. Google is an excellent example of the advertising model. It employs paid text advertisements, search placement and user tracking to guide advertising to consumers as they browse the Internet.

Rappa M (2010) Business Models in Web. Retrieved April 17, 2013 from http://digitalenterprise.org/models/models.html

https://www.google.com/adsense/www/en_US/tour/

3. Infomediary model - Infomediary is about independently collected data about businesses and their products are useful to consumers when considering a purchase. "Money saving expert" is a website that researches all financial products on the market and presents the information to customers helping them make a more informed decision before they buy.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/

4. Merchant model - The Merchant business model is used by retailers and wholesalers. Merchants buy goods, and sell them with profit. Sales may be made based on list prices or through auction. Amazon.com is the one of the example of merchant model.

http://www.amazon.com/

5. Manufacturer (Direct) model- With this business model, company manufactures items and then sells them on to retailers or directly to the customer. Dell is one of the examples of Manufacturer (Direct) model.
http://www.dell.com.au/

6. Affiliate model - The affiliate business model is based on commission sales .This system basically consists of recommending products from other people, of which you get a commission each time you generate a sale. Pay per click model, banner exchanges and the more popular revenue sharing model. Barnes & Nobel is the examples of affiliate business model.

http://affiliates.barnesandnoble.com/

7. Community model - The community model can be business-to-consumer or business-to-business, but has found great acceptance as a consumer-to-consumer business model. Examples are consumer reviews of products and services on websites such as Facebook, Twitter and user-created content sites such as eHow and Wikipedia. Revenue may be tied to contextual advertising and subscriptions for premium services.  They all are based on individuals talking and sharing information and experiences, rather than companies advertising to individuals.

www.ehow.com

8. Subscription model – In this model business charge a fee for their customers to have access to service or as a continuity business model where a customer pays for product and then they are charged automatically at certain periods to replace the product until further notice. Brichbox, Bluum is the examples of subscription model.

http://www.birchbox.com/

9. Utility model - This type of business makes money by selling the usage of its products and services. Utility companies such as power, phone and cable operate under this type of model. Slashdot is the example of utility business model.

http://slashdot.org/

DIGITAL DESIGN

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

Customer-centric means creating a Web site that is centered around customer wants and needs. Savvy businesses are realizing 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 proactively considering the needs, wants, and beneficial preferences of your customers, you can make more effective decisions about the content, offerings, design, and processes available on your site (Pivarnik C, 2000). 

Customer centric web design actually makes it easier to achieve goals. Customers who can find what they are looking for are much more likely to make a purchase or return later for more information and services. Most importantly they are likely to recommend to their family and friends, which is one of the most powerful ways to increase sales.

The difficulty in accomplishing a customer centric website is recognizing the wants and needs of customer. Consumer's behavior will vary between different sectors of society. Website needs to have the content, design, offers and processes that attract the customer. It takes a lot of time and money to make  proper website.

Pivarnik C.(2000) Is Your Web Site Customer-Centric? Retrieved April 11, 2013 from

http://www.4hb.com/0520cpcustomercentric.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.

The term Web presence refers to an individual or business having an established existence on the World Wide Web, through a Web site, e-mail, Internet advertising, blog, or a collection of Web files. Web presence is also called Internet presence. (Webopedia)

Firms conducting their business on the Web need to be more concerned about presence than those operating in the physical world because this is the sole opportunity they have to interact with their customers. The Web site is the only way of business to connect with customers. Customer will make decision in first five to seven seconds whether to use this company or not by looking on website. Firms need to realise that an online business presence does not have the same feel, sense of security and safety for customers as compare to physical presence. Website need to be professional and have to ensure safety for customers.

Presence. Retrieved April 12, 2013, from  http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/P/presence.html

3. *Usable Doesn’t Have To Mean Ugly ‘for a web design to be truly beautiful, it has to be functional, have purpose and contribute in some way to the website’s intuitiveness, usefulness and branding. All of these things contribute to the overall effect of a design’. This is a quote from one of the articles on web design linked on Web pages that suck. Find a web page that ‘does not suck’ and discuss the features that make it work.

ebay.com.au is an online auction site allows people to buy and sell products. It doesn't suck as it provides good service. This website is very easy to find out products.  It is very easy to use, attractive and catches your eye and it also has good online presence. It also gives customers chance to provide feedback and secure transaction as well. It advertises on different sites and also offers discounts and free shipping all over the world giving itself a great reputation. ebay.com.au is a fantastic example of a well made online business that works.

SECURITY AND PRIVACY

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

I found one news about Australia post online privacy breach in news.com.au published in October 31, 2012. The names, addresses, businesses, email addresses, land line and mobile number of Australia post recipients are being exposed by simply manipulating the website URL. This is the third security flaw to be discovered on Australia post's website in less than a month. The issue relates to non-financial details of some customers becoming inadvertently visible. This issue comes less than two weeks after Australia post was forced to shut down it's electronic parcel tracking service because of the online privacy breach. Australia post reassure customers that their financial details have not been compromised. The action taken by Australia post was suspend it's website until they fix the issue and apologize for the inconvenience caused (Connelly, 2012).  

Connelly, C. (2012). Australia Post hit by security breach again. Retrieved April 4,2013, from
http://www.news.com.au/technology/australia-post-hit-by-security-breach- again/story-e6frfro0-1226507720654#ixzz2PMbI0k27

2. Most Ambient Intelligence (AmI) scenarios illustrate its benefits. The dark scenarios, developed by the SWAMI (Safeguards in a World of Ambient Intelligence) project, are different as they point out the risks that must be mediated if AMI is to be a future success story. The scenario we present here hinges on the theft of data from a multinational company. The company suffers from the illusion of security—that is, the belief it has implemented more than adequate security measures— only to discover it has not.

Consider the following case (below) then -

complete a comprehensive analysis of the facts and issues in the case. Some questions to consider - 

A. What AmI technologies are identified in the case?
AMI technologies are identified in the case are:

• Location implants

• Surveillance system

• Sensors networks in homes and cars

• Mobile phone tracking

B. What drives DMC’s officers to take the actions they took?

DMC's officers had to hide security breach to keep their good image. DMC's own employees are responsible for the security breach, if this information goes outside of the company; this will ruin the reputation of DMC. This issue would impact negatively in the relationship with clients and share price of the company. Company have to suffer extreme financial loss. That is why DMC's officer made decision to cover up the security breach of the company.

C. DMC is the clear market leader in the aggregation of AmI data. Are there any comparisons you can make to technology companies today?

I tried to find out companies like DMC but couldn't able to find out in web. But I personally believe that there are lots of companies in world who collects information of people without their consent. 

D. How realistic is the description of governments using the technology and prohibiting immigration from states with no AmI data aggregation information?

Governments using the technology and prohibiting immigration from states with no AMI data aggregation information is totally unrealistic. It is an individual choice to give certain information or not. I personally find it unethical. 

E. What would be the impact of this digital divide?

The digital divide will ruin the reputation of DMC. Clients wouldn't believe this company and there will be a major impact in share price of the company. 

F. List some of the ‘unintended consequences’ described in the case.

• DMC was sent to court over the offences.
• Identity theft.
• Public find out what they are really doing. 
• Spam email sent to people.

G. Do members of the class all agree on the issues raised by this case? What were the main points of difference (if any) in discussions?
All the members of class seems to understand about security and privacy. All  members agree about sensitiveness of privacy. How big companies are affected by privacy breach and consequences of security and privacy breach.

NAVIGATING THE WEB

                                          PART ONE -   NAVIGATION

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

The first point that Michael Rappa (2006) makes about search is that the search engine is a data base. Vast amount of about data generated as a result of ordinary things we do each day. There are about 800 megabytes of recorded data produced per person annually. This is equilavent to a shelf of books of 30 feet long. The amount of data produced each year is estimated to grow at a rate of about 30 percentage. 

The second point that Michael Rappa (2006) makes about search is that it is a collection mechanism for adding data into that database.The task of collecting, transmitting, and storing data is costly and time consuming. Users are not aware of the ways to search to their best and how to narrow their search which would result in more accurate results. We should understand how to find out the information more accurately.

The third point that Michael Rappa (2006) makes about search is that It is a search protocol that enables users to query the database. Rappa describes a database of URL's and associated key words, text and images which get compiled through some kind of collection mechanism. The popularity of sites  like Google and Yahoo has given them a unique status because they serve users as a point of entry to the web. Knowing how they work is key to understanding how to search and how to be found on the web.

The fourth point that Michael Rappa (2006) makes about search is the ranking algorithm for listing the results. A simple search of a major web directory can give hundreds of resultant links.

Rappa Michael. (2006). Managing the Digital Enterprise. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http://digitalenterprise.org/navigation/nav.html



2. 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.

First point I found interesting is that Google generate ideas from everywhere. Google draws opinions from a range of people including users, executives and results of strategic analysis. They respond to issues people have with their product by listening and then acting on those issues. 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. Mayer believes that there are a lot of different elements of the culture that have really fostered innovation. The main point of this is that they work with really small teams which lead to a sense of empowerment.

Mayer significantly talks that voice is far more advanced then images.  When talking about what was actually possible in terms of technology and what the limits was she said that Google was looking to make advancement on both voice and image recognition.  She also said that they were closer to being able to allow people to search for voices in videos by text then finding similar images to another. She also declared that competition is fruitful for business. She said that the competition between Yahoo and Google is good because people were always enduring foremost products and everyone was asking what is going to be built next. Competition also makes quality of products better.

Arrington. M (2009) Marissa Mayer on Charlie Rose: The Future of Google, Future of Search. Retrieved march 30, 2013 from
http://techcrunch.com/2009/03/06/marissa-mayer-on-charlie-rose-the-future-of-google/

              

                 PART TWO - HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

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?

1.The Near web- This is the Internet that you see when you lean over a screen - like a laptop.

2. The Here web- Personal device where the web comes with you .Smartphone is an example of Here web.

3. The Far web- Corporate entertainment which makes use of the web. For an example television or a kiosk.

4. The Weird web- The Weird Web. This is the Internet you access through your voice and which you listen to - say when you are in your car, or when you talk to an intelligent system on your phone, or when you ask your camera a question. Joy concedes that this Web does not yet fully exist.

5. B2B web- Business computers using the web to communicate with each other to improve business processes and transactions.

6. D2D web- This is the Internet of sensors deployed in meshes networks, adjusting urban systems for maximum efficiency. This Web also does not yet exist. Joy says that it will embed machine intelligence in ordinary, daily life. 

B.  Could there be more?

The 20 year period set by Bill Joy’s team is almost over but the Internet is still growing and more new aspects of web are being innovated. It could be predicted that there can be more webs in near future.

C. What does it mean for business?

If businesses have a good understanding of the current aspects of the Internet that fall in the six webs, they will have better opportunities to advertise and sell their products and services. It also means that businesses can do better care for customer needs more efficiently and effectively. This also provides challenges as they need to keep updated with the development of the Internet and how customers use it on a day-to-day basis.