E-commerce!

I have always thought that e-commerce and e-business had similar meanings, but apparently they stand for different things. To facilitate better understanding, "E-commerce involves digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals; whereas e-business refer primarily to the digital enablement of transactions and processes within a firm, involving information systems under the control of the firm". Thus, all the online shopping sites that I have either visited or purchased actually belongs to 'e-commerce' category! A case in point of an e-commerce site is Victoria's Secret (VS) and I will go on to identify its seven unique features of e-commerce technology and their significance below:

•  Ubiquitous and Offers Global Reach
  

Victoria's Secret is a well-known American retailer of lingerie, women's wear and beauty products. Consumers can shop their brand via their website "www.VictoriasSecret.com" at any place and at any time. This increases customer convenience and reduces costs. Not only do VS ship domestically in the States, but they also provide secure international shipping services. In addition, one of the brand's marketing strategies was the introduction of Victoria's Secret Direct, whereby the purpose is to provide a sexy, warm and intimate shopping experience to their consumers 24/7 via their catalogues. According to statistics, this marketing strategy reaches more than 390 million people annually and VS's website is one of the most highly profitable and fastest-growing sites.

However, due to certain trade and embargo restrictions, there are around 26 countries that are restricted to all shipments, e.g. Cuba, North Korea, Afghanistan and Iran etc.

• Operates According to Universal Standards

The site operates according to technical media standards.

• Information Richness

All the models' interviews, fashion shows, videos and audio contribute to a more powerful selling environment as it elevates the consumer's shopping experience.

Social Media Today

Social media today has evolved into an online community whereby various websites allows users to share their content, media and private information with their friends and families globally with no time and space restrictions. The video link below gives an introduction to social media through a story about a small town, Scoopville and their inventions of different flavors of ice-creams.

http://www.commoncraft.com/socialmedia

In the video, it shows that the town changes because their people were able to make and produce their own ice-cream flavors  and they no longer depend on factory to invent new flavors. Similarly, it had cleverly defined social media's role in giving people the autonomy to create their very own video, music, blogs etc on the web. The example of the discussion board in the video also relates to real life whereby websites like Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, YouTube etc allows tools like tagging, comments and rating systems for people to vote for their favorite "posts", as well as keeping a tab on their friends' daily lives. Online communication has indeed eased social interaction as all these tools help to strengthen and expand our network of friends and acquaintances, especially those we do not speak to on a daily basis.

Moreover, because of the popularity of social media, companies have now relied on social media for their marketing strategies because of its low costs, easy-to-use and far-reaching pool of networks globally. For example, organizations are also able to fine-tune their marketing strategies on their specific target markets such as searching for people on Facebook with common interests under 'Groups' or putting up advertisements on Facebook where you can 'sell' your brand/product to specific demographics. 

With the increasing popularity and evolution of social media, it has now become a vital social  instrument of communication and if you are not participating in the top social media and networking sites, you are bound to be left behind by the world.

The Difference between Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0

I have never been good at computers or learned about all the new technological things, thus when the question was raised about the difference between Web 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 completely astounds me. 

Through the lesson, I've learnt that Web 1.0 is mainly made up of html and provides read-only content for consumers. Back then, 'Netscape' was the IT factor. On the other hand, Web 2.0 has evolved from Web 1.0 and not only does it provide read-only content online, it also allows anybody who has access to internet to contribute their pool of knowledge on the internet. In other words, almost anybody can be a 'publisher' themselves and this is also an era where wikipedia and blogs were becoming increasingly popular. As time passes, the web version improved tremendously to 3.0 where it has been named 'the portable personal web' whereby the instructor has mentioned about semantic web and the intelligent search on Google i.e. Google Earth where the search engines can now be tuned into surfing specifics and uniquely personalized for every individual. It is almost like artificial intelligence, the way the web is integrated. In addition, increased user engagement on the web as one is allowed to have information exclusivity by owning the content. 

With such powerful demand for internet also because of its convenience and portability, it will only continue to grow and evolve drastically in the near future. Who knows, maybe by then, every interaction we make including what we write and read, will be stashed into our digital lifestream for all to view.