a) What is meant by an online community and how is it important for e-commerce?
An online community is a group of people who communicate with each other over the internet or by email. According to Ince (2004, p.32) an online community is similar to an e-shop but with added facilities whereby customers can interact with each other to discuss the particulars products or services on offer. Online communities are important for e-commerce because they consist of like minded people or groups who businesses can specifically target with appropriate products or services. It is also important as it enables people with the same needs to communicate and comment on products and services relevant to that need. E-commerce also allows people to purchase goods or services online without the need for a business to have a physical presence. Customers can be from geographically diverse locations thus allowing a much bigger target market than in the past.
Yahoo groups allow for like minded people to join groups based on the following categories:
- Business & Finance
- Computers & Internet
- Cultures & Community
- Entertainment & Arts
- Family & Home
- Games
- Government & Politics
- Health & Fitness
- Hobbies & Crafts
- Music
- Recreation & Sport
- Regional
- Religion & Beliefs
- Romance & Relationships
- Schools & Education
- Science
According to ("What Is Zope?", n.d.) Zope is an open source web application server that features a transactional object database which can store content and custom data, dynamic HTML templates, scripts, a search engine, and relational database connections and code. It allows web sites to be created that can be updated from anywhere in the world. Zope allows for the rapid development of dynamic web applications that can be used for e-commerce.
Facebook is based on the concept of Friends and Family and uses targetted advertising based on user information and activity. Users can join networks based on city, workplace, school, university or region. There are also many groups based on the following categories:
- Activities
- Age
- Beauty
- Beliefs & Causes
- Current Events
- Dating & Relationships
- Families
- Food & Drink
- Friends
- Gardening
- Health & Wellbeing
- History
- Hobbies & Crafts
- Languages
- Pets & Animals
- Philosophy
- Politics
- Religion & spirituality
- Science
- Self-help
- Sexuality
- Travel
- Wine
- Activities
- Automotive
- Business & Entrepreneurs
- Cities & Neighborhoods
- Companies / Co-workers
- Computers & Internet
- Countries & Regional
- Cultures & Community
- Entertainment
- Family & Home
- Fan Clubs
- Fashion & Style
- Film & Television
- Food, Drink & Wine
- Games
- Gay, Lesbian & Bi
- Government & Politics
- Health, Wellness, Fitness
- Hobbies & Crafts
- Literature & Arts
- Money & Investing
- Music
- Nightlife & Clubs
- Non-Profit & Philanthropic
- Other
- Pets & Animals
- Places & Travel
- Professional Organizations
- Recreation & Sports
- Religion & Beliefs
- Romance & Relationships
- Schools & Alumni
- Science & History
- Sorority/Fraternities
- Is there a common thread and a local community sense in action?
Yes the sites are all very similar but each site is aimed at their particular country so that the user is comfortable and feels at home. When I logged into the Australian site the welcome message said G'day Karen making me feel automatically that this was an Aussie site. The advertising is Australian, the links are to Australian web sites and all prices are in Australian dollars etc. The feeling is very much of being in the Aussie community. There are also discussion boards, a message centre, blogs where members can share their experiences and knowledge with other members. - What electronic payment systems are used? Are they globally acceptable?
PayPal, Credit Card, Bank Deposit or Bank Deposit Express. PayPal and Credit cards are globally acceptable. - What are the benefits of an online auction sale to a buyer, a seller and E-bay owner.
According to ("eBay explained", n.d.) the benefits to a buyer are the vast array of items available including the latest electronics, designer fashion, rare antiques, your favourite toy, furniture for your home or even a new car. The buyer is able to participate in a global marketplace where almost anything is available for sale. A buyer has the choice of participating in an online auction or they can buy immediately or even let sellers know what they want to buy. The benefits to sellers are the ability to participate in a global marketplace to sell their wares. E-bay provides a safe community where millions of items are sold every day and provides many programs and policies to help with the safe trading of items. There are seller protections in place to assist sellers in their transactions and also a dispute resolution service if things go awry. E-bay provides a safe and easy way to sell on the internet. The benefits to the E-bay owner are the fees that are charged to the sellers for posting and selling items. These fees are outlined on the site as Insertion Fees and Final Value Fees. E-bay also owns PayPal which sellers are required to use as outlined by e-bay in their Completing a Purchase instructions ("Completing a Purchase", n.d.) which advises that sellers are required to offer PayPal in their listings. This cross promotion of the PayPal company provides revenue to the e-bay company because buyers become clients as well as sellers and once clients have a PayPal account they may be more inclined to use it for non-ebay transactions.
http://au.playstation.com/ This is the official playstation site where there are forums, events, tournaments, all to do with the Sony playstation and its community of players.
http://www.afl.com.au/. This is the official afl website that is all about the afl. It provides videos, news, shops, footy tipping, stats, results, ladder, player information, betting etc
2. Visit the famous online store front at http://www.amazon.com.
a) Why has it been a successful site? How does the purchase of a book work?
Amazon.com has been a successful site because of their focus on the customer experience. To purchase a book you simply search for the book you want to purchase, add it to your shopping cart and proceed to the checkout. The website is fast and reliable, it keeps the customer up to date with progress, it is very user friendly and provides additional services such as customer reviews, bestseller lists, recommendations, gift cards, daily blog, wishlists and deals. The prices of books are also very competitive.
b) Is there any secure transactions not involving money?
Amazon.com has gift cards for any amount between $5.00 and $5,000.00. You can print the gift cards and post them by snail mail or send them by e-mail anywhere in the world. To use a gift card you just enter the claim code on the payment methods page when paying at the checkout.
There are also promotional certificates and offers that can also be used when paying.
c) What is the range of items that you can buy?
You can buy a wide range of goods that fall into the following categories: Books, Movies, Music & Games, Digital Downloads, Kindle, Computers & Office Electronics, Home & Garden, Grocery, Health & Beauty, Toys, Kids & Baby Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry, Sports & Outdoors Tools, Auto & Industrial. I would have said everything but the kitchen sink, but on searching for stainless steel kitchen sink I got 50 results.
List the steps involved and comment.
At the place your order screen, the cost is converted to Australian dollars and the cost of shipping is added to the order. You can then add promotional claim codes, change billing address or change the payment method. Once you click on the Place your order button, Amazon will send you an e-mail message acknowledging receipt of your order.
References:
Ince, D (2004). Developing Distributed and E -Commerce Applications (2nd ed.). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
What Is Zope? (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2009, from http://www.zope.org/WhatIsZope
eBay explained (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2009, from http://pages.ebay.com.au/ebayexplained/what_is_ebay.html
Completing a Purchase (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2009, from http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/pay/pay-on-ebay.html
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