Digital design

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

Business strive to get a customer centric website because such a website can be most beneficial to their turnover and hence profitability. A customer centric website is one that is aimed at fulfilling all the requirements that clients can have from such a site, whilst offering them the best possible navigation experience. It is widely believed that such a website is a key to promoting sales, profitability, and market value and even be the basis of becoming a popular trademark.

Despite all the potential benefits that such a type of website can provide, its setting up and its maintenance are big barriers to its existence. The main challenges that are derived from the website include the following:

There is a conflict of interest when a website has to offer the maximum amount of information while it should remain easy to navigate through.

Every client is a different individual and in order to cater for the needs of all of them, the website will need to be huge. Since this is not possible for it to remain customer centric, this concept is hard to materialize.

Such a website needs heavy maintenance due to the ever changing nature of business and demand from clients and potential clients. Thus in order to build such a type of web, the logistic support will have to be immense.

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 presence can be defined as ‘a theoretical concept describing the effect that people experience when they interact with a computer-mediated or computer-generated environment.’ (Sheridan, 1994) This implies that with presence, businesses on the World Wide Web are known to the users of the internet and that these users are able to access their website and transact accordingly. Presence in the virtual world is ever so important since an e-business with no presence is as good as one that does not exist since no trade activities can take place if there are no clients accessing it. This presence concept would be more crucial than that of a business in the real world since the physical setting of a business, i.e. its building and shops enable people to actually see it if they go in front of it. On the internet, this is not the case, if a user does not get the right address or the right keywords in their search, they might never access a business. Furthermore, with a website, a customer can leave even more easily than for a real world business because entering or leaving a website is only one click.

Sheridan, T. B. (1994). Further musings on the psychophysics of presence, 5, 241-246

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

In the real estate market, the products that are for sale are a basic necessity for everyone, which is housing. The real estate business is involved in two segments of the housing markets which are namely the sale of properties or their rental. This is a very active and busy industry due to the lucrative nature of the business which has led to a high level of competition. For this reason, real estate agents attempt to reach their customers by a maximum range of means possible and the internet is one way to do so.

With the use of websites, the real estate agents are able to advertise their products, update them and extend their reach to the customers’ house, office or even portable devices. Thus the opportunities that a website offers to real estate agents are diverse and if implemented properly, they can be very effective. The use of website can allow customers to get involved very actively by allowing them to book their own appointments and even view the location and it’s surrounding on maps for instance. 

Mass media channels are other very good options that real estate agents can use to attract clients. Mass media channels include the radio, television and newspapers that can be use to show their products to the customers. By using these means, the real estate agents can portray the product like any other company would advertise its product. It must be noted however in today’s world, the only mass media channel commonly used by real estate agents are newspapers where they advertise substantially.

Another popular option available to real estate agents is the use of personal contact to reach potential clients. By this method, the real estate agent directly approaches the client and is able to get a first hand idea of what is required by the client. This approach is a very tedious one for the agents, however, due to the personal touch given to the service; this is a very common one. This is why many real estate businesses attempt to create appointments with clients and rely on the personal contact with them to sell their products. The direct approach is one that is deemed to have the most probability to convert into a sale.

Introduction to e-business and getting started online

1)    Internet risks – give examples of four things that can go wrong with a transactional site?

A transactional website is defined as ‘website where customers are able to order goods or services.’ (Transactional Website, http://www.theteacher99.btinternet.co.uk/theteacher/ict/ict1_52.htm , viewed on August 22, 2010) In other words, it is an online shopping portal and people can do their shopping by accessing it. It is customary for these websites to allow the customers to choose their desired goods, learn more about them and pay for them. Despite the convenience that such pages can provide, they also possess some downside and four of the disadvantages they possess include the following:
•    This system is dependent on the reliability of the internet connection of the user. If there is any problem with the internet connection during a transaction, the transaction may be brought to a halt and this can entail losses to both the seller and the client.
•    With the advent of cyber piracy, some of these websites give the opportunity for some hackers to access the details of clients. This normally happen when the security features of the websites are inferior and when it occurs, fraud and theft can occur at the cost of the client.
•    In addition, due to the lack of formal regulatory body over the internet, there may be a vast of opportunity for people to create such websites and attempt to appear as genuine online shopping platforms, while they set out to deceive the users.
•    A fourth risk that can derive from the use of transactional websites is the fact that despite ample amount of descriptions available on the internet, the customer will never have a chance to see the product with their own eyes and try it, unless they purchase the product. This leaves a vast possibility of getting disappointed from what was purchased.

2) Write down a definition for each:

a) E-commerce:
E-commerce refers to the exchange of good and services against funds via electronic means such as the World Wide Web. According to the European commission, it is defined as ‘doing business electronically’ (1997).

b) E-business:
In very simple words, the term e-business refers to the process of undertaking business activities via electronic means. It is much more than e commerce since it includes all business activities besides the act of just buying and selling. One of the most popular means of undertaking e business is the internet.

3) What is the difference between buy side and sell side e Commerce?

The buy side of an e commerce business is the one that is related to the activity of obtaining supplies, that is it is the department that makes purchases. In contrast, the sell side of the e-commerce refers to the sales of goods to customers as well as potential customers via electronic means.

4) Describe the different types of eBusiness

The different types of eBusiness include the following:
B2B (Business to business):
It is related to electronic trading that takes place between two businesses. E.g. it can be the business between a producer and a retailer or wholesaler.
B2C (Business to consumers):
This relates to the use of electronic means to reach the customer directly. Online shops are a good example of this.
B2G (Business to government):
It refers to the electric means that are available to businesses to make governmental bodies aware of their needs, opinion or products.
C2B (Consumers to business):
This is when the consumer utilizes electronic means in order to attempt to reach businesses in order to enable trade to take place. For instance, a consumer may use such a platform to invite tenders from rival businesses.
C2C (Consumers to consumers):
It refers to the electronic means available to consumers to trade among themselves. This can occur on popular platforms such as eBay or on other sites like Gumtree.
C2G (Consumers to government):
This refers to the electronic platform that consumers would use to exchange ideas, views or show opposition to governmental agendas. Consumer groups can use such platforms to communicate with the government.
G2B (Government to business):
This refers to the electronic means that governmental bodies would use to advise private sector businesses about the updates in law or policy. This also offers businesses the opportunity to show their opinion to the government.
G2C (Government to consumers):
Government to consumer e-business platforms allows the government to send information or make transactions with consumers. This kind of transactions will more commonly take place using the internet.
G2G (Government to government):
This is a platform whereby different government agencies or bodies communicate with each other electronically.


5) Which digital technology has the highest penetration rate? Explain and source your answer.

Mobile phone is the digital media that has the highest rate of penetration. This is explained by its huge popularity in all layers of society. Mobile phones are as ppopular with teenagers as they are with elderly or business executives. According to survey results made by Moconews.net, our globe now has 4.1 billion subscribers to mobile technology and this figure is due to go up.
 (moconews.net, http://moconews.net/article/419-4.1-billion-mobile-subscribers-mobile-helping-reduce-digital-divide-sli/ , viewed on August 22, 2010)

6)    List: Four drivers to adoption of sell-side e-commerce by business.

Four drivers are:
1)    Lower cost since there is no need to have a physical location accessible to customers.
2)    Increased convenience to the customer since trade is round the clock
3)    All information will be available to the customer on a single platform which can be accessed anywhere.
4)    Avoid the normal usage of mainstream advertising since most advertising is done online.

7) Four barriers to adoption of sell-side e-commerce by business.

The four barriers are:
1)    Costly to set up, both in monetary terms and in terms of resources.
2)    Possibility that system can be corrupted from fraudulent outside parties.
3)    Maintenance demands can be high in terms of resources and expertise
4)    Employees reluctance due to job loss anxiety

8) How might a restaurant in Sturt Street Ballarat benefit from an online presence?

Being a restaurant, a business like this will not be able to directly sell and deliver its products to the customers. However, having an online presence for such a business can be a very important and determining matter in terms of competitiveness. The following aspects of the business can be improved via online resources:
a)    Bookings – The restaurant can have a website which allows the customer to view its menus, specials and location and this can website can feature a booking facility which will aid business.
b)    Advertising – Advertising online can have an immense potential of attracting new customers since nowadays almost everybody spend time online.
c)    Interact with customers – The advent of websites like True Local, allows customers to write reviews about restaurant. This will not only put the restaurant on the map but also provide further advertising for the business.
d)    Being online means having round the clock presences at the customers reach. This can allow the restaurant to be known people which are not only locals in ballarat.

9) What are some examples of Digital information?

The following is a list of examples of digital information:
•    Mobile phones
•    Internet
•    Digital television
•    e-books
•    Personal digital assistants
•    DVD
•    Compact disc
•    Video game

10) What is the semantic web? Are we there yet?

A semantic web is one that is centered on the needs of the client. It is precise in answering the needs of the users, hence reducing search time by the client. Such a type of website is what any online business strive to achieve, however, there is still room for progress in that area.

Navigating the web

Part 1 - Navigation
One of the biggest challenges for businesses and customers alike is navigating the Internet. This week please answer the following questions on your blog -

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? Please write them on your blog page.

One of the topics of the discussion made by Micheal Rappa concerns the widespread availability of data on the internet. He believes that besides the large amount of information already available on the net, the trend is for there to be even more data on the internet due to how cheap data storage is. However, this leads to a situation of saturation where much of the data available is not coherent to the needs of the users.

The other part of his discussion regards the advent of search engines which allow the users of the internet to rapidly search for any piece of information they need. Sites like Google are getting ever so popular and information is browsed by users even more rapidly. The progress made by the World Wide Web has also allowed for business opportunities, especially for advertising and online trading. Using the sponsored results on search engine, businesses can increase their reach to the clients and increase their turnover substantially.




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. There is no right or wrong answers here; I just want your opinion.

The vice president of Google, Marissa Mayer discussed a lot about the future projects of the company’s future plans and how it could be very relevant in promoting business development. She emphasizes on the fact that Google wants to create the best possible customer service experience by doing the necessary efforts and be as open as they can be about it. She also believes that her company’s way of functioning will be used as a renovating way of functioning that could advantage other businesses.

In addition to that, she also believes that Google as a search engine that give the opportunity to advertise directly to the search results of users is a key factor in aiding marketing campaigns of many companies. Not only does it allow businesses to make extra advertising, it matches what the business has to offer with the exact needs of the customers. This creates a win-win situation for both parties. Business can substantially increase turnover in certain cases. A revolution in this context is the way Google strive to deliver progress in terms of mobile options where customers can use internet and search engines on the go and businesses can reach them anywhere.



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.


From the video - please answer (on your blog page) -


a) So what are the 6 webs?

The six webs in the Billy Joy video include:

I.    The D2D
II.    The B2B
III.    The here web
IV.    The weird web
V.    The far web
VI.    The near web

b) Could there be more?

The world of the internet is an ever changing one with progress being made on a daily basis. Therefore, I believe that possibilities would be infinite and there could definitely be more sooner or later.

c) What does it mean for business?

This means that business will have more opportunities to progress and deliver better results with a variety of approaches available to implement their strategy and reach the clients more effectively.