New E-commerce Business? Think about eValue!

There was a time when it was pretty easy to infiltrate the e-commerce market because it was a new phenomenon that had still not been adapted by many businesses. Nowadays, attempting to market your product or service online has become a necessity. Competition has increased and with the introduction of Web 2.0 technologies, the consumer has the ability to become much more involved with the whole buying process and what results from their purchase. This all started gaining popularity a very short time ago, so coming up with an e-business model is not an easy task. The article posted on the Professor's latest blog highlights some excellent success factors and since they only broke it down into four general categories, it keeps it simple and easy to understand.

The main thing that I am going to stress the importance of for anyone that is pursuing an e-commerce model - Content! Lets repeat that one more time - Content! Everyone has something to say on the web, especially with the latest trend of social networking. You have to build a reputation as being an "expert" in whatever product or service you are selling and you can't do that by just having a website with a fancy design and a checkout page. The way to build your reputation online is to release unique content. This can be anything of relevance to your product such as articles, pictures, videos, podcasts, blog entries and much more. The key here is to be creative!

If you are a small business owner that has just started a website selling car parts, you can do a weekly video journal showing step-by-step car maintenance and repair tips. This will help you build a following and will also help your website get its page ranking up which will increase traffic in the long run. Search engines generate large amounts of traffic and if they don't see that your site is constantly being updated with new, unique content, it will hurt your overall ranking and number of visitors. It is important that your site is easy to navigate and integrated with other websites that make sharing easy, such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.

Since I am interested in small business, I came across an article which highlights some success factors for a small e-commerce site. It is always going to be harder for a small business to compete with a big company and this is no exception on the web. The article says for a small business owner, instead of trying to battle it out with the big players in the industry, "develop your personalized message and emphasize the human touch that you provide."  This is the right mindset to have because it will show that you are someone who visitors and potential customers can relate to.

For the area of relationship building, the article suggests focusing "on taking small steps to develop your website as a social hub." It is important to ask your customers for feedback, offer them incentives and listen to their suggestions.

To sum things up, do your research when developing your e-business model! It will definitely pay off when your site is up and running.

-Max P

A Small Icon which has Potential for a Huge Impact!

This new little icon has a lot of potential to attract new buyers to the online marketplace. After browsing through the link that was posted on the Professor's blog, it seems like this is a legitimate program and it is developed with the consumer's privacy as a priority. It is a smart move for online marketers because if the government steps in, there is no telling what type of legislation they will enact.  However, they must be careful not to overload potential buyers with information. Too much information and the buyer may get frustrated and forget why he or she even logged on in the first place.


Well-known organizations such as the Better Business Bureau are supporting and helping develop the Self-Regulatory program which is important for getting exposure and having a good reputation. Now, the question is will consumers catch on? At first, I think a lot of people will have no clue as to what the icon means and I think a large portion won't care. There are many websites that use behavioral advertising which we basically depend on. Think about Google and Facebook. These websites have both implemented their own type of behavioral advertising programs and have done it in way that has become accepted for massive numbers of online users.

I searched on Google and found that there was already a lot of discussion going on about the Advertising Option Icon. This article http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=146240 explains that the coalition aims to make this icon an industry standard. Apparently, the annual license fee is $5,000 for an e-commerce site to use the icon and $10,000 for a third-party company like an ad network. Pricing is also supposed to be a bit more flexible for small businesses.  This still seems like it could be a little expensive to start but ultimately it should serve "as a universal symbol for opting out." However, some companies may be drawn away until it catches on.

From the way this icon has been presented so far, it seems like the participating organizations will actually monitor the company's compliance with these rules. It would certainly justify the high cost of the annual license fee. In my opinion, behavioral marketing has come a long way and there are certain times where the advertisements which are presented to me are relevant and I end up clicking them. Personally, I am not too concerned with the privacy issue. Facebook and Google are two huge companies which have built ad systems that are very important to internet marketing, so lets see if and when they adopt this new icon.

Hands down, this icon definitely has the potential to become the next big online "seal of approval." A consumer who is concerned with privacy and online advertisements may opt-out and it may lead to them becoming more comfortable with the online marketplace, which in turn may make them more comfortable with behavioral advertising and what it has to offer. To sum up, like Mr. Miyazaki said, "only time will tell."

Want to be a rent-a-cop that stays at home?

I must say I enjoyed reading this week's post. This is a very interesting concept and there is no doubt that it is controversial. However, I see a lot of potential in this business and think it could be something that could be very profitable and have an established business model. I guess privacy issues are a factor but you have to pay a subscription fee and all you'll be doing is watching store security cameras.

I'm assuming that there is potential for this to turn into a social network for the top "online security guards." The site has a point system and there is a reward of 1000 pounds, which is around $1600, every month for the top achiever. For someone that has nothing else to do and is willing to dedicate the hours into viewing security cameras, you can build yourself a nice track record and it will all be available for others to see if you want.

Of course, this is a very new concept, so who knows what the future may hold for this job. This was an interesting article that I found and it had a few different points of view. Check it out here: http://theweek.com/article/index/207916/weird-new-job-stay-at-home-rent-a-cop. "I don't have an issue with this from a privacy standpoint," says Matthew Humphries at Geek.com.

A monthly subscription would cost just below 4 dollars. I'm wondering if there's anything like this in the states yet?


-Max P

Non-Internet Media May Simply be a Thing of the Past

After reading the latest post at E-Marketing for Sensible Folk, I came to the conclusion that the more time goes on, the less relevance non-internet media will have in our society. Newsweek, a magazine that had been around since 1933, was apparently given away after facing huge losses in 2009. The new owner, Sidney Harman, agreed to only taking over the companies financial liabilities from the previous owner, The Washington Post. Check out this link for more info. Newsweek, like many other media companies, had a business model that didn't support the explosion of digital media and it is obvious from the huge losses that they faced.

From my own experience, I have seen the impact that digital media has had on the people around me. For example, my mom is a big-time reader and let's just say she isn't the most tech-savvy person.  I always saw her reading different novels, magazines and newspapers throughout the years. Nowadays, she reads on a Kindle, which updates her with new subscriptions for certain magazines and newspapers. It also allows her to read e-books and has a very user-friendly interface. Websites like Flickr and Photobucket are used by massive amounts of people to upload and share photographs.

I have been browsing the internet and using many of its features since it first starting gaining popularity. I remember starting with a 28Kbps dial-up modem. Since the introduction of web browsing, I can honestly say that a very large portion of the reading I have done has been behind the computer screen. Nowadays, even some of my textbooks are only available in digital format. All of us here are taking an online class, a concept that 20 or 30 years ago would have probably been laughed at.

The fact that so many magazines and newspapers are going out of business is a significant factor in the debate of non-internet media but that only scratches the surface. Just think about how far we have come in the amount of data that can be transferred with internet capabilities. Nowadays, with fiber optic technology, we can stream high definition movies from YouTube. There are websites where you can stream live TV and services like Netflix are now compatible with the internet to make watching movies online hassle-free.

I made the big switch to digital media a long time ago and I think it is happening for a large portion of the population. I've probably owned about 3 VHS tapes so far in my lifetime, so I'll be looking for something else to put on eBay. :)

-Max Princiotta

Social Media Works Wonders in Web 2.0 Society

According to Professor Miyazaki's latest Post on E-Marketing for Sensible Folk, apparently an 8-year old boy sent his drawing of what he thought was to be Boeing's next airplane and asked them if they would develop it into an actual airplane. Boeing is the one of the world's largest manufacturers of commercial jetliners. For some interesting facts about Boeing please see this link: http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/brief.html

Boeing informed the 8-year old Harry that they didn't accept unsolicited ideas. His dad was upset about the response and he was also an ad agency CEO so he decided to use the internet to let his voice be heard.

Although, I probably wouldn't want to be in a plane in which an 8-year old did the initial drawings, I do agree that the response that Boeing gave him was a little cold. In regards to whether it was the online world putting the corporation in line or a chance to get Harry's dad a little publicity, a good answer would be a little of both.

In my opinion, this is just the direction that things are headed in our society. Web 2.0 is gaining huge popularity because it allows all sorts of people to interact online through the use social networking websites, such as Twitter, and it makes things like blogging easy for anyone. Crowdsourcing is a method to contract out work which has become popular with Web 2.0 features and it is another method which brings people together on a social network, who are willing to perform projects collaboratively. These are very new methods of marketing and outsourcing, so they will definitely attract some controversy.

Despite the cold response, it will still not keep me from flying on Boeing's jetliners. I would much rather fly on one of their current models then Harry's prototype. Not bad I guess...

Finally, I see the huge potential for targeted marketing with the use of social media and Web 2.0 features in today's competitive workplace and since a lot of these methods get the job done cheaper than traditional methods of marketing, it seems like a win-win to me.

-Max P.