The Internet and Web Features

The Internet and Web: Features

 Internet and Web features on which the foundations of e-commerce are built include:

  E-mail

  Instant messaging

  Search engines

  Intelligent agents (bots)

  Online forums and chat

  Streaming media

  Cookies

E-mail

   

• Most used application of the Internet

•   Uses series of protocols for transferring  messages with text and attachments (images, sound, video clips, etc.,) from one Internet user to another

•   Can be an effective marketing tool

•   Spam a worsening problem

Instant Messaging

• Displays words typed on a computer almost instantly, and recipients can then respond immediately in the same way

•   Different proprietary systems offered by AOL, MSN, Yahoo, and Google

•   Meebo, Digsby: allow users to communicate across platforms

Search Engines

•   Identify Web pages that match queries based on one or more techniques

v  Keyword indexes, page ranking

•   Also serve as:

v  Shopping tools

v  Advertising vehicles (search engine marketing)

v  Tool within e-commerce sites

•   Outside of e-mail, most commonly used Internet activity

Intelligent Agents (Bots)

 Software programs that gather and/or filter information on a specific topic and then provide a list of results

  Search bot

  Shopping bot

  Web monitoring bot

  News bot

  Chatter bot

Online Forums and Chat

•   Online forum:

v  AKA message board, bulletin board, discussion group, board, or forum

v  Web application that enables Internet users to communicate with each other, although not in real time

v  Members visit online forum to check for new posts

•   Online chat:

v  Similar to IM, but for multiple users

v  Typically, users log into chat room

Streaming Media

•  Enables music, video, and other large files to be sent to users in chunks so that when received and played, file comes through uninterrupted

•  Allows users to begin playing media files before file is fully downloaded

Cookies

•  Small text files deposited by  Web site on user’s computer to store information about user, accessed when user next visits Web site

•  Can help personalize Web site experience

•    Can pose privacy threat