Posts Tagged ‘ecommerce’
Google Online Marketing Challenge
Do you like Google?
If you do, 2009 Google Online Marketing Challenge is great way to be part of the Google party and to earn the most fashion-forward accessory for your resume!
Please let me know if you’re interested! Read the rest of this entry »
Job Opportunity: GNC WebAnalyst
Here is an excellent example (and a real job position posted by Career Services today) of job opportunities that are perfect for business majors with IT skills: Read the rest of this entry »
Navigating the Internet Jungle
[image source: http://web.mac.com/peter.pirolli/Professional/About_Me_files/Pirolli2.jpg]
What does biology tell us about how we navigate the Internet jungle? Wild animals foraging for food often follow subtle cues such as scent to identify profitable food patches. Read the rest of this entry »
A World without WWW
Remember the video Warriors of the Net we watched in class? (You can watch it again here)
ECommerce: Kick-off
[photo source: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2151550583_c2ef4a78d6_o.jpg]
What comes to mind when you think of ecommerce? Amazon? EBay? Yes, they are big ecommerce players that are highly visible in the consumer world. However, ecommerce is more about online retailing. They are certainly not the only organizations that enjoy the benefits of ecommerce. Read the rest of this entry »
The Starfish and the Spider – by Ori Brafman & Rod A. Beckstrom
What do ebay and terrorists have in common?
From Publishers Weekly
Brafman and Beckstrom, a pair of Stanford M.B.A.s who have applied their business know-how to promoting peace and economic development through decentralized networking, offer a breezy and entertaining look at how decentralization is changing many organizations. The title metaphor conveys the core concept: though a starfish and a spider have similar shapes, their internal structure is dramatically different—a decapitated spider inevitably dies, while a starfish can regenerate itself from a single amputated leg. In the same way, decentralized organizations, like the Internet, the Apache Indian tribe and Alcoholics Anonymous, are made up of many smaller units capable of operating, growing and multiplying independently of each other, making it very difficult for a rival force to control or defeat them. Despite familiar examples—eBay, Napster and the Toyota assembly line, for example—there are fresh insights, such as the authors’ three techniques for combating a decentralized competitor (drive change in your competitors’ ideology, force them to become centralized or decentralize yourself). The authors also analyze one of today’s most worrisome “starfish” organizations—al-Qaeda—though that group undermines the authors’ point that the power of leaderless groups helps to demonstrate the essential goodness and trustworthiness of human beings. (Oct. 5)
The Long Tail – by Chris Anderson
From Publishers Weekly
Wired editor Anderson declares the death of “common culture”—and insists that it’s for the best. Why don’t we all watch the same TV shows, like we used to? Because not long ago, “we had fewer alternatives to compete for our screen attention,” he writes. Smash hits have existed largely because of scarcity: with a finite number of bookstore shelves and theaters and Wal-Mart CD racks, “it’s only sensible to fill them with the titles that will sell best.” Today, Web sites and online retailers offer seemingly infinite inventory, and the result is the “shattering of the mainstream into a zillion different cultural shards.” These “countless niches” are market opportunities for those who cast a wide net and de-emphasize the search for blockbusters. It’s a provocative analysis and almost certainly on target—though Anderson’s assurances that these principles are equally applicable outside the media and entertainment industries are not entirely convincing. The book overuses its examples from Google, Rhapsody, iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and eBay, and it doesn’t help that most of the charts of “Long Tail” curves look the same. But Anderson manages to explain a murky trend in clear language, giving entrepreneurs and the rest of us plenty to think about. (July)
Database Management – Module Wrap-up
Good morning everyone!
We are getting ready to wrap up the module on database management. As you are probably aware by now, relational databases underlie most of the modern information systems. Ecommerce websites, hospitals and college admissions offices would be in big trouble if their databases are not working properly. Read the rest of this entry »
