Online Business Models

In this current high tech era, we have seen many companies that are turning to the online business to expand their companies. Many big companies such as Best Buy, Tiger Direct, have a solid ground with their own websites that represent a great source of revenue for them. We also have seen several businesses that their entire operations are online such as amazon.com, dell.com, eBay.com and they are very successful at what they do. This has brought a numerous amount of websites that had tried to hit the pot and become one of this multi million e-companies. Many have failed doing so, and what is it that they are missing to get success???

The main key of getting success for this companies are their business models. In the recent blog from professor Miyasaki, he show us a very interesting article that talks about proposed way to examine a good business model according to professors Amit and Zott called eValue framework. The four key value drivers, in their view, are efficiency, complementarities, lock-in and novelty.    


For me the lock in factor is very important. It is imperative that businesses get their customers engaged on coming back and continue doing business with them. A way to have their customer happy is by having great customer service. With companies such as eBay, people as seller or buyers have the guarantee that they will have a reliable transaction due to the support that eBay gives you for any discrepancy that might arise. I am regular eBay user. I constantly buying and selling stuff on their website and so far in more than 5 years I have no complaints about them. When it has been required, I have contacted them and they have result any issues at the best convenient way for both parties. And it is this reliability on their transaction that make me be a regular user and constantly go to their website when I looking to get anything online.


In the same way many online companies have created this safe environment due to his excellent customer service that made them successful on what they do and made customer to rely and prefer them whenever you are going to do online transactions. 
In addition with their excellent customer service, eBay business model engaged a solid strategy which involves the automation of traditional methods of selling goods, reliability for their clients, customer friendly interaction, global accessibility, diversification, and great advertising.


Now the really important task for current companies is the ability to evolve constantly and adapt their current business models to new technologies creating a better experience for their customer. In a way that the can be innovative, friendly users and reliable.


So what is your is business model??

Would you notice it?

As many of you might have noticed, every time we access a website you get all type of ads around the page. Just in case you you have not noticed it just try out searching something on Google and you will get several ads related to you search word on the right of your screen. Let's say one day you access Ticket-Master website to look for some tickets, do not get surprise if a couple of weeks later you gets ads around the web offering tickets for concerts or sports events. 
How does this happen??? Well, everything we do on the web it gets tracked and analyze by advertising software that will generate ads according to you online behavior. This is what is called "Behavioral advertising." But, have you ever given permission for your information to get tracked?



If you would like to have an option to not get this kind of advertising, now you can.  A group of and marketing associations had joined to develop a project which will facilitate web users to control and manage the type of advertising that they are been exposed on the internet.

So How this is going to work?

Basically the companies that will participate on this project will add an icon (Advertising Option Icon) that once you click on it will give you a brief description of why this ad is been displayed and also will give you the option to opt out if desired.


I think this is great idea been developed in pro of user's privacy, which will give us the liberty of choosing the advertising that we really want to be exposed to. Nowadays the internet has become a primary key for advertiser and it has been take to a point that a lot of our information is been exposed to this companies without our knowledge. This is a good start for authorities to take action on this topic, but it is really important to know how effective this initiative will be. 
Knowledge is power and it is imperative for this project to know that web users get educated about the options that they have. There's is a lot people that surf the internet everyday and they are not even aware of all the information that is been giving out. Also I was wonder if once you click on the opt out option, will this ad stop immediately? I have click millions of times on the opt out option for Spam email and I do not see any difference on the amount spam I get on my email. what about the do not call list? I have my home number listed on and I still receive some every time and then. So my big concern will be on the actual effectiveness of the icon and the way companies will be enforced to follow the new standards for advertising.


So would you notice the icon and take the time to opt out??? or Would you ignore it just because you don't think will stop the ads???? time will tell us if this really work....


Want to know more about behavioral advertising? This web site will help....

Sources:

E-Marketing for Sensible Folk

About ads

Better advertising
New York Times

Internet Eyes

This week we have a company in the UK that monitors CCTV cameras, you might be wondering.. what's is out of the ordinary about a company that does this? This is very common nowadays and England is well known about the usage of surveillance cameras. Well, they are actually using regular internet users to watch the videos and report any suspicious activity they might catch from them.

So how Internet Eyes works?


As of right now, people in the UK and US can subscribe to the web site and been able to be a watcher. The viewers get to see four live video feeds at the same time, and in the event of catching any particular behavior that might lead to a crime they will click on the alert icon which will send an automatically text message and an email to the business which will evaluate if they take action.


Privacy Issues?

Of course this new type of surveillance has brought a lot of controversy, mostly because of all the privacy issues that they are exposed. The majority of the concerns point out to the ability of control who are the viewers and the lack of control on the storage of this videos. There are many programs out there that might let you keep records of those videos or a viewer can simply point a video camera towards the monitors and record the videos. On their defense, Internet Eyes states that people will not have the choice to pick what to watch, they will not know the location of the business been watched and also they will be restricted from watching video feeds from their local area.

There's a lot to talk about this topic and in the end. It will be good for some people and bad for others. They will be people that agree on the fact that security will be overcome the privacy issues objections. And I guess will be a matter of time to realize the effectiveness of this system. It might be very useful for small businesses, not that productive for big retail chains. A similar idea was taken in place a couple years ago when the Texas Virtual Border  was implemented, which basically consist of allowing people to watch through a web site live video of the US Texas border in order to report any suspicious activity nearby the border. But a year later the project was declared ineffective mostly because of the multiple reports such as "Cow or deer walked by" or "armadillo by the water.” Very suspicious activity huh?


  Besides of the possible effectiveness of this system, it is obviously that will open the door to many likewise technology in pro of "our security".   What about if the system get integrated a database with real criminal faces on which the system is able to recognize the suspect via facial recognition software and alert the business of a possible threat? Interesting huh? Lets see what coming in the future...



REFERENCED WEBSITES
The Internet is watching you
Internet Eyes Citizen Spy Game

Off the mark