E-Commerce Guide
It is a proven fact that we can look at certain trends on the basis of past performance and also the development work undertaken for the future. In the latter case the overall view of the market trend could be understood with the projected view of several firms in one or different fields and their sum total projection based on the present economic situation in the world. Although such random prognostications may not be accurate yet they do present the overall trend of trade and commerce that the countries may face in the foreseeable future. In case of e-commerce too the trend is decided by studying the past performance and activities of the commercial transactions made through the internet.
Overall the performance of e-commerce far outweighs that of the offline markets and it is noted that the volumes of transactions are improving year by year. This obviously supports the conviction that even in recession there is a trend for e-commerce to grow rather than be bogged down like those which operate in the open markets. One of the prime factors for e-commerce to thrive in spite of the recession is that it has not yet fully spread out and is rather search friendly. A shopper who wants anonymity or wants to compare the rates of a product from anywhere in the world or would like to pay or receive money without any unnecessary haggling and would like to shop in his sleeping gear would place his bet on e-commerce than anything else. Besides, e-commerce is growing and as an ample proof one can see the drastic changes taking place within it for attracting more traffic and the huge plans the large and small firms have to have their own web based sales and auctioneering. The sheer increase in their numbers is a definite pointer to that fact.
Besides, among the major changes that are being contemplated upon, there is a concerted move and integration of non credit card payment vehicle for easier purchase and sale of a product. Then there is an enhancement of product discovery process both for identifying an individual’s particular needs as well as for sale of any unique products. And there is the mushrooming of professionally managed web services especially pertaining to web advertising and product sale. Further, there is growing consensus among the shippers to be more web friendly in their deals and some beginnings have been made to make shipment cost free with some sort of adjustment made with the manufacturers. Incidentally, almost all web users dislike the adding of extra shipment costs. Then there are widgets that can be customized to expand ones sales and it is generally seen that more such unique software for specifically targeting end users are in the offing.
EBay has undergone some rapid changes in its overall structure and has introduced programs like the power seller program for high volume sellers, giving startups and small businesses a platform to function on, as well as giving more support for international e-commerce.
IM or instant messaging as it is known is a form or real time communication that is done online between friends or family members. It is done by typing text into a chat window and immediately the other person or persons receive the message and can type back right away. Now IM is totally different from chatting in chat rooms and emails. Chatting in a chat room is where you enter a chat area that is geared towards your interest or geographical area and chat with many other people at once. There can be more than 40 people in a chat room at one time so keeping up with the conversations can be confusing at times. Emailing is where you send a message to someone that is more in the form of a letter. They get your message whenever they log on to their email account.
Instant messaging is done in real time communication. IM allows people to not only chat in real time but you can also leave offline messages so that when the recipient logs onto the messaging system, they can see your message immediately. Some IM systems have other features to make it more user friendly such as the ability to see the person you are taking to through what is known as a web cam which is a small camera attached to your computer.
Instant messaging came about in the 1980’s when you could see each character typed as the person was typing it. Now you cannot see the message until the person completes the message. In the later years, IM offers video conferencing features, VOIP and web conferencing services. Many people don’t know this but the term instant messenger is a service mark of Time Warner.
Mobile instant messaging is a service that is used by many people especially those who travel. Mobile instant messaging allows people to IM through their cell phones. This is helpful when people are traveling or doing business on the road and need to chat in real time with friends, family or clients.
There is certain language that is used in instant messaging. They are basically shortcuts so you don’t have to type out full words. Some examples are LOL which stands for Laughing Out Loud, ROFL which means Rolling on Floor Laughing and POS which stands for Parent over Shoulder.