On-line design firm - Designsharing.com: Non-profit collaborative design community web site

One of the most amazing inventions in the history of humankind is the internet. Nowadays, the internet environment is changing so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up with advancing technologies. It also is growing so quickly, that its use is spreading to involve almost all aspects of human life, from online banking to job searches to finding directions to researching material for children\u27s school projects. Without the internet, many people would feel totally impotent, unable to function for a single day. The burgeoning role of the internet, in turn, has resulted in almost unlimited growth in the possibilities of website design. Moreover, virtually anyone with access to the internet, minimal resources and perfunctory knowledge of how it works can design a website. The range of web \u27designers\u27 extends from the layperson creating a website to feature family photos to professional web designers creating multi-page electronic markets. The results of these designs are evident for everyone to see... with a simple click, one person almost immediately can view what someone else has designed, but not necessarily how. Nonetheless, by placing your work online, you are sharing your own amateur or professional design with an endless number of people you do not even know. Designsharing.com is a web resource to which experienced designers can go to share web design ideas and practices; and a place where inexperienced designers can go to get ideas for how to start. In this thesis, I will discuss the workings of Designsharing.com and how this site may become an important player in the worldwide web design theatre. By researching the site, anyone can extract concrete ideas about new design processes in the cyber design environment. This can reduce both the time required for and costs of designing a new site or modifying and upgrading an existing one. This new design process also has an educational function for inexperienced designers. Designers can share design concepts, including design trends, new ways to present information and design issues specific to a given country. A wide variety of designers can become registered members of Designsharing.com where they further may become involved in real design projects. Moreover, this system can serve as a real job market for those interested in futuristic cyber-space design. Designsharing.com enhances communication between inexperienced and professional designers, a process which is mutually beneficial. For example, under most circumstances, new designers have had relatively limited exposure to E-marketplaces, so that their ideas, though fresh, are vulnerable to inefficiency and ineffectiveness. On the contrary, as years go by, most professional designers become stereotyped. They may have tremendous experience in their field, but their ideas may have become stale and out-of-date. To prevent this, they need to maintain steady exposure to fresh ideas from the outside. As a result, this cyber design space has the potential to become a lively design community. Many less skilled designers create design projects without researching design trends or the newest advances. Designsharing.com will feature a section on new technology and design trends, called Design News. All members may share in this information and even respond to it or make suggestions of their own. Even guests will have access to some of this information. Design committee members are entrusted by Designsharing.com to decide on the validity of proposed projects via on-line conferences and voting with public members in each design process phase. This process is a good strategy for determining the quality and suitability of new design concepts. Clients also have an opportunity to let their finished ideas be reviewed by the Designsharing.com membership community. Their new sites can be displayed in a simulated cyber market, in advance of their launching into the real market. Although this design community site is a non-profit business, each design project brings with it our member\u27s valuable ideas, skills and resources. One crucial issue in web design has been the lack of protection for images, pictures and trademarked material, an issue that has soured some developers from entering into the Web or expanding their Web presence. Security and copyright issues become a most important factor in a new online design firm. Designsharing.com will research copyrights of tangible ideas with various experts in each country. If Designsharing.com can determine how to distribute profits fairly to all members, this unique design process will be a valuable challenge to influence the current design process. Thus, Designsharing.com is not only a design community, but also the first cyber design institute in the world. Because the web site design process is not only an issue for designers, everyone can be a member of this community site, without restrictions. This community is totally open to everyone, because purchasing is one of the design activities. You can join this design community freely and share your ideas with anyone

Journalism and New Media: African-American Media Outlet and their Use of the Internet.

Just a few years ago, a student had to visit the library and search through the card catalog to do research; a mother had to stand in line to purchase movie tickets for her children; spouses of soldiers at war had to wait days for a letter to arrive from his/her significant other serving time overseas; and the list goes on. Today, all of this has changed - the advent of the Internet has revolutionized the lives of every individual across the globe in many ways. Students may now access the library card catalog online; a mother may purchase movie tickets in advance online; and spouses may communicate in real time via electronic mail (e-mail). The Internet makes all of this possible. This phenomenon has been the main source feeding globalization and, in essence, assisting in making the world smaller. We have the ability to communicate with anyone, at any time, anywhere on the planet, as well as make purchases without leaving the comfort of our homes. Obviously, this powerful tool, if used wisely, can be a huge asset for any business, especially the media. The news media thrives on immediacy and the percentage of people who are actually reading, viewing, and listening to their news stories. The quicker a story is published and distributed, the better, and the Internet provides unprecedented immediacy 1 2 and access to the world\u27 s population; therefore, some media outlets have taken a huge interest in the Internet and what it can offer. Others have not. Representatives from 14 African-American publications in Dallas and Houston, the most populated cities in Texas, were surveyed in September 2003. Additionally, 24 public relations professionals from two of the nation\u27s leading agencies, Hill and Knowlton and Fleishman-Hillard, were surveyed to gain insight on their perception of working with African-American media outlets and provide counsel on how to improve overall perception of these publications . . Getting African-American publications in the targeted areas to complete the . survey proved to be somewhat challenging. Only three provided feedback - two answered the survey and one explained why she wouldn\u27t answer it. Nonetheless, answers from the two who completed it, coupled with personal research yielded some results. Findings show that, as a whole, black newspapers and magazines in Dallas and Houston are not taking full advantage of the Internet. The majority of these publications have sites that are unavailable, have very little content and interactivity, and are not updated regularly. This is because of lack of funding. Most black publications do not have the wherewithal to maintain a web site. Though, the few that do host web sites to compliment their hub publication do a fair job of taking full advantage of all the benefits such as graphics, hyperlinks, and navigational tools. Content is news oriented with special pages for features like original poetry, religious perspectives, and community news highlighting successful blacks, from students to government officials. . There is a consensus among public relations professionals that the Internet is extremely beneficial for media outlets. They are appreciative of any outlet that makes 3 use of it for many reasons. Currently, they do not have a strong awareness of African American publications in their respective cities. This is due to the fact that most of these publications do not have an online presence and are not generated in database and Internet searches that public relations professionals frequently conduct. Having an easy to-use, content-rich web site gives public relations professionals the information they need in order to reach these publications should they be interested in pitching one of their client\u27 s stories. This could lead to increased visibility among businesses and future advertising dollars, yielding an increase in revenue. Results �rom each survey prove that web sites enhance a publication\u27s reputation, credibility, readership, and revenue. The survival of periodicals that target blacks may depend on the importance they place on becoming part of the digital environment by developing and maintaining a web site to enhance their hub publication

An assessment of the Irish speciality food enterprises’ use of the internet as a marketing tool

End of Project ReportThis study set out to explore the role of the Internet as a marketing tool for Irish speciality food producers and to research on-line speciality food sales as a business opportunity. The project achieved this through a combination of consumer focus groups, a producer web audit, producer depth interviews and an e-mailed on-line producer survey. Irish consumers acknowledged potential for on-line sales of Irish speciality food products to export and gift markets; however they could not see significant advantages for on-line sales in the domestic market. Experience with the product (and consequent importance of the purchase experience), the high delivery cost of an already premium priced product and difficulties associated with receipt of deliveries were identified as the main reasons for not purchasing on-line

The 4s web-marketing mix model

This paper reviews the criticism on the 4Ps Marketing Mix framework, the most popular tool of traditional marketing management, and categorizes the main objections of using the model as the foundation of physical marketing. It argues that applying the traditional approach, based on the 4Ps paradigm, is also a poor choice in the case of virtual marketing and identifies two main limitations of the framework in online environments: the drastically diminished role of the Ps and the lack of any strategic elements in the model. Next to identifying the critical factors of the Web marketing, the paper argues that the basis for successful E-Commerce is the full integration of the virtual activities into the company’s physical strategy, marketing plan and organisational processes. The four S elements of the Web-Marketing Mix framework present a sound and functional conceptual basis for designing, developing and commercialising Business-to-Consumer online projects. The model was originally developed for educational purposes and has been tested and refined by means of field projects; two of them are presented as case studies in the paper.\ud \u

eEnabled internet distribution for small and medium sized hotels: the case of hospitality SMEs in Athens

Advances in information and communications technologies (ICTs) have strategic implications for a wide range of industries. Tourism and hospitality have dramatically changed by the ICTs and the Internet and gradually emerge as the leading industry on online expenditure. The Internet revolutionised traditional distribution models, enabled new entries propelled both disintermediation and reintermediation and altered the sources of competitive advantage. This paper explores the strategic implications of ICTs and the perceived advantages and disadvantages of Internet distribution for small and medium-sized hospitality enterprises (SMEs). Primary research in Athens hotels demonstrates the effects of the Internet and ICTs for secondary markets, where there is lower penetration and ICT adoption. Interviews and questionnaires identified a number of strategies in order to optimise distribution. The analysis illustrates the strategic role of ICTs and the Internet for hospitality organisations and Small and Medium-sized organisations in general. Most hotels employ a distribution mix that determines the level and employment of the Internet. The paper demonstrates that only organisations that use ICTs strategically will be able to develop their electronic distribution and achieve competitive advantages in the future

From physical marketing to web marketing

Reviews the criticism of the 4P marketing mix framework as the basis of traditional and virtual marketing planning. Argues that the customary marketing management approach, based on the popular marketing mix 4Ps paradigm, is inadequate in the case of virtual marketing. Identifies two main limitations of the marketing mix when applied in online environments namely the role of the Ps in a virtual commercial setting and the lack of any strategic elements in the model. Identifies the critical factors of the Web marketing and argues that the basis for successful e-commerce is the full integration of virtual activities into the company's physical strategy, marketing plan and organisational processes. The 4S elements of the Web marketing mix framework offer the basis for developing and commercialising business to consumer online projects. The model was originally developed for educational purposes and has been tested and refined by means of three case studies

Finding the far right online: an exploratory study of white supremacist websites

White supremacists and the Far Right political movement in the UK have, had considerable success in spreading their messages through Web sites. Some of these Web sites clearly contribute to an enabling environment for racially motivated violence in our towns and cities and possibly help to underpin also the rise of, and support for, the Far Right in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. From a position that acknowledges the enduring issue of white hegemony in Western societies, this paper provides a number of research-based recommendations for further research and future policy and practice in tackling white supremacist racial hatred on the Net

Technology as an economic catalyst in rural and depressed places in Massachusetts

This paper uses case studies, including two cities (Lynn and New Bedford), a sub-city district (Roxbury) and two towns in rural Franklin County (Greenfield and Orange), to examine the role of technology as a potential economic catalyst in rural and depressed places in Massachusetts. Though the five target areas vary in size, density, geographic area, demographic characteristics and economic resources, each exhibits chronic patterns of economic distress related to the decline of manufacturing, construction and other key industries

The Human Capital “Impact” on E-Business: The Case of Encyclopedia Britannica

[Excerpt] The term “New Economy” has been coined to describe the remarkable economic performance of the 1990s. Stiroh, (1999) an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York observes that its defining characteristic is a “focus on increasing globalization and expanding information technology” (pg. 87). Research suggests that revenues from electronic based business to business trade will double over the next five years from $43 billion in 1998 to$1.3 trillion in 2003. Revenues from business to consumer trade are predicted to rise from $8 billion to$108 billion over the same time period (Forrester Research, 1998). However, there is increasing attention to the challenges facing business in the new economy, and an increasing chorus of analysts suggesting how tenuous many of these business models really are. A recent Barron’s article showed that many dot-com companies have only days of remaining cash (Willoughby, March 20, 1999). Such a key emerging phenomenon has not escaped the attention of writers, though the existing body of writing has some important gaps. We would classify existing e-business literature into two groups. First, there is a growing body of literature that discusses the how the Internet is transforming business models and organizational strategies. A second, much smaller body of work has focused on e-HR, or more specifically, the implications of the Internet on various HR practices