Some big companies long to embrace Web but settle for flirtation; they fear online marketing could cause sales staffs and distributors to rebel; a risk of getting 'Amazoned.'

Article Abstract:

Many large US corporations would like to shift a significant portion of their business online but show reluctance to do so because they fear a possible sales channel backlash. Hundreds of manufacturers face a dilemma on how to integrate Internet commerce, which can reduce costs by up to 15%. The technology threatens to displace salespeople and distributors who not only have attained profits by cultivating personal relationships with customers but also control at least 90% of of most companies' order flow. Companies that hesitate to embrace Internet commerce, however, could risk being 'Amazoned' through forfeiting market share to upstart Internet companies. Online bookseller Amazon.com created a precedent by seizing market share from bookstore chains. Some companies are taking a delicate approach to the transformation. Methods include unveiling Web sites with no publicity, keeping online prices high to allow traditional vendor discounts, and even compensating the channel for each Internet sale.

United States, Marketing procedures, Corporations, Retail industry, Retail trade, Electronic commerce, E-commerce, Distribution channels, Retail/reseller channel

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The crusaders

Article Abstract:

Social activism is simplified in the age of the Internet. Activists can reach a worldwide audience through Web pages, e-mail or newsgroups, and with a little expertise and effort, small groups, or even individuals, can present content as professional-looking as that provided by large corporations or governments. Moreover, the Internet's egalitarian nature ensures that anyone can be heard. Three examples illustrate how the Internet is being used to inform the public and stimulate debate. The examples are: the Electronic Freedom Foundation's (EFF) blue-ribbon campaign (www.eff.org/blueribbon.html), which opposed the 1996 Communications Decency Act (CDA); Feminist.Com (www.feminist.com); and Save the West Virginia River Chicken (http://pilot.msu.edu/user/shusterr/).

Social aspects, Telecommunications services industry, Telecommunications industry, Telecommunications systems, Web sites (World Wide Web), Web sites, Web site/Web page development, Social issue, Social conditions, Social action

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Tallies of Web-site browsers often deceive

Article Abstract:

It is difficult to determine how many users are actually using the World Wide Web on the Internet despite the use of hits as a unit of measurement. Companies that offer Web services often cite the number of hits, or times that one of their Web pages is accessed, as the number of users logging into their service. But this system is inaccurate because a single user could account for a number of the hits. In effect, many millions of hits may be attributed to only several thousand users. Some Web publishers determine the number of users by dividing the number of hits to a page by the number of actual files on that page. Companies that receive as many as 600,000 visits a day estimate that they may only be receiving about 6,000 different users.

Technology overview, Technology Information

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