My thoughts so far

I have been having difficulty understand the business models table in topic five. It is this reason why I would much prefer standard lectures, as it is difficult to get all information from the power points to coincide with the tute work. I think the power points could also benefit us more if there was more information, and detailed rather than brief points or unanswered questions. I know that we are suppose to learn independently in this class however it is a challenge for me sometimes especially since I don't know if I am on the right track or not.

Topic Four Questions - Web Analytics

Questions

I have one of my Google Analytics pages accessible for you. Go to www.google.com/analytics/ and logon using the email address

ewiki2@gmail.com password ballarat. This is a read only view (I hope) of one of Foliosapces. At the top right where it says My Analytics Accounts select Foliospaces.com (the other one is not currently active). Then click on view report and answer the following questions:-

1) Looking at the site useage, what does the terms visits, page views and pages/visit mean? What does the bounce rate mean and does it vary much from day to day?
Visits display the amount of times someone has used the website.

Page views are the amount of times someone has viewed that particular page of the website.

Pages/visits depicts the average amount of page views per visit were made.

The bounce rate shows the percentage number of page views compared to overall views; this is determined by the highest peaks of views daily.

2) Now look at the traffic sources report. What are the three sources of traffic and where has most of the traffic come from?

The three sources are of traffic are, direct traffic, referring sites and search engines. Direct traffic is creating the most traffic at the moment at 42.33%.

3) What was the most popular web browser used to access the site?

Internet Explorer was the most popular web browser used initiating 1,166 visits and 43.61% of all new visits.

4) How many countries did visitors to Foliospaces come from and what were the top four countries?

Visitors from 58 countries viewed Foliospaces creating 2,674 visits. The top four countries were the United States (1,109 visits), Australia (764 visits), Spain (436visits) and the United Kingdom (59 visits).

5) Having clicked every possible link on my analytics, make a few comments on (a) What you can track, (b) What you can track over time and (c) What you can’t track.

6) What do the following terms mean? These are just a few, you may like to add some more and perhaps include them on the Moodle glossary.

high bounce rate - The percentage of visits where the visitor can enter and exit the same page without visiting any other pages on the site in between.

key words – key words are common words used

Average Page Depth - Page Depth is the average number of page views a visitor consumes before ending their session. It is calculated by dividing total number of page views by total number of sessions

click through rate – is a way of measuring the success of an online advertising campaign.

click- "refers to a single instance of a user following a hyperlink from one page in a site to another"

Cookie- is a text file stored as plain text on a user's computer by a web browser.

Impression - An impression is each time an advertisement loads on a user's screen. Anytime you see a banner, that is an impression.

Hyperlink- reference to a document that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. The reference points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document.

Navigation- reading and controlling changes and navigation from one place to another.

Pageview - A request for a file whose type which is defined as a page in log analysis.

Session - a session is when a user is using a website for 30minutes or less. The session will end if 30minutes has passed or if the user visits a new website before the 30minutes has passed.

Unique Visitors (or Absolute Unique Visitors) - The uniquely identified client generating requests on the web server (log analysis) or viewing pages (page tagging) within a defined time period (i.e. day, week or month). A Unique Visitor counts once within the timescale.

URL- the address of the webpage on the world wide web (WWW)

Visitor – A visitor usually makes multiple visits to the web server or viewing pages.

Visitor Session- Average amount of time that visitors spend on the site each time they visit.

Comparison shopping- allows individuals to see different lists of prices for specific products.

Source:

Wikipedia

Topic Three Questions - Digital Design

Topic 3

1) This week we are looking at Digital Design. Look at the Powerpoint presentation and explore some of the links. I recommend spending a good deal of time looking at 'Web Pages That Suck'

2) Listen to the podcast or read the transcript Digital Design on the Digital Enterprise page.

Questions

1. In two paragraphs explain why a customer centric Web site design is so important, yet so difficult to accomplish

Web design is so important because an organisation requires a website that allows customers to keep up to date with their knowledge about the organisation, as well as being able to access and purchase goods online. Due to the large portion using the internet now a-days it is essential for all organisations to use websites in order to maximise their exposure and increase positive reputation.

Therefore the websites require a certain level of formalities in order to increase customer satisfaction, for example, the design must be attractive – yet not over powering, and the information depicted must be descriptive – yet customer friendly. This is why websites are difficult to accomplish successfully. All customers are different and require alternative ranges of information due to why they are initially visiting the website.

2. Define the term 'presence'. Write an additional paragraph that describes why firms that do business on the Web should be more concerned about presence than firms that operate in the physical world.

Loosely defined, presence is the impressive personal appearance or bearing of something present (Wilkes & Krebs 1991). Presence is definitely the appearance of something; however it should also be described in relation to the reaction to the appearance, as it could be either positive or negative. However the presence of the website does not only depend on the website, other contributors can be with the use of social networking, email, and blogs as well as press received (Demopoulos, 2006-2008).

Organisations need to be concerned and aware of their online presence because it is the way in which most customers will view and judge their goods and services. If there is not enough information, the website is not clear and easily accessible or if the site is not visually pleasing then customers will have a negative opinion of the organisation. Therefore website design is crucial for a successful online business – especially due to the increased amount of competition which can be sourced internationally and domestically due to internet access.

Organisations retailing in the physical world, have competition, however it is not as extensive as online competition. This is because customers who visit physical organisations are usually loyal customers who enjoy the quality of the organisation rather than the added convenience applied to websites. Organisations in the physical world also allow customers to have a face to face relationship to ease any queries and concerns which is not readily available when working online.

Source:

Demopoulos, T. (2006-2008) Effective Internet Presence Retrieved April 11 2010, from: http://www.effectiveinternetpresence.com/

Wilkes, G.A., & Krebs, W.A. (1991) The Collins Concise Dictionary. 2nd edition Australia: Collins, A division of HarperCollinsPublishers PTY LTD

3. Write three paragraphs to briefly describe the things that Real Estate Agents can best accomplish through (1) their web sites (2) Mass media advertising (3) Personal contact

(1) By using websites Real estate agents can allow customers to depict and receive as much information about the organisation, their values, services and products as required. This user face allows output information at any time possible, which allows for maximum exposure at a minimum cost for the organisation. This in turn cuts out the middle man, until the customer decides if the organisation and their products are suitable for a possible transaction.

(2) Mass media is an outlet for all possible customers to get information about the current real estate opportunities. Mass media comes in three forms, print, electronic and new age media (Buzzle.com 2010). Print media is a important resource to use for people who chose to browse through the possibilities of real estate without access to the internet. It is with this option that more customers are reached, maximising the level of exposure. Electronic media is also used to gain recognition due to real estate links to news coverage which often displays upcoming estates which are cost effective and well developed. Finally new-age media is used in the form of the internet to have display an online option of browsing through the organisations goals, products, services and all other necessary information about the company.

(3) Personal contact increases the sense of trust between customer and estate agent in which an honest transaction will be made. The agent is able to influence and convince the customers that the house is valuable purchase which is future maybe a profitable asset. Also when discussing the property, the agent is able to prove the positive aspects of the house, knowledge about the history of the house and area and any other queries are able to be resolved easily and promptly.

Source:

Buzzle.com (2010) Different types of mass media. Retrieved April 11 2010, from: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of-mass-media.html

Topic Two Questions - Navigating the web

Part 1 - Navigation

One of the biggest challenges for businesses and customers alike is navigating the Internet. This week please answer the following questions on your blog -

1) Listen to the podcast on Navigation which can be found on the Digital Enterprise Page (Google - the digital enterprise).

a) What are the four (4) main points Michael Rappa makes about search? Please write them on your blog page.

1. People need to understand search and search engines, that they are infact a large database. However it is essential to realise that all databases are only a portion of the actual information available.

2. Understanding the collection methods of the search engine – a database of URLs, images and keywords.

3. The search protocol is necessary to understand in order to get relevant and precise information. This is with the use of normal words such as asking the search engine questions and/or using key words. It is these structures which allow accuracy when searching.

4. The ranking algorithm links search results in a ranking format to acquire the most important information on the first page searched.

b) Watch or read the Marissa Mayer interview. Write a paragraph or two, on four points made by Marissa Mayer, that you think were the most interesting or significant for business. There are no right or wrong answers here, I just want your opinion.

The Marissa Mayer interview was a lot different than I expected, her humour and use of analogies eased the formalities of the interview. This helped when trying to understand her opinion of the technologies used and future possibilities of growth in the industry. Marissa discussed many business based points which were very interesting and useful for other businesses as well as other significant points of general interest.

I found it interesting that Google uses small groups rather than large, which allows the recognition that Google really does care about their employees’ satisfaction and productivity. This is apparent with the small groups because employees’ voices are heard creating empowerment and ease in decision making.

Advertising was also interesting to me because Google makes a point of differentiating itself from other businesses by focusing on engineering rather than sales and/or marketing, however they choose to gain their revenue by using advertisements alongside their searches rather than charging the consumers for usage. By not charging the consumers they gain higher profits and allow for higher competition due to the advertisements being linked to the most effective search.

What I found hard to come to grips with was the plans for ‘Google latitude’ which was described as a form of GPS on social networking websites. I agreed with Charlie Rose in the notion of privacy. I understand Marissa saying that it depends on the user with what information is accessible, but when does it cross the line? I don’t believe that it’s safe to have access to information of someone’s location at all time, especially with the younger generations using the internet all the time and falling victim to internet predators.

Finally it is hard to believe that Google possesses only a “few” skilled interviewers and that they hire employees generally based on the interview and references. I thought a high profile organisation like Google would use much more technical ways of finding the most efficient employees rather than interview scores which can be influenced by a skilled interviewee.

Part 2 - History of the Internet

I have an expectation that you do some of your own research into the history of the Internet. The World Wide Web (WWW) is just one part of the Internet, but a very significant part. The Internet has been used for a long time now. When I first started working at 16, I was employed by Elders Smith Goldsborough Mort in Adelaide, (now Elders Ltd). We have telex machines that were used to send invoicing data and other information to head office. Elders had a mainframe computer called FRED (I only remember it meaning frigging ridiculous electronic machine). Fred had its own air conditioned room, and a team of operators. It probably wasn't as powerful as a sub-notebook today. Do you use Outlook express or another 'mail client' to access your email at home? Or you may use Internet Relay Chat? Or a news reader? This was very common just a few years ago, but a lot of these functions are now integrated into the world wide web (www). It is important to realise the Internet is much more than the WWW although many people tend to think they are the same thing. The WWW uses the Internet.

2) Please watch the Bill Joy video, and it will give you a good background to the Internet and particularly to the emergence of the World WIde Web.

From the video - please answer (on your blog page) -

a) So what are the 6 webs?

the here, near, far, weird, B2B, and D2D (device to device) Webs

b) Could there be more?

I think the 6webs will remain the same, due to the current vast variety.

c) What does it mean for business?

This means businesses must remain constant and innovative in order to adapt to changes.