ECMgt.com: Aug2000: Volume 2, Issue 8 - Dynamic Pricing Reaches Most Industries
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Subject: Sep2000 ECMgt.com: Bonding
Privacy and Trust Online
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September 1, 2000 *4,100 subscribers*
Volume 2, Issue 9
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Subject: Dynamic Pricing Reaches Most Industries
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Privacy concerns will increase as the public becomes more aware of how their Web site activity can be tracked, profiled, and merged with data collected from multiple off-line sources to reveal very "personal" information about themselves
Introduction:
Privacy issues have always been a key reason for potential online consumers to avoid e-commerce. In the early days of e-commerce, a significant fraction of consumers thought that credit cards could be "snatched" off the Internet. Solid encryption using SSL has reduced most of those fears, and for the most part, new consumers don't worry about losing credit cards while online. However, as the Internet assumes "real world" status, issues that concern all consumers have migrated to the Web. These include:
Duplication and forgery, meaning buying from a copy cat site, unauthorized access to stored data, especially personal information and transaction history, and theft of credit card numbers from servers. Of all these, access to purchase history worries consumers most, as "anonymity" and privacy in purchasing is cited by 40% of Internet shoppers as a major reason for purchasing over the Internet.
How much of your life is on the Internet?
Many consumers don't want any personal information on the Internet, period. But this opens up the biggest issue; as most vertical industries, especially insurance, health care, government, and retail, are creating intranets and extranets for suppliers and partners, and websites for consumers, all of our most sensitive data is being interconnected over TCP/IP networks. Network and server security, now a $14 billion industry, is about letting the right people access data, and keeping everyone else out. As e-commerce (e.g. commerce) creates automated computer-to-computer purchases over networks in a "lights-out" mode, the integrity of front and back end systems and the financial networks they connect to, is paramount to global commerce. Firewalls, encryption, virtual private networks, and biometric authentication are just some of the tools in the arsenal that business deploy, collectively, to deter unauthorized activity.
For operators of websites, intrusion and attack by hackers, most recently of the Distributed Denial of Service, have created an environment where operating a successful commerce site requires more than a novice knowledge of security. Very few web-based businesses have experience in online attacks, especially from international hackers with very high skills at intrusion.
Statistics:
While there has been no validated loss of a credit card in transit in the five years of commerce on the Internet, there have been several widely publicized thefts of credit cards from web commerce sites where they were stored. One case involved the theft of 100,000 credit card numbers, and unsuccessful attempt to sell those to an undercover FBI agent. Theft of credit cards from servers is just one case where e-commerce sites have been attacked. The denial of service attacks launched against Yahoo, eBay, and Amazon earlier this year caused combined losses to e-commerce sites of hundreds of millions of dollars. The third area of attack, email viruses (worms) have caused over a billion dollars worth of damage in the last two major attacks alone.
How much of your life is on the Internet?
Today, half of 80 million American adults have purchases something online, and 8 million of those individuals use Amazon.com, which usually will store buyer preferences. Most of us don't think about the transaction histories and user preferences that are more frequently being mined, creating "personalized pages" and direct email offers announcing products and services that "individuals like us" are exploring.
But security on the Internet, visa vie Web commerce, is only the tip of the iceberg. Many security conscious organizations, starting with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), then TRUSTe (see this months feature story http://ecmgt.com/Sep2000/feature.htm), have been proponents of voluntary restrictions on information collection, storage and redistribution. The EFF, founded by (Lotus Founder Mitch Kapor) saw a time when merging of data from computer databases, public government records, retail purchases, medical records, and the "data wake" left by our web surfing can create a fairly accurate representation of our persona. By using common key fields, creating this master file would not be too difficult.
Who owns your Web data?
The Internet is driving awareness of a problem that is not new. While most web users feel that their surfing habits are personal and belong to them, they must remember that when they enter a website, there are terms and conditions of use. Packet tracking, used by sophisticated software to develop real time user profiles for personalization, product presentation, and special promotions, is a rapidly growing technique used by most large e-tailers to maximize sales and ROI. While physical stores may be anonymous, the digital engine of an e-commerce site lends itself to a much higher degree of customer shopping analysis. Most sites have no reason to share this data, and to the contrary should protect as a prized asset.
Who owns your other data?
The more disturbing question that citizens should ask is who owns our medical data, retail transaction history, banking and credit information, and public government records. In all cases the answer is - not us. As health insurance, government, and financial institutions use the Internet and electronic documents, rather than private networks and paper, our most personal information can be divulged to parties not known to us. There are no standards, state or national, that are in place, and the Internet is only accelerating the risk.
Website procedures:
Most large websites encourage repeat spending by storing credit card information, user profiles, including address and billing information, on their servers. However, most e-commerce sites do not encrypt this information. Truste and BBBOnLine do not require "data safety" procedures, and audits of website logs for packet intrusion to back end servers are not required. As e-commerce grows, standards organizations will likely assemble best practices of sites to create a formal set of procedures, much as local ordinances require businesses to meet standards for health and safety.
Email security:
A very hot topic of debate today is employer access to employee email messages. Many companies operate filters on email servers to screen for keywords that would indicate improper use of company email accounts. Most states currently consider that an employee's email messages are property of their employer, using the theory that the network infrastructure, computer workstation, and mail server all are company property. Civil rights advocates are arguing that employers can not eavesdrop of employee phone calls, and the same property issues exist for phone and email. One third of Fortune 500 firms have dismissed employees for improperly using Web browsing privileges, more for viewing adult material than for "surfing". Cookies, cached images, and URL history files all have been used by employers to validate misuse of computers, and sanction or dismiss employees.
Internet legal issues:
Currently the United States government drives the majority of legislation on the Internet, but is seen as only a "local ordinance". Constitutionally, state's rights supercede national laws, but a fragmented and political atmosphere has caused the legal environment of the Internet to fall ever behind the technology, and this applies to privacy rights. US Cryptography Export Controls have kept encryption technology from developing faster. Ironically, as SET (Secure Electronic Transactions) standard adoption grows, the ability to digitally sign and encrypt documents may have in issues of non-repudiation and authenticity, that ultimately protect privacy. (See section at end describing recent submission of legislation by Ernest Hollings for Consumer Privacy Protection Act.
Criminals and other stalkers:
Websites that offer personal classifieds, escort services, and chat rooms at the largest portals all over the Internet have been plagued by criminals and other stalkers that prey on naivete of teenagers, especially younger girls, that don't know the identity of individuals that are having personal dialogue with. High tech crime units, including San Jose, California, are working closely with portal and community sites to investigate cases of stalking and other crimes by sex offenders.
Viruses, DDNOS, and Internet security:
Computer viruses are not new to the Web. The Internet worm in 1987 shut down a significant fraction of government sites. More recently, two computer viruses that propagated through email caused over a billion dollars in damage to companies whose email systems and networks were partially disabled by the rapidly propagating virus. As such, computer viruses represent a security risk to e-commerce, as they can disable the entire technical e-commerce infrastructure. The distributed Denial of Service attacks in early 2000 halted commerce at Amazon.com, eBay, and Yahoo. In a 1998 survey, over 80% of Fortune 5000 forms reported break-ins into corporate networks that caused at least 1 million dollars in damage. Internet security is now a $14 billion dollar industry.
Senator Unveils Net Privacy Bill:
Senate Commerce Committee member Ernest Hollings (D-S.C) introduced the "Consumer Privacy Protection Act", in May 2000, which aims to require consumer consent for information use and offers "limited protections in the offline world". Websites that collect and use personal consumer data would be required to gain those consumers' consent under the new privacy bill introduced in May 2000. In addition to requiring "opt-in" consent, the bill also calls for websites to clearly display their privacy policies, access to identifiable information and the ability to modify it, and specific procedures for data.
The proposed "Consumer Privacy Protection Act" has the ambitious goal not only of requiring consumer consent for information use, but it also offers "limited protections in the offline world. The bill's introduction comes as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plans to outline its proposal for asking Congress to give the agency broader power to regulate online privacy.
The bill also calls on the FTC to undertake further privacy studies and offer more recommendations on improving privacy. The measure also would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to launch a research and development program on computer security issues that would "complement private sector research." Hollings' bill joins a growing list of legislation tackling online privacy, as well as financial and medical data protection.
What to do about Internet criminals?
How can Internet criminals be punished? One difficulty is that these crimes are often committed by individuals who are minors, or prosecuted as misdemeanors, not assessing the monetary damage incurred. And the more difficult issue is that, here to for, these crimes have been conducted by individuals, rather than organized groups, such as terrorist organizations, or even rogue elements of terrorist states. Security issues on the Internet, both to individuals and corporations, will take time to resolve in legislation that lags behind the rapid pace of technology. In the mean time, participation in organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org), Truste (http://www.truste.org), and Better Business Bureau Online (http://www.bbbonline.org) are the best means for Netizens to engage and expedite the privacy issues on the Internet.
The bigger picture:
The early moments of the War in Iraq were not fought with physical missiles, but instead with an attack on the computer network supporting Iraqi air defenses. With that compromised, the "traditional" war could start. Today, the assets of any sovereign nation may be only as good as the computer infrastructure that supports it.
Just as taxation on the Internet has pushed legislators to examine the larger issue of taxation in the United States, "security" issues on the Internet are really about security issues in a digital and networked economy. Personal issues of anonymity really are about privacy, e-commerce infrastructure is the same as a physical premises business, and the foundation of society, our security based on infrastructure, will soon be as strong as the IT infrastructure that supports our digital and networked economy. Y2K taught us that the foundation of our 21st century civilization is threaded by the digital networks that integrate (power, telephone service, banking, transportation, and) virtually every networked business computer in the modern world. Internet security affects all of what is digital commerce.
Let me leave you with a few of my favorite quotes this month:
I hope you enjoy this eZine.
See you in cyberspace,
Mitchell Levy
Executive
Producer, ECMgt.com <http://ECMgt.com>
President, ECnow.com <http://ecnow.com>
Founder and Coordinator, SJSU-PD ECM Certificate Program <http://ecmtraining.com/sjsu>
Chair, ECMsym.com ECM Symposium (Oct 4-5, 2000) <http://ecmsym.com>
ECMsym.com
Symposium The E-Commerce Management (ECM)
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Seats are now on sale, but are limited by the venue. Did miss your opportunity
to be at the beginning of this industry setting event. Learn more at register
online at: http://ecmsym.com
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neoIT™ is a global IT services online marketplace and consulting company.
We are a leading neutral marketplace and global solution for outsourcing software
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Fort Point Partners
Fort Point Partners is an Internet services firm providing strategic consulting
and systems integration to empower eSelling(tm). More than 40 businesses such
as Hewlett-Packard, BlueLight.com and J.Crew use Fort Point Partners' eSelling
business practice to drive sales across multiple channels. eSelling focuses on
developing end-to-end technology to create competitive selling advantages in the
most profitable part of e-commerce, wherever buyers and sellers meet.
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Delano Technology
Corporation
Delano Technology Corporation is a provider of interaction-based e-business solutions
that enable an organization to interact with the extended enterprise, for fast
measurable results.
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FEATURE ARTICLE
Dynamic Pricing, Models that
Work by Bennet Harvey
Vice President of Product Strategy, Esurance, Inc
Three years ago, Forrester Research forecasted that the collision of new Internet technologies with user expectations of privacy would result in "The Privacy Bomb." In its landmark report, Forrester foresaw that industry leaders would adopt consensual marketing practices and that "in your face methods will give way to quid pro quo deals that provide value to consumers who share information with respectful marketers."
The three-year-old report still rings true today, but it begs the question: Has the privacy bomb exploded, or does the industry still have time?
The Changing of the Tide
Kevin O'Connor, CEO of DoubleClick, would be the first one to testify that failing to adequately address consumer privacy concerns led to his company's own privacy bomb. To adequately diffuse it &endash; in the movies, it would be to clip the red wire instead of the black wire &endash; DoubleClick appointed a privacy advisory board and named former New York City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jules Polonetsky as the company's Chief Privacy Officer.
But reverberations of the DoubleClick brouhaha were felt by the entire industry. With snapshot polls in-hand, self-proclaimed advocates generated momentum and ignited the call for legislating a privacy fix. While government's increased vigilance over privacy practices is one result, the DoubleClick case study has had an even more profound effect: The re-prioritization of the privacy issue among commercial Web sites. Simply put, no Web site wants to be next in the firing line.
Today, thousands of Web sites are demonstrating a commitment to address privacy concerns by adopting the core principles of Fair Information Practices. The Fair Information Practices are a set of guidelines that direct an organization's use of personally identifiable information. While there are several tenets, the core principles of Fair Information Practices provide users with notice of privacy practices, choice to prevent sharing of personal information, access to profiles to correct inaccuracies, and security mechanisms to protect the data.
What's more, industry and government realize that bridging the privacy gap will require them to work together. Perhaps the most visible collaboration of this sort has been the action against Toysmart.com, a company that has filed for bankruptcy, and whose creditors intend to sell the personal information that was gathered on its users. After TRUSTe blew the whistle on Toysmart's intention to go back on its privacy promises, more than 40 state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission took steps to prevent the inappropriate sale of customers data. This action has sent a strong signal to consumers that there are structures in place to help them protect their privacy online.
Still More to be Done
Let's not delude ourselves, though, by believing that we have already succeeded in diffusing the Privacy Bomb. After all, according to a recent report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, the majority of U.S. Internet users feel their rights are infringed upon by companies that track them online. 86 percent of users prefer an "opt in" policy that would require Web sites to seek permission from users before they disclose personal information. Add to that the fact that, according to a recent Yankelovich Partners study, nearly 80 percent of Web users exit sites that require personal information to proceed into the site.
There is still much more to be done, as these data suggest low levels of trust that threaten the continued success of online commerce. First, all Web sites should make Fair Information Practices a central part of their business operations. As site data gathering and dissemination practices become more complex, companies should consider appointing a Chief Privacy Officer to ensure that the entire organization is operating under the same responsible policy.
Second, it is important that all Web and product developers understand that architecture is policy. The way companies build products will dictate the amount of control users have over their personal information. To that end, smart companies are soliciting the advice of outside experts before unveiling their new products. Appointing a privacy advisory board can save time, money, and unneeded headaches.
Finally, Web sites should communicate their commitment to privacy. Use privacy and security as market differentiators and value-added features. And, if in the course of trying to run your Web site you make a privacy error, accept and admit responsibility for mistakes and solve them quickly. It is embarrassing to have a privacy meltdown; it is even more so if you are caught trying cover it up.
While the privacy bomb has yet to explode, it is still ticking. Addressing this issue head on will allow the Internet industry to best diffuse it and will allow your site to effectively build trust with users. What you do with that trust is up to you.
READER COMMENTS
Our bulletin board allows readers to comment on trends and issues throughout the month. Please stop by to add your comments and see all the responses at http://ecmgt.com/bulletinboard.htm
Question of the Month
CONTENT &endash; ECMGT.COM E-COMMERCE NEWS
E-STRATEGIES & TRENDS NEWS
This section sponsored
by - ECnow.com, please visit them at http://www.ecnow.com
STRATEGIES & TRENDS NEWS
This
section sponsored by ECnow.com, please visit them at http://www.ecnow.com
Microsoft
cookie tool stirs controversy
What began as an effort to give Web users
more control over their privacy has raised the ire of Web advertising services
and privacy advocates alike.
E-biz
execs guard Net privacy
Chief privacy officers are popping up at many
savvy e-businesses that know the power of coherent, comprehensive online privacy
policies.
Top E-Tailers of July 2000
The Top
20 e-tailers of July 2000, according to PC Data Online.
Amazon
glitch spurs shopping spree
A pricing glitch at Amazon.com's toy store
over the weekend allowed customers to place dozens of orders for goods that were
mistakenly deeply discounted.
Staples.com
nailed again by its own Net coupons
For the second time in just over a
month, Staples.com issued online coupons that allowed Web bargain hunters to stock
up on free or deeply discounted merchandise.
Toysrus.com
drops tracking service amid pressure
Toysrus.com has stopped using a controversial
marketing service after the online toy store was accused of releasing personal
customer data.
Layoffs
show B2B not immune to rocky times
Two business-to-business companies
said they would lay off workers, a sign that recent tough times in the market
are not limited to business-to-consumer companies.
Report:
B2B Shakeout Yet To Come
E-marketplaces are not safe from the current
dot-com shakeout that has seen numerous e-tailers fold and others merge, according
to a report released Thursday by Forrester Research.
The
Making of E-Commerce: 10 Key Moments
No doubt, there are plenty of thrills
and chills left in the E-Commerce Cyclone. But this is as good a time as any to
reflect on the ones that have come so far -- the Biggest Moments in E-Commerce
History.
The
Vanishing Corner Web Store
To the casual surfer, the Internet may seem
like a limitless ocean, but to e-tail firms whose cash is swirling down the drain,
it may seem more like a little fish tank that is fast losing its water.
Is
Gen X Hooked on Cookies?
A recent poll by the Pew Internet and American
Life project showed that younger Internet users are less likely to think "cookies,"
intrude on their personal privacy. Dude, what is up with that?
For College Students, the Internet is Integral
The Internet is now such an integral part of the life of college students that more than 80 percent have made an online purchase.
U.S.
Web Surfers Worry About Privacy
U.S. Internet users dislike having their
movements tracked when they go online but few bother to take steps to protect
their privacy, a survey released Sunday found.
To
Succeed, B-to-B Players Need Logistics Savvy
For most industries, being
able to efficiently move products through the supply chain is a lifeline. The
push toward Internet commerce, however, has thrown logistics managers some curves.
Internet
Users Say 'No Thanks' To Personal Questions
A survey by Yankelovich Partners
reports that consumers are hesitant about releasing information such as telephone
numbers, addresses, and credit card numbers over the Internet.
How
Secure Are You?
Business managers continue to rapidly deploy e-business
technologies, even without proper security in place.
German
Publishers Accused of Collusion
Internet discount-book retailers say suppliers
are withholding orders over pricing policy.
Saks
Shops for Customers Online
The grande dame of department stores is entering
the e-commerce competition. Should it bother?
The
Death of Living.com
The home furnishings retailer has shut its doors,
making it the first Amazon.com investment to fail.
An
American Dream Gone Bad
Value America was supposed to revolutionize retailing.
Sometimes revolutionaries lose.
Customer
loyalty is underwater
CRM can't help e-tailers build deep customer relationships.
Lack
of Notice Snags E-Service
Data-analysis firm Coremetrics was forced to
explain itself Tuesday after an Internet security firm noticed that personal information
submitted to various Web shopping sites was being forwarded to the company's servers.
E-Privacy's
Foggy Bottom
Privacy lawsuits against Toysrus.com spotlight another gray
area in data privacy standards: Is outsourcing customer data analysis the same
as passing the information to a third party?
Visa
Sets Net Security Measures
The world's largest credit card company, trying
to curb runaway online fraud, says it will implement a set of 10 new security
measures that vendors must adhere to.
The
e-complaint window
The Boston Consulting Group recently published research
data on online buying habits, illustrating how unhappy e-shoppers are.
B2Bs
stuck on cash
B2B exchanges and supply chain software may have brought
together buyers and sellers at the electronic altar, but the majority of such
partnerships are consummated the old-fashioned way: by check.
---
E-PRODUCTS NEWS
E-tailer
To Launch Online Returns System
The inability to efficiently handle returns
and exchanges of items bought online can lead to overloaded call centers, frustrated
customers, and big problems for e-businesses.
MS,
bookseller plan Net book shop
Online bookseller Barnesandnoble.com Inc.
is teaming up with Microsoft Corp. to open the first major Internet store selling
digital books, a Barnesandnoble.com spokesman said Monday.
BEA
WebLogic app server passes the test
In a boon for e-business customers
looking for assurances of interoperability, BEA Systems becomes the second company
to meet Sun's J2EE interoperability guidelines and gain certification.
B2C
software makers demand B2B respect
BroadVision and other B2C vendors are
trying to upgrade their images from "B2C heavyweight" to complete e-business software
providers.
Clearer
'fuzzy' product quests
Searching for products by attribute -- such as
waterproof, casual, plush etc. may soon be much easier if a project at the National
Retail Federation takes off.
BizTalk
Server beta is here
Microsoft's long-awaited product could help customers
integrate their computer systems for B2B e-commerce.
IBM
woos developers over WebSphere
At its Solutions conference in Las Vegas
this week, IBM will announce a growing investment in developer resources as well
as enhancements to its WebSphere Application Server.
Williams-Sonoma
opens doors to home furnishings site
Disregarding the recent tide of dot-com
wreckage, retail conglomerate Williams-Sonoma quietly launched an e-commerce store
today for its home furnishings division, Pottery Barn.
American
Express forms new B2B payment company
American Express has created a new
company as part of its push to become the leading electronic payment services
carrier in the business-to-business market.
Amazon-Toysrus.com
deal signals strategy shift
The e-tail giant today formed a 10-year partnership
with Toysrus.com to develop a new co-branded e-commerce site for toys and video
games.
Visa
Intros Buxx Card For Teens
On August 14, Visa USA will launch Visa Buxx,
a user- loadable Visa debit card designed ostensibly for teenagers, but also for
those concerned about using their regular credit and debit cards online.
FBI
To Lead World E-Commerce Forum
The Federal Bureau of Investigation will
head up this year's world e-commerce forum, at which global Internet security
will be an issue for the first time, it was announced Friday.
VeriSign
Ups the Ante on Fraud Screening
New credit card fraud screening service
launched for online merchants.
Active
Research Expands Its Reach
Buyer's Guide services extended in deals with
ClicktheButton and Consumer Reports.
---
E-MARKETING NEWS
End
of the road for e-com ASP Pandesic
In the end, the joint venture of Intel
and SAP saw no "timely road to profitability" as a result of the slowdown in B2C
e-commerce.
Magazines
extend brands online -- and profit
Billboard is among the many traditional
media companies experimenting with ways to extend their brand online -- and actually
profiting from it.
Banana
Republic's got a brand-new bag
Banana Republic makes a stronger statement
with its redesigned "Add to Bag" confirmation. Too bad it's not really necessary.
Get details this week in this second-look evaluation.
HireStrategy.com
Adds New Media Practice
Demand drives expanded coverage
A
Winning Advertising Campaign
Baltimore's Advertising.com is making some
banner impressions itself, delivering approximately 4 billion advertising messages
in June. Venture capitalists are impressed, sinking $57 million in the firm.
AOL,
Target Roll Out Marketing Campaign
Upscale retailer follows Wal-Mart and
Kmart in a series of online marketing initiatives with a co-branded AOL software
program that links to target.com
Amazon
getting less cash from e-commerce partners
Amazon.com, which has a business
network of e-commerce companies, saw revenue recognized from some of the deals
reduced by $2.9 million after it restructured agreements with some of the money-losing
companies, a regulatory filing said.
IBM
Gears Up for Some Dotcom Action
The company's Net Generation Business
team has set-up shop in the Pacific Northwest, and is determined to play a leading
role in the local internet scene.
A
New Model For Napster?
Napster competitor says his business model is the
way to go for online music distribution.
Software
Glitch Affects DoubleClick's Domestic Clients
Delivery of banner ads,
online promotions and click-through rates were disrupted for about an hour and
half on Friday.
Free
on the Net
Have you ever wondered if web merchants will continue to give
away free and discounted products and services forever? The problem is, it can't
be done forever.
Keeping
Your Affiliates Loyal
Tons of affiliates may look good on paper. However,
as you acquire more affiliates, you also increase the time that will have to be
dedicated to activate these affiliates.
Developing
Affiliate Relationships
It's much more fun to brag about the size of your
affiliate network, but really, who cares? When you talk to fellow affiliate marketers,
it's more interesting to learn how much volume they're driving, not how many affiliates
they have.
The
Price of an Affiliate Program
We often hear about the benefits of an affiliate
program: excellent return on investment, branding, etc., but the costs that go
against these benefits have not been as well chronicled.
Macy's
parent fuses e-commerce with mail order
Federated Department Stores plans
to combine Macy's e-commerce and direct mail operations, company executives said,
with gradual changes slated to begin this fall.
Dot-com
Sales, Marketing Spending Plunge
Internet companies targeting the consumer
market have slashed their sales and marketing spending by more than 25 percent
from the high-flying fourth quarter of last year.
Banners
Yet Wave
What's happening to Net ads is fundamentally similar, despite
the leaps in technology, to what happened several years ago with print ads.
The
Real World
Allergy-and-asthma site Gazoontite.com revels in the success
of its brick-and-mortar stores &endash; even as its online business flounders.
It's not alone.
Saks
Shops for Customers Online
The grande dame of department stores is entering
the e-commerce competition. Should it bother?
FAO.com
Already Preparing For The Holidays
Famed toy store gets jump on the all-important
holiday shopping season with site relaunch, adding interactive playroom.
---
SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS
Streamline.com:
Start the Deathwatch
A bleak financial picture worsens for the Westwood
online grocer, which without an emergency financial infusion will go under within
weeks.
The
Deal with Online Returns
A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers has found
that few shoppers actually return items purchased from online sites, and those
that do are not so dissatisfied with the return process that it adversely affects
future shopping behavior. The bad news, however, is that many more would make
a return but are turned off by the expense and hassle of the process.
GE
to create multi-industry marketplace
General Electric, already one of
the top sellers of electronic purchasing systems, said it's forming a Web-based
marketplace that will be available to all industries in the fourth quarter.
ShopperBox
Launches Beta Test of E-Commerce Delivery Solution
Seattle.internet.com's
coverage of the South Sound continues...
Kinko's
Gets FedEx to Deliver Web Customers
A new co-branded site will power the
copy-shop chain's sprint to the Net, while FedEx adds document printing to its
online menu.
MP3.com
To Go Brick-And-Mortar
In a rare instance of a dot-com going brick-and-mortar,
MP3.com, the embattled online music retailer that has been under fire from the
recording industry, reportedly plans to participate in a chain of storefront entertainment
complexes.
IT
speeds delivery of Web orders
E-retailers and Net-based companies are
making big progress in IT systems-integration work, resulting in greater efficiency
in deliveries of Web orders.
The
Paradox of Rosettanet
RosettaNet wants standards for the way information-technology
components are bought and sold, but can it implement them fast enough for the
new economy
Trust
but Verify
Indentrus wants to bring the Cold War adage to B2B, but it
faces an uphill battle
webMethods,
AristaSoft Create High-Tech Platform
Companies collaborate on an integration
solution for high-tech industry
Saturating
the Medical Supply Market
Everthing4MDs is the latest in a string of medical-supply
exchanges
Major
Labels to Sell Music Online
EMI, Universal and Sony plan to begin selling
songs over the Internet by the end of the year.
Delivery
Tricky in Latin America
The final leg of E-commerce is hampered in many
parts of Latin America because postal service in many areas is erratic at best.
FTC
Action Could Spur Outsourced Fulfillment
The Federal Trade Commission's
settlement last week with seven online retailers who had trouble shipping goods
as promised during last year's holiday season could be just the opportunity needed
by providers of outsourced fulfillment services.
Next
From Amazon.com: Cars, Jewelry?
The beleagured online retailer is apparently
paving the way to sell big-ticket items, according to domain name registrations
it has filed.
Seagate
To Revamp Online Direct-Sales Site
Seagate Technology plans to overhaul
its online direct-sales effort within the next month or two, as the disk-drive
vendor tries to figure out its e-commerce strategy.
The
Shipping News
The international freight industry is plagued by red tape
and inefficiency. A few startups, along with a few established players, and starting
to change that.
Commerce
One, SAP to Build Energy Exchange
The marketplace, named Enporion, will
utilize jointly developed e-commerce software.
Sell
Music Offline to Sell Online
For bands to be successful online, they have
to have a solid offline marketing plan. That's the theory John Dawes lays out
in his new book.
---
PARTNERS & DEALS NEWS
EMC
Buys Software Firm
The Hopkinton data storage company acquires a long-time
partner, a Denver maker of software to manage the archiving of video and other
rich media.
Dell,
SAS join to monitor site visitors' actions
Its site does $40 million a
day in business, but Dell thinks there's still room for improvement, so it's licensing
SAS' e-Intelligence suite to gain new insights into its customers' behavior.
Vignette,
Sun in e-com development deal
The wide-ranging deal to develop, market
and sell e-commerce products worldwide is similar to an agreement struck last
week between Vignette and Sun rival IBM.
NSI
Signs Partnership With Chinese Domain Name Corp.
Firms to share revenue
on referred domain name registrations
Fairfax
County Attracts Q2 Investments of $338.8 Million
With more than a $1 billion
in venture funding over the last four quarters, Fairfax County companies continue
to pull in the bucks
National
Geographic Acquires 30 Percent Stake in iExplore
Strategic alliance includes
integrated e-commerce initiatives and collaboration on content for print and online
media
A
2 Million Share Gift Certificate
Global iTechnology announces acquisition
of Certificate Express and its patent pending transaction technology for the B2B
marketplace
Wal-Mart,
AOL join Shopsmart
US retailer Wal-Mart and internet giant AOL link up
to take a stake in the UK online price comparison web site Shopsmart.
Lastminute
nets French rival
Internet retail firm Lastminute.com has moved into the
takeover business, buying France's biggest e-travel company.
Net
firm ends merger talks with Drkoop.com
A Virginia-based Internet company
called off its merger talks with ailing online health information provider Drkoop.com.
Wine
sites hope merger will create right blend
Wine.com and WineShopper.com
announced today they will merge, with hopes that a combined company will hold
greater appeal for investors.
Webvan
and HomeGrocer One Step Closer to Merger
The two companies move closer
to finalizing their merger after receiving notification of the early termination
of the waiting period.
Singingfish.com
Gets Acquired by Thomson Multimedia
Check out our exclusive interview
with Singingfish.com's CEO Mike Behlke.
Kozmo.com,
Urbanfetch Merger Deal Imminent
Kozmo and UrbanFetch have been at each
other's throats ever since competition got heated over the delivery business.
Razorfish
Acquires Medialab AG for $9.4 Million
Razorfish will issue 446,080 shares
of common stock and make a cash payment of approximately $1.4 million.
CDNow
Sale To Bertelsmann Given Green Light By Feds
The waiting period under
the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act has expired, clearing the way
for German media group Bertelsmann AG to complete the acquisition of Internet
music company CDNow, Inc.
Two
Teen Marketers Reunite
Teen-oriented e-tailer dELiA*s Inc. Thursday inked
an $86 million deal to merge with its subsidiary, iTurf Inc., an online community
targeting the 13- to 24-year-old market.
Recipe
Site and Retailer Offer Grocery Service
Webvan and Allrecipes.com are
joining forces to sell food in cyberspace.
A
Bigger Fish in Seafood-Marketplace Pond
WorldCatch.com and Fishmonger.com
will merge -- the latest deal in an industry-wide consolidation.
MVP.com
Makes a Play for PlanetOutdoors
The sports retailer, backed by Michael
Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, wants to bulk up by buying the outdoor apparel site.
Kozmo
in Talks to Acquire Urbanfetch
Online delivery pioneer Kozmo.com is in
discussions to acquire archrival Urbanfetch.com, a sign that instant gratification
doesn't guarantee instant success for everyone.
Advertising.com
Nets $57 Million
The online ad-server firm says it will use the funds
to invest in new technology and increase its staff by one-third.
AOL
UK and Wal-Mart: This Time We're Serious
Still no sign of the U.S. cross-promotion
they announced eight months ago. But they say the U.K. is different.
NTT-Verio
Deal Expected to Fly
U.S. officials are scrutinizing the proposed merger,
which would give the Japanese telco ownership of the ISP.
Onvia.com
purchase of Hardware.com raises eyebrows
Small business e-marketplace
saves chairman from a sinking dotcom ship
Intershop
Acquires Germany's Subotnic
The e-commerce application provider will integrate
content management software into its offerings.
---
MOVERS & SHAKERS NEWS
Yantra's
Mantra: Grow, Grow, Grow.
The Acton provider of supply chain e-commerce
software raises $41 million from institutional and corporate investors to continue
to build the company.
Microsoft
Manager Joins Infinite.com
Wilson to develop business throughout North
America, Europe, and Asia.
USinternetworking
Promotes Stern
New CEO will add global network operations to his responsibilities
MicroStrategy
Names New Chief Financial Officer
Company also appoints new VP of corporate
development and names acting director of
Apache
Names Former Professor to New R&D Post
Company co-founder rejoins
management team
FutureNext
Consulting Names CTO
Ken Crafford to take top technology post
BulkRegister.com
Appoints CFO
Allan Sanders Moves from AmericasDoctor.com
IBM
Executive Joins GMSI Leadership
Kenlaw becomes executive vice president
of corporate strategy
Amazing
Media Appoints Publishing Industry Veteran
Former publisher of The Baltimore
Sun joins board of directors
Chintala
Takes Customer Management Post at netDecide
Technology consulting veteran
to lead deployment and support of financial services solutions
Garrettson
Joins Cidera
Takes senior US sales vp post
Freeinternet.com
Names CIO
Freeinternet.com has appointed Owen Minnick as its chief information
officer.
Microsoft's
Ballmer outlines organizational changes
Microsoft President and CEO Steve
Ballmer outlines organizational changes to accelerate the company's delivery of
.NET software and services.
Mike
Pickett Becomes President & COO of Onvia.com
Pickett, who will report
to Onvia's CEO Glenn Ballman, most recently served as the chairman and CEO of
Hardware.com.
Q&A
with Jim Nordstrom
Seattle.internet.com caught up with Mr. Nordstrom to
find out more about his latest venture: Northern Stream Capital.
SiteROCK
Lures Arthur Andersen Executive to CEO Post
Thirty-year Arthur Andersen
veteran chooses 24 x 7 remote support services company as "next big thing" in
eBusiness
Jamcracker
Hires VP
Former VP of ATM Systems brings 33 years experience to drive
efforts in northern California and Nevada.
FreeSamples.com
Appoints President and COO
Company says Dana Plotkin brings branding expertise
to eMarketing infrastructure company.
Jay
Verkler Named CEO of Sales.com
Internet veteran hopes to replay past successes
with TIBCO, Vitria, and Oracle.
Razorfish
shares slide after president resigns
Shares of the Net consulting firm
drop more than 20 percent after Michael Pehl says he is stepping down for personal
reasons.
How
Much Is That CEO at the Net Firm?
Net CEOs tend to get $325,000 in cash
and bonuses &endash; and about 9.4 percent of the company.
Ray
Lane joins Kleiner Perkins
Former Oracle president becomes general partner
at venture capital giant.
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| If you can't get your work done in the first 24 hours, work nights. |
| A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the butt. |
| It doesn't matter what you do, it only matters what you say you've done and what you're going to do. |
| The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get. |
| Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day. |
| When the bosses talk about improving productivity, they are never talking about themselves. |
| Keep your boss's boss off your boss's back. |
| Everything can be filed under "miscellaneous." |
| People who go to conferences are the ones who shouldn't. |
|
If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done. |
| At work, the authority of a person is inversely proportional to the number of pens that person is carrying. |
| When you don't know what to do, walk fast and look worried. |
| Following the rules will not get the job done. |
| Getting the job done is no excuse for not following the rules. |
|
No matter how much you do, you never do enough. |
| The last person that quit or was fired will be held responsible for everything that goes wrong. |
| When confronted by a difficult problem you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?" |
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