Next generation network services include services that are offered via the emerging service oriented network structures, such as e-banking and e-commerce transactions, security services and communication services with users' presence and location information. In addition, the evolution of the “Web 3.0” paradigm provides services like online social networks and virtual collaborative environments. Moreover, services like voice over IP, video on demand, online gaming and high speed Internet services are have also been made available. Those services have diverse quality-of-service requirements and are constantly evolving in size while being geographically distributed across the world.
A C2C e-commerce site is one in which one consumer sells to another. The internet has allowed widely dispersed buyers and sellers to interact easily in a manner never before possible. A prime example of this interaction may be seen in the massive company, eBay. With eBay, a seller begins an auction through the listing of an item online. In order to do this, the seller needs to be registered on eBay and must pay a small listing fee. Sellers are also able to include (for an additional fee) other information including product pictures, duration of the auction and reserve price.
Experienced sellers have the ability to gain reputation ratings. Buyers who were successful in the past can provide positive, negative or neutral ratings for the seller based on their experience. If the auction reaches a successful conclusion, the seller pays a commission and listing fee to the firm. If the auction does not conclude successfully, the seller is only responsible for a listing fee. Other seller costs include acquisition costs and shipping.
Other seller costs include acquisition costs and shipping. In comparison to eBay, YouTube began as a free site, allowing users to upload videos from their private collections. As the assortment of videos grew, viewers from all over the world started watching, commenting, and rating each others videos. Consumer technologies such as webcams, camera-phones, digital camcorders, and digital cameras simplified content creation to a level where most people could upload videos to YouTube with a simple mouse click. The data on YouTube is public, and the owner is the only one who is able to change or delete this content. Once posted, online content on social media sites is permanently available until deliberately removed by the owner, although occasionally, content is removed by the site administrator for legal reasons.
An example of a B2C or business to consumer e-commerce site is Amazon. Founded in 1994 by businessman Jeff Bezos, it has become one of the largest online traders in Internet history. Beginning with books, Amazon now boasts a list of products that includes electronics, films and TV shows, eBook readers (Kindle), clothing and a wide variety of other products. Hulu is a video and TV show on demand site and is jointly owned by NBCUniversal, Fox Entertainment Group, ABC Inc., and Providence Equity Partners. The company's offerings are only available in the United States and its territories in order to prevent international users from accessing the site. Hulu was launched as a free site, but in January 2010, Hulu Plus, a monthly subscription service was started, with the advantage being that viewers now have access to full seasons of television programs.
The business to business to consumer (B2B2C) e-commerce model involves an intermediary between the producer of the product and the eventual consumer. In this situation, the customer chooses the features they want in a product, which they order from the website who then orders from the retailer. The retailer also functions as a service and return center. XYZ.TV will function in a similar manner by acting as the intermediary between the consumer and the many different video and television contributions they will be offering.
It is almost impossible to remain aloof from e-commerce and online marketing. They have taken on a pivotal role in our society and, from all appearances, look like they will be there for a long time to come.
