Monday, January 25, 2010

Mobile Shopping

Evidence that the recent emphasis on mobile devices being used for e-commerce has been put forward by eBay. Their latest statistics show that shopping by mobile users has tripled during the latest holiday shopping season. Around 750,000 people have installed the eBay mobile mobile application. That's a significant number! For a thorough rundown on eBay's latest sales profile, see this article.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Seizure of Laptops at Borders

The policy of some countries to randomly search and seize laptops of visitors at border checkpoints has been under fire by many civil liberties groups. Most recently, the American Civil Liberties Union has begun the process of launching a class action seeking to cause changes in the existing practices in the US. One can see the need for search and seizure of laptops and other electronic devices in certain circumstances, but there are significant privacy issues involved, and the governmental policies should recognize these issues. A clear and transparent policy is required. As Benjamin Franklin once said, "The man who sacrifices his freedom to achieve security deserves neither." Increasingly, as security policies driven by fear are tightened, we need to be aware of the sacrifices being made of our freedom. This is happening not just in the US, but also in Canada and other countries.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

New IBM Technology Predictions

IBM has released its top ten technology predictions for 2010. Many of them are directly relevant to e-business. For example, there are predictions for a growth in cloud computing, more high speed internet access through wireless devices, further restructuring of the banking industry away from the branch system, and growth of services delivery through technology. It all makes for an interesting year or two as these areas develop further and trigger changes in business models. The predictions are published in IT World Canada.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

TV - The Struggle for a Business Model

Television is in process of  the biggest struggle for a business model since its inception in the 1940s. The original model, the broadcast model, depended on advertising revenues for its funding. But then the cable model entered the scene, which gets not only advertising revenue but subscriber revenue. That made possible more, and more expensive, programming. In the past few years, the big cable operators have been going head to head with the broadcast companies, and the broadcasters are losing, especially those who broadcast local programming.

The internet is looming as the major delivery vehicle of programming. It is there now through the sites of the major networks and specialty sites like tv.com. But for content, it depends on the traditional sources. When internet TV matures, there will still be an issue of which business model to adopt - the same old alternatives - broadcast or subscriber. There could also be another approach, such as paying for individual programs. Something like iTunes, where subscribers pay 99 cents for an episode of a program.

The outcome of the current struggle between the cable operators and broadcasters will be an important indicator for the future. But it won't determine the final outcome. The final outcome will be determined on the internet.

For an excellent article on the current clash of business models, see this article.