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Posted by A. Mattson on 10/31/2012 in Announcement | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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The growth in digital markets on the internet has lent ease of convenience for the rise in personal and small businesses. At a time when jobs are hard to come by, the services offered by eBay and Paypal make it easy for anybody with internet service able to start their own business. In this economy where small businesses are dying, is eBay and Paypal in its own way revolutionizing small businesses?
In the day time I am a full-time student, going through the notions of finishing up my bachelors degree. As soon as class finishes, I pick up my iPhone and I am able to access my eBay account, where I am known as “its_allgravy,” and immerse myself as a seller in a global market. I have sold many things and have made thousands of dollars selling my old and even broken electronics, achieving a reputable reputation in cyberspace. The services offered by eBay and Paypal enable such conveniences that I am able to hold a side business, earning extra cash. Although it is not enough to support myself completely, it definitely enables me to live a more luxurious lifestyle affording new things I would otherwise not be able to afford.
Peter Karpas, PayPal’s Vice President and General Manager told Mashable,
“The heart of PayPal is small business. The lines between online and offline and mobile are totally blurring for them. This comprehensive revamp of our products allows small businesses to get paid however they do business.”
As a small-business operator online, I must say that there is a lot of truth to what Mr. Karpas says. Whether I am using services on eBay to sell something to someone in Russia, or using Craigslist to sell something to someone in Florida, Paypal, is usually the middleman of how these transactions monetarily are conducted.
Paypal has been a game changer in the way money flows. Using Paypal is like instant cash in a debit account which then can either be dumped in to your real bank account, you can request a check, or you can get a Paypal debit card, which can be used like any Mastercard debit card. I have not received a personal check or postal money order in years.
Recently Paypal acquired a new service called Bill Me Later. This service allows Paypal users to use credit amongst personal and small business transactions.
According to Peter Karpas,
“As far as I know, never before has anything like this capability been available en masse to small and medium sized businesses.”
This further revolutionizes the small business model when incorporating the digital world. Paypal is within itself a revolutionizing concept. In the grand scheme of e-commerce, Paypal is still young and is still transforming the model for business in the midst of the Digital Revolution. How it will ultimately change the model of business is still to be determined, but without a doubt Paypal and eBay have increased the opportunities and bettered the playing field for small and personal businesses.
Posted by David Rosenthal on 10/27/2012 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Despite the ease and convenience of banking online, there are definitely major concerns involving the security of these online transactions. Last year the American Banking Association conducted a survey showing that 62% of Americans prefer online Banking. Just the year before it was at 36%. This explosion in online banking has much to do with the digital revolution we are experiencing globally. However concerns remain for banks and customers now that this shift to banking online has left us as fish in open water, easily attacked from anyone with the knowledge to do so.
According to Joseph Menn of Reuters, just earlier this month, six major banks including Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, PNC, Wellsfargo, and US Bank fell victim to an intricate cyber attack believed to have originated from the Middle East. Catherine New of the Huffington Post states that "Even though the wave of attacks didn't impact customers' account security, it underscores the new world order that surrounds all-digital banking. Electronic and online banking is faster and more convenient, but the shift to a teller-less world has also ushered in 21st century problems like ongoing hacker attacks, zombie bank accounts, mass security breaches for credit cards and the lack of a real-live customer service representative to call for help."
According to a New York Times article from earlier this year, "Banks and their online customers also lost more than $2 billion in 2010 because of payment card scams, fraudulent wire transfers and other Internet swindles." Currently regulators are trying to encourage more security practices because the current systems based on cookies, passwords, or tokens, simply aren't strong enough. According to the same article, regulators are trying to push new measures to add layers to the sites that detect strange activity, but many banks are slow to action. These same regulations call for banks to limit individual customer loss to $500 to cover that amount in the case of a cyberattack. However, "businesses are not covered, and small companies are especially vulnerable because they move more cash around than individuals and cannot afford high-technology defenses."
In the following video clip from Indiana University's Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, James Boyd gives us some easy-to-understand tips to improve online security and privacy when banking online.
The concerns about malware specially designed to log your keystrokes to get your account information are laso very important to note. According Kim Zetter of Wired, the latest malware allows "cybercrooks" to do more than just steal from your bank accounts. According to a new report, it allows them to hide "evidence of a victim’s dwindling balance by rewriting online bank statements" so victims do not realize what has happened at all.
It's clear that this is what we can expect moving forward in a more digital and online world. This is the new reality. We must think ahead, before banking or sharing any of our personal information, to the fact that it cannot truly be safe. Malware, hackers, and cyber attacks can easily happen, and can compromise our banking accounts. The Internet isn't as safe as we'd like it to be. Bottom line: Convenient does not mean secure.
Posted by Lusely Martinez on 10/25/2012 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Shopping: The Digital Revolution in Retail
Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media & technology news from around the world. This webcast is a production of Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury.
This week on the 'Digital Revolution' edition of Global Media News:
"e-Commerce: Shopping Online"
See you next week for more news from the Digital Revolution!
Next on Global Media News:
Digital Economics 101: Can We Click Our Way to Prosperity?
Listen to our webcast streaming live on Thursdays @ 11am EST.
Can't listen live? Our next webcast will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, November 1, 2012.
Posted by A. Mattson on 10/25/2012 in ecommerce, GMN Shows | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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This video from youtube.com features an interactive way to understand how pay pal works; pay pal is connected through eBay as a paying and billing system. Click here to learns how paypal works from an interactive point of view.
In a New York times article, " EBay' focus on mobil apps helps life revenue 15%" By Nicole Perlroth. talks about the effects that tables, and applications have on the online shopping world.
Nicole Perlroth states in an interview done in her article, with Mr Donahoe “We’re the largest mobile commerce and payments provider in the world,” Mr. Donahoe said in an interview on Wednesday. “And we are continuing to innovate. We have a series of innovative apps that people are using. People love shopping on their smart phones and iPad, and Pay Pal is still the safest way to pay on a mobile phone.”
eBay's phone applications have been on the rise, with more than over a million downloaded worldwide. From smart phones alone, eBay sellers have been posting over two million new items a week, and this is straight from their phone!
An awesome new experimental application which is being tested in San Francisco allows purchases to be made from Macy's, Target and Walgreen's and delivered the same day, the application is called eBay Now. This application is good, because it gives comsumers choice, it is easy to use and especially; what America Loves today Fast; NOW access. .
The big issue here is the shipping, which would match up; or even superseed Amazon Prime. Amazon prime is a program that offers unlimited two day shipping for 79 dollars a year. The new competition is shipping; and how fast the product will get to you. The price might be the same but if you can get the product to you over night, that is always going to win!
Another reason that smart phones have exceed the use of ebay analysis, is the use of pay pal. A simple and easy way to store and access your information without having your credit card information on hand. So not only can you take out your 3 inch by 5 inch phone and access the world, you can shop pay and receive your item within 24 hours with out having to shuffle through wallets, credit cards, and personal information. Its all saved and its all there to make you shop, and make the on line commerce market money!
PayPal Strength Helps eBay Exceed Forecasts By Somini Sengupta interviews "Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners, said that Pay Pal is the fastest growing part of the business, accounting for 32 percent growth year over year. The company also said that half of PayPal’s revenue came from overseas for the first time."
The future of eBay depends on how it allows customers to access and purchase items from their on line devices, since now a days anything accessed from a computer can be accessed from a phone companies, especially like eBay are competing with markets like Amazon and need to have the best product, meaning application for a smart phone or tablet. Pay pal is also increasing appealing to small businesses. Its new product pay pal here is accessible from a business owners smart phone and allows customers to use the credit cards or pay pal accounts, this described process is called square.
Posted by Nicole Camastro on 10/25/2012 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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New York City has recently become a new tech hub for computer geniuses. While the sector is growing, Tracey Samuelson of WNYC says that, “so too have the number of meet-ups, happy hours, demos and networking events – somewhere in the ballpark of hundreds a month are held throughout the city”. These events are producing new ideas through networking and ultimately revving up excitement for the New York tech industry.
There has been a shift from a rigid, and old Silicon Valley to the bright new economical process in NYC. One way in which office dynamic is changing, is through a new practice called “co-working”. According to Manoush Zomorodi of WNYC, it’s “a communal office space where freelancers, telecommuters, and entrepreneurs can come together to share a copy machine, avoid NYC’s high rents, and make business connections (and friends).” New York leads the way with the most co-working spaces of all the cities in the world. Co-working will no doubt save valuable capital for these up and coming businesses, while also providing a playing field for ideas to bounce around.
Posted by M. Kapler on 10/25/2012 in Blogging, Culture, Economics, Internet, Mobile Media, Sources, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Big Data according to searchcloudcomputing.com is "a general term used to describe the voluminous amount of unstructured and semi-structured data a company creates". Basically big data is when a company has an over abundance of information or data. The original idea of big data was to find discoverable business patterns that make a business successful.
Posted by alex nieves on 10/24/2012 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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If you wanted to stay in a hotel you used to have to call to book it or you would just simply pass it on the interstate and pull in. Now there is an intricate booking system on several popular sites such as Expedia or Travelocity that help you with this process. These sites are designed to make the process easier.
However what they are really doing for you is so much more. A lot of times where you decided to stay was a bit of chance. You didn’t know much about a hotel. If it was a chain like Best Western you might trust the name and expect a certain product. You would choose it because you felt that the place came with some integrity only to show up and have dirty sheets or run down looking rooms.
“Technology plays an important role in the hospitality and tourism industry. Both customers and businesses can benefit from advances in communication, reservations and guest services systems. Technology allows continuous communication and streamlines the guest experience, from reservation to checkout.” smallbusiness.com
There was no way for a person to know anything about the hotel prior to it. Now these travel sites help you with this. Every hotel has a rating and on top of that rating people will write reviews. It is an easier way of seeing what your getting yourself into and also a way to keep the industry on its toes
Hotels have to make sure their standards are kept because the public will know if they are not and the platform for people to complain is so much larger. Sites like Expedia are visited every day by thousands of people, a couple of bad reviews and your hotel will certainly get by passed for one that comes with many nice things said about it. People are more likely to listen to what their peers say and with the help of these websites they can.
“…are now being replaced by what customers say on third party travel and hotel sites like Expedia and Trip Advisor. Therefore past visitors to your hotel are now influencing the decision making process of your future guests. “ ehotelier.com
With the economy the way it is people are conservative with their money. They want to know they are getting the best deal possible. These sites also make it easy to compare prices. If your prices are high but your reviews are bad something does not add up. The public can make sure they are getting what they paid for or make your business pay for it if they don’t.
"New York University Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. Both say the hotel industry needs to think differently about how it does business, even after it gets back to a firmer financial footing."NewYorkTimes.com
The internet has a powerful affect on many aspects of our lives. The fact that these sites give a person more control over their situation is a good thing. It puts the power back in the consumers hands. People can be more informed on their choices and less worried about how things will be when they get there. Which for anyone who travels knows this can be a big deal.
Posted by Tianna Gratta on 10/23/2012 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
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The emergences of various digital and networked technologies have dramatically changed the ways in which we do business today. An example of this is the “Square” application for Android's, iPhone's, and iPad’s.
According to USA Today, Square is a company that has an application, and a mobile credit and debit card reader that plugs into the audio jack of an Andriod, iPhone, or iPad, and allows merchants to swipe customer credit cards. With each swipe or transaction, square charges 2.75% for American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa cards, and then the money is deposited right into your account. Users can also choose to use the $275 per month package, which eliminates the per-swipe fees for small businesses that process up to $250,000 a year.
Many small businesses have begun using the Square application because it is so small and easy to use. I for one can vouch for the efficiency of Square because I use it when operating my accessory business. This technology has significantly changed the way that I do business because it has opened up my customer base tremendously. Many times when I used to do showcase events for my accessories, I would lose customers because I only accepted cash, but now when I do showcases I gain customers because I am able to accept most payment methods.
Many other small businesses have also had a boost in their sales because of Square. In a Boulder County Business Report article, it was stated that Square readers were becoming increasingly prominent around Boulder County, “particularly around farmers markets, said Matt Aboussie, owner of Wild Alaska Salmon LLC. His company sells wild-caught salmon online, to retailers including Alfalfa’s and at farmers markets."
This tiny device is not only beneficial for small businesses but big corporations like Starbucks as well. According to The Economist, “On August 8th, 2012 Starbucks announced a $25 million investment in the company, which will now process the coffee shops chains billions in credit-card charges (and receive an undisclosed fee that Starbucks currently pays other companies)."
All in all, this tiny device has dramatically changed the way that businesses big and small function in a positive way.
Below are two short videos promoting the Square application:
Posted by Tatiana L. on 10/23/2012 in Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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We all know about Black Friday. It's the day after Thanksgiving with the crazy sales and massive crowds. However, with the internet being a major driving force in the marketplace, a new shopping day has taken hold. Cyber Monday is the Monday after Black Friday where there are similar deals on line that are in brick and mortar stores. In an article on comScore.com, Cyber Monday brings in $608 million in one day.
The sheer convience of shopping online is one of the major reasons why it is growing in popularity. Experts only expect this trend to continue.The online retail marketplace has become extremely competitive, and we're seeing that play out with some pretty significant discounting to win over consumers early in the holiday shopping season, much of which was advertised at CyberMonday.com" commented Mr. Fulgoni. "While online sales have certainly seen a strong start to the holiday season, it will be interesting to see if all of this discounting ends up cutting into retailers' profit margins.
Posted by John DeClerk on 10/23/2012 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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