Cherie Yu, Elena Laguardia, Lee Kenna, and
Jennifer Frausen
A survey of how the internet is shaping business and influencing its
direction.
In the 1990's, as Internet popularity soars, businesses are beginning
to recognize the profit potential of being online. As the possibilities
of the Net captivate the imagination of the commercial world, entrepreneurs have embraced the Internet. It represents more than just a
means of facilitating the status quo. Cyberspace is
poised to redefine the future of the marketplace itself.
From the morse code ticker, to the phone, to the fax, financial
institutions have historically used technology to better access
information. They have embraced new internet technology, primarily using
on-line information resources.
Marketing has used different forms of media to sell its products to the
public. Whereas the financial community uses the Internet from the
information perspective,
marketing uses the Internet as a new information channel.
Companies are moving
from traditional information pushing techniques to "only on the net"
information pulling innovations.
As commercial interests infiltrate the web, a transformative process
has been initiated. Neither the nature of the business sector nor
the Internet will remain unaltered by the encounter. As we have
seen, new methods of marketing and customer service have already
entered the mainstream, alongside traditional-style outlets of financial
information.