Loan Pham

2006-11-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

Article: Useit.com (100 Million Websites by Jakob Nielson)

Do you agree with the author?

Yes, I do agree with the author. I do believe the web is expanding and it is used as an everyday tool. Most people these days use the web as research, shopping, entertainment, and many more. Businesses are also using the web to market their business and provide information.

What are the implications of the article?

Well Netcraft's latest web survey found 101,435,253 websites in November of 2006. Not all of the websites are maintained, but there are 100 million sites that people pay to keep running. Currently the web is in the maturity stages, which the rate of growth is 25% per year. Around 1994 there was no such thing as "the web user experience" because each time users went online, they encountered someting new. Since the web is in the maturity stage, users have more expectations on what a website should work.

2006-09-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

Assignment #2 (an experimental assignment)
Consumer Product Reviews (a form of "community" at e-commerce sites)

1)I chose the Steve Madden Sunnie shoes on Zapppos.
2)I found out the shoes run one size bigger, so buying a size smaller is recommended. Also the shoes are uncomfortable. It would not be a good idea to walk all day in those shoes. From what I read the shoes are uncomfortable because of the stiff leather and the heel part slips off. Some of the user had to buy cushion to made the shoes felt more comfortable.
3)It would make me want to buy the shoes more because knowing what others said about it. Most of the complaints are similar. If I like the shoes a lot, I would definitely buy it. I would try my best to make it comfortable for me to wear.
4)The advantage would be knowing what you are going to get before buying the product. The comments are real because these are real consumers who are commenting on their experience of the product.
5)If the shoes are more difficult to sell, then other consumers can look at other shoes with the possibility of buying it. Zappos.com Offers many types of shoes with reviews. If a consumer is not satisfy with comments from other consumers, they could just look elsewhere on the site to purchase the shoes.
6)I would offer a site like Kencole.com which sells only its own brand of shoes that offer recommedations. It would be nice to know what others thought about the shoes before making a purchase. I don't see it as a determination of whether or not to purchase the shoes. I see it as knowing what you are going to get when buying the shoes.
7)I did check out a couple of websites before purchasing my car. I wanted to know what other consumers thought about the car before I made a purchase. Again these are real people who are commenting on a product with similar complaints. If the complaints are not similar to other complaints, I would try to see why the consumer was unsatisfied with the product.
8)A site should include a review, if it means getting negative reviews. It is just letting the consumer being more aware about the product before they purchase it. I don't think it would hurt the company at all.

2006-09-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

Assingment #1 Bloggers

List of Potential Business Uses of Blogs:
MTV, Yahoo, Myspace, Facebook, and any news station such as FOX, CNN.

Blogs does not have to look and feel like traditional marketing and advertising. Blogging is like a diary online where people express their thoughts or recommendations freely. There should be no restrictions how blogs are suppose to look or feel like.

Blog is not a fad. It is a new way of sharing thoughts or recommendations on the information superhighway. If a person is looking to see what kind of cool gadgets are coming out, they could go to www.engadget.com. Engadget has many techie products with information, recommendations, and comments on the specific product.

Blog will have some impact for marketing, it can be another form for marketing. A person who goes on a website like Engadget. They are browsing through the many comments and recommendations on techie products. Most of the techie products has the brand names or logos on the product. It is like free advertisement for those companies because their products are mention in a commetary.

It would be nice if the marketing department or any major department to start a blog. Blogs can talk about school events to comments about professors ( i.e. www.ratemyprofessor.com).