National E-Commerce Extension Initiative

January 2008, No. 21

Welcome to the Latest Issue of eNews:

We hope you find the following information helpful and informative. As always, please do not hesitate to let us know of other news and resources that might be relevant for inclusion in eNews.

Bo Beaulieu, Director
Alicia Barnes, Editorial Assistant

News and Research:

Lessons From 2007 E-Commerce Debacles
By Paul Korzeniowski, E-Commerce Times
About 50 percent of all new businesses survive for at least five years, according to estimates by the Small Business Administration. On the flip side, that means that half of all new ventures fail in that time frame. While the e-commerce market has been growing at a rapid clip, a number of companies have not been able to take advantage of this trend and found themselves in precarious positions for a variety of reasons. See more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/60927.html

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation Releases National Broadband Policy Report
The broadband debate over the past year has focused largely on the fact that the United States has fallen behind other nations in broadband penetration. But the real issue is deciding what kind of proactive broadband policies the United States should implement. In a new report published in the current issue of the telecommunications policy journal Commlaw Conspectus, ITIF President Rob Atkinson articulates a national broadband strategy, including policies to ensure that all people and places have high speed broadband. View the report at http://commlaw.cua.edu/articles/v16/16.1/Atkinson.pdf

E-Tail Hits New Holiday Heights but Growth Rate Slackens
By Walaika Haskins, E-Commerce Times
While brick-and-mortar retailers assess the damage from what could be the worst holiday shopping season since 2002, online retailers are celebrating a banner year. For the 2007 holiday season, online shopping reached nearly $28 billion, according to a report released by comScore. That represents a 19 percent gain for e-tailers during the 57 days the study regards as the holiday season. Read more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61022.html

Secrets to E-Commerce Excellence
By Paul Korzeniowski, E-Commerce Times
These days, just about every business – from from the corner store to Wal-Mart – has a Web presence. While the Internet's vast expanse provides companies with the ability to reach more potential customers, it also pits them against more competitors than ever before. As a result, it has become increasingly difficult for companies to convert site visitors into buying customers. See the entire story at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/60978.html

Pleasing Customers, Securing Transactions: Having E-Tail Both Ways
By James DeLuccia, E-Commerce Times
Online retailers today are facing what may seem to some as contradictory business challenges: delivering a superior online customer shopping experience and securing transaction information to protect customers and comply with regulatory mandates such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and data security breach laws. Read the full story at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61303.html

The Lurking Perils of Online Transactions
By Jeremiah Grossman, E-Commerce Times
E-commerce has been part of the retail world for more than a decade, and today's consumers seem to assume that because of this longevity, their transactions are secure. Beyond this, the average online shoppers are convinced their credit card numbers and other sensitive information are out of reach of attackers with a firewall and antivirus program, combined with shopping at brand-name retail sites. See more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61275.html

Financial Analytics in E-Commerce: Starting to Take Shape
By Paul Korzeniowski, E-Commerce Times
The e-commerce market is entering a new period. After an initial phase during which companies focused largely on making their products and services available to potential customers via the Web, users are now trying to take a more comprehensive look at their deployments, one that correlates each sale to their entire operation. Read more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61239.html

Payoneer: Taking Prepaid Debit Cards to the Next Level
By Jack M. Germain, E-Commerce Times
The growth of e-commerce and the continuing expansion of outsourcing and the remote workforce are fueling a new approach to paying for services. Internet-focused companies are replacing traditional online payment transactions with prepaid debit cards. Payoneer is a startup firm that is pushing this concept of prepaid debit cards to leverage more Web payout services through the use of reloadable debit cards. See the full story at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61221.html

E-Commerce Successes:

Zuha Innovation
The Global Entrepreneurial Spirit and the Web
By Karen E. Klein, Business Week Online
Although he is just 19 years old, Muhammad Hassaan Khan is serious about entrepreneurship. He started his bachelor's in business administration a year ago, and shortly thereafter founded his own company. It now employs 10 people, offering services from business software consulting to branding and graphics design. His business philosophy reflects his enthusiasm, ambition and drive. Read all about Zuha Innovation at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61376.html

LinkedIn
Two Degrees of Separation From Reid Hoffman
By Michael Liedtke, Associated Press
Few Internet entrepreneurs practice what they preach as devoutly as LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, whose business revolves around his belief that good fortune flows from good relationships. Hoffman, 40, has put that principle to work by mining his own vast network of Silicon Valley connections to rake in one Internet jackpot after another. Learn more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/61317.html

E-Library Focus:

University of Tennessee http://www.lib.utk.edu/refs/business/ecommerce.html

Helpful Tools and Resources:

Managing the Digital Enterprise
This open educational resource from North Carolina State University addresses the opportunities and challenges managers face in an increasingly digital world. The course includes such topics as how to design business processes that are user friendly, how to understand business models and how to operate online in an ethical manner. http://www.digitalenterprise.org/

Practical eCommerce.com Blogs
This collection of blogs covers a variety of topics related to online business. http://www.practicalecommerce.com/blogs/

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