Can eBay Continue Growing?

2. What are the problems that eBay is currently facing?

eBay is facing a considerable more amount of problems than what I had imagined.

a. Its growth rates have slowed in the United States and Germany, but that is being offset by the increased revenue received within new markets. However, it is still trying to make an impact in the Chinese online auction market.

b. eBay has had trouble penetrating certain consumer markets including; real estate, travel, new-car sales, and expensive collectibles. It hopes that it's new VoIP technology will allow for better communication between buyers and sellers in these markets. Many top sellers aren't interested in adding voice calls to their sales models.

c. It has become difficult to monitor compliance with the variety of laws and regulations that apply in different jurisdictions. eBay may be liable if its members sell unlawful goods or defame one another in eBay's Feedback Forum.

d. Its largest challenge is to keep honesty and integrity within its auctions. Some buyers have stated that eBay does not do enough to prevent sellers from collecting inflated fees for goods that are not legitimate or do not exist. Other users complain how eBay hasn't tackled the problems of identity theft and fraud on its website.

e. eBay has the continual problem with satisfying two opposite types of users; buyers and sellers. Customer service suffers as a result.

5. Will eBay be successful in the long run? Why or why not?

Yes, I believe that eBay will be successful in the long run. It is addressing the number of challenges it currently faces with probable solutions. Its growth relys on the continual enhancement of technology available. Recent partnerships have offered beneficial technology to the eBay community including eBay Community Wiki and MyCollectibles. eBay also makes a special effort to keep in touch with its users by hosting meetings of buyers and sellers to address issues. Overall, the value of its service bears out the inconveniences and drawbacks. Many users are more comfortable with eBay's name and service over other online marketplaces. eBay has to focus on keeping the eBay community happy and loyal by making them feel secure and providing them with the latest technological capabilities.

How Video Ads Will Change Google Forever

This article discusses how Google is operating a test program that allows certain AdWord advertisers to post video clips with their ads. As of right now, AdWord adverisers must limit their advertisement message to 70 characters. The new video advertisement feature might also change the current cost-per-click payment struture.

I have a Google AdWords account for my business, Baja Tan. It has been a great tool to advertise my business service. You determine the search words you would like your ad to display on after a search. You can ad hundreds of different combinations of words if you like, I chose about 20. Then you set your monthly budget amount and maximum bid amount. You only pay for the impression if a web searcher clicks on your ad. You may log on anytime to view the ad campaign's performance. It records the number of impressions and clicks for each keyword along with the total charge.

Screenshot of my AdWords Campaign:

I think that video would be a nice addition to this service. Yellowpages.com already offers this video advertising service. You pay a monthly fee each month instead of using cost-per-click pricing. It is a directory service, not a search engine. My yellowpages.com ad rep asked if I would like to place a video along my ad and I declined because of the high pricing. Here is a link to my ad on Yellowpages.com, the video would be positioned to the right of the ad.

http://www.yellowpages.com/name/Milwaukee-WI/baja-tan?search_mode=all&search_terms=baja+tan

The photo and link below is a sample provided to me by my sales rep, Ocean Mystique Ink Gallery.

http://www.yellowpages.com/name/VA/ocean-mystique?search_mode=all&search_terms=ocean+mystique+

I also have an account with Yahoo Marketing Solutions. It's not as effective as Google AdWords. However, the same features are included; cost-per-click pricing, display ad, reports, budget and bid setting. Below is a screenshot from my Yahoo account.

I will utilize Google's video feature if it becomes available to everyone because I would be able to set a reasonable budget and pay per click. It's difficult to fit your ad within the 70 character limit and a picture is worth a thousand words. I look forward to this new tool by Google.

Danny Sullivan (2008, February). How video ads will change Google's AdWords forever. Advertising Age, 79(8), 22. Retrieved May 2, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

Google Takes on the World

2. What are Google's sources of competitive advantage? How does it provide value to its users?


I think that Google has several sources of competitive advantage. The search engine technology that combined the Page's PageRank system and Brin's Web crawler was initially the competitive advantage because Google's searches became so effective. Today, I think there are other search engines that use similar technologies, but Google's IT infrastructure is it's biggest source of competitive advantage. It has 450,000 servers between 25 locations around the world. The servers use inexpensive hardware to run a customized version of Linux operating system, MapReduce, Google WorkQueue, and Google File System. These programs simplify processing, create large data sets, groups queries and schedule them for distributed processing, and keeps copies of data in several places so that the data will always be available even if a server fails.

Google spends a third of what its competitors spend to generate a similar amount of computing power. Its infrastructure is flexible and inexpensive which creates a competitive advantage. Its competitive advantage creates value to its users. Google performs searches at a fast rate and provides its users with many different Web-based services and software tools. Google's Adwords provides value to advertisers by positioning the most relevant ads in the most prominent positions from keyword searches. As a business owner, this has been a great valued service to me. My article discusses this Web-based service further. Other services and software tools that create value to its users include; Google Spreadsheets, Google Apps, Google Toolbar, Google News, Gmail, Google Desktop Search, Froogle, Google Maps, Google Talk, Google Checkout and Google Video.

5. How successful do you think Google will be in the future?

I think that Google will continue to be a huge success in the future. Despite the case study mentioning the possibility of Microsoft taking shares of the market in search technology, Google has several other great services and tools to offer its users. Google can avoid Microsoft's past strategies to overcome competition since its applications are Web-based and not tied to the Windows operating system. Google is a company that is constantly looking for ways to grow through innovation, I think it will be around for quite awhile. I know that I use several of Google's services which Microsoft doesn't even offer at this point. I realize that Google may not provide services that all become popular, but certain innovations will be greatly used. It should also continue to focus on its core competency, the search engine. It needs to focus on Microsoft's "deep Web" searches and determine a way to do the same.

Viable Computing Options

I found an excellent article that related to the rise of Linux and open-source software section of Chapter 5. The article brings up the fact that there has been a lot of talk about an open-source revolution coming, but Linux might be the software that creates this revolution. In the past, Linux was primarily used by IT pros and PC hobbyists, but that is rapidly changing. Today customer perceptions have changed and large tech firms such as Dell are seeing the power and flexibility of this open-source software. Windows software must be purchased and is rigid, while Linux is free and can be modified by users. In late 2007, Walmart began selling Everex's Linux-based PCs for $200. This PC is much lower in cost than the machines anchored by Microsoft's and Apple's operating systems. Linux can do all the basic things that most people use a computer for; surf the net, email, and write documents. Now Sun Microsystem's Open Office and Mozilla's Firefox can run on Linux. Therefore, Linux-based PCs could be a great fit for individuals getting their first computer or small businesses using multiple workstations. The major drawback to the software is the time and possible training costs spent learning an alternative operating system.

I personally think that the Linux revolution may not ever come. I definitely think that there will be an increased amount of use of this open-source software, but it won't be the most used operating system. I think Microsoft and Apple will develop operating systems that are less expensive and involved then their current systems. The time spent training an employee on Linux could very well exceed the cost difference between the two operating systems. I think that Dell has made the right move by offering both Linux and Windows Vista on some of it's PCs. Let the consumer make the decision on which operating system they would utilize the most, maybe having both is the correct choice.

Jabulani Leffall (2008, April). VIABLE COMPUTING OPTIONS. Black Enterprise, 38(9), 60. Retrieved April 18, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1463787951).

Merrill Lynch Connects Past and Future Technology

1. Why did Merrill Lynch need to update its IT infrastructure?

Merrill Lynch needed to update its IT infrastructure in order to remain competitive in the financial market. Its last five years of success was largely due to its information technology infrastructure. Merrill Lynch's IT infrastructure was one of its key competitive advantages. The key in remaining successful in business is sustaining a competitive advantage over time. So, it had to continue to modernize its technology infrastructure to sustain this competitive advantage.

4. Do you think that Merrill Lynch's decision to sell off its successful technology initiatives was a good idea? Why or Why not?

No, I don't think that selling its successful technology initiatives was a good idea. This IT technology helps them sustain its competitive advantage. Part of the deal was for Jim Crew, then head of database infrastructure for Merrill Lynch, and three other key members of the X4mL to shift their employment to the buyer, SOA Software. These four people are to continue to enhance the tool for SOA software. I realize that Merrill Lynch has sold internally developed technology before and it greatly helped its IT budget, but I still don't agree with the decision. Merrill Lynch should have protected that technology, to sustain its competitive advantage. At the very least, it could have sold the technology to customers for $125,000 per customer. That revenue could go towards its IT budget. Finally, I think that the biggest lost was of the four key employees. These employees were a great asset to the company as human capital. They could have continued to develop and enhance programs to sustain Merrill Lynch's competitive advantage.

Wiretapping, whistleblowing and IT ethics

I found a closely related article to the Chapter 4 case study on how the telephone company is violating our privacy. The article brings up several ethical questions. Mark Klein, a retired AT&T employee, announced that "An exact copy of all Internet traffic that flowed through critical AT&T cables...was being diverted to equipment inside the secret room." The NSA had taken wiretapping beyond phone lines and was monitoring everything coming through AT&T's Internet wires. There are secret rooms set up in communication facilities like AT&T across the country. The NSA is not being selective in its monitoring, but observing all communication. The government is analyzing connections rather than content. The problem with this monitoring is that the NSA could incorrectly accuse an innocent person of terrorist activity or gather information for future cases not related to terrorism. The author of the article goes on to ask if you were Klien, the man working for AT&T, would you have blown the whistle knowing that it could cost you your job?

Since we discussed the ethical issue of wiretapping in the case study, I'm going to discuss what choice I would have made in Klien's situation. I would have most definitely blown the whistle on AT&T's involvement in wiretapping. This is too large of an ethical issue to be overlooked and needed to be reported upon immediately. It's one thing to witness a coworker using the copy machine for personal use, but quite another to know of an ethical wrong at this level. I think that Klien made a good choice and I'm sure a future employer would look upon this act favorably. There are several business owners that would appreciate this honesty and ethical behavior.

Mark Gibbs (2007, November). Wiretapping, whistleblowing and IT ethics. Network World, 24(44), 54. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1388463031).

Is the Telephone Company Violating Your Privacy?

1. Yes, I think that the increased surveillance power and capability of the U.S. government presents an ethical dilemma. There is a question of this behavior being right or wrong for the U.S. government and U.S. citizens. The government wants the best information available to fight the war on terror, while citizens want to have safety along with privacy. The government can explain how this increased power benefits citizens, but citizens can argue that it intrudes on their privacy. A question of this being right or wrong is created because the ethical principles are in conflict with each other.

2. The ethical issue is if the U.S. government is right in obtaining data from all citizens to fight the war on terror. The U.S. government can argue how doing so will provide a great benefit for the war on terror. If they citizens want safety from future terrorist attacks, they must give up some of their privacy. U.S. citizens can argue that privacy and freedoms must always be provided regardless of the situation. It's not right to have the U.S. government analyzing private calls of U.S. citizens. So, a great ethical dispute is created from the government's use of telecommunications data to fight terrorism.

5. I feel like there is a more effective solution to this ethical dilemma. I believe that the Fourth Amendment is extremely important to uphold regardless of the situation. This country needs to continue to honor its citizens rights and privacy, but it also has the responsibility to protect its citizens. I think that stricter rules need to be set by the Senate Judiciary Committee on the NSA wiretapping program. There needs to be boundaries established and more visibility of the program.