Why Your Blog Needs Publicity from Magazines and Newspapers

There is no doubt that your blog needs publicity from well-respected magazines and newspapers.  No matter what your field or industry is, once you have been accepted into a magazine or newspaper, you will find that you are instantly an expert in your field and will gain incredible respect, publicity, and credibility.  You’ll find that being published in a major magazine, newspaper, or journal will immediately increase your traffic and help give your blog the reputation of being a leader in your industry.

Choosing an online journal like Webmaster Journal is an excellent way to increase your blog’s notoriety.  Webmaster Journal is a highly regarded online journal that is known by webmasters across the country.  Getting published with a site like Webmaster Journal will ensure that you are recognized for your expertise as well as a professional that is capable of answering questions that your customers may have. When customers are confident that the business they are dealing with is connected with other professional companies and are regarded as experts by leading industry publications, they are more apt to use their services.

Once you create an article that promotes your services and is a true representation of your company, you will want to begin searching for media outlets to publish your work.  One of the keys to increasing your blog’s publicity is to build a lasting relationship with various editors throughout the industry.  When an editor sees you as an expert who is also reliable, you will find that it is very common for the editor to offer you a project if they need something at the last minute.  By building a successful relationship with an editor you can create a lasting partnership that ensures that you will continue to have access to that avenue where you can prove your expertise in your field.

Therefore it is imperative that you take the steps necessary to protect your relationship with your editor.  It is advantageous to reach out to editors and build strong relationships with them that are built on honesty and integrity.  It is also a good idea to keep a record of the editors that you have worked with and do whatever is necessary to maintain a healthy relationship with him or her.

You should take the time to research the magazine, newspaper, or journal that you seek to be published in.  Never attempt to build a relationship with an editor if you haven’t first taken the time to learn as much as you can regarding the media outlet.  You should be familiar with the type of articles that they include with their publication.  Additionally, you should have a clear understanding of who their audience is so that when you write for them, the article will be specifically geared towards their readers. 

There is no denying that once you are published in a successful publication that your credibility will skyrocket.  Also, this type of exposure for your blog is repetitive, meaning that once you have been published in a leading journal you can always use that same article to promote your business and services.

It’s also a good idea to make yourself available to the editor and let them know that if they ever need fresh content that you are ready at the last minute.  Your relationship with your editor is critical to the amount of content that you will publish with them.  It should be your goal to create a relationship that is on the same level as a friendship with your editor.  Send them cards on their birthdays, holidays, and special events. After publication, consider sending them a thank you note to let them know that you appreciate working with them.

You should also realize that any editor that you are working with is an incredibly busy person and that you will most likely find more progress when you contact the editor through email rather than by telephone.  When you send an email, you are guaranteed that the editor will respond to you as their schedule allows, but all editors will read their emails. Telephone messages run the risk of being put on the back burner, as editors may simply be unable to find the time to return your phone call.  Email is an excellent tool that enables editors to save your information and easily retrieve it when needed.  A phone message will automatically be deleted as the editor must have room available on his or her phone to receive new messages, but an email can be stored forever.

If you don’t feel confident writing your own articles or press releases then you should consider hiring a freelance writer who will write your articles for your company.  This is also a great way to ensure that your articles and content are included in some of the most popular magazines, newspapers, and journals.  When you hire a writer who already has an established working relationship with media outlets, the majority of your work is done for you.  You will not need to concern yourself with pitching your story to editors, as the writer will already have a working relationship with the editor.  Once you have found a successful freelance writer to work with you will want to nurture that relationship as you would if you were working directly with an editor.

When looking for content to pitch to editors, it is best to choose topics that are relevant to what is going on in the current news.  Whenever you can create content that is full of recent news items you have an excellent chance of editors and publishers agreeing to publish and promote your content.  The quality of your story is what will either make or break your chances of being published.  It is imperative to ensure that your story is based upon a recent newsworthy item, this will make certain that editors will find your story or piece relevant and worthy of publication.  A very good way to ensure that you receive the latest news as it is breaking is to sign up with news alerts or to subscribe to various feeds that are related to your field.  This way, you will have access to current topics as they break.  By using these various techniques, you can enjoy the publicity that comes with having your blog featured in popular magazines, newspapers, and journals.

Why Every Company needs a Blog

Today, every company needs a blog.  There are numerous reasons why companies should have blogs, but the first and most important reason is simply the fact that a blog provides easy interaction with your customer base.  Before blogs, websites were the preferred method for advertising your site online.  When you have a website, your company is being advertised 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  A company website contains information regarding your company, products that you offer, and services that you provide.  It also has detailed information regarding your company profile, contact information, and a place reserved for answering frequently asked questions.  Websites have revolutionized the way companies stay in touch with their customers, however blogs have only served to make that contact more personal.

Blogs offer customers advantages that websites alone simply can’t provide.  First, a company blog may be updated daily or weekly.  Though it’s true you could choose to update a website on a daily or weekly basis, you’ll find that unless you are an experienced webmaster, it may become costly to pay your webmaster to continually update your site.  Blogging is relatively simple and easy to learn.  Your company can create a blog and numerous members of the company can add posts.  This saves money and increases the popularity of your company.  As more of your employees post to the blog, you’ll have greater search engine placement and will be able to provide more content on a weekly or daily basis than you would simply with a website.

Another advantage to blogging is that you can expand upon your websites’s frequently asked question section and allow for customer interaction through comments.  Smart companies understand that developing a thorough frequently asked questions section of their website helps users find the information that they are looking for easily and efficiently.  The frequently asked questions sections of many websites are often indexed in search engines and appear when Internet searchers are looking for the answers to specific questions.  Keeping a relevant and updated frequently asked question section is a great way to improve your customer database, as customers will continually come back to your site for the relevant information that you provide. 

With a blog, you can provide questions on a daily basis, allow customers to post his or her questions, and have direct interaction with your customers.  Every interaction that you have with your customers is increasing your recognition as an expert in your field.  By allowing customer comments and questions on your blog, you will increase your search engine placement and see more customers return to your blog.

Finally, every company needs a blog because blogs allow users to subscribe.  Every time there is a new subscriber to your blog, you have a potential new customer.  When you update your blog, your readers will receive those updates when they choose to read your feed.  This is an invaluable tool that allows you to see how many people are interested in your blog and choosing to sign up.  If you incorporate a newsletter with your blog, you have an even greater marketing tool that will increase your company’s productivity.

Dating Sites Market Overview

Dating sites are popular and trends show that they increase in popularity each day. It was inevitable that dating sites would make their presence online.  The Internet allowed people to communicate through Email and through Instant Chat services.  It didn’t take long for many entrepreneurs to understand that the potential market for Internet Dating Sites was huge. 

One of the most important aspects to consider however was ensuring that those who used Internet dating sites were of legal age and therefore allowed to use the site. There weren’t many legal terms set in place in the early years of dating sites, but today’s site has evolved with the times.  It is imperative that those who utilize dating site are over 18 and are of legal age.

Issues regarding Internet predators and minors are a vast and widespread one. Dating sites have implemented new methods to ensure that their users are safe.  It’s also important to understand that not all dating sites perform background checks on their users, however this is an area where many dating sites are initiating change.  However, one thing is certain, the potential market for dating sites continues to increase as the divorce rate continually climbs.  In fact, as more couples marriages end in divorce, the potential and available market for dating sites not only continually rises, but is changing as well.  More seniors are entering the dating arena and as baby boomers are quickly becoming the largest demographic, we will continue to see that dating sites will focus their marketing strategies in this direction.

As dating sites have changed over the years, so has their targeted market.  Today, there are dating sites that cater to all types of people and may be based upon ethnic preference, sexual orientation, religion, and more.  Where some dating sites may exclude members based upon these preferences, other dating sites cater to them.  This has helped propel the dating sites industry into more prominence as more untapped groups are now being accessed.  There are dating sites for gays, lesbians, intergenerational relationships, and more. 

Another factor to take into consideration when looking at the way dating sites have changed over the years is the fact of cost.  Dating sites are continually facing the challenge of social networking sites that are available free of charge.  Dating sites require a membership fee, where as social networking sites are free. This may be a contributing fact as to why more dating sites are headed towards providing background checks on their members.  The stories of meeting predators on social networking sites are prevalent and when a person joins a dating site, they expect that the person they will be matched with will have a good reputation with the company.  However, it is simply too dangerous to trust every member of a dating site at his or her word. 

Performing background checks will be an excellent way for dating site members to feel confident and secure with the services provided by the company.  With a growing divorce rate, background searches, and ever growing potential market, dating sites will continue to be on the forefront of Internet trends.

Domain Name Business Trends

The age of the Internet introduced many technological advancements when it comes to the distribution of information and how people do business - managing employees, selling, buying, advertising, and other aspects when engaging in a business. As a result, Internet-based media is now popular especially among the younger groups. One example of how the Internet is slowly shaping today’s information distribution and business industry is the concept of domaining.
 
Domaining 101
 
Basically, domaining is the act of monetizing, selling, buying, and developing Internet domain names. The domain names that are usually involved in this kind of business include those that are marketable (i.e. generic domain names) or those whose registrations have fallen in disuse but can still generate a reasonable amount of traffic. As part of the web address, the domain name precedes extensions such as .com, .org, .gov, and other kinds typically used. People who professionally monetize, buy, sell, and develop Internet domain names are referred to as “domainers.”
 
Controversies In The Domaining Industry
 
Domaining may promise financial benefits because of the Internet’s growing popularity compared to traditional media but this rise to fame has been smeared by several controversies. One such issue is domain tasting. Abused by some practitioners, domain tasting is the act of using the “5-day grace period” given by the ICANN (Internet Corporation For for Assigned Names and Numbers) to test out a domain name’s marketability. This is usually done by the registrant or by the individual who plans to buy a certain domain name.
 
Unfortunately, this practice has been deemed “controversial” by some because thousands of domain names are temporary registered to qualify for the “5-day grace period” but only a few are actually given full operating licenses. Another controversial issue in connection to domain tasting is domain kiting although the latter is quite different. In domain kiting, practitioners abuse the “5-day grace period” and delete a specific domain name and re-register it for another 5-day grace period. Practitioners of this illegal act end up registering a certain domain name without really paying for the service.
 
Another issue with regards to the domain name industry is domain name frontrunning or DNFR. In DNFR, a practitioner illegally acquires a user’s searched domain names and puts those domain names for re-sale. A company that has been accused of DNFR is Network Solutions.
 
The Latest Trends In Domaining
 
Currently, there is a “landrush” period starting from the 20th of February to the 12th of March, 2008 regarding domain names with .asia as their extensions. As a result, many domainers - people who professionally acquire, develop, and sell domain names - are now joining the “landrush” with the hopes of hitting it big time. The “.asia landrush” may attract plenty of domainers and investors but they should read and understand well the requirements and procedures first to avoid confusion. An issue that recently arose was the confusion on whether domain names with .asia as extensions are on a first-come-first-served basis or are offered through an auction.

How Internet Marketing Affects Dating Sites

Dating sites are a hot niche.  Current trends show that people continually use
dating and social networking sites to make new friends, meet new people, and find potential mates.  Because of the extreme popularity of these sites, many webmasters are entering into the dating site arena.  With all of the new sites that are vying for members, it is important to have a well-defined Internet marketing strategy to ensure that your site gets the attention and traffic that it deserves.

There are many different strategies that webmasters use to promote their dating sites and one thing is certain, your efforts will either make or break your business. 
Just as it is important to know what you are going to do, it is just as important to
know what not to do in Internet marketing.  Simply put, many people are turned off by certain methods that some people use for promotion.  For instance, some webmasters think that pop unders are a great way to draw people to their website.  However, studies show that most people do not approve of pop-under or pop-ups and feel that a site that uses them is not trust worthy.  It is very important to make sure that visitors to your site trust you, or else they will not feel comfortable paying you a membership fee to join your site.

Some of the best ways to market your dating site is by building a great site that attracts search engines.  The best way to do this is by adding plenty of SEO rich content.  Since many webmasters may not feel comfortable placing their member’s profiles online, it is important to add keyword rich content in the form of articles. 
Once you have plenty of content, you should submit your site to not only search engines, but to Internet directories as well.  Since you may need to pay a fee to have your site submitted, you should create a budget for Internet marketing before you even begin to advertise your site.  There are many ways to save money on your marketing plan, but you should never expect to advertise your site without paying anything.  You must have a budget, as you will need to pay for certain elements of your marketing plan.

Some webmasters prefer to move up in the search engines by paying for pay per click advertising.  This is an effective way to ensure that your website is seen on the major search engines.  All of the major search engines offer a pay per click advertising plan, again, you should pay careful attention to your budget and create a plan that works best for your business needs.

Forums are also a great way to promote your website.  This can be done inexpensively, however you may find that if you pay professional writers to join forums and promote your dating site that you will receive a great deal of traffic.  Forums are an excellent way to promote your service and search engines pick them up as well.  Additionally, when forums contain links to your site the ranking of your site will increase, more search engines will find your site, and traffic will increase.

The Current Web Market

Take into account the millions of people who do the exact thing every minute
of the day, and you’ll know for sure that doing business online is a gateway
to the land of milk and honey. Whether browsing the World Wide Web is a fad
or a cyber cult following, there’s a great chance that this favorite pastime activity
can help you turn in a large profit. Now that online publishing has turned
into a multi-billion dollar industry, expect the competition to only grow more intense
each day. 

Suddenly, every player in the cyber field has to dig his own gold for a slice of
wealth and market share, which could have been easier a few years back.          

The Web Market - Then and Now.

If in the past, critics have cast all the blame on capitalists for creating surreal
needs and manipulating the market trends, today’s bandwagon is highly influenced by the way consumers think and feel.  The name of the game is innovation, wherein you have to be more sensitive with what people want and need. 
As technology turns into a new fold, the only way to survive is to keep up with the changes. 
Not only do advertising and marketing strategies have to be more user-oriented, you also have to learn a few tricks about search engine optimization (SEO). They say that SEO is a three letter word for success that can generate more revenues through pay-per-click (PPC) and affiliate marketing

The Truth About SEO.

SEO is more than just creating a great content for the site. Aside from tracking the right keyword phrases through a keyword selection tool such as Overture, the overall design also concerns the format.  What color to add, where to place the ad, and what size to use for the banner may all create a more attractive appeal to online browsers. 
You see, any activity on the World Wide Web could be enhanced by integrating the basic senses of your browsers.  That’s why online publishers have their eye on adding videos, podcasts, shopping carts, and live chats to their sites, which all translate to higher page views and clicks.  This is where widgets also come handy in providing mini-applications that can be dragged out of the page.

Today’s Challenges.

Despite the recent developments, the growth of e-commerce has been sluggish compared to its success in the previous years.  The startup and inventory costs are on the rise as large companies also tend to dominate the search engine results, making it hard for small-time players to gain an equal footing. 

The current web market now poses a great challenge that transcends beyond the basics of managing an online business.
Online publishers and advertisers alike are exploring more avenues to improve their promotional strategies through social networking.  As such, link baiting, bookmarking, as well as forum and blog posting are seen as effective tools for social media marketing. 

 They all help in keeping the brand or service offered alive and resilient to the growing marketplace.

A New Launch.

In following a trend for innovation, some websites have also launched a new set of tools for its users. For example, Rondee has made it on the headlines for launching “Evite” as a conference calling system.  Oddle, a classified search engine, has also upgraded its site by optimizing the search for up to 30 million listings on the web.  The Windows Live Community Builder, meanwhile, has enhanced its version by adding, photo service, email, writer, messenger, and livedrive options for its community.  Flickr, a photo sharing site, has launched geographical features, while Viddler now features a new tag-based advertising system.

The current web market has grown to be as complex as it can be.  Not only do online publishers and advertisers have to identify a specific niche or target, they also have to feed their users’ insatiable whims. 
Ideally, they should make it easier for their online browsers to navigate, track, use,
and remember their sites by building their own social network.       

Website Domain Trends

Website Domain Trends

The trade of website domains has been a lucrative industry in the past few years. Advertising expenditures have increasingly shifted from traditional media such as newspapers and television into the Internet. Almost $4 billion were spent on Internet advertising in the first half of 2005 alone. Such developments contributed to the rising of domain prices as the industry attracted the attention of corporate buyers and venture capitalists.Prominent business publications such as the Wall Street Journal have featured the website domain business which further increased interest in the burgeoning industry. Industry leaders have also conducted trade conventions such as the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. and Domain Roundtable conferences for domain owners, developers, and investors. These trade conventions enable domain insiders to interact and discuss important issues about the industry.

A 2006 research conducted by Emiliano Pasqualetti of DomainsBot on secondary market sales trends in the website domain business found that domain names that were sold for more than $10,000 are growing exponentially in value. The research also showed that the total value of domain names that were worth at least $100,000 had the fastest rate of growth. Sales of English domains dominated the market from 2004 to 2006 with a market share of 82.5%.

English domains sold for a total of $76.7 million from 2004 to 2006. Pasqualetti also found that .com domain names composed of a single English keyword had the most demand. Pasqualetti’s research concluded that 54% of the domains that were sold are being used for traffic monetization purposes.

 Domain sales in 2007 are being dominated by adult domains based on market reports conducted by DNJournal.com.The adult domain Porn.com has so far topped the domain sales chart for 2007 with a market value of $9.5 million. Seniors.com ranked second with a market value of $1.8 million and Tandberg.com ranked third with a market value of $1.5 million. Rounding out the top 10 are: Vista.com ($1.25 million), Scores.com ($1.18 million), Chinese.com ($1.12 million), Topix.com ($1 million), Poker.de ($957,937), Dollars.com ($650,000), and Cardiology.com ($550,000).The leading website domain vendors in 2007 include: Moniker/T.R.A.F.F.I.C., Sedo, DRT Auction, and Afternic/BuyDomains.

Real estate domains have so far ranked prominently in the Global Contenders sales category of DNJournal.com for 2007. Global Contenders category includes domain names that end in .biz, .info, .mobi, .net, and .pro. RealEstate.net topped the Global Contenders sales chart with a market value of $300,000. DIY.net ranked second with a market value of $200,000 and Chinese.net ranked third with a market value of $180,000. Rounding out the top 10 for the Global Contenders sales category are: Ringtones.net ($175,000), Sportsbook.mobi ($129,800), Travel.info ($116,000), Hosting.mobi($101,000), Army.org ($99,000), RealEstate.mobi ($85,000), and Bingo.org($75,000).The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has recently revealed its plans to hasten the development of country-coded top level domains (ccTLDs) and local language scripting at the 2007 Internet Governance Forum. ICANN is an international non-profit organization that is in-charge of regulating the World Wide Web’s domain name system.

ICANN has also launched its campaign to assign internationalized ccTLDs with the assistance of the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO). ICANN’s efforts will further help in the globalization of the website domain industry. 

The History Of Webmastering

The History Of Webmastering 

The invention of the Internet and the creation of the World Wide Web are considered as some of the most important innovations in the world of communication and information. By working side-by-side, the Internet and the World Wide Web are constantly providing the convenience and service that everybody needs. The success of the mentioned advancements in the fields of electronics, information, and technology are continuously developing because of the process called webmastering.

Webmastering is a means of organizing and manipulating the websites that constitute the World Wide Web in order to improve everybody’s Internet experience.The history of webmastering starts with the creation of the World Wide Web. When he was still working as an independent contractor in the computing services section of the research laboratory CERN, Tim Berners-Lee came up with the most brilliant idea yet.

CERN, the largest particle physics research laboratory in the world, is dedicated to the promotion of collaboration and cooperation of the different institutions and various scientists in order to discover new ideas and innovations that might benefit the society in the future. Because of the fact that the participants of the CERN research are geographically distant from each other, Berners-Lee thought that it would be better if the necessary information they use for research are collected and organized to be conveniently accessed by everybody regardless of their location.

During that time, the trend in the access of information via the computer technology is simply described as the arrangement of individual documents into separate files. The files are then capable of being downloaded into different computers. Because he feels the need for an easier access of different files, Berners-Lee started a project that he called ENQUIRE. The project ENQUIRE, based on the idea of hypertext, is created to allow the researchers to have continuous retrieval of information by the linking of pages which contain related information. With the help of his colleague Robert Cailliau, Tim Berners-Lee introduced the birth of the World Wide Web in 1990. The World Wide Web is a system which allows the input, the distribution, the sharing, the retrieval, the organization, and the processing of data and information across the globe through the use of the Internet. The necessary components needed in order for the World Wide Web to work efficiently are the web server and the web browser. Berners-Lee is also responsible for the creation of the first ever web browser, WorldWideWeb, and the first ever web server, NeXTcube.

On August 6, 1991, Berners-Lee put the very first website ever built available online. The website was plain and simple and it only contained an explanation regarding the identity of the World Wide Web. The mentioned website is addressed as www.w3.org. In the first ever website, other things such as the brief history of the project, the basic description of the project, the technical aspects of the project, the index of software products, the  paper documentation and references, the list of people involved in the project, and the help page of the site are also found.

The locations or sites of  the specific groups of information which are found through the World Wide Web are called websites. The websites are Internet-available, 24/7-accessible sources of useful information which are characterized by a collection of linked documents and files called web pages. Web pages may contain interrelated facts, pictures and images, animations, audio files, videos, and texts. The art of planning, creating, designing, maintaining, developing, marketing, publishing, and overall managing of the web pages in a particular website is called webmastering.

The process of webmastering is administered by an expert called a webmaster. The first ever webmaster in the history of the World Wide Web is, of course, Tim Berners-Lee. He was responsible for the creation of the first ever website which features the basic explanation regarding the identity, the features, and the functions of the World Wide Web. The art of webmastering is made possible through Berners-Lee’s invention of the set of characters called the HTML.

The HTML, which is an acronym for Hypertext Markup Language, is a specially-made computer language that is primarily used for the creation of websites. Almost every single aspect and detail that is found on the different pages of the earliest websites is described through the HTML. Through the HTML codes, the webmasters are given limited options when it comes to the format and layout of the pages included in their websites. The alignment of the texts, the insertion of the graphics, the style of the fonts, the background of the pages, the size of the characters, the width of the borders, the embedding of the videos, the presence of the headings, and the customization of the settings are some of the things made possible by using HTML codes.

The success and popularity of the HTML paved the way for the invention of several other computer languages. Some of the mechanisms or codes which are specially-made to enhance some features and add some style to the different web-based pages are programming language Java, the application framework ASP (Active Server Pages), the reflective programming language PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor), the object-oriented VB.net (Visual Basic), and the stylesheet language CSS (Cascading Style Sheet). Aside from the different computer languages, the other features of webmastering that rapidly developed are the websites.

A huge variety of websites are now ubiquitously found through the World Wide Web. The different types of websites include the affiliate, the archive site, the blog, the corporate website, the commerce site, the community site, the database site, the development site, the directory site, the download site, the employment site, the game site, the geodomain, the gripe site, the humor site, the information site, the Java applet site, the mirror site, the news site, the personal homepage, the phish site, the political site, the pornography site, the rating site, the review site, the search engine, the shock site, the web portal, and the wiki site.

The Webmastering Business

 The Webmastering Business Creating and maintaining a website has become big business in recent years. Websites help expand the possibilities of traditional business methods. There are various types of online businesses that a webmaster or system administrator can launch today.

These include:   1. Auction websites.

Auction websites enable people to buy and sell products online just like a real auction. Customers can engage in competitive bidding to buy or sell different products or services with the webmaster serving as the administrator. The auction process is facilitated and regulated by auction software. Auction software can either be used on a web server for online auctions or as a stand-alone program to facilitate live auctions. Some of the companies that produce auction software include Netmerchants, Siebel, Moal Technologies, and Bid Stream. Examples of auction software include Auction Sniper, Auction Ads, and i2i Auction. Some auction software, such as Call My Auction, allows users to access auction websites offline.

Online auctions are usually conducted in two ways: business to person or person to person. In business to person trade, the webmasters of the auction website actually possess the goods that are for auction and accept payment for them. In person to person trade, the website only serves as the host of the auction and the webmasters are not actually involved in the trading. Online merchants and retailers offer goods for auction directly on these websites and buyers pay them directly.The actual online auction process has two main types: English auction and Dutch auction.

In English auction, the bidding price starts low with the highest bidder winning the auction and buying the product. This is the most common online auction method. In Dutch auction, multiple similar items are auctioned and all winning bidders pay the same price which is the lowest successful bid. Buyer can buy the whole stock of the auctioned goods or a specific quantity that they prefer.

eBay is the most popular auction website today. It was established in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar and has since grown to be the world’s largest auction website. eBay does not actually sell goods that it possesses but only serves as an online market for businesses and individuals who want to auction off products and services. eBay assists online merchants in listing, bidding, and purchasing goods. eBay has achieved phenomenal success which enabled its founders to become millionaires. It now has 28 international websites including sites based in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, and the United Kingdom.

Aside from facilitating the trade of products, auction website businesses are now involved in outsourcing services like programming and web design. Guru.com, an online service marketplace, is outsourcing services such as website design and marketing, advertising, business consulting, and database development. The UK website “earn.co.uk” uses the auction process to provide various local services like building construction, laundry services, and legal assistance.

2. Online Retail.

Most business websites serve as promotional tools for businesses or as online trading facilitators. Online retail websites are self-contained enterprises that offer and sell products such as software, books, and music. Buyers or “online shoppers” can purchase these products through the website’s online catalog and online “shopping cart.” Online shoppers usually pay for these products using through credit cards. Some online retail websites also allow customers to create user accounts and pay through other methods such as debit cards, C.O.D., checks, wire transfers, and through online payment websites such as PayPal and Google Checkout.

There are several delivery methods used by online retail websites to deliver products once payment from the customer has been received. These include downloads, shipping, drop shipping, and in-store pickup. Digital media products like music, software, and movies are usually downloaded by customers. In drop shipping, the customer’s order is relayed to the manufacturer or third-party distributor who then ships the product directly to the customer. In the in-store pickup delivery mode, the customer first orders online then uses locator software to find a local store where the purchased product will be picked.

Amazon.com is one of the most popular websites that specialize in online retail and e-commerce. It was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and was initially an online bookstore. Amazon.com soon expanded its product line to include electronic media (CDs, DVDs,software), food, clothing, furniture, and electronics. Amazon.com utilized an unusual business plan which did not project a profit for at least four years. This strategy proved effective especially during the “dot-com bubble” crash when many e-commerce enterprises went bankrupt. Amazon.com registered its first profit of $5 million in the last quarter of 2002. Since that time, Amazon.com has steadily increased its revenues, reaching a peak of $10.7 billion in 2006. In 2005, Amazon.com was listed in the S&P (Standard & Poor’s) 500 index. Jeff Bezos was named Person of the Year by Time Magazine in 1999 in recognition of Amazon.com’s exceptional achievements in the online retail business.A May 2007 US

National Retail Federation(NRF)report projected a 19 percent increase in online retail sales that would amount to around $174.5 billion, excluding travel profits. If travel profits are included, the NRF projected an increase of 18 percent amounting to $259.1 billion for online retail revenues. Online retail revenues, excluding travel, increased by 29 percent to an estimated $146.4 billion in 2006. The NRF report also mentioned that Americans spent more money on clothes than computers through online retail. The total sales of clothing, footwear, and accessories reached $18.3 billion in 2006. For this year, the NRF projects that online sales of clothing will reach $22.1 billion as 10 percent of all clothing sales are predicted to happen online. The NRF report stated that online clothing retailers have attracted more customers through extra incentives like free shipping on returns and exchanges.

Online retail sales of computer software and hardware placed second behind clothing sales at $17.2 billion in 2006. They were followed by sales of automobiles and auto parts at $16.7 billion and home furnishings at $10 billion.

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