The world of E-Commerce

“I need new clothes for Chinese New Year; however, I’m cropped up with all the projects in school. Do I really want to walk around a shopping centre for hours and might end up not getting any thing? Or should I simply switch on my laptop and browse through shopping sites with just a click of my mouse?”
This might sound familiar to many of us, as we are living in technological savvy world, e-commerce made a mark by easing our lives, allowing us with options of shopping online. “Time saving” is probably one of the most attractive attributes that e-commerce can provide us as compared to traditional business. Shoppers no longer need to travel to town, walk in and out of the stores, and probably wouldn’t buy any item as they might get a cheaper deal else where.

Today, with a click of the mouse, you are able to shop ten “stores” in one go, and the best part is you are able to do it when you’re on your comfortable bed.
In addition, there are also benefits for the “boss” of the online shops. They can afford to be a one man show, thus, able to save cost by not employing shopkeepers and by not renting stores in a shopping centre. Well, I guess the only “employees” they have is their computers and internet.

However, we shouldn’t just focus on the pros of e-commerce, but cons as well. It is true that online shopping sites are able to save consumer’s time; however they will never ever be able to give consumers the sense of security of their products, at least for the first instance. When a consumer first visited a shopping site, they will never know what the quality of the product is, the size of the clothes as they will never be able to go to the fitting rooms like in traditional shops. Thus, it is harder to build rapport with consumers than traditional shops.

As for the securities and privacy of the e-business, it’s never as secured and private as compared to traditional shops. Traditional shops have the luxury to put all confidential documents and accounting documents in hard copy without going through computer. Although there’s a lot of work to be done, it will be more secure and private when those documents are kept in a safe or even your locked drawer. However, as for e-business, all their transactions, consumer’s particulars and accounting documents, all of those are definitely stored in their computer. As long as competitors want it and they are somehow computer savvy, they might simply hack into your account and retrieve information. Even if it’s not the case of hacking, what if the hard drive fails? And you will have to bring it for repair? Think about the case of Edison Chen.

Well, whether is it traditional business or e-business, there will be a possibility that the lost of information and as long as e-business have precautions against hackers, they will still have a greater advantage than traditional shops.

"Tweet" Vs "Facebook-ing"

“Tweet… Tweet”, back then, all of us will consider that as an imitation of the thin chirping sound made by small or young birds. However, today we can’t help but associate “Tweet” as a function to post short messages on “Twitter” website. “Twitter”, is the new social media sensation today.

“Twitter” to me, it’s more of like a mini blog, mini msn and a mini “facebook”. Users are able to “follow” their friend’s tweets and vice versa. They are able to post pictures, have mini chats and able to express whatever feelings they are having at that point of time. However, there are limitations on this new sensation. “Twitter” only allows users to type one hundred and forty characters in one “tweet” and users are more likely to be confined to their friends as compared to “facebook”. Then why don’t people stick to blogging, msn or even “facebook”?

Imagine this scenario, you are on a bus, this lady accidentally stepped on your feet with her heels. If it was a one time situation, you probably won’t sweat the small stuff, but what happens when it’s more than twice? You might then want to share your pain or even anger to someone, but you’re alone. This is a point of time when you start “tweeting” and I’m sure that the one hundred and forty words are more than enough to express what ever you’re feeling. I doubt that anyone would have a flow of emotions that they need to write on one thousand words on a blog.

As for the fact that your “followers” are mostly people you know, the privacy you are having is definitely more or less greater than “facebook”. Although users might still be able to post their emotions on “facebook”, however, do they really want to share information with their “friends” that they had never met before? I would say that “twitter” will be considered a venue for releasing of catharsis and emotions to be shared among friends and “facebook” is a tool for expanding your social network.
I am definitely not a pro “twitter” or an anti “facebook” person, as I feel that both social media are different in nature and it has their own unique specialty. As for “facebook”, it is definitely an efficient tool to expand your social network as it allows users to search for their long lost friend and even a tool to find their life partner. In order to appeal to all age groups, “facebook” also provides games for the young age thus I would say “facebook” is much all rounded and popular in this aspect.
In conclusion, I refuse to pick which social media is the best between “twitter” and “facebook” as I find both are effective based on different preset agendas. Although I am not able to pick a side, I would have to admit that both “twitter” and “facebook” plays a pivotal role in our lives. Whether is it, able to rant about someone or to “add” more friends into your lives, I am certain to say that it will be difficult for most of us if both social media are gone. Especially with the help of internet and technology, we are able to access both social media with our smart phones thus it has become an essential tool in our lives.