Download A New Medium of Communication

E-commerce and Information
Technology in Hospitality and Tourism
Chapter 5
A New Medium of Communication
Copyright 2004 by Zongqing Zhou, PhD
Niagara University
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After you complete your study of this chapter,
you should be able to:
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Understand why the Internet is a new medium of
communication.
Know the different Internet communication platforms.
Understand what Intranets can do to enhance
communication inside a business.
Explain the difference between Intranets and
Extranets.
Know the various kinds of Internet communication
tools.
5.1 Introduction

Three major barriers to communication
Time
 Speed
 Space
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Improving communication to:
Increase understanding
 Effectiveness of socialization
 Accumulation of knowledge

5.2 The Internet: A New Medium of
Communication
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Virtual communities or e-communities
 A way to communicate with people from all over the
world, from the safety and security of your own home.
Today’s businesses are following the technology trends
and are updating their systems and services to better
suit the needs of the consumer.
 Example: International e-Commerce, Inc. has
integrated its advanced interactive television services
with core hotel services to deliver broadband Internet
to each hotel room- interactive TV, e-commerce, email and videos on demand, as well as room service,
housekeeping, and checkout, all from the guest
Television in their room.
5.3. Internet Communications
Platforms

Applications of Internet communications
Intranets
 B2B online (and through VPN, virtual private
network)
 B2C online.
 C2C online
 C2B online
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5.3 Internet Communications
Platforms (cont.)
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The purpose of Internet Communication for business:
 Sales and marketing
 Human resource management (online manuals, forms
and directories, and recruitment, and application)
 Manufacturing and operations
 Customer service and support
 Finance and accounting
 Customer service
 Customer relationship management (CRM)
 Public relations and information distribution
 Employee knowledge sharing and dissemination
 Employer-employee communication
Comparasion Chart of the Internet, Internet, and Extranet
INTERNET
INTRANET
EXTRANET
Right of Access Public; accessible to Private; access right Private; controlled
anyone
determined by the owner access to the public
Types of Users Everyone
Employees, staff, and A company's internal
other authorized users and external customers
of a company
and business partners
Data and
Decentralized,
Proprietary, specialized, Targeted information
information unorganzied, and
and organized
designed to be shared
fragmented
among the users

Classification:

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Internet
(communication within
the business)
Extranet and Internet
(B2B communication,
B2B online and/or
through VPN)
Internet and Extranet:
(B2C online, C2B and
C2C)

Examples:
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Putting forms on the
internet, web-based
discussion forum, live
chat.
Information sharing,
collaboration, customer
service, B2B
transactions.
Communication and Ecommerce
5.4 Intranet: Enabling
Communications Inside A Business
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EXTRANET: B2B AND B2C COMMUNICATIONS
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An Extranet is a private network that not only
connects to the Internet but also uses the same
special set of rules (protocol) for communication. It
can be considered part of a company’s Intranet that is
extended to users outside the company.
The purpose of an Extranet is to securely share part
of a business’s information or operations with
suppliers, vendors, partners, customers, or other
businesses.
An Extranet requires security and privacy.
A firewall is a set of related programs, located at a
network gateway server that protects the resources of
a private network from users on other networks.
5.4 Intranet: Enabling
Communications Inside A Business
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The Benefits of Using Intranet
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WYSWIG- what you see is what you get, is the new
buzz word in technology.
Provide a common communication platform for the
exchange and sharing of private corporation
information.
Opportunity to take advantage of all the functions the
web is capable of.
Information can be provided in multimedia format to
increase communication and effectiveness.
Convenient communication channel
5.4 Intranet: Enabling
Communications Inside A Business
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Internet/Intranet Communications Tools
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E-mail
E-newsletters
Mailing Lists
E-mail mailing lists
Discussion forums and FAQs
Live online chat
Webcasting
5.4 Intranet: Enabling
Communications Inside A Business

The benefits of using the Internet
communications tools are:
Reduce call center loads and e-mail backlogs
 Empower customers to find their own answers
and share information across the organization
 Reduce service response time
 Cut employee training time and costs
 Create ongoing customer dialogue
 Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty

5.5 Extranet: B2B and B2C
Communications

Extranet:
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is a private network that not only connects to
the internet but also uses the same special
set of rules (protocol) for communication.
Purpose:

Securely share part of the business's
information or operations with suppliers,
vendors, partners, customers, or other
businesses.
Computer
Computer
Allow
authorized
access
Extranet
Internet
Internet
Server
Computer
Firewall
computer
Computer
Do not
allow any
outside
access
5.6 Internet Communications Tools

Internet technology can help companies to
accomplish:
Reduce call center loads and e-mail backlogs
 Empower customers to find their own answers
and share information across the organization
 Reduce service response time
 Cut employee training time and costs
 Create ongoing customer dialogue
 Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty

5.6 Internet Communications Tools
Email
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The benefits of using email:
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One of the best things about e-mail is that you can
access it anywhere you go, as long as you can gain
access to a computer with an Internet connection.
Another advantage of e-mail is that it allows you to
personalize your message to your customers. The
personalization can apply to either a group or an
individual.
It is inexpensive and convenient
Readership of emails can be tracked using tracking
technologies.
Table 5.3
A Selected List of Desktop E-mail Programs

Programs:
Microsoft Office 2000www.microsoft.com/office
 ArialSoft Enterprise, 5.0www.arialsoftware.com
 MailWorkz Broadc@st HTMLwww.mailworkz.com
 Gammadyne Mailerwww.gammadyne.com
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5.6 Internet Communications Tools
E-newsletter
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Advantages:
E-newsletters are mostly subscription-based
and therefore ensure a certain degree of
loyalty in readership.
 Newsletters are sent on a predetermined
schedule, providing a high degree of
consistency in terms of content and format.
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5.6 Internet Communications Tools
Mailing List
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Differences between the Mailing List and mailing list
Mailing List contains e-mail addresses of the people who
typically share the same interests and who subscribe
voluntarily to the list.
These subscribers with common interests tend to form
what is called virtual communities.
A Mailing List allows all subscribers to send e-mail
messages to the list. In other words, not only can the
company that owns the Mailing List send marketing and
other types of information to the subscribers of the list.
Every subscriber can also send messages to the list to
express his or her views.
5.6 Internet Communications Tools
Mailing List
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How to keep subscribers on the Mailing List:
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you should send only valuable information and tips
that you know your subscribers will want.
You should also include a concise privacy statement
to ensure that protecting collected personal
information is a top priority.
Your Mailing List should allow users to be removed,
and you need to faithfully carry out your promise.
In each message you send out, you should include a
brief explanation of how the recipient signed up for
your Mailing List and provide quick and easy
instructions on how to unsubscribe.
You should never send out e-mail to someone who
has not requested to be on your List.
Table 5.4 Examples of Privacy
Statements for Mailing Lists
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Example 1: To subscribe, send any message to
[email protected]. To unsubscribe,
forward this message to [email protected].
Example 2: To unsubscribe, send a message to
[email protected] with only
“unsubscribe leave-Johndoe” (without quotes) in
the message body. We will not sell, rent, or
disclose your e-mail address to third parties. Any
exception to this policy will be made only with
your permission.
5.6 Internet Communications Tools
Email Mailing List
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An e-mail mailing list is like a traditional mailing
list that is used to send messages and
information to everyone on the list at the same
time.
There are many ways you can acquire an e-mail
mailing list.
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place a sign-up option on your Web site for your
customers or visitors.
ask for e-mail addresses when you send out
traditional communication materials, such as flyers,
newsletters or catalogs.
Finally, you can buy e-mail mailing lists from vendors
who collect such lists by various means. It is
important that you check the credibility of vendors
before you buy the list.
5.6 Internet Communications Tools
Discussion Forums And Faqs
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Discussion forums are a convenient way to
collect your customers’ opinions, input, concerns
and comments in one central place.
Benefits of having FAQs (frequently asked
questions)
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Can be viewed 24/7, saving a lot of time and labor.
The answers to the questions should be:
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simple and easy to understand.
Most of all, the questions must be ones that
customers are concerned with.
Either based on your own expectations or selected
from questions submitted to you by customers.
5.6 Internet Communications Tools
Live Online Chat
Live online chat has become an
increasingly popular means of instant
communication with customers and online
visitors.
 Use live online chat for business that
requires instant communications and to
keep online visitors to your site by giving
them instant feedback.

5.6 Internet Communications Tools
Webcasting
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Webcasting or Web conference is an technology that
enables you to view streaming videos and interact with
the conference attendants live on the Web.
Streaming video is a means of communication that
allows you to play sound or video in real time as it is
downloaded from the Internet.
The difference between streaming and downloaded
media lies in the fact that downloaded media are sent to
the online visitor’s local computer as a readable file to
play later, while streaming media play the data as they
are being transferred to the local computer.
5.6 Internet Communications Tools
Webcasting
A plug-in is required to play streaming
video. A plug-in decompresses and plays
the data as they are transferred to the
local computer over the Web.
 Some examples of plug-ins include
 Apple’s QuickTime
 RealPlayer’s RealPlayer
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