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PA e-Comm News August 23

ADVERTISERS OF THE WEEK

Trivia Question - What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers all have in common? (Answer later)

With the recent bleak news about the stock market, economy and the war on terrorism, many experts believe entertainment could be the next lucrative niche on the Web. The Yankee Group reported that Hollywood could prove to be a blockbuster with online purchases of movies and videos ramping up significantly over the next several years. One example is Movielink, a company that soon will launch a new service that lets consumers receive on-demand, feature-length movies over the Internet. This operation has a key advantage because it has formed joint ventures with several studios, including MGM, Universal, Warner Brothers, Paramount and Sony. One potential stumbling block in this arena is the lack of growth of consumer broadband penetration. Music entertainment is another key niche based upon the popularity of free file-sharing systems like Kazaa and Morpheus. The Yankee Group reported that consumers downloaded more than 5 billion audio files from unlicensed file-sharing services in 2001. Also, analysts predict that other fruitful revenue streams lie in areas involving hobbyists, collectors and others with very specialized interests. Hobbyists in all areas -- from stamp collecting to flower arranging -- are looking for sites that provide healthy combinations of salesmanship and practical advice.

According to Deloitte Consulting, waiting for customers to call back to follow up on a question or problem is a big mistake. Customers should not have to guess how long they will have to wait until the next call, e-mail, statement or contact event. They should know up front how the entire service process will go. Video conferencing, kiosks and wireless self-service are technologies customers would like to use to access companies -- not just the telephone and Web. According to Gartner, all you have to do is something even slightly out of the ordinary to delight a customer. Companies and service providers seem to have forgotten what a potent tool a sincere apology, especially one backed by action, can be. 

Recent research from InsightExpress finds that students, including teens and young adults, have the real power when it comes to which consumer electronics are purchased when heading back to school, with a reported 90% of students already owning a computer and 25% looking for a replacement. Also, 35% would like to purchase cell phones; 18% prefer pagers; 33% are seeking digital cameras; and 30% desire MP3 players. Respondents indicated their source on information about electronics comes from friends (66%), the Internet (65%), television (65%), magazines (50%), and schools (38%). 

Lured by the convenience and thousands of potential dates, legions of people are seeking romantic connections online, making personals one of the Internet's rare financial successes. These Web sites generally require users to pay subscriptions or small fees in exchange for which they can post an ad with at least one photograph and send e-mails to others on the service. In the first quarter of 2002, the online personals industry generated $53.1 million in revenue, according to a study by the Online Publishers Association. That is up 5 1/2 times from the $8.2 million that the industry took in during the same period in 2001. The most popular personals Web site is Match.com which has grown steadily since its founding in 1995 and had 604,000 subscribers as of June 30. Match.com is a division of Ticketmaster, which is part of Barry Diller's USA Interactive empire, which includes big stakes in Home Shopping Network, Expedia and Hotels.com. Dating sites allow customers to post longer descriptions of themselves and what they seek in a mate, as well as photographs; this makes them preferable to newspaper personals. Consumers can post personal ads for free on a handful of Web sites, such as Craigslist.com. Some analysts compare dating Web sites to the successful online auctioneer EBay because they both bring together fragmented audiences -- buyers and sellers, men and women -- who would otherwise have trouble finding one another. What makes online personals different from many other subscription-based businesses is that satisfied customers cancel their account – who needs a matchmaker if they've already found a mate.

With an estimated one in five persons having some sort of disability, frustration mounts because many are effectively blocked from some Web sites that aren't accessible to users with disabilities. CyberWeb is offering help in designing Web pages with such capabilities, utilizing special software that makes sites easier for those with disabilities to use, thereby allowing the handicapped to participate in Web-based activities, including e-commerce. The EmployAbility Network (http://www.employ-ability.com) is an online resource for the City of Los Angeles, designed to connect job seekers with employers and operates in conjunction with WorkSource California, which specializes in helping individuals with disabilities obtain suitable employment. CyberWeb offers free Web site analysis to individuals and organizations that are interested and adheres to Section 508 Guidelines, which are set by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board of the Federal Government.

Dell has announced it will begin selling unbranded PCs through small business dealers in an attempt to capture a greater proportion of white-box sales. This directly targets territory previously explored by both IBM and Hewlett-Packard and is considered to be more than 40% of desktop PCs in the nation. Dell said its efforts would be aimed toward computer consulting firms that work with small businesses. Dell will release its first unbranded PC, a white-box 510Z with an Intel Celeron processor; it will retail for a starting price of $499 without a monitor. Unbranded computers captured 58% of the worldwide PC market last year, according to a study by research firm IDC.

Travelocity and American Airlines have signed a marketing deal, giving American new banner ads and promotions on the travel site and giving Travelocity access to American's Web fares and vacation packages. American also announced a deal with Travelocity rival Orbitz that allows Orbitz to book reservations directly into American's network, bypassing central booking systems and potentially saving the airline large amounts of money.

Yahoo has restored a free version of its person-to-person payment system, by removing some fees from PayDirect, an online service that lets people exchange money via e-mail. PayDirect will give customers an option to use a free account for family and friends who want to exchange money online without using credit cards.

A recent study by the Online Publishers Association (OPA) and Web measurement company ComScore Networks showed that U.S. consumers spent $300 million to access Web content in the first quarter of this year, a 155% increase from the same period a year ago. 

Wells Fargo is closing down its wireless banking service by late September due to lack of interest. The service, which debuted last year, lets customers make transactions from cell phones and PDAs had just 2,500 active customers. Wells Fargo offered wireless banking services for free to its customers who could view transaction histories, check account balances or transfer funds. The service was available only to Sprint PCS customers and users of Palm wireless handhelds. 

ANSWER: They were invented by women.

E-COMMERCE RELATED EVENTS AND INFORMATION

The following are links to upcoming seminars and other events that our readers might have an interest in and/or other information related to e-commerce. 

Members of PA e-Commerce Association and our readership list are invited to attend the "The Age of Mobility - PA Opportunities from Emerging Wireless Technologies" in Harrisburg on September 26th, 2002. Visit http://www.witedu.com/ for more details. If you register for the event prior to September 13th, you will receive a $25.00 discount. 
To recognize the PA e-Commerce Association, an additional event registration discount of $50.00 is being made available. Use this special six-digit code on your registration form to get the benefit: #669966. We look forward to seeing you at the Whitaker Center on September 26.

PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The following is a listing of recently published technology procurement opportunities with various governmental entities. We hope our readers take the opportunity to investigate these postings and increase their business:

State - Diplomatic Telecommunications Service Program Office
Acquisitions
70 -- Digital Light Wave Test Sets
Synopsis
http://www.eps.gov/spg/State/DTSPO/AD-ACQ/SDTSPO-02-Q-0149/listing.html

DOL - Employment Training Administration
Division of Contract Services
R -- Technical Assistance Support for the Youth Offender Initiative
Demonstration Grant Project
Solicitation 01
http://www.eps.gov/spg/DOL/ETA/WashingtonDC/RFP-DCS-02-40/listing.html

USN - Naval Supply Systems Command
Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Jacksonville
D -- Internet Subscription to on-line technical information
Amendment 02
http://www.eps.gov/spg/USN/NAVSUP/N68836/N68836-02-T-0239/listing.html

DOE - All Departmental Locations
All DOE Federal Contracting Offices
70--Nokia and CheckPoint Firewall Products
Synopsis
http://www.eps.gov/spg/DOE/PAM/HQ/DE-RQ65-02WJ21453/listing.html

VA - Salisbury VAMC
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
R -- Personal Computer Training
Solicitation 01
http://www.eps.gov/spg/VA/SaVAMC659/SaVAMC659/659-09-2003/listing.html

AID - Washington D.C.
USAID/Washington
R -- Brand Identity Graphics
Questions and Answers for Branding Graphics 03 01
http://www.eps.gov/spg/AID/OP/WashingtonDC/Reference-Number-0000492/
listing.html

USA - U.S. Army Contracting Command-Europe
Wiesbaden Contracting Center (WCC)
70--Netserver, Configured
Synopsis
http://www.eps.gov/spg/USA/USACCE/DAJA22/DAJA22-02-T-0377/listing.html

HMM - Financial Management
Division of Procurement
R -- Audio visual productions for Exhibition
Synopsis
http://www.eps.gov/spg/HMM/FM/WashingtonDC/9531-02-R-0017/listing.html

USDA - Forest Service
R-6 Western Washington Acquisition Area, Olympic NF
D -- Consume 3.0 Software Construction
Modification 05
http://www.eps.gov/spg/USDA/FS/05G2/R6-OLY-2-58-M/listing.html

State - Diplomatic Telecommunications Service Program Office
Acquisitions
70 -- Digital Light Wave Test Sets
Synopsis
http://www.eps.gov/spg/State/DTSPO/AD-ACQ/SDTSPO-02-Q-0149/listing.html

DOL - Employment Training Administration
Division of Contract Services
R -- Technical Assistance Support for the Youth Offender Initiative
Demonstration Grant Project
Solicitation 01
http://www.eps.gov/spg/DOL/ETA/WashingtonDC/RFP-DCS-02-40/listing.html

USN - Naval Supply Systems Command
Fleet and Industrial Supply Center Jacksonville
D -- Internet Subscription to on-line technical information
Amendment 02
http://www.eps.gov/spg/USN/NAVSUP/N68836/N68836-02-T-0239/listing.html

DOE - All Departmental Locations
All DOE Federal Contracting Offices
70--Nokia and CheckPoint Firewall Products
Synopsis
http://www.eps.gov/spg/DOE/PAM/HQ/DE-RQ65-02WJ21453/listing.html

VA - Salisbury VAMC
Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
R -- Personal Computer Training
Solicitation 01
http://www.eps.gov/spg/VA/SaVAMC659/SaVAMC659/659-09-2003/listing.html

Source: www.eps.gov. For direct assistance, contact your local Procurement Technical Assistance Center at www.PaPTACs.com

NEWS & NOTES is a service of the PA e-Commerce Association. Please forward this e-mail to anyone else who might be interested in the content or in learning more about the Association. Remember to visit our website @ www.paecomm.org. or give us a call at 800-497-0809.

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