This book is about - but not only about - Napster. The story of Napster is important in its own right, but its legacy even more so. The phenomenon that surrounds Napster has highlighted the extraordinary potential for the mass mobilisation of consumer and community power. This irresistible force - the underground Internet - has blown apart conventional models of doing business.

Merriden charts the birth of Napster and its genesis in Internet music communities. He describes in detail how big businesses felt complacent enough to ignore Napster, only to turn on it when the truth about their business models dawned. As the big companies got nasty, Bertelsmann and Thomas Middelhof broke ranks and did a deal with Napster.

The rapid spread in Napster's popularity has made many businesses sit up and notice. And it wasn't just because of the court room battles highlighted by the media every day. Some estimates put the peak number of Napster users at around 58 million. Hard to ignore the cries of the masses. Through the aftermath of those bloody court rooms, Napster has left a lasting impact on the future of e-business. This legacy affects more than music and record companies. In irresistible forces, Trevor Merriden shows how all businesses who have an interest in the Internet should pay attention. The influence on business of file sharing and peer-to-peer technology will be profound in the years ahead.

This book presents the basic knowledge and illustrative examples to build dynamic and robust web applications using the .NET Framework technology. It stresses the use of code-behind procedural coding and useful for those interested in web application development and to visual basic programmers.

Although the dot-com bubble has burst, that doesn't mean e-commerce is dead. This books shows how to build a successful e-commerce operation, incorporating careful planning of the customer experience, effective design, cutting-edge programming, and robust server configuration, as well as marketing, customer service, order processing, warehousing, and shipping. Hardware and software options are also discussed.

"The Internet in Everyday Life" brings together many pioneering studies that systematically investigate how being online fits into everyday lives. Until now, the Internet has been treated and discussed as detached from daily life, occupying some separate sphere of social endeavor. This collection of original articles from leading scholars in North America, Asia, and Europe moves discussion of the Internet closer to home, showing how the Internet does not exist "out there" but is instead an integral part of daily work and home life.

Contributors show who is on the Internet and what they are doing there. They debate whether the Internet adds to or detracts from the well-being of individuals, communities, and societies. They demonstrate how the Internet affects friendship, social capital, social support, civic involvement, school, work, and shopping. They reveal the extent to which the Internet is supporting new forms of human relationships, and describe what gets dropped and strained when Internet hours are added to already full schedules.

The book goes beyond speculation to provide solid findings. Articles are informed by results from surveys, interviews, and ethnographic data about behavior on and with the Internet. Taken as a whole, this considered body of evidence should raise the level of debate about the impact of the Internet and raises serious questions about the popular myth that Internet use increases social alienation.

When the web transitioned from a publishing to an interactive e-commerce medium, standardised web-browsers entered widespread use and developers were able to rely on a relatively stable client component. Since then, server-side developments have blossomed and resulted in considerable ease of programming, efficiency and increasing sophistication of the server-side environment.

Focusing on various technologies that support the server-side processing of data from web-based forms, principally CGI style programs, scripting and Java solutions, this is a book tailored to the technical and computational components of running a commercial and successful website. To benefit most from this approach, you will have a working knowledge of HTML, some programming experience in Java or C++, and limited experience with databases. Its concentration on server-side to the exclusion of web-page design and client-side concerns will be welcomed by practitioners and students who want hands-on and in-depth guidance on:

Contents:
Notes on contributors Preface Acknowledgements List of Tables and Illustrations
Part I: Introduction and Contexts Cyberspace, Digital Media and the Internet 2 Mapping Cyberspace 3 ICT, Telecommunications and Cyberspace Part II: Using Cyberspace 4 Using the Internet 5 Cyberspace Technologies 6 Webcasting and Digital Broadcasting 7 Games and Entertainment Part III: Reading/Writing Cyberspace 8 Sources, Resources and Research 9 Online News and Journalism 10 E-Zines 11 Online Writing 12 Web Design Part IV: Regulations, Institutions and Ethics 13 Regulation and Cybercrime 14 Cyberspace and the Public Sphere 15 Ethics in Cyberspace
Glossary Web resources Bibliography Index

Need to know how to buy a phone switch for your call center? How to measure the productivity of agents? How to choose from two cities that both want your center? No problem. "The Call Center Handbook" is a complete guide to starting, running, and im Establish and operate an efficient call center with this authoritative guide that covers everything from choosing the best site and buying the right equipment to managing agents, monitoring productivity, and enhancing customer relationships.

Live your entrepreneurial dream with no–or little–money down

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Even if you don’t have start-up money in the bank, you can get your new business on its feet with ingenuity and knowledge. Starting on a Shoestring is the key to your success. Now in its Fourth Edition, this perennial bestseller has helped thousands of people live out their dreams; it provides the knowledge and the confidence you need to get your business off the ground and up and running. Authoritative, step-by-step guidance will answer your questions, help you plan your strategy, and get you started. In the new Fourth Edition, an all-new chapter covers everything you need to know about the Internet, from creating an online presence for your business to understanding all the tech jargon.

And there’s more:

• Make sure your business idea is right for you–before you take the risk
• Find sources of capital and approach them confidently
• Six common myths: avoid the traps and misconceptions of starting up
• Should you take on a partner?
• Setting up: bargains on equipment, dealing with suppliers, the advantages of leasing, value of consignments
• Marketing and advertising on a shoestring: free publicity, word-of-mouth, creating a prestige image cheaply
• Examples of businesses like yours that maximized their success on the Internet

Now better than ever, Starting on a Shoestring gives you a wealth of vital information you’ll find in no other book–it’s your first step to entrepreneurial success.

The Internet is developing quicker in Asia than in any other region of the world. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of the information society in an Asian context, and the impact of these technologies in Asia. These impacts are inevitably uneven and conditioned by issues of telecommunications infrastructure, government policies, cultural and social values, and economic realities. The combination of original research, theoretical innovation and detailed case studies make this an important book for scholars and students in Asian studies, media studies, communication studies and sociology.

How does the concept of 'space' impact upon International Relations? This book examines this interesting subject with reference to the ideas of French sociologist Henri Levebre and applies his theories to the use by NGOs of advances in information communications technologies, particularly the internet.

The Internet, Organizational Change and Labor challenges assumptions about the advantages of the virtual workplace, and describes the uses of the Internet that advance organizational performance and economic equality. It incorporates both managerial and employee perspectives and evaluates the impact of the Internet on human resources and the balance of power between labour and management.
The Internet is considered both in terms of how it has allowed a mobilization of the workforce, leading to less cohesive and more vulnerable working conditions, but also how it facilitates the dissemination of information and knowledge and accelerates organizational analysis, innovation and improvement.
This book draws practical conclusions but is grounded in the philosophy of knowledge and organizations. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the fields of human resource management and employee relations, technology management, managing information systems and organization theory.

The Internet, Organizational Change and Labor challenges assumptions about the advantages of the virtual workplace, and describes the uses of the Internet that advance organizational performance and economic equality. It incorporates both managerial and employee perspectives and evaluates the impact of the Internet on human resources and the balance of power between labour and management.
The Internet is considered both in terms of how it has allowed a mobilization of the workforce, leading to less cohesive and more vulnerable working conditions, but also how it facilitates the dissemination of information and knowledge and accelerates organizational analysis, innovation and improvement.
This book draws practical conclusions but is grounded in the philosophy of knowledge and organizations. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the fields of human resource management and employee relations, technology management, managing information systems and organization theory.

The Internet is becoming a primary means of interpersonal communication, and with this comes implications for many aspects of social life. This book examines these from a variety of perspectives: psychological well-being, interpersonal relationships, social identity, group conflict, negotiation and bargaining, community involvement, and the development of democratic institutions. The authors present quantitative as well as qualitative methodological approaches, along with analyses reflecting the complexities of the 'Human-Internet interaction'.Examines the implications of the internet as the primary means of personal communicationPulls together current research by well established researchers on the social consequences of the Internet, from a variety of levels of analysis, producing a holographic, 3-D look at the Internet's impact on psychological functioning of the individual as well as on the social fabricPerspectives of this examination include: psychological well-being, interpersonal relationships, social identity, group conflict, negotiation and bargaining, community involvement, and the development of democratic institutions

Contents:
1. Introduction, Paul Jackson and Peter Eckersley 2. The Business Environment for e-Commerce, Fintan Clear, Brunel University and Leslie Budd, Open University 3. e-Commerce Technology, Nandish Patel, Brunel University 4. Organisational Considerations for e-Business, Lisa Harris, Brunel University and Nelarine Cornelius, Brunel University 5. Using Marketing Databases in e-Business, Michael Collins, chartered Marketer 6. The Ethics Environment for e-Business, Laura Spence, Brunel University 7. e-Business and the Law, Dave Wadsworth, Brunel University 8. e-Commerce: A Global Overview, Geraldine Cohen, Brunel University 9. e-Government, Noah Curthoys, Brunel University Peter Eckersley and Paul Jackson, e-Government Forum, IPF

This is a comprehensive textbook that considers all of the key business, management and technical issues of
e-business. It examines and explains how new technologies provide organizations in both the public and private sector with new ways of doing things. Accessible, jargon free and written by experts, this book uses case studies to illustrate to readers the issues at hand and equipping them with the skills to analyze the changing world in which we work.

Contents:
Introduction 1. Health and the Net - an Overview 2. Getting Online 3. The World Wide Web 4. Finding Health Information on the Internet 5. Communicating with Other Health Professionals by E-Mail 6. Joining Health Discussion Groups, Mailing Lists Etc. 7. The Gateway to Free Health and Medical Resources 8. Publishing on the World Wide Web 9. Online Help with your Health Studies and Job Search Questions and Answers Appendices Worksheets

Many people believe that Amazon s success is the direct result of a strong user shopping experience. This however is only part of the reason shy Amazon is the number one ecommerce company on the world for almost two decades. The real reason behind Amazon s success is that they have mastered the art of getting other people to market and sell for them. From affiliate partners that drive traffic, to online reviews and ratings where customers tell other customers why they should buy a product, to getting free publicity from shows like Oprah or 60 Minutes, Amazon is the online company to emulate. Amazon s Dirty Little Secrets" will show you how you can accomplish this for your company.

"Amazon s Dirty Little Secret" is getting others to do their marketing and sales for them. This is so powerful that Greg created an acronym using the word POWER+.

P Plenty of traffic

O Offer something for free

W Win their trust

E Engaging experience

R Request an action

+ additional tips & secrets

Anyone engaged in Internet sales and marketing will benefit from the specific examples in this book."

From the Sloan Management Review comes a remarkable collection of articles written by highly regarded experts in the field of e-business. This second book in the MIT SMR series is aimed at those seeking to integrate e-business into their enterprises as a way of maintaining -- or establishing -- competitive advantage. Strategies for E-Business Success offers a roadmap of the fundamental principles and tools executives need.

To improve the cost effectiveness and sustainability of e-learning, many national and international initiatives are pioneering new ways in which educators can share their curricula with teachers and learners around the world. To enable this global sharing, educators must learn to design, manage and implement reusable electronic educational resources. This unique book outlines approaches to sharing and reusing resources for e-learning.
Drawing upon research by 30 prominent scholars from seven countries, the authors offer multiple perspectives from school, continuing and higher education as well as industry. It is essential reading for those implementing e-learning in education and corporate training, including teachers, trainers, academics, educational developers and support staff as well as senior managers.

Japan is rightly regarded as one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, yet the development and deployment of Internet technology in Japan has taken a different trajectory compared with Western nations. This is the first book to look at the specific dynamics of Japanese Internet use.

It examines the crucial questions:
* how the Japanese are using the Internet: from the prevalence of access via portable devices, to the fashion culture of mobile phones
* how Japan's "cute culture" has colonized cyberspace
* the role of the Internet in different musical subcultures
* how different men's and women's groups have embraced technology to highlight problems of harassment and bullying
* the social, cultural and political impacts of the Internet on Japanese society
* how marginalized groups in Japanese society - gay men, those living with AIDS, members of new religious groups and Japan's hereditary sub-caste, the Burakumin - are challenging the mainstream by using the Internet.

Examined from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, using a broad range of case-studies, this is an exciting and genuinely cutting-edge book which breaks new ground in Japanese studies and will be of value to anyone interested in Japanese culture, the Internet and cyberculture.

With future competitive landscape shifting from competition between companies themselves to trading partner networks, understanding and mastering process design and change is becoming more critical than ever. In order to succeed, companies are starting to weave their key business processes into hard-to-imitate strategic capabilities that distinguish them from their competitors. Supply Chain Networks and Business Process Orientation: Advanced Strategies and Best Practices will help you "connect the dots" by offering insights on how to achieve greater integration within your supply chain networks and realize the performance possible with today's interaction economics.

Based on exhaustive research of supply chains and newly successful networked corporations in the US and Europe, the authors demonstrate how your company can be successful in building an effective supply chain network. Prescriptive benchmarking models illustrate proven strategies, tactics, and methods for achieving a superior level of supply chain performance.

In the quest to remove supply channel costs, streamline channel communications, and link customers to the value-added resources found along the supply chain continuum, Supply Chain Management (SCM) has emerged as a tactical operations tool. The first book to completely define the architecture of the merger of SCM and the Internet, Introduction to e-Supply Chain Management: Engaging Technology to Build Market-Winning Business Partnerships shows you how to exploit this merger and gain an unbeatable competitive advantage.

The tightening of the economy and heavier restrictions and security measures placed on channel flows have rendered access to real-time, accurate supply chain information more critical than ever. Connectivity, messaging, and collaboration have become today's foremost buzzwords, as companies compete for survival in an environment where cycle times and permissable margins of error continue to shrink. Introduction to e-Supply Chain Management explores the concepts, techniques, and vocabulary of the convergence of SCM and the Internet so that companies can move beyond merely surviving and thrive in today's competitive marketplace.

Get the most from your electronic marketing resources Internets, Intranets, and Extranets: New Waves in Channel Surfing examines cutting-edge research on the strategies and practices for managing electronic channels of information distribution. The leading experts working in Web-enabled marketing technologies address the most pressing topics of channel management, presenting descriptive and prescriptive insights into the complex network of virtual links between people and places. This unique book looks at the death of distance from a global perspective, offering critical commentary on how to strengthen the connection between Web-linked buyers and sellers. Internets, Intranets, and Extranets presents a framework for working with e-business technologies that will help you develop electronic distribution strategies to maximize channel efficiency.The book addresses the signaling cues in marketing channels, examining the issues that affect the systemic flow of information, products, and services, including: the mediating role of channel structure on channel performance the transaction costs of cybermediaries the Internet's impact on independent sales agents the effects of brand familiarity and Web site vividness the analysis of electronic intermediaries in conventional distribution channels and the organizational and environmental factors involved in Internet-based marketing channels Internets, Intranets, and Extranets: New Waves in Channel Surfing is an essential resource for distribution managers, logisticians, and researchers interested in cutting-edge principles and practices in electronic distribution channels. The book is also an ideal supplement for academics working in electronic commerce study.

Japan is rightly regarded as one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, yet the development and deployment of Internet technology in Japan has taken a different trajectory compared with Western nations. This is the first book to look at the specific dynamics of Japanese Internet use.

It examines the crucial questions:
* how the Japanese are using the Internet: from the prevalence of access via portable devices, to the fashion culture of mobile phones
* how Japan's "cute culture" has colonized cyberspace
* the role of the Internet in different musical subcultures
* how different men's and women's groups have embraced technology to highlight problems of harassment and bullying
* the social, cultural and political impacts of the Internet on Japanese society
* how marginalized groups in Japanese society - gay men, those living with AIDS, members of new religious groups and Japan's hereditary sub-caste, the Burakumin - are challenging the mainstream by using the Internet.

Examined from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives, using a broad range of case-studies, this is an exciting and genuinely cutting-edge book which breaks new ground in Japanese studies and will be of value to anyone interested in Japanese culture, the Internet and cyberculture.