19 Mar 02 10908527
The Golden Age of E-Commerce
Driven by demanding investors and an unforgiving stock market, many e-commerce firms have clawed their way to profitability. In fact, with a growing roster of companies operating in the black, we may be perched on the cusp of an e-commerce “golden age,” according to analysts. “I would not be surprised to find that the majority of online retailers are profitable now, if you include multichannel retailers,” Jupiter Media Metrix analyst Ken Cassar told the E-Commerce Times. “If you just focus on the pure-plays, we may be a year or two away from a profitable majority.”
Tags: User Experience
19 Mar 02 10901889
Businesses Focus CRM Spending on Marketing
Businesses are expected to invest more in customer relationship management (CRM) technology over the next few years, but will shift their focus from customer service to marketing applications, according to a Jupiter Media Matrix study. Jupiter predicts that CRM spending will rise to $16.5 billion in 2006, the bulk of which will go toward analytical and marketing software. Companies will focus more on their existing customer information to improve offerings, says Jupiter. Of the $9.7 billion spent on CRM technology last year, 54 percent went toward customer service, according to the study.
Tags: User Experience
07 Mar 02 10499734
The IT Industry has Single-handedly Wrecked the World Economy
David Murray used his keynote address to the World IT Congress to attack the industry in general, claiming that it failed to deliver on its promises, and Microsoft in particular. �Microsoft�s paper says information technology is going to lead the growth of the world economy,� said Murray. �Well, let me tell you the IT industry in the U.S. has single-handedly wrecked the world economy because the promises were large and by the time they were turned into investor promises at the casino-end of the equity markets, then the investments were entirely unrealistic.�
Tags: User Experience
01 Mar 02 10264940
Knowledge Management
Unfortunately, there’s no universal definition of KM, just as there’s no agreement as to what constitutes knowledge in the first place. For this reason, it’s best to think of KM in the broadest context. Succinctly put, KM is the process through which organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets. Most often, generating value from such assets involves sharing them among employees, departments and even with other companies in an effort to devise best practices. It’s important to note that the definition says nothing about technology; while KM is often facilitated by IT, technology by itself is not KM. Read more in the Darwin Magazine Knowledge Management Executive Guide.
Tags: User Experience
01 Mar 02 10264185
The Most Recent Exchanges in the Longstanding Bet Between Mitch Kapor and Ray Kurzweil
Mitch Kapor: Why I Think I Will Win
Mitch Kapor isn’t so sure we’ll achieve an AI sophisticated enough to pass the Turing Test by 2029.
Raymond Kurzweil: Response to Mitchell Kapor’s “Why I Think I Will Win”
Ray Kurzweil responds to Mitch Kapor’s arguments against the possibility of an AI that will pass a Turing Test in 2029 in this final counterpoint on the long bet: will an AI pass a Turing Test by 2029?
Tags: User Experience
01 Mar 02 10263569
CHI2002 Changing the World, Changing Ourselves
The conference of the Computer-Human Interaction SIG takes place in Minneapolis 20-25 April.
The CHI2002|AIGA Experience Design FORUM will be held during the event.
Tags: User Experience
