discussion technologies and services

Three internet foundational technologies

I. Packet Switching

The first technology considered foundational to the internet is packet switching. packet switching is essentially how a computer breaks down any given signal/message into many different ordered sub components called packets. these sub components are ordered so that upon reaching their destination they can be easily rearranged into their original form. This allows the various packets of an initial message to be sent along many different routes and at different times bust still come out complete and in tact when all reach their destination. formally the only alternative was to have dedicated lines for each machine in order to not mix signals, but this was incredibly inefficient at scale.

II. TCP/IP

The introduction of communication protocols like TCP/IP are incredibly important in being able to actually utilize packet switching. In an environment with many different computers all with different software, interfaces,  and "languages" being able to properly reassemble a message from a another computer would be incredibly challenging. By introducing a set of universal standards any computer can use packet switching and be confident that any other computer will be able to properly reassemble the packets. This is what allows for so many different devices to all connect to the internet and communicate with each other, as opposed to having many separate smaller internets based on individual communication protocols.

III. client/server computing

Client/server computing is a concept to allow a decentralized network of individual machines along with a server (or network of servers) to cooperate on tasks. Prior to this concept the only way to increase computing power was to increase the power of the computer as generally only one computer could work on an individual task at a time. this lead to physically massive and expensive mainframes being the standard of computing for many decades. Witch client/server computing one can increase computational power devoted to a task by simply increasing the number of computers, which is generally much more efficient than upgrading a mainframe.

 

Two services that the internet and web offer that can directly contribute to an e-Commerce solution

Search engines

The word search engine is largely associated with names like google and Mozilla, however many individual sites and business have their own internal search engines. any large e-retailer is likely to have a search engine, how else would it be possible to browse their massive wares without a physical store. Good search engine optimization can greatly enhance user experience (such as win amazon correctly recommends wanted items) or hinder it (trying desperately to find an item not showing up in search results, even though you know it exists). Modern sites as they expand in size often run into problems with curating and/or displaying  their content & products but a well made search engine can help mitigate these problems (Rashidi et al, 2021).

Communication Technology

One of the greatest benefits of the internet are the new communication opportunities it provides, from e-mail to forums. Of growing, but often understated, importance are microblogs. microblogs are a way in which individuals can disseminate opinion and information through centralized written word, videos, pictures, and other media. Microblogs are becoming increasingly important to brand importance with the runners of said blogs being able to leverage their viewer base to affect public opinion to a noticeable degree (Chu et al, 2020). Thus it is important for an e-commerce business to invest time and effort on a strategy on how to deal with microblogs and if possible use them to the brands benefit.

 

Rashidi, R., Khamforoosh, K., & Sheikhahmadi, A. (2021). Proposing improved meta-heuristic algorithms for clustering and separating users in the recommender systems. Electronic Commerce Research, 22(2), 623–648. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-021-09478-9

Chu, X., Liu, Y., Chen, X., Ding, Z., & Tao, S. (2020). What motivates consumer to engage in microblogs? The roles of brand post characteristics and brand prestige. Electronic Commerce Research, 22(2), 451–483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10660-020-09435-y