Page 94 - Communication Cultural and Media Studies The Key Concepts

EDUTAINMENT

occurs over the Internet or other networks that use non-proprietary
protocols such as Intranets.
Non-proprietary systems are easy to access and are inexpensive
compared to the dedicated communications systems of earlier forms of
e-commerce. Where the latter relied on pre-existing commercial
relationships and processes, e-commerce that takes place over the
Internet uses standard coding and the World Wide Web interface.
Consumer and business efficiency, in terms of cost, distance and time,
and potential scale, is therefore the key attribute of Internet e-
commerce. The OECD in 1999 predicted that this newcommercial
arena would ‘radically alter economic activities and the social
environment through its influence on day-to-day, routine business
dynamics’ (Wyckoff, 1999).
Since the dot.com crash of May 2000, e-commerce enthusiasts
have toned down such predictions. E-commerce initiatives continue
successfully to expand a range of business interests, but e-commerce is
nowseen as an additional means of business distribution that
complements, rather than eliminates, other distribution avenues (such
as physical shop-front presence). Established retailers with significant
resources, brand recognition and real-world presence have successfully
expanded their business through e-commerce. Profiting from new,
Internet-only business initiatives has proved less successful. The chain-
store Toys‘ ’Us were able to maintain their electronic presence
beyond a debilitating Christmas season while their Web-only
competitor eToys folded.
Computer goods, entertainment, travel and discount brokerage
sales account for more than 80 per cent of the online retail market.
The majority of e-commerce activity, however, occurs between
businesses (see b2b) rather than directly with the consumer. Business-
to-business transactions that require speed and efficiency and the
ability to overcome distance are more easily translated into the
electronic realm than are retail sales.
See also: Globalisation, Internet, Network society

EDUTAINMENT

On the model of ‘infotainment’, ‘edutainment’ is a hybrid term which
describes the use of media entertainment techniques in educational
services. The term had pejorative connotations as part of the ‘dumbing
down’ debate, suggesting that the substance of education was being

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