Page 74 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

52 2 E-Commerce: Mechanisms, Platforms, and Tools

Business-Oriented Public Social Networks The site has much more information than you will find in
newspapers. According to their website, Craigslist receives 80
Business-oriented social networks, also known as profes- million new classified ads every month. Each month there are
sional social networks, are social networks whose primary more than 60 million visitors to the site in the United States
objective is to facilitate business. The prime example here is alone (see craigslist.org/about/factsheet). Finally, there are
linkedin.com, which provides business connections and over 50 billion page views per month. For more statistics, see
enables recruiting and finding jobs (see Chapter 8). Another alexa.com/siteinfo/craigslist.org. According to Alexa.com,
example is craigslist.org, the largest classified ad site, which Craigslist is the eleventh most visited site in the United States.
offers many social-oriented features (see Case 2.2 later in In addition, Craigslist features over 100 topical discus-
this section). Another example is The Brain Yard, a place for sion forums with more than 200 million user postings. Every
executives to find news, knowledge, and contacts. Finally, day, people from 700 local sites in 70 countries worldwide
doximity.com is a medical network for U.S. physicians and check classified ads and interact on forums. Craigslist is con-
health care professionals. Businesses are using business sidered by many as one of the few websites that could change
social networks to advertise their brands as well as making the world because it is simply a free social-oriented, popular,
and enhancing contacts globally. and useful notice site. Although many other sites offer free
classifieds, no other site comes close to Craigslist.
Some Capabilities of Business-Oriented Networks Users cite the following reasons for the popularity of
Craigslist:
With Web 2.0 tools, companies can engage users in new inno-
vative ways (for an example, see Online File W2.4). More
direct communication is achieved by offering additional ways • It gives people a voice.
for consumers to engage and interact among themselves and • It is consistent and champions down-to-earth
with organizations. For example, a company can: values.
• It illustrates simplicity.
• It has social networking capabilities.
• Encourage consumers to rate and comment on • It can be used for free in most cases (you can post
products and services. free ads, except for business; for rent, or for sale ads
• Allow consumers to create their own topic areas in a few large cities; some employment ads; and for
and build communities (forums) around shared adult and therapeutic services).
interests possibly related to a company’s products. • It is effective and well visited.
• Hire bloggers or staff editors who can lead discus-
sions about customer feedback.
• Provide incentives such as sweepstakes and con- For more information, see craigslist.org/about/factsheet.
tests for customers to get involved in new product
As an example of the site’s benefits, we provide the per-
(service) design and marketing campaigns. sonal experience of one of the authors, who needed to rent
• Encourage user-made videos about products/ser-
his condo in Long Beach, California. The usual process to
vices and offer prizes for winning video ads. get the condo rented would take 2–4 weeks and $400–$700 in
• Provide interesting stories in e-newsletters.
newspaper ads, plus ads in local online sites for rental ser-
vices. With Craigslist, it took less than a week at no cost. As
more people discover Craigslist, the traditional newspaper-
An interesting business-oriented company that uses clas- based classified ad industry will probably be the loser; ad
sified ads is craigslist.org, which is described in Case 2.2. rates may become lower, and fewer ads will be printed.
In some cities, Craigslist charges for “help wanted” ads
and apartments listed by brokers. In addition, Craigslist may
CASE 2.2: EC APPLICATION charge for ads with rich media features.
CRAIGSLIST: THE ULTIMATE ONLINE
CLASSIFIED COMMUNITY
Concerns About Craigslist
If you want to find (or offer) a job, housing, goods and ser-
vices, social activities, romance, advice, and much more in Critics charge that some users post illegitimate or false ads
over 700 local sites in 13 languages, and in more than 70 coun- on the site and the Craigslist staff are unable to effectively
tries worldwide (2016 data), go to Craigslist (craigslist.org). monitor this practice. Some users have complained about