errors in the bill?

If you pay by credit or charge card online, your transaction will be protected by the Fair Credit Billing Act. If get billed for merchandise you returned or never received, or your credit card company charged you twice for the same item or failed to credit a payment to your account, mistakes can be corrected and people can dispute settlement procedures provided by the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA).

Any charges on your bill that you want explained or you don't recognize can be treated as a "billing error" under the Fair Credit Billing Act.

What to do if you finding a billing error about your purchases?

There are three main rules to follow:

1. Put it in writing : write a letter to the credit card company about any errors you find on your card bill.
What happens if you do not write a letter?simply you will not be protected under this law.

2. Make your written complaint within the 60-day deadline.

3. According to the law, your dispute letter must include your name, address, account number and a description of the problem.

You can read more about this act at http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20031111a1.asp and http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre16.shtm

how to know if a site is secure?

This might be very basic for online shoppers, but it is always good to refresh our memory and remember to make sure that we are shopping at secure websites. I believe the most important issue is the security of a person's financial information.

As mentioned at in the article "online shopping tips" You can tell when you are dealing with a secure Web site in several ways:

• First, if you look at the top of your screen where the Web site address is displayed, you should see https://. The "s" that is displayed after "http" indicates that Web site is secure. Often, you do not see the "s" until you actually move to the order page on the Web site.
• Another way to determine if a Web site is secure is to look for a closed padlock displayed at the bottom of your screen. If that lock is open, you should assume it is not a secure site.
• The third symbol that indicates you are on a secure site is an unbroken key.

Facebook in real life- great video

you can see it here

Teenagers & social networks

Recent research of Pew showed that 2/3 of the teenagers online keep their profiles on social network "private". Teens showed to be thoughtful about their identities online. According to the research only 10% of those teens put their 1st and last name online.

I think that teenagers might be even more careful than older people in managing which information they want to share with the rest of the world.

According to this research about 65% of the teenagers said that they believe they should not provide the name of their school on their FB profiles. Teens think of how the information they provide online could help people to find them online. The research showed that teenagers might actually provide false information on their profiles, for ex: the city of residence, which is a way they use to misguide people whom they don't want to have a contact with.

They are still 40% of the teenagers who have public profiles, and share a lot of info online, hoping to expand their network and meet new people. This of course exposes them to greater risk. Parents should give the issue of online privacy a great amount of attention. 43% of the teens have been contacted by a complete stranger via social networks. Those teenagers are Digital Natives and spent most of their time online, hence a proportionate time should be devoted to guide them to become aware of the possible risks on online social networks.

do you buy clothes online?

I never bought shoes, bags, jackets or even a hat online.. It is not that i appreciate the shopping at the physical stores better, i actually hate malls. It is simply because i am not comfortable about paying for shoes for example without trying it on, walking around for 30 seconds in the shoe before i pay for them. I might be very traditional in my way of thinking!

I thought maybe that is the same for other people out there. So i searched to see what is the portion of online sales of the total sales..Then i found that chart (see above) at the U.S census Bureau , i was actually amazed to find out that around 66% of the clothing sales happen online..

oh and that data is of 2007! so maybe now by 2010 its even 75% or something...

Family found a child to adopt via facebook

A family found a 17months old child to adopt through facebook. Many families struggle for years to adopt a child. Private adoption is becoming easier through social networks.

to see video go to:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2010/05/22/nr.facebook.adoption.cnn?iref=allsearch

Social CRM: Jump In or Be Pushed

In his article, “Christopher J. Bucholtz” says much of the effectiveness of social CRM is hidden. He claims that most businesses understand that they exist in a new reality; the reality that allows customers to communicate with them and with each other in new, faster and in a more pervasive way. He stresses that the emergence of social CRM social marketing, social service and a whole host of other social takes on key business functions. In his article he mentioned that there are still many businesses that are skeptical about the affects of this trend and whether or not to tap this reality. According to him In a way, they are wise, because the best practices for harnessing the power enabled by social media have not yet been documented. Without solid, visible examples of how to make the leap to being a social business, many are unwilling to take that leap themselves.

But most importantly he concludes that Social CRM does not replace traditional CRM, but augments it. Interestingly he says “Instead of a Social CRM revolution, there's an evolution”. Meaning a successful company won’t take its old CRM approach and swapped it for a Social CRM approach.

To read more about see http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/70021.html?wlc=1276825991> http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/70021.html?wlc=1276825991

Online Market Segments

In his article Scott F. Geld says that buying products and services online is huge in dollar value. Consumers spend more time online, wise marketers are spending more of their advertising budget online.

According to the writer three distinct market groups are emerging: buyers, consumers and
surfers.

Buyers

Buyers are business professionals who may be executives,engineers, managers, researchers. According to the writer this segment does not get the attention it deserves and often these people are responsible for making purchasing decisions that require sourcing supplies, materials.
services.

Consumers

home computer user who checks out commercial online services. This group is very important. They're already receptive to making purchases over the Internet.

How marketers can seize this segment? According to the writer marketers can do so by only have to make the online shopping experience easier

Surfers

are the online fun seekers. They use online technology as a form of recreation, to play games, get music and expand their knowledge. They are typically younger and fickle. And these people have short attention spans. According to him this is the most challenging group to market
to, but one with a huge potential. Surfers are an impulsive bunch. So if a product catches their eye, they'll buy online with no second thoughts.

to read the full article go to http://www.simplejoe.com/article-online-market-segments.htm

European Authorities Join Facebook Privacy Dogpile

In the news "European privacy advocates have added their voices to complaints about Facebook's privacy changes, and they say certain ways Facebook treats data may even be illegal under European laws. Facebook's approach to its recent privacy controversy mirrors previous instances that have upset users, according to analyst Greg Sterling -- it only relents once pressure becomes unbearable" (read more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/69982.html?wlc=1273772232>)

It is not only about facebook.Many websites, and e tailers are showing more concern about the EU strict laws about privacy.

Few days ago, i was making a purchase online " pen stylus to replace the lost one", and when i proceeded to the check out, i filled out all the info, and then when i put the card number, another question popped out, and said : Are you an EU citizen? . It was a strange question,and it said "?click here" . i was wondering why i am asked this question, i clicked to know why. The main point was, that if i am an EU citizen then a lot of the info that i provided such as my name, phone, email will not be kept in the data, or shared blah blah"

So i clicked : yes, i am an EU citizen (although i am not but i put yes). They are more strict about personal info, and i like that. I hate receiving emails from marketers, or phone calls.

I hope soon all websites will have this option, this way i will get less spam and annoying calls, and they will save themselves from future legal trouble

Gaining Competitive adventage from using the Internet

Why is Internet so useful???

low cost
open standard ( everybody and every company can have a website)
more possibilities for exchanging products and services, money, information in an online setting.

According to Kotler, the internet does not in itself offer companies competitive advantage , rather online success depends on companies ability to exploit online market opportunities for their market offerings. meaning success depends on other factors, such as its actual integration into organizational routines and the management skills of the firm, co-specialization with other organizational resources and the exploitation of the networks.

According to Kotler is based on cost reduction advantages that internet offers. He mentioned how companies can create competitive advantage by using Internet, for example through:

Reducing transaction costs: reducing information asymmetries and by facilitating coordination of independent processes such as design and engineering. Transaction costs occur when products or services are transferred from one organization to another and may include search costs and enforcement costs.Moreover, the internet allows knowledge sharing within a partnership. By utilizing information and communication technologies for supporting supply chain integration, companies are able to control better flows of material, information and finance. ICT generally, and internet and web technologies in particular, are specially useful for supply chain management.

Reducing customer search costs : To many people nowadays, having time to shop is almost impossible (students like us for example). Search costs (the time, money, mental resources spent searching) are recognized as an important determinant of customers decision making process in the market place. Digital technology enables customers to access more information about products and services while at the same time facilitating a larger choice due to the global reach of internet.

In his articles he mentioned other ways that the internet can help companies to have a competitive advantage, you can read more about the topic in ( Marketing Management. Kotler, Keller, Brady, Goodman and Hansen. (2009). Or his official website www.kotlermarketing.com