Articles by Mark W. Vigoroso

January is quickly flying by and we've hardly had time to consider what awaits e-commerce in 2002 Last year tested all of us, with unprecedented jobcontraction, more failed Web companies, and heightened security fears spurred by September 11th....

The anonymity of the Internet and the potential for higher rewards for criminals has fueled an alarming increase in cybercrime activity in recent years. Indeed, analysts agree that Internet-savvy lawbreakers may have more to gain and less to lose than their physical world counterparts "If you're talking about physical assets, you can only steal so ...

By now, you have probably realized that Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) is up to something Just this week, the company cut a deal withCigna (NYSE: CI), agreeing to build a custom portal for the health care heavyweight. Doesn't sound like the zany, business-casual Yahoo! we've grown to love, does it?...

We may have seen the worst of e-tailing attrition inthe last two years, but we have not seen the last ofit. Surviving online retailers still have substantialwork to do in order to reach the end of 2002 without closing up shop "The shakeout is not over," Gartner Group researchdirector Geri Spieler told the E-Commerce Times."Unless pure-play e-tailer...

The demise of many individual electronic marketplaces in 2001 may have unfairly tarnished the reputation of the overall business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce sector While scores of online companies specializing in matching buyers with sellers have perished in recent months, throngs of B2B technologycompanies steered clear of the downswing and haves...

Ours is an economy of hype. Vendors produce it.Infomediaries distribute it. And unfortunately,corporations and consumers often buy it The hype swirling around Web services these days hasmany companies perplexed. Is this another hollowpromise of riches for all? Or is this a technologydeserving of our attention and our ever-thinning IT budgets?...

Scrutiny befalls every move that Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) makes. Most pack-leaders must bear this burden. But Amazon's December 6th decision to make its Web site accessible to the blind can't help but attract applause, and hopefully emulation....

Undeniably, the Internet has changed many components of business, and public relations is no exception. The Web and e-mail have brought unprecedented speed and efficiency to the dissemination of product and company awareness However, amid the barrage of online pitches, high-tech PR professionals still rely on traditional communications vehicles for...

We all know by now that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) isprone to tyrannical bouts of imperialism. A fewcursory wrist slaps from the Feds won't change that But the software Goliath's latest bid for worlddomination defies logic. Veiled as a holidaypromotion for its .NET Passport service, Microsoftis trying to purchase consumer trust en masse....

In Part 2 of this interview, Intel director of corporate Internet marketing Shawn Conly continues his discussion with the E-Commerce Times of i-marketing strategies and pitfalls Click here to return to Part 1....

When you think of Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), you cannot help but conjure images of lovable aliens or of the Blue Man Group raising the giant number "4" when the Pentium 4 came out. That is thanks largely to a marketing machine that is as lively as ever, despite this recession-hindered economy Even with 2001 revenues expected to fall slightlyshort of the...

The success that Dell Computer (Nasdaq: DELL) has had with its build-to-order (BTO) sales philosophy raises the question of whether that model could apply more widely to e-commerce According to analysts, while some retailers might succeed using BTO with certain high-margin, high-volume items, the approach is unlikely to gain widespread prominence a...

Most e-commerce sellers and go-betweens have but one wish this holiday season: revenue In a sheepish effort to fulfill that craving, many e-commerce go-betweens -- as in online marketplaces and payment service providers -- are starting to squeeze buyers for cash....

Before long, business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce may become a misnomer. That is because opportunities for online innovation and value creation reside more within multipartner collaboration than in transaction processing, analysts say The prospect of "automating the entire purchasing process seems dim in the near future," Jupiter Media Metrix anal...

If you build it -- and tell enough people about it --they will come, and hopefully buy Throngs of portals and e-commerce sites during thedot-com era embraced this mindset, and treated us toan unprecedented branding blitz. Need I remind you of Super Bowl XXXIV?...

The next phase of e-commerce may cast the World Wide Web in a backup role. Often mistakenly equated to the Internet, the Web's shortcomings as a commerce medium have analysts forecasting a new era of Internet commerce....

As Web merchants head into the holiday season, e-tail marketers are looking at a whole bunch of skittish and penny-pinching consumers -- and trying to figure out how to get them to purchase gifts online. No matter how much the analysts say it is not so, the expectations and forecasts for 2001 holiday revenues reflect a weak economy and theaftermat...

Unfortunately, Jeff Bezos and Sir Winston Churchillwill never share a trade show keynote bill Imagine Bezos' reaction to his podium-mate's booming proclamation, "It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time."

Dirty laundry. Household nuisance for you and me. Catalyst for Internet technology innovation for a few others Pennsylvania-based e-Vend.net is experimenting with Internet-connected washing machines in the dormitories of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Students can check online for washing machine availability and receive e-mail al...

Web site designers at e-commerce companies may be feeling repressed these days because growing customer demand for site usability is limiting designers' freedom to employ the beloved bell-and-whistle Web merchants have become laser-focused on expediting thepurchasing process, so designers are having to justify theirwork in terms of usefulness first...