Explaining the Evolving Web - Mixing Technology with Pleasure

摘要

This paper provides a framework for examining what services are and will be required for consumers participating in the vast electronic market that is the Internet. There are many profound changes taking place, somewhat different than could be envisioned when Electronic Market Theory was first developed, but in general quite consistent with the theory [1,2]. From the perspective of the service provider the most important insights are that consumers have been empowered by the Web 2.0 technologies to provide or tailor the services that satisfy their needs, and that a key job of the service provider is to build the platforms that make the consumer's job as easy and transparent as possible. The chain of reasoning supporting this insight is summarized below and then elaborated on in the following sections: