elements and add the following right after the others in the installation file:
http://jakarta.apache.org/taglibs/
dbtags
/WEB-INF/dbtags.tld
7. Add the following directive at the top of each JSP: <%@ taglib uri="http://jakarta.apache.org
/taglibs/dbtags"
prefix="sql"%>
Any prefix may be used but “sql” is the convention.
GLOSSARY
CONCLUSION The following marketing prose from the Sun JSP Technology Web site is a good summary of the advantages of this approach: JavaServer Pages technology uses XML-like tags that encapsulate the logic that generates the content for the page. Additionally, the application logic can reside in server-based resources (such as JavaBeans component architecture) that the page accesses with these tags. Any and all formatting (HTML or XML) tags are passed directly back to the response page. By separating the page logic from its design and display and supporting a reusable component-based design, JSP technology makes it faster and easier than ever to build web-based applications. (JavaServer Pages, n.d.) Overstatement aside, the particular advantages of JSP are that it is platform independent and that it is highly extensible. JSP technology, as with most of the Web, is evolving so rapidly that no survey could ever attempt to be comprehensive. This chapter has only touched on the surface aspects. There are many good reference works on JSP; a partial list can be found below. Furthermore, the online references listed are an essential place for the developer to keep track of the changes and new concepts so quickly emerging in the area of dynamic, server-based Web development.
GLOSSARY .class file A Java binary file containing machineindependent byte code. .jar file A Java archive file containing one or more .class files. .war file A .jar file that contains a Java Web application. Active Data Object (ADO) Microsoft’s newest interface for accessing data objects. Active Server Page (ASP) A Web page including dynamic content provided by the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). Apache The Apache Software Foundation, which provides support for a number of open source software projects. The Apache HTTP Server is the most widely deployed Web server software. Applet A small Java program designed to be run by a Web client from within a browser. Application Program Interface (API) A set of specifications and tools for building and running software applications. Bytecode The result of compiling Java source code; interpreted by the Java Virtual Machine. Classpath The list of directories that Java will search to locate a required class. Client A software application that runs on a PC or workstation and connects to a server that provides data or Web content. Common gateway interface (CGI) A specification for dynamic transfer of information between a Web server and a client.
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Component Object Model (COM) A Microsoft specification that allows programs to access objects that support this public interface. Constructor A Java method that specifies the code to be executed when an object is created. Hypertext markup language (HTML) A specification for creating documents for the World Wide Web. Java A platform-independent, object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems; widely used for Web applications. Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) A set of APIs that can be used to create multitier Web applications. JavaBeans A specification developed by Sun Microsystems that specifies how Java objects interact; can be run on any platform that supports the Java Virtual Machine. Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) API that allows Java programs to execute SQL statements. JavaScript A scripting language design by Netscape to allow client-side dynamic content in Web pages. JavaServer Pages (JSP) Web pages containing dynamic content supplied by Java servlets. Java Virtual Machine (JVM) A platform-specific interpreter for running Java bytecode. JSP action HTML-embedded code that is executed when a JSP page is requested by a client. JSP custom tag JSP element tag that provides some user-specified action (see tag library). JSP declaration Used to declare a scripting language variable or method; code is inserted into the generated servlet. JSP directive Used to supply information that does not differ between requests for a page. JSP expression A syntactically complete, valid expression inserted into the servlet code; must result in a String. JSP scriptlet A code fragment inserted in the servlet. Method A function or subprocedure in object-oriented programming, executed when the object receives a message. Parameter An argument to a function or subprocedure; parameters in HTTP are content passed to or from a Web page. PHP An open-source, server-side embedded scripting language; it is included with most Linux releases. Scope The range of statements in which a variable or method is visible. Server A software application that provides networkshared resources such as e-mail, printing, Web content, or data. Servlet A small Java program run by the Web server to provide dynamic content. Servlet engine A stand-alone program that supports the servlet API. Structured query language (SQL) A standardized way to access information in relational databases. Tag handler A JavaBean that provides methods to get and set properties of a custom action. Tag library A collection of custom actions. Tag library descriptor (TLD) An XML file that maps custom actions to tag handlers. Tomcat A freely available servlet engine created by the Jakarta Project of the Apache Software Foundation.
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JAVASERVER PAGES (JSP)
Uniform resource identifier (URI) The generic term for an Internet address. Uniform resource locator (URL) One type of URI.
CROSS REFERENCES See Active Server Pages; ActiveX Data Objects (ADO); Common Gateway Interface (CGI) Scripts; Dynamic HTML (HyperText Markup Language); HTML/XHTML (HyperText Markup Language/Extensible HyperText Markup Language); JavaBeans and Software Architecture; JavaScript; Perl; Web Content Management.
REFERENCES Active Server Pages (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?URL=/ library/psdk/iisref/aspguide.htm Apache Jakarta Project (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/ Apache Jakarta Project Overview (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat4.0-doc/config/ Goodwill, J. (n.d.) Java Web Applications. Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/ 2001/03/15/tomcat.html Jakarta Project: DBTags Tag Library (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://jakarta.apache.org/taglibs/ doc/dbtags-doc/ Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://java.sun.com/dtd/ JavaServer Pages (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/ JavaServer Pages Tag Library (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/ taglibraries.html Java Servlet Technology (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://java.sun.com/products/servlet/ JDBC Data Access API (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://industry.java.sun.com/products/jdbc/drivers and http://java.sun.com/products/jdbc/ JDBC-ODBC Bridge Driver (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://java.sun.com / j2se / 1.3 / docs / guide /jdbc/ getstart/bridge.doc.html PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://www.php.net/ Shachor, G. (n.d.) Working with mod jk. Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://jakarta.apache.org/tomcat/tomcat3.3-doc/mod jk-howto.html Web Applications (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://java.sun.com/webservices/docs/ea2/tutorial/doc/ WebApp.html Web Application Deployment Tool for Java Web Services Development Pack (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://java.sun.com/webservices/docs/ea2/deploytool/ ReleaseNotes.html Web Clients and Components (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://java.sun.com/j2ee/tutorial/1-3-fcs/ doc/WCC.html
FURTHER READING JavaServer Pages Bergsten, H. (2002). JavaServer Pages (2nd ed.). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
Brogden, W. B. (2000). Java developer’s guide to servlets and JSP. Alameda, CA: Sybex. Burd, B. A. (2001). JSP: JavaServer Pages developer’s guide. New York: Hungry Minds. Callaway, D. R. R., & Coward, D. (2001). Inside servlets: Server-side programming for the Java platform (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Fields, D. K., Kolb, M. A., & Bayern, S. (2001). Web development with Java Server Pages. Greenwich, CT: Manning. Geary, D. M. (2001). Advanced JavaServer Pages. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. Goodwill, J., & Mehta, S. (2001). Developing Java servlets. Indianapolis, IN: Sams. Hall, M. (2000). Core servlets and JavaServer Pages. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. Hall, M. (2001). More servlets and JavaServer Pages. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. Hougland, D., & Tavistock, A. (2000). Core JSP. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. Hougland, D., & Tavistock, A. (2001). Essential JSP for Web professionals. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. Hunter, J., Crawford, W., & Ferguson, P. (2001). Java servlet programming (2nd ed.). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly. Kurniawan, B. (2002). Java for the Web with servlet, JSP, and EJB: A developer’s guide to scalable J2EE solutions. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders. Monson-Haefel, R. (2001). Enterprise JavaBeans (3rd ed.). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly. Moss, K. (1999). Java servlets. New York: McGraw-Hill. Smith, D. (2002). Java 2 for the World Wide Web. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press. Williamson, A. R. (1999). Java servlets: By example. Greenwich, CT: Manning.
Custom JSP Tags da Silva, W. L. S. (2001). JSP and tag libraries for Web development. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders. Goodwill, J. (2002). Mastering JSP custom tags and tag libraries. New York: Wiley. Heaton, J. (2002). JSTL: JSP standard tag library. Indianapolis, IN: Sams. Schachor, G., Chace, A., & Rydin, M. (2001). JSP tag libraries. Greenwich, CT: Manning. Weissinger, A. K., & Weissinger, K. (2002). Developing JSP custom tag libraries. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.
JDBC Harms, D. (2001). JSP, servlets, and MySQL. New York: Wiley. Reese, G. (2000). Database programming with JDBC and Java (2nd ed.). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly. Turner, J. (2002). MySQL and JSP Web applications: Datadriven programming using Tomcat and MySQL Indianapolis, IN: Sams. White, S., Fisher, M., Cattell, R., Hamilton, G., & Hapner, M. (1999). JDBC API tutorial and reference: Universal data access for the Java 2 platform (Java series) (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Williamson, A. R., & Moran, C. (1997). Java database programming: Servlets and JDBC. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR.
K K
Knowledge Management Ronald R. Tidd, Central Washington University
Introduction Knowledge Management What Is Knowledge? Why Should Knowledge Be Managed? What Is Knowledge Management? The Knowledge Management System KMS Goals and Strategies KMS Processes The KMS Technological Infrastructure KMS Organizational Infrastructure KMS Metrics
431 432 432 432 433 433 434 434 436 438 438
INTRODUCTION Imagine that you recently returned from an adventure vacation in a equatorial rain forest. Prior to your trip, you checked the Web sites of the U.S. State Department to verify the area’s security and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to identify the suggested vaccinations. During the trip, you consumed only food and water that had been properly prepared, avoided contact with animals that might transmit diseases or parasites, and generally practiced safe living without compromising your adventure. On your return, you “enjoyed” a relatively comfortable, but long and crowded, international flight. Now you are experiencing physical symptoms that suggest a case of the flu. Because these symptoms have persisted and increased in severity over a couple of days, you go online and connect to your physician’s Web portal. Your daily scheduling software connects with the physician’s daily scheduling software, and they arrange an appointment for the following day. Before logging off, you complete a patient interview form that apprises your physician of your symptoms. Your responses include information about your recent international travel, including locations and flight schedules. You also authorize your physician to report your symptoms to the CDC, but with an appropriate degree of privacy that protects your identity. (The CDC will know your symptoms and travel itinerary but no personally identifiable information.) You authenticate your authorization with your digital signature. While you try to sleep, the CDC computer system is collecting thousands of similar reports from around the World. It is using data mining techniques to discern patterns in the data, including a pattern related to your symptoms. The system notifies the appropriate CDC personnel and simultaneously e-mails an advisory to physicians who are treating affected patients. They are advised to moni-
The Impact of E-commerce E-commerce KMS Goals and Strategies E-commerce KMS Processes The E-commerce KMS Technological Infrastructure E-commerce KMS Organizational Infrastructure E-commerce KMS Metrics Conclusion Glossary Cross References References
438 439 439 439 440 440 440 441 441 441
tor those patients closely and submit information about the success of treatments administered. The advisory is also sent to key medical centers around the World and the leading pharmaceutical companies. Your medical condition continues to deteriorate during the night, but as your physician leaves home the next morning, he finds that his personal digital assistant (PDA) downloaded the CDC advisory and your interview form over a wireless wide area network during the night. When he arrives at his office, he discovers that his nurse received an update on the severity of the illness, the need to put you into quarantine, and the most successful treatment protocols. She has called you and the ambulance company closest to you to arrange for immediate transport to an isolation unit at the nearest hospital. Simultaneously, your physician’s computer system notified the hospital’s computer system. It checked the medications inventory to verify the availability of the required medications and advised the necessary medical personal over their PDAs. Those medical personnel also continuously receive updates on their PDAs from the ambulance crew about your vital statistics while you are in transit to the hospital. Because the ambulance is equipped with a GPS location device, hospital personnel monitor the ambulance’s expected time of arrival. Once your treatment starts, the hospital’s data will be fed to the CDC system so that its success can be assessed and conveyed to other physicians. Your physician’s computer system also notified your medical insurance provider, which issued digital authorization for your emergency treatment to the ambulance company, hospital, and physician. The system has already started to generate the records necessary to ensure that all of the participants in this situation receive the appropriate reimbursements in a timely manner. 431
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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT The medical community is at least several years away from implementing the processes and the technologies used in this hypothetical medical scenario, but the vignette illustrates how networked computers could be used to collect and process data and information, then deliver it to decision makers in a value chain. Sometimes the decision makers will use the prescriptions and procedures suggested by the information. Other times they will use the information as a catalyst for the generation of new knowledge based on their personal situations and experiences. The scenario also assumes that the participants in this value chain have overcome myriad organizational, cultural, and legal constraints. For example, concerns about patient privacy and proprietary research, plus the tendency of experts to enhance their professional reputations by hoarding rather than sharing knowledge, may prevent businesses from realizing the promise of knowledge management in e-commerce. The extent to which an organization realizes that promise depends on the perspective of knowledge and knowledge management that is brought to bear on the design and implementation of its knowledge management system. That perspective also determines the focus of a knowledge management system (KMS) and its processes. Alavi and Leidner (2001, p. 111) identified six such perspectives: 1. Knowledge vis-à-vis data and information. Data are input that create the information, which becomes knowledge when an individual processes it (hierarchical model). A KMS focuses on user assimilation of information. 2. State of mind. Knowledge is a state of knowing and understanding. A KMS provides access to sources of knowledge. 3. Object. Knowledge is an object to be stored and manipulated. A KMS helps gather, store, and transfer knowledge. 4. Process. Knowledge is the process of applying expertise. A KMS provides links among sources of knowledge to increase the depth and breadth of knowledge flows. 5. Access to information. Knowledge is a condition of access to information. A KMS provides search and retrieval mechanisms for locating relevant information. 6. Capability. Knowledge is the potential to influence action. A KMS supports development of individual and organizational competencies. The knowledge–data–information perspective guides the discussion in the remainder of this chapter. It should become obvious, however, that a “best practices” KMS draws from all of the perspectives.
What Is Knowledge? As is frequently noted in discussions about knowledge management, philosophers have debated for centuries as to what constitutes knowledge and how it is distinguished from and related to data and information. There is some
consensus about definitions that have pragmatic significance. One perspective uses a hierarchical model of data, information, and knowledge: r
Data are facts that have no intrinsic value. In the medical scenario, data includes the list of passengers on your international airline, the list of physicians on the CDC’s system, the list of patients with symptoms reported to the CDC, and the medications used. r Information is data that are processed and analyzed such that they can be used to help make decisions. In the medical scenario, information would include the correlation between your recently reported symptoms and your presence on a given international flight, as well as the analysis of treatments administered and their success. In this hierarchical model, data are the input used to create information and information is one input used to create knowledge. The definition of knowledge is more complicated (Polanyi, 1967) and depends to some extent on the other inputs that are combined with information to create the knowledge. When the inputs include an individual’s context and experience but do not include an ability to articulate in language or a process for documentation, the knowledge is referred to as tacit knowledge. In other words, it is knowledge that is embedded in an expert’s cognitive processes. In the medical scenario, the physician who first treated a patient reporting the symptoms associated with this international outbreak, analyzed patient data (symptoms and vital signs) to generate information, then processed that information within the medical context and added his or her professional beliefs and past experiences with similar symptoms. When knowledge is articulated in language and documented, it becomes explicit. It is likely that the physicians also relied on explicit knowledge about the efficacy of certain medications in the treatment of certain symptoms and afflictions. Such knowledge became explicit when it was documented in medical journals and the publications distributed by pharmaceutical companies, including the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. In this scenario, the CDC converted the tacit knowledge of the physicians into explicit knowledge through the processes of accumulating, analyzing, documenting, and disseminating the successes and failures of their prescribed treatments. Those processes are necessary to create explicit knowledge. Stewart (2001, p. 125) makes a useful distinction between how the two types of knowledge are developed: People are trained in the use of explicit knowledge; they are coached in the development of tacit knowledge.
Why Should Knowledge Be Managed? Managers are responsible for managing organizational resources to fulfill the organization’s mission effectively and efficiently. During the industrial age, this meant managing hard, tangible assets such as land, factories, equipment, and a significant amount of relatively unskilled labor. That labor “punched time clocks,” performed the same task on a fixed production line day after day, and was treated as an expense rather than an investment.
THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Now, there is some consensus that civilization is entering an information age or a digital economy (Martin, 1999; Minkin, 1995; Stewart, 2001; Tapscott, 1996). One of the expected characteristics of the mature economies in this emerging epoch is that they will rely less on manufacturing industries and more on service industries. The evidence suggests that this is already happening (Sveiby, 1997). This supports the increased emphasis on knowledge workers (assets) such as the attorneys, accountants, and consultants that many service industries employ. It would be a potentially disastrous mistake for managers in manufacturing enterprises not to become adept at managing knowledge resources, however. Computer technologies have created a more connected workforce in manufacturing companies and allowed decision making to occur at much lower levels in the hierarchy. Industrial age workers who used to tighten the same nut and bolt every day are now information age workers who now work at the same computer terminal every day. Their educational levels are increasing, and they are authorized to make decisions regarding the operation of production lines. They are increasingly recognized as a valuable source of knowledge with respect to the conversion of ideas on the drawing board to products on the store shelves and showrooms. That employee knowledge and competence is the focus of a second expected characteristic of the mature economies: Mature economies will depend less on tangible assets and more on intangible assets that include an organization’s employee competence and the internal and external structures that they create and support (Sveiby, 1997). Organizations that learn how to manage employee knowledge and competence can do the following: r Reduce development time for workforce and innovation
by delivering the appropriate information and knowledge to the workforce in a timely manner. r Assimilate knowledge for improved customer support by analyzing customer interactions documented through help-desk inquiries, correspondence, and Web site activity. r Organize increasing complexity in the organization and marketplace, in part by identifying an appropriate taxonomy for classifying key resources and processes. r Retain knowledge within the organization regardless of workforce mobility by identifying and collecting the knowledge and information contained in the structured (e.g., databases and spreadsheets) and unstructured documentation (e.g., e-mails, Web pages, and correspondence) generated and collected by the workforce. r Reduce development time for workforce and innovation by delivering the appropriate information and knowledge to the workforce in a timely manner. r Assimilate knowledge for improved customer support by analyzing customer interactions documented through help-desk inquiries, correspondence, and Web site activity. r Organize increasing complexity in the organization and marketplace, in part by identifying an appropriate taxonomy for classifying key resources and processes.
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Thus, proper management of knowledge workers and their expertise helps organizations improve customer satisfaction and maintain a competitive edge.
What Is Knowledge Management? There is no consensus about what constitutes knowledge management or even about whether knowledge can be managed. Data, information, and explicit knowledge are readily documented and, therefore, clearly manageable. Tacit knowledge is highly personalized and internalized. Thus, some claim it is unmanageable. Others claim that it is manageable to the extent that the expert who possesses it is manageable. Using the latter perspective for guidance, there are several possible definitions and descriptions of knowledge management from which to choose. Whichever is chosen, it is imperative that it recognize the strategic importance of knowledge management to organizational success. Knowledge management is about business, not technology. Barclay and Murray (1997) provided one such definition. Their original version referred to businesses, but it can be generalized to any organization with minor modifications. With those modifications, knowledge management is defined as an organizational activity that r
treats knowledge as an explicit concern of the organization and r links positive organizational results to explicit and tacit knowledge assets. The former requires that organizations adopt strategies, policies, procedures, and practices that support the collection and sharing of knowledge throughout their operations—at all levels and in all functional areas. The latter requires that organizations identify the intellectual assets that can be used to enhance operations or sold as knowledge products (Dawson, 2000; Stewart, 2001).
THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM There is some debate about the degree of dependence of knowledge management systems on information technologies (ITs; Alavi & Leidner, 2001, p. 114). Clearly, IT is not essential to the development of a viable KMS: Public accounting and legal firms maintained successful knowledge management programs well before desktop computers were integrated into their professional practices. IT does provide obvious enabling tools, however, tools that enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of a KMS. This is especially true when the KMS is integrated into an e-commerce system that relies on a solid IT infrastructure. Thus, the following discussion focuses on an IT-based knowledge management system. This does not imply that the IT department must manage the KMS. When viewed in this manner, it is possible to design and implement a KMS using the same conceptual foundation that guides the design and implementation of any IT system or subsystem. That foundation starts with the specification of a goal for the KMS. That goal is the essential precursor for strategies that will combine process
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Table 1 Conversion Modes for Knowledge Transformation (derived from Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995) FROM Tacit
TO Tacit Explicit
Explicit
Tacit Explicit
MODE Socialization through face-to-face communications between people who share a common culture and can work together effectively Externalization through conceptualization and elicitation that leads to articulation, typically in collaborative efforts Internalization through reflection about multiple sources of information, including reports and journal articles and e-learning Combination through exposure to knowledge through meetings, documents, e-mail, and training and education via e-learning
and an infrastructure to help fulfill the goal. The process starts with identifying useful knowledge and ends with delivering it to decision makers. The infrastructure comprises two components: The IT infrastructure focuses on computer technology and the human resources that use and manage that technology within an organization; the organizational infrastructure focuses on the organization’s hierarchical structure and its impact on knowledge sharing efforts.
KMS Goals and Strategies That system’s ultimate goal is to help fulfill organizational goals by sharing, extending, and creating explicit and tacit knowledge. It must do so when and where the knowledge is needed and in a manner that is personalized for an individual decision maker. The strategies used to fulfill this goal must adhere to two important rules: 1. Business mission drives the KMS effort and computer technology enables that effort. The KMS must help solve business problems, not highlight technological capacities and abilities. 2. All stakeholders must be involved in the design of the KMS then trained in its use. Those who will use the system must buy into it and understand that the organization’s management and leadership also have bought into the effort. The latter rule suggests the importance of the human resource and organizational cultural components to the successful KM strategy. The strategies for implementing a KM system must explicitly recognize the importance of properly training the user, because the investment in the human resources may generate a greater return on investment than the investment in the enabling technologies (Dawson, 2000, p. 75; Eisenhart, 2002). Because users work within an organizational culture, the implementation strategy also must consider how the culture influences their behavior with respect to the use of a KMS. De Long and Fahey (2000) identified four “frameworks” in which this occurs, in their discussion of how culture r Shapes
tant,
assumptions about which knowledge is impor-
r
Mediates the relationships between knowledge that belongs to the individual, to his or her work group, or to his or her organization, r Creates a context for social interaction, and r Shapes creation and adoption of new knowledge. Their examination of the linkage between culture and behavior toward knowledge resources provides evidence that “any discussion of knowledge in organization settings without explicit reference to its cultural contest is like to be misleading.” De Long and Fahey also enumerated diagnostic actions that managers can take within each framework to help align the goals of the KM and the culture of the organization. The strategies for the design and implementation of the KMS must also consider that the transformation of the different kinds of knowledge between people requires different conversion modes (Dawson, 2000; Marwick, 2001). Table 1 illustrates the four possible combinations for converting the tacit or explicit knowledge of one person to the tacit or explicit knowledge of another. It also shows that the KMS must provide the appropriate processes and technologies to support the conversion that an organization requires. A given transformation cannot occur in the absence of the appropriate system.
KMS Processes Manville (1999) identifies two different philosophies that can guide the design of the KMS. The more established of the two reflects an “engineering mindset.” It is based on the assumption that there is an omnipotent individual in the organization who is capable of defining the taxonomy used to catalog the organization’s knowledge. It is a topdown approach. The less established and potentially more powerful philosophy is based on the complex adaptive systems (emergent systems) paradigm. It relies on the assumption that only those who possess and create the knowledge can create the taxonomy. To prevent their diversity from degenerating into chaos, they will devise a system that allows only the most successful contributions to the schema to survive. It is a bottom-up approach. Whether the KMS is guided by the first or the second philosophy, it still follows the same basic processes. It must identify, collect, store, and deliver knowledge
THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
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Table 2 KMS Processes KMS PROCESS
KEY ACTIVITIES AND CONSIDERATIONS
Identify
Identify the appropriate communities of practice.
Identify the mission-critical knowledge that needs to be managed for each community.
Develop the taxonomy to be used to organize and catalog that knowledge.
Collect
Embed the collection process in the daily work process.
Rely on the technologies that the contributors use on a daily basis.
Develop a nurturing culture that values knowledge sharing.
Recognize and reward those whose contributions add value to the organization’s operations.
Store
Prevent unauthorized physical and virtual access to the KMS, including the hardware, software, and knowledge. Perform timely backups that are stored off site. Test the backup recovery process.
Deliver
Identify how those who will use the KMS work.
Train them in the appropriate use of the KMS.
Use some combination of push and pull strategies to deliver the information to them.
(Table 2). This model is most appropriate for the management of data, information, and explicit knowledge. With slight modification of the storage process, it can be altered to help manage the tacit knowledge embedded in the minds of knowledge workers. The identification stage is the most complicated in the process. It also is where the differential impact of the two philosophies is most noticeable. The two main goals in this stage are to identify the knowledge that needs to be managed because it helps a unit of analysis achieve its goals and then to classify that knowledge according to an appropriate vocabulary or taxonomy. The knowledge that needs to be managed and classified may be found in documents with content that is structured (e.g., databases and forms) and documents with content that is unstructured (e.g., spreadsheets, Web pages, letters, e-mail, and reports), as well as embedded in the knowledge workers. To fulfill those two goals, it is necessary to identify the appropriate organizational units for which knowledge is to be managed. For example, it could be by functional specialization. Thus, emergency room physicians and nurses, ambulance personnel, hospital inventory managers, and hospital accountants would each have their own separate taxonomy. Alternatively, the unit could be defined as a service (experience) community (Martin, 1999, pp. 185–220) or a community of practice in which networked computers transcend functional, geographic, and hierarchical boundaries. Then the physicians and nurses, ambulance personnel, hospital inventory managers, and hospital accountants might work together on a cross-functional emergency medicine project team, thus becoming a community of practice. (Geographically dispersed personnel can form a virtual community of practice.) Their focus shifts from their respective functional areas to the provision of cost-effective emergency medical services. Concomitantly, the knowledge each person needs may shift and the community of practice for which that knowledge must be managed also may shift. In fact, it may be constantly shifting as team members
participate in multiple projects at any time and move to different projects over time. Once the mission critical knowledge for the appropriate unit of analysis is identified, it must be classified with a taxonomy. A taxonomy provides a bridge between those who provide knowledge and information and those who need it. It does so by integrating r
structure with terms that are arranged in a hierarchy and cross-referenced and r pointers to the relevant knowledge resource, whether a digital document or a human expert. (A book’s index and a library’s card catalog are manifestations of taxonomies.) Thus, the taxonomy helps establish the credibility of the KMS and the trust that users will have in it. Its importance cannot be overstated. Manville (1999) explained that creating a taxonomy is a daunting task: Users from different functional areas or with different academic, cultural, and experiential backgrounds use different terminology. They may also use the same terminology in different ways. In slightly different terms, the context in which terminology, information, and knowledge evolve varies. Also, terminology tends to be dynamic, changing as knowledge workers revise their terminology and as the KMS expands to include new sources. The consequent Tower of Babel requires a mediation mechanism that generates a taxonomy that adapts to needs that change over time or between user groups. This is especially important as the diversity of the users of a KMS increases. Currently, the most feasible mechanisms include the designation of an individual or a committee to manage the taxonomy. As the amount of data, information, and knowledge that is managed by a KMS increases and diversifies, however, this approach becomes less feasible. Technologies such as XML (extensible markup language), fuzzy logic, and topic maps (Pepper, 2000) will supplement or supplant direct human intervention. They will enhance the value of a KMS by making it more accessible
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to a more diverse audience on a more timely basis. Pepper (2000) maintained that a topic map could become a knowledge asset itself, by virtue of its portability across organizational domains. The second step in the process is to collect the knowledge from the individuals who have it and are motivated to share it. This is more likely to happen when they know that their organization rewards their efforts and they trust that it will not exploit them. In other words, there must be an appropriately designed incentive system and a nurturing culture. For example, a consultant who uses his or her expertise to develop a leading-edge solution to a client’s problem can “announce” his expertise via the consulting firm’s communications channels. That might be through a listing in the firm’s telephone directory of experts and expertise. When other consultants confront similar client problems, they contact the firm’s expert to discuss the solution. The expert receives peer recognition via the discussion and firm “recognition” through the generation of billable hours that the client must pay for. Alternatively, the expert would document the solution in a manner that is consistent with the community’s vocabulary and standards, then submit it to the computerized KMS. When other consultants confront similar client problems, they contact that KMS to locate the solution. Clearly the documentation must identify the author to ensure peer recognition and establish the solution’s credibility based on the expert’s reputation. The KMS also must provide a means by which the expert receives firm recognition. This might include a method for assessing and rewarding how frequently the expert contributes to the KMS, how often those contributions are referred to by the community of practice, and how much value those contributions add to the service of other clients. Recognition and rewards must be commensurate with the value of the contributions. Successful collection efforts also are more likely if the collection process is integrated into the normal workflow (rather than appended to it) using the technology that the expert uses on a daily basis. Regarding the consulting example, one collection approach requires the consultant to fill out a lengthy debriefing report at the end of every engagement. An alternative approach requires the consultant to use computer- based forms during the planning and performance of the consulting engagement, so as to capture the knowledge in an appropriate format and in a timely manner. Although debriefing can be a valuable means of collecting feedback and is preferred in many situations, the latter approach is less intrusive and more expeditious. The processes for storing knowledge should not be as troublesome as those for classifying and collecting it. The primary goals are to keep the knowledge secure and protected, typically using the network technology discussed in a subsequent section. To this end, it is imperative that qualified personnel be hired to manage the KMS and that they recognize the importance of the resources that they manage. They should use a prevent-detect-correct-recover strategy to secure the hardware, software, and knowledge: The preventative measures should prevent unauthorized physical and virtual access to these resources;
the detection processes should recognize and identify any unauthorized access, then prevent reoccurrences. In addition, the stored knowledge must be backed up on a regular and timely basis and stored in off-site locations. The last process is to deliver relevant knowledge to the appropriate decision makers on a timely basis, such that they will use the KMS to fulfill the organization’s mission more effectively and efficiently. As in the collection process, it is more likely that users will utilize the KMS if delivery relies on the technologies that they work with daily. To the extent the KMS uses unfamiliar technologies, such as search engines, the processes must provide training. The processes must also support more personal (face-toface) communications when “delivering” tacit knowledge (Table 1). Delivery will use some combination of push and pull strategies. The latter allows users to extract knowledge from the KMS using tools like the integrated search engines that search all of an organization’s stored knowledge. The former sends the knowledge to those who need it, perhaps because they subscribed to the system or because the system tracked their search and work efforts to identify knowledge that is relevant to their efforts.
The KMS Technological Infrastructure The technological infrastructure of the KMS has two main components: the technology component, which consists of hardware, software, and the data, information, and knowledge that the KMS processes; and the human resources component, which includes those that use and those that manage the KMS. Computer networks are the “backbone” technology for a modern KMS. They facilitate knowledge sharing processes that can occur anytime, anyplace, with anyone who has access to the network. When used in a KMS, they must be configured to accommodate the technology used by the knowledge users and contributors—that is, the hardware (desktop and laptop personal computers, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, audio–video equipment, and perhaps automobiles and refrigerators) and software (spreadsheet, word-processing, database, e-mail, and scheduling applications). While the taxonomy is probably the most important factor in the design of the KMS, a strong document management system is the most important factor for populating and using the KMS. The computer network must be configured to capture and store the documents prepared and used by employees. When the documents exist in printed from only, it is necessary to convert them to a digital format. Typically this is done with scanners and software with optical character recognition (OCR) abilities. Both the scanned documents and the documents already in a digital format (i.e., those prepared in spreadsheet, word-processing, database, and e-mail applications) need to be indexed in a manner that is consistent with the taxonomy. There are two basic strategies for storing the digital documents and files. The first involves using the storage media (hard drives) on the computers used by those who create the documents. Those computers must be connected to the network and available when the
THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Table 3 Computer Applications for Knowledge Transformation (derived from Alavi & Leidner, 2001) FROM Tacit
TO
MODE AND MAIN APPLICATIONS
Tacit
Socialization: groupware, conferencing applications, personnel directories Explicit Externalization: discussion lists, bulletin boards, groupware, conferencing applications
Explicit Tacit
Internalization: search engines, e-learning Explicit Combination: groupware, search engines, e-learning, Web portals
files are likely to be needed. Recent developments in peer-to-peer computing make this strategy possible. The second strategy involves using servers dedicated to storing and providing the contents of the KMS. The more sophisticated (and constantly evolving) implementations rely on high-speed servers in either storage area networks (SANS) or network-attached storage (NAS). The capacity and speed available with these configurations is essential given the vast amount of digital data and information that is being collected, such as that taken from Web sites. The computer network must also be configured with applications that are appropriate for the conversion mode (socialization, externalization, internalization, combination) for the type of knowledge that an organization works with and needs to convert (Table 3). The socialization mode has proven to be the most difficult mode for computer technologies to support. Trust is a prerequisite for converting one individual’s tacit knowledge into another individual’s tacit knowledge. In the absence of an existing trust relationship, it is not easy to establish or convey with the applications currently in use (Marwick, 2001), such as the following: r Groupware,
which establishes a virtual workspace in which the members of a community of practice can communicate and coordinate group efforts. Groupware supports communications that are synchronous (everyone is online and communicating at the same time, as in an online meeting) or asynchronous (everyone is online and communicating at a different time, as when posting to a discussion page or sending e-mail). r Conferencing software, which provides a richer communications channel for synchronous communications through the use of audio and video in addition to textbased chat. Some applications support real-time document sharing and collaboration. r Personnel directories, which identify the experts within the organization. A valuable carryover that predates the advent of computer networks.
The externalization mode requires a dialogue between individuals in which there is elicitation, articulation, and conceptualization, so it uses the same collaboration applications as used to support the socialization mode. Discussion lists and bulletin boards also facilitate the requisite dialog. Marwick (2001, p. 819) maintained that whichever application it used, the most effective results probably occur when the dialogue is more informal and free. Computer technology is well suited to support the internalization mode, which requires an individual to reflect on multiple sources of information about a topic. The first task for the KMS is to locate and assess the relevance of documents and files with explicit knowledge. This requires the use of robust search engines and techniques, especially when the search involves the “infoglut” on the Internet, in addition to resources on an organization’s intranet. The search engines and methods must be capable of locating relevant files whether they are textual, aural, or graphical in nature. The second task for the KMS is to help the individual digest the relevant explicit knowledge and convert it into tacit knowledge. This may require a structured “e-learning” experience that guides the individual through the process by an appropriate sequence of learning tasks (e.g., computer simulations) and reflection. In other situations, visualization techniques can help the individual understand the topic and its context and relationships. Visualization mechanisms include mind mapping, concept mapping, various kinds of “topographic” topic maps, and any one of the numerous charts and graphs commonly found in spreadsheet and statistical analysis software. Computer technology is best suited to support the combination mode, which only involves explicit knowledge that is, by definition, documented. Once again, the first task of the KMS is to locate and evaluate that documentation and files for relevance. The second task is to make it readily available to the user. Once again, good search engines and search techniques for various types of media files are essential. Web (knowledge) portals provide an increasingly familiar and powerful means of consolidating the sources of knowledge from multiple locations on an intranet or the Internet. As discussed earlier, computer technology is an enabling tool used to collect, store, and deliver the knowledge created by humans. In the long run, it is likely that the technology will add a second role in knowledge management. With the advent of more sophisticated technologies (e.g., intelligent agents and grid computing), the technology could become the creator of new knowledge, the discoverer of deep knowledge. Current data mining techniques provide a glimpse of that future. The main considerations and concerns about the human resource component of the technological infrastructure were discussed under the policies section, summarized as follows: r KMS
Conferencing software will probably become the tool of choice, because it supports real-time communications and a view of the communicator’s body language, which is critical to the socialization process.
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users must be trained in its use and motivated to use it in a manner that enhances organizational performance. r KMS administrators must be trained in its administration and aware of its strategic significance.
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An additional consideration is the need to provide a third set of skills and knowledge to the KMS project—a knowledge expert. Whereas an organization’s topic experts understand the data, information, and knowledge that the organization needs and its KMS administrators understand the computer networks that the organization uses, the knowledge expert understands how knowledge is created and used by people. In a sense, the knowledge expert is the bridge between the KMS users and the KMS administrators. This triumvirate of skills and knowledge is necessary to a successful KMS implementation. Rarely is it found in a single individual.
KMS Organizational Infrastructure For this chapter, the organizational infrastructure refers to the organizational structure that houses those who use the technology (e.g., business units) and those who manage the technology (e.g., the IT department). It is not likely that a KMS will require or cause a significant change in the formal organizational structure of the business units or the IT department. Computer networks, however, transcend the formal boundaries that define hierarchies, chains of command, and functional departments. Consequently, implementation of a KMS probably requires a change in the organizational culture. That culture must minimize the barriers to collaboration and support knowledge sharing rather than knowledge hoarding and facilitate a frictionless flow of knowledge among fluid communities of practice. One requirement for implementing the cultural change (that may have a corollary impact on organizational structure) is the appointment of respected experts within the organization as knowledge managers and knowledge arbiters. Their role is to facilitate wise and informed use of the KMS. Managers may play a dual role as coaches who need to motivate participation in the system and gatekeepers who determine which contributions deserve to be included in or need to be removed from the KMS. Arbiters restrict their efforts to the latter task and to ruling on changes to the system, including revisions to the vocabulary and taxonomy. Within any organization, these roles will probably be filled by multiple individuals and perhaps by committees (Manville, 1999).
KMS Metrics As with all IT projects, it is advisable to assess the success of a KMS effort and just as difficult to do so. Whether using return on investment (ROI) or total cost of ownership (TCO) as the assessment criterion, there are a myriad of costs and benefits that are difficult to measure. For example, the impact on employee morale is impossible to determine and will go in both directions—the implementation of a KMS will distress some employees and elate others. Regardless of the known difficulties and inaccuracies, ROI and TCO should be calculated and analyzed, as should other established financial metrics such as revenues per employee and market share. There also are nonfinancial (“knowledge”) metrics that deserve consideration, such as the following:
r
Time to market for new products and services, Employee satisfaction as measured by retention, r Customer satisfaction as measured by retention and repeat business, and r Time to resolve customer problems. r
Sveiby (1997, pp. 185–202) devoted an entire chapter to similarly nontraditional metrics for intangible assets. These emerging metrics may not be valid in the minds of some managers at this time, but they are quite appropriate in a digital economy. They will gain acceptance as more organizations recognize that the intangible assets such as employee knowledge are the most significant assets that they have. Unlike other IT projects, it also is necessary to assess individual performance within the KMS implementation. This is particularly true for those whose contributions are a factor in the determination of incentives, rewards, and recognition. The assessment must focus on some combination of the quality and quantity of the contributions. The KMS technology can be useful in the assessment process because it can capture quantity data such as the number of contributions and the number of times that a contribution was accessed. The technology cannot replace human judgment, however, when assessing the criteria that measures the real value of contributions—their quality. It is advisable to use multiple metrics to triangulate on a measure that is as elusive as quality. To start, knowledge managers and arbiters can serve in an assessment capacity given that they should be familiar with the contributions. In addition, organizations could mimic online publishers that elicit reader feedback about the usefulness of a document. Extending the philosophy espoused by Sveiby (1997), it might be possible to develop new measures based on the impact that a contributor’s efforts had on the success of the organization and its clients and customers and the creativity and complexity of the contributions. Clearly, there is a definite need for new assessment metrics at both the individual and the project levels.
THE IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE When an organization engages in e-commerce or b-commerce, it implements a business strategy that allows it to exchange economic value and information with the participants in its supply chain across electronic networks. When the organization implements a knowledge strategy that extends its computer network to include all of those supply chain partners, it creates a network that currently goes by several different names: Business web or B-web (Tapscott, Ticoll, & Lowry, 2000) Collaborative commerce or c-commerce (McCoy, 2002) Value network (Keen & McDonald, 2000). Whatever it is called, McCoy (2002) noted that this Internet-based network integrates the organization’s relationship management systems such as its customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain
THE IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE
management (SCM) systems, with its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. (Each of these topics is discussed in greater depth in other chapters of this encyclopedia.) Metcalfe’s Law suggests the potential power of this extended configuration. It states that computer power increases by the square of the number of nodes on a network. Consequently, an organization may experience an exponential increase in its exposure to data, information, and, it is hoped, knowledge by virtue of establishing a knowledge network with its business partners. When properly configured, the shared data-informationknowledge would be available to all authorized participants in the network virtually immediately, regardless of their location. Thus, as the medical example at the beginning of this chapter illustrated, a patient (customer) can use a Web browser to verify the status of an appointment (order). Simultaneously, the CDC (supplier) can detect geographically specific patterns in patient responses (customer behavior) and direct the appropriate medical information and supplies (resources) to the locations where they add value to the process. The theoretical exponential increase in power does not come cheaply. There are goals and strategies to specify, processes to define, and technologies to be designed and implemented. All of this must be accomplished using a computer network, just like before. But now they must be accomplished across the hierarchical and cultural boundaries of multiple organizations. The requisite coordination and cooperation is guaranteed to extract a heavy price.
E-commerce KMS Goals and Strategies The guiding concept for the extended e-commerce KMS is that it is only as strong as the weakest participant. With the extension of the network’s reach, there must be a concomitant extension of the KMS goals and strategies. It is necessary to find a common thread to bind the participants in the extended KMS, however, or they will degenerate into the chaos of self-interested competition with each other. The consensus is that the end customer provides that common thread. As the final arbiter of the supply chain’s value, the supply chain participants should share information and cooperate to enhance the value delivered to that customer. Many commentators share the sentiments expressed by Keen and McDonald (2000, p. 91): “participating organizations maintain their associations so as to leverage their capabilities and opportunities in a way that attracts customers, keeps customers, and creates associations of mutual benefit.” Although the customer serves as a common goal, the participants still need to develop an appropriate strategy. Technologies with cross-platform compatibilities may simplify the coordination process, but that process will still require a significant effort. As before, the most appropriate “meta-strategy” is to develop a pilot project with a high-profile participant where there is both a high probability of success and high political and economic payoffs. Also as before, it must be based on the types of knowledge that the participants are trying to convert.
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E-commerce KMS Processes Once again, the interorganizational KMS requires few changes to the KMS processes vis-à-vis the intraorganizational KMS (Table 2), but it injects several more coordination challenges. The most obvious is related to the taxonomy. The language used by knowledge workers who share a similar professional background may be common, but still influenced and differentiated by their respective organizational environments. The severity of those influences increases as the communities of practice become cross-functional and international. An even bigger challenge exists with respect to the nature of the alliances in the extended KMS. Those alliances (virtual enterprises) may be virtual and ephemeral. An alliance formed for one project may involve previously unknown partners and then be disbanded with the project’s completion. Trust is going to be difficult to develop. This situation is likely to cause problems for interorganizational knowledge sharing, which, although often difficult even within an organization because of a lack of trust, becomes even more difficult when a knowledge transfer is to an alliance participant that could be a competitor tomorrow. Network security poses another problem. The security of a multiorganizational network is only as strong as the security used by the weakest participant in that network. Organizations will be reluctant to expose their data-information-knowledge to others if there is a concern that it will be compromised. This would be a more significant problem for professionals who are legally obligated to protect confidential client information (e.g., doctors and attorneys). The absence of trust will require the emergence of third-party services or other mechanisms to guarantee the fidelity of the participants and provide indemnity. This will be problematic in a global economy in which there are significant cultural differences in the definition of copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
The E-commerce KMS Technological Infrastructure A computer network is the backbone of the extended KMS, just as it was for the organizational KMS. Basically, it uses the same technological infrastructure: digital devices for inputting and accessing knowledge, servers for storing knowledge, search engines and portals for organizing knowledge. It also has two special concerns: security and scalability. The Internet is the computer network and channel for e-commerce and extended KMS. In its current configuration, it also is inherently insecure. As mentioned, a network’s security is only as strong as its weakest link. For example, a denial of service attack on one participant with weak security could cripple the entire supply chain. Thus, it is imperative that all members of an alliance implement security that is appropriate for the datainformation-knowledge that is accessible from or affected by their node. It is likely that third-party verification and audits of that security will be necessary to instill the requisite trust. In the context of this topic, scalability refers to the ability of the KMS to change as the number or sophistication
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of its users change. In the dynamic and fluid world of virtual enterprises, members frequently may be added and dropped. This situation could make the coordination process prohibitively expensive unless the participants adopt standardized technologies. The goal is to ensure cross-platform compatibility, such that communication is possible regardless of the technology used by any of the participants. The use of proprietary applications and protocols that only work when both ends of the communications channel have identical systems must be avoided. XML is one such standard. It should have a tremendous impact on c-commerce because it is platform neutral. In addition, and perhaps more important, many communities of practice are emerging to device XML taxonomies that are appropriate for their needs (e.g., mathematics, chemistry, and financial reporting). Those taxonomies could provide guidance on the development of taxonomies for a KMS.
E-commerce KMS Organizational Infrastructure The organizational infrastructures of both the business units and the IT departments is still the concern, except there are now multiple organizations. It also still is unlikely that these infrastructures need to be reorganized for any of the participating organizations with the implementation of an extended e-commerce KMS. The biggest concern is again organizational culture and the extent to which it supports knowledge sharing across organizational borders. As before, management must establish a culture that works to help the supply chain fulfill its mission. Knowledge managers and arbiters are more necessary to the successful KMS in the e-commerce environment. First, the effort requires an overall manager. The potential difficulty is in deciding which organization he or she should come from. If one organization in the supply chain is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla, the choice may be obvious. Alternatively, there should be at least one keystone organization that provides a permanent nucleus to the ephemeral supply chain. Again, the choice may be obvious. In the absence of a dominant or permanent force, however, it will be problematic. The biggest problem is the apparent transfer of power and control over components of the supply chain by all of the participants to a manager employed by only one of the participants. Similar concerns affect the selection of managers and arbiters for the different communities of practice. Clearly, each manager should be a content expert, but political and cultural issues may intervene in the selection. Also of concern is the impact that the knowledge manager from one organization might have on the rewards earned by a member of a community of practice from another organization. In effect, the knowledge manager is making human resource decisions for another supply chain participant.
E-commerce KMS Metrics The e-commerce KMS also creates challenges for the assessment process. One significant challenge occurs when a cost–benefit analysis for the entire supply chain proves
that the extended KMS makes economic sense. Cost–benefit analyses for individual organizations may show that it does not make economic sense for them, however. If bargaining and negotiation about how to share the profits of cooperation are not successful, then new partners must be found. A second challenge involves the measurement of the contribution that each participating organization in the supply chain makes to the fulfillment of the supply chain’s goal. (The challenges of measuring an individual’s contribution to the organization have evolved into measuring an organization’s contribution to the supply chain.) To some extent, this is dependent on the synergies that the supply chain can exploit, which involves interorganizational performance measurement. Traditional assessment (and accounting) practices are not suited for such measurement. Ultimately, the goal of the e-commerce KMS is the same as the goal of the organizational KMS: Optimize customer satisfaction by accessing the appropriate knowledge in a timely manner. Consequently, at least some of the metrics for assessing success are the same. Product cycle times and the satisfaction of customers, employees, and business partners must and can be measured using the previously mentioned metrics.
CONCLUSION Networked computers are promoting the evolution of a digital economy that is characterized by the following: r
Workers who are mobile and increasingly dependent on knowledge rather than physicality, r Business partners that are connected to each other along the entire value chain, and r A competitive environment that rewards speed and innovation. To be successful managers in this economy, managers must properly manage relationships with employees, business partners, and customers. Managers also must effectively and efficiently manage the vast quantity of data, information, and knowledge generated and required by these participants in the value chain. A knowledge management system provides an appropriate means of fulfilling the latter. Certainly there are significant challenges and costs involved in implementing a KMS, especially with respect to overcoming cultural barriers and human tendencies to hoard knowledge. The main benefit is substantial, however: An organization’s knowledge becomes a strategically significant resource that helps it streamline operations, speed up decision making, and devote more time to proactive strategic activities. The net benefit can be magnified if the KMS is integrated into the IT infrastructure of an e-commerce endeavor, such that the participants in the value chain are able to share and leverage their collective knowledge resources. In general, the business community is several years away from implementing the vision of knowledge management held by many knowledge management experts, but the promise is there and the technological capacity
REFERENCES
for fulfilling the promise is evolving. It remains to be seen whether the cultural capacity to embrace knowledge management will also evolve.
GLOSSARY Business Web (B-Web) A distinct system of suppliers, distributors, commerce services providers, infrastructure providers, and customers that uses the Internet for its primary business communications and transactions (Tapscott, Ticoll, & Lowy, 2000, p. 17). B-commerce The exchange of economic value that is mediated and enabled by electronic networks and the exchange of information not directly related to the exchange of economic value. C-commerce Collaborative commerce involving the flow of product, data, and metadata along the entire value chain from supplier to customer and back. Communities of practice Groups of people who share similar goals and employ common practices, tools, and vocabulary language to fulfill those goals. Data Facts that have no intrinsic value. E-commerce The exchange of economic value that is mediated and enabled by electronic networks. Information Data that is processed and analyzed such that it can be used to help make decisions. Knowledge, explicit Knowledge that can be articulated in language and documented. Knowledge, tacit Knowledge that cannot be articulated in language or documented because it is based on the personal experiences and context of the individual who possesses it. Knowledge management An organizational activity that treats knowledge as an explicit concern of the organization and links positive organizational results to knowledge assets (Barclay & Murray, 1997). Structured documentation Data and information that are organized or cataloged according to a prescribed schema and stored in applications such as databases. Unstructured documentation Data and information that are not organized or cataloged according to any schema, such as that in e-mails, letters, and reports. Value Networks A networked supply chain in which the participating organizations maintain their associations so as to leverage their capabilities and opportunities in a way that attracts customers, keeps customers, and creates associations of mutual benefit (Keen & McDonald, 2000, p. 91).
CROSS REFERENCES See Customer Relationship Management on the Web; Data Mining in E-Commerce; Electronic Commerce and Electronic Business; Enterprise Resource Planning; Extensible
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Markup Language; Fuzzy Logic; Online Communities; Peerto-Peer Systems; Privacy Law; Supply Chain Management; Virtual Enterprises; Web Search Fundamentals; Web Search Technology.
REFERENCES Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly 25, 107–136. Barclay, R., & Murray, P. (1997). What is knowledge management? Retrieved October 24, 2002, from http:// www.media-access.com/whatis.html Dawson, R. (2000). Developing knowledge-based client relations: The future of professional services. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. DeLong, D. W., & Fahey, L. (2000). Diagnosing cultural barriers to knowledge management. Academy of Management Executive, 14, 113–127. Eisenhart, M. (2002). The human side. Retrieved October 24, 2002, from http: // www.line56.com / articles / default.asp?ArticleID=3545 Keen, P., & McDonald, M. (2000). The eprocess edge. Berkeley, CA: Osborn/McGraw-Hill. Manville, B. (1999). Complex adaptive knowledge management. In Clippinger J. H., III, (Ed.), The biology of business (pp. 89–111). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Martin, C. (1999). Net future. New York: McGraw-Hill. Marwick, A. (2001). Knowledge management technology. IBM Systems Journal, 40(4), 814 –830. McCoy, F. (2001). Preparing the enterprise chain for c-commerce. Retrieved October 24, 2002, from http: // www.techrepublic.com / article guest.jhtml? id = r 00520020201fmc01.htm&fromtm=e105-2 Minkin, B. H. (1995). Future in sight. New York: Macmillan. Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pepper, S. (2000). The TAO of topic maps. Retrieved October 24, 2002, from http://www.gca.org/papers/ xmleurope2000/pdf/s11-01.pdf Polanyi, M. (1967). The tacit dimension. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Stewart, T. A. (2001). The wealth of knowledge: Intellectual capital and the twenty-first century organization. New York: Doubleday. Sveiby, K. E. (1997). The new organizational wealth. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler. Tapscott, D. (1996). The digital economy. New York: McGraw-Hill. Tapscott, D., Ticoll, D., & Lowy, A. (2000). Digital capital: Harnessing the power of business webs. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
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Law Enforcement Enforcement
Robert Vaughn, University of Memphis Judith C. Simon, University of Memphis
Introduction Law Enforcement Agencies’ Web Sites U.S. and Canadian Agencies’ Web Sites Agency Web Sites in Other Countries International Agencies’ Web Sites Web Sites of Agency Divisions and Bureaus Web Sites for Specific Law Enforcement Interests and Concerns Government Resources Grants and Funding Forensics Crime Scenes Biological and Chemical Acts Other Forms of Terrorism Drug Abuse Investigative Resources Training and Education Professional Associations and Memorials
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INTRODUCTION In the mid-1960s the Internet was first formed using a computer network to link together a small number of universities and military research laboratories in various locations across the United States (Kalakota & Whinston, 1996). The Internet was initially a military communication network established for use by U.S. military personnel, some educational institutions, and defense contractors. The “official” start of the Internet is thought by many to have occurred in 1983 as a result of improved protocols, the establishment of a separate network for the military, and the formation of additional networks (Ruthfield, 1995). Since that time, Internet usage has soared beyond expectations and continues to do so now, along with a related rapid increase in crimes associated with the Internet. As a new technology, the Internet has exhibited a much greater growth rate than any other recent technology, with the number of host computers connected to the Internet increasing from approximately 1 million in 1993 to 20 million in 1997 (Gallagher, 1999). NUA.com (2002) estimated that worldwide Internet use has grown from 26 million users in 1995 to 580.78 million users as of May 2002, with Internet-generated revenues increasing from US$8 million in 1994 to US$1,234 billion in 2001. NUA.com is an Irish Web site, where “nua” means “new.” The NUA Web site claims to be “the world’s leading resource for
Death Penalty Communication Activities Information Sharing Chat Rooms and Message Boards E-mail Communication Security Issues Law Enforcement Use of E-commerce Crime and the Internet International Crime Web Sites for Crime Statistics Internet Crime Internet Legal Issues Conclusion Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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Internet trends and statistics” and estimates that over “200,000 people in more than 140 countries read” their news and analysis off the Internet every week. InterGov International (2002) reported 574 million Internet users for 2001 with a projected 741 million users in 2002. Gallagher (1999) reported that the level of economic development reflects the amount of Internet use within a particular country. The dramatic increase since the early 1990s in the number of persons using the Internet, both for personal and for business reasons, has resulted in changes in the manner that business is conducted worldwide. This includes the business of law enforcement and the negative consequences resulting from the escalation of criminal activities over the Internet and the resulting jurisdictional issues, conflicts, and confusion. As the lawful use of the Internet has increased, so too has the unlawful use of the Internet, resulting in an increased assortment of new crimes and changes in the modus operandi of traditional crimes, such as money laundering, fraud, drug trafficking, and even murder. The communication capabilities, the concealment facet, and the global nature of the Internet can be used advantageously for criminal purposes. The association with increased criminal activity was characteristic of the telephone, the mobile telephone, and other technologies, and now of the Internet. The Internet has enabled new avenues for the commission of both personal and property crimes on a global scale that have left law 443
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enforcement personnel worldwide searching for legal solutions with which to address the emerging Internet crimes. Although the Internet has enhanced law enforcement information sharing and law enforcement related to electronic commerce (“e-commerce”), it has also increased issues regarding legality, privacy, and security, as well as providing a new medium of communication that can be exploited by those with criminal intentions. In this increasingly technological world, law enforcement and security personnel face new and ever-changing challenges to effectively respond to increased criminal exploitation of the Internet, technological advances, and increased globalization. The sections below discuss ways in which law enforcement has taken advantage of the capabilities of the Internet, as well as new criminal activities that law enforcement must handle due to the Internet.
LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES’ WEB SITES Information on the Internet regarding any law enforcement agencies that have a public Web site is accessible globally. For reasons of ongoing investigations, sensitivity of the type of investigation, victim protection, and other legalities, not all law enforcement sites or their subsites on the Internet are accessible to the public at large. Currently, law enforcement Web sites are numerous and easily found using Web browsers to search for any city, town, county, borough, metropolitan, federal, state, country, or international law enforcement agency. Some Web sites have compiled Web addresses and links to law enforcement agencies worldwide, making it even easier to find multiple law enforcement agencies. Businesses and individuals now have ready access to information regarding law enforcement agencies, their jurisdictions, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail information, which allows for increased information exchange between the public and law enforcement. The Bureau of Justice Statistics site references law enforcement information and reported that in 1996 there were a total of 738,028 full-time sworn law enforcement officers and over 36,800 different law enforcement agencies, including local police, state police, special police, Texas constables, and Federal personnel, within the United States (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/lawenf.htm). Exact figures for law enforcement organizations worldwide are not known since not all countries make that information available, but the Internet has made access much easier to the large number of law enforcement organizations in existence.
U.S. and Canadian Agencies’ Web Sites The United States and Canada appear to have the most Web sites for law enforcement agencies, although this is not empirically known. This is intuitive primarily because of the 181.23 million Internet users in the United States and Canada, compared with Europe’s 171.35 million users, Asia/Pacific’s 157.49 million users, Latin America’s 25.33 million users, the Middle East’s 4.65 million users, and Africa’s 4.15 million users (NUA, 2002). The
continued growth of the Internet is such that a survey of specific types of sites would be but a snapshot of the thencurrent status of the Internet. Directories of law enforcement agencies and related organizations in many countries can be accessed using browser searches (http://search.officer.com/agency search/, http://www.info-s.com/police-d.html, http://infos.com/laworg.html). FirstGov (http://www.firstgov.gov) is a good locator Web site for both federal and state government law enforcement sites, which in turn have other links to multiple law enforcement sites. State trooper official sites are listed on the Internet (http:// www.statetroopersdirectory.com/). U.S. agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives all have Web sites accessible by the public that contain a wide variety of information pertaining to law enforcement, including law enforcement on the Internet.
Agency Web Sites in Other Countries Law enforcement agency Web sites are dependent upon the technological infrastructure available within any particular country. Underdeveloped countries may not have any law enforcement agencies with accessible Web sites, while well-developed countries would be expected to have numerous law enforcement agency Web sites. As infrastructure and other needed technologies become available within underdeveloped countries, the number of Internet law enforcement listings is expected to increase. Law enforcement agencies’ Web sites worldwide can be accessed to obtain information on their agencies. Examples include countries such as Russia (http://www. mvdinform.ru/index.php), Pakistan (http://www.sindh police.gov.pk), Hong Kong (http://info.gov.hk/police/ index.htm), and Iceland (http://www.logreglan.is/displayer. asp?catid=217). The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics developed a factbook, The World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems, which gives the descriptions of criminal justice systems in 42 countries as of 1993 (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/wfcj.htm).
International Agencies’ Web Sites International agencies are not as numerous because they represent larger segments of the population in various regions of the world. Also, they are dependent upon the technology available in each region, which in turn determines the capability to establish and maintain Web sites. Regardless of this limitation, there are several international police agencies that can be accessed via the Internet (http://www.policeinternational.com, http://www. interpol.int) including a Universal Police site (http://www. spinet.gov.sg/pollink/index.html) that links to law enforcement agencies in 20 countries and Interpol. There are also Internet listings of international government, military, and intelligence agencies that can be accessed (http://www.sagal.com/ajax, http://www.gksoft.com/govt/ en/world.html, http://www.police.uk, http://www.polfed. org/main frame.htm). InterGov International (http://www.intergov.org), formed in 1986, operates under the supervision and guidance of staff and management brought together from
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countries around the world with the goals of protecting, informing, and serving persons within the Internet community. Associated with InterGov International is the International Web Police (http://www.web-police.org), which claims recognition internationally as the Internet Police Authority since 1986. Its sole mission is to protect users of the Internet from the vast amount of criminal activity present on the Internet. Both InterGov International and International Web Police are nonprofit organizations providing services to Internet users globally.
Web Sites of Agency Divisions and Bureaus Information concerning virtually every conceivable law enforcement division or bureau can be found on the Internet, including airport, auto theft, aviation, bomb squad, burglary, canines (http://www.policek9.com), child abuse, community policing, corrections, criminal intelligence, crime prevention, crime scene, crime stoppers (http://www.c-s-i.org/), crisis intervention, domestic violence (http://info-s.com/domestic.html), firearms instruction (http://www.ialefi.com/), forensics, hostage negotiation, internal affairs, juvenile justice, narcotics, organized crime, patrol, robbery, security squad, sex crimes, transit, and vice.
WEB SITES FOR SPECIFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT INTERESTS AND CONCERNS Numerous Web sites are available for various law enforcement needs and interests. Several of these areas of interest are mentioned in this section, providing examples of the range of topics available through the Internet.
Government Resources Access to a wide variety of government resources is available through the Internet. The National Criminal Justice Reference (http://www.ncjrs.org/lewww.html) allows access to law enforcement resources related to corrections, courts, drugs, crimes, juvenile justice, statistics, victims of crime, and international interests. The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Web site (http://www.usdoj.gov/bjs) reports statistics concerning crime, crime victims, criminal offenders, and special topics such as homicide trends, firearms crimes, drug crimes, and international justice statistics.
Grants and Funding Grants and assorted funding agreements are available to assist the public in their efforts to fight crime and protect the public welfare. The U.S. Department of Justice is involved in community-oriented policing services (COPS). COPS grants have provided communities with funds for hiring and redeploying police officers into communities. Other COPS initiatives include targeting specific crimes, such as school-related crimes, methamphetamine labs, and domestic violence, as well as cultivating partnerships and community government. COPS grant and funding information can be accessed at the U.S. Department of Justice Web site (http://www.cops.usdoj.gov). Grants are currently offered by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (http://www.
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opj.usdoj.gov/fundopps), including grant programs for law enforcement assistance, technology, anti-terrorism, juvenile justice, community-based initiatives, violence against women, traffic safety, research, and statistics. Through these grants, funding is available for law enforcement efforts addressing specific concerns such as safe schools, sex offender management, crime victims, state domestic preparedness, sexual assaults, domestic violence, and “weed and seed.” Weed and seed grants fund law enforcement efforts to prevent, control, and reduce violent crimes, drug trafficking, drug abuse, and gangrelated activities in specific targeted high-crime neighborhoods throughout the United States. The targeted neighborhoods range in size from several city blocks to as large as 15 square miles. From 1981 through 2000, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control reported that motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death in the United States for those between the ages of 4 to 35 (NCIPC, n.d.). Peoria, Illinois, for a three-year period 1994 through 1996, experienced a significant reduction in both violent and property crimes, and traffic crashes, which was the direct result of establishing traffic enforcement as a first priority (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov). “The Peoria Experience” demonstrated the importance of traffic enforcement, not only to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities, but also to significantly reduce the crime rate in the targeted area. While Peoria relied primarily upon internal sources of revenue, the U.S. Department of Justice offers funding assistance to law enforcement agencies for traffic enforcement programs in an effort to reduce traffic fatalities and crime (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ nhtsa/whatsup/tea21/index.html). Grants and funding information regarding juvenilerelated issues are available through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (http://ojjdp. ncjrs.org/grants/grants.html). This office offers funding for missing and exploited children programs, juvenile accountability incentives, programs combating underage drinking, juvenile mentoring programs, and drug-free communities support programs.
Forensics The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (http:// www.aafs.org), with over 5,000 members, is a professional society dedicated to the use of science to further law enforcement efforts. Members come from a diverse variety of professions such as physicians, dentists, physical anthropologists, toxicologists, attorneys, psychiatrists, document examiners, engineers, criminology personnel, and educators. These members represent over 50 countries, including the United States and Canada. The Kentucky State Medical Examiners Office and the Justice and Safety Center in the College of Justice and Safety at Eastern Kentucky University developed a Web site (http://www.unidentifiedremains.net/) designed to identify human remains within the state. The Michigan State Police have a similar site (http://www.msp.state. mi.us/persons/remains.htm) that shows reconstructions produced by putting clay onto the actual skulls of unidentified victims in order to attain renderings that would represent the individuals as they would have
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appeared before their deaths. In Atlanta, Georgia, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Center Web site (http:// www.fcmeo.org/UIDPage.htm) posts descriptions, clay reconstructions, sketches, and photographs of unidentified deceased persons in an attempt to gain identification of those persons by someone visiting the site in search of missing relatives. The DOE Network (http://www.doenetwork.org) is a volunteer organization dedicated to the identification of cold case victims and missing persons in North America, Europe, and Australia. The name “DOE” comes from law enforcement usage of “John Doe” or “Jane Doe” in reference to unidentified persons, which in the case of the DOE Network relates to unidentified human remains. The DOE Network Web site uses only reconstructed images and sketches of both unidentified adult and juvenile human remains found throughout the United States, Europe, and Australia, along with known law enforcement case information available for each unidentified victim presented. The DOE Network focuses on cold cases that have received little public attention in recent years, as well as a few well-known cases where little evidence is available. The criteria for unidentified cases are that the victim died prior to or during 1999 in Europe, Canada, or the United States; the case is on file with a law enforcement agency; and there is a picture or reconstructed image of the victim available. Unexplained disappearance cases prior to 1993 are also featured on the site. The Missing Persons Cold Case Network website (http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/mpccn/index.html) is a sister site of the DOE Network and provides information for more than 3,000 missing person cases that have been active for six or more months. The primary requirements for listing missing persons on the site include cases must originate from within the United States, cases must be on file with and submitted by a law enforcement agency, and cases must have been active for at least six months prior to the request for a missing person listing.
Crime Scenes It has always been crucial to any investigation to protect the scene of the crime. The Internet has enabled increased information sharing concerning crime scene preservation and training. It has become increasingly important to protect personnel investigating crime scenes because of the risks associated with body fluid contaminations often found at crime scenes. In light of this increased risk of exposure to body fluids, pathogens, and communicable diseases, a crime scene safety handbook was produced by the FBI and is accessible on the Internet (http: // www.fbi.gov/programs / lab/handbook/safety.htm). Other sites, including numerous medical sites, present information related to contamination safety regarding body fluids and other biohazards.
Biological and Chemical Acts Terrorism acts and the threat of terrorist acts are an increasing global concern for law enforcement and the general public. This has led to an increased interest regarding the possibility of biological and chemical acts of terrorism. The Henry L. Stimson Center was founded in 1989 as a nonprofit institution devoted to
international security and peace (http://www.stimson.org/ cbw/?SN=CB2001121259). Johns Hopkins University hosts a Center for Civilian Bio-Defense Strategies Web site (http://www.hopkins-biodefense.org). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Sciences Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site provides a list of biological diseases and agents according to category and level of threat of the organism and a list of chemical agents that pose threats to society. Other relevant information is also available on the home page of the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov) and through MEDLINEplus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus), which posts information and links to numerous other related government sites. Information used by MEDLINEplus is obtained from the world’s largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine (http://www.nlm.nih.gov).
Other Forms of Terrorism Since September 11, 2001, the United States and other countries throughout the world have increased their focus on the issues of terrorism. The U.S. Department of State (http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/) has made information available regarding terrorism. For example, in 2001 there were over 3,700 deaths associated with 348 terrorist attacks. In 2000, there were 409 deaths that resulted from 426 terrorist acts. The increase in the number of deaths in 2001 resulting from terrorist acts can be attributed to the terrorists’ acts at the New York City World Trade Center. The United Nations hosts a Web site (http://www. un.org) regarding international terrorism and global resolutions and declarations against acts of terrorism worldwide. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, through a virtual library and electronic reading room (http://www.fema.gov), presents a fact sheet regarding terrorism acts before, during, and after they occur that is relevant to public safety and the safety of individuals targeted by such terrorism. The Federation of American Scientists (http://www.fas.org/index.html) also hosts a site that has information concerning terrorism, especially as it relates to nuclear terrorism and dirty bombs. In 1994, the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom established a Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) (http://www. st-and.ac.uk/academic/intrel/research/cstpv/). The purposes of the center were to investigate political violence, to develop a body of theories encompassing the various dissimilar elements of political violence, and to examine the impact of violence and resulting responses to violence at the various levels of society and government worldwide. A University of Pittsburgh Web site (http://jurist.law. pitt.edu/terrorism.htm) provides information on terrorism laws and policies. International terrorism information is also attainable at the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism Web site (http://www.ict.org.il). In the United States, the Central Intelligence Agency (http:// www.cia.gov/terrorism) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/terrorism) both present information pertaining to terrorism and will respond to requests for information from anyone regarding terrorism and suspected terrorists. Domestic security information can be found at various U.S. sites such as
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the State of Florida Web site (http://www.myflorida. com/myflorida/domestic security/index.html) and a New Jersey state Web site (http://www.state.nj.us/lps/dsptf/ dsptfhome.html). Other state Web sites also contain domestic security-related information. The U.S Department of State Web site (http://www. state.gov) maintains up-to-date information for international travelers regarding warnings and available assistance, in addition to information on terrorism and counterterrorism.
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www.odci.gov / cia / publications / factbook / index.html) is one example of a good source of facts and information regarding virtually any country in the world. Other Internet resources available for investigative or informational purposes include adoption records and searches, background checks, credit information, college and university phonebooks, firearms and firearms identification, fugitives, genealogy, handwriting examinations, mapping, military personnel, organized crime and corruption, political, public records, Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) (http://www.iir.com/riss), serial killers, telephone and e-mail information, telephone reverse lookup, vital records, unclaimed property, and urban legends. Other Internet-available information includes prison (http://www.soci.niu.edu/∼critcrim/ prisons/prisons.html), corrections (http://www.officer. com/correct.htm), and sentencing (http://www.ojp.usdoj. gov/bjs/sent.htm).
Drug abuse affects persons worldwide and is often associated with increased crime rates as a result of drug abusers striving to obtain more drugs as their addiction increases. Drugs are sold openly over the Internet, primarily from countries where drug laws are liberal and drugs can be readily shipped internationally without consequences, except to the recipient. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Web site (http://www.usdoj.gov/dea) has a large volume of drugrelated information. The DEA Web site includes lists of a wide variety of drugs, with detailed information concerning drug effects. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Web site (http://165.112.78.61/DrugAbuse.html) has information about common drugs of abuse including LSD, alcohol, cocaine, club drugs, inhalants, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, methamphetamine, nicotine, PCP, prescription drugs, and steroids. The NIDA site also provides information concerning drug abuse, prevention and testing for drug abuse, and statistics related to drug abuse trends and costs. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service Web site (http://virlib.ncjrs.org) hosts a variety of articles and information related to drug abuse. The California Department of Justice Web site (http:// www.stopdrugs.org/identification.html) has information that aids in the identification of unknown drugs and pills and also describes an assortment of drug types and the effects of those drugs. This Web site also presents pictures of drugs and associated drug paraphernalia. The Orange County, CA, Sheriff’s Office (http://www.ocso.comocso. com/sid/narcotics/identification/drugs.html) prepared an educational photo album of drugs that is beneficial to parents and others attempting to identify common street drugs that may be abused by children, friends, or family. Locum International Group (http://www.locum.co.il/ druglist/index.php) is an organization focused on generic drug development needs. Its Web site contains pictures and descriptions of numerous generic drugs along with the manufacturers’ information. A related Web site (http:// www.iagim.org) belonging to IAGIM is an international nonprofit pharmaceutical drug development association that has also made information available related to drugs internationally.
While some law enforcement agencies provide their own facilities for training police personnel, there are numerous other training facilities available for such training including both government and privately owned facilities and programs. Many universities also offer training for police personnel. For instance, the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois was established in 1955 and has since trained over 58,000 law enforcement personnel (http://www.pti.uiuc.edu/). The FBI Academy offers advanced training for police personnel in a wide variety of areas (http://www.fbi.gov/hq/td/academy/academy.htm). Many schools are increasing the online training and educational courses accessible through Web sites. In the field of law enforcement, this trend allows officers to take courses while on or off duty without the necessity of the officers having to physically attend classes. Criminal justice education courses are offered by most colleges and universities. Many also offer advanced criminal justice degrees at the masters and doctoral levels. Florida State University, through its School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, has offered courses in criminology since 1952 with the mission of providing national and international leadership on issues related to crime and the response of society to crime (http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/). The Northern Michigan University Department of Criminology (http://www. nmu.edu/cj/default.htm) offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in criminology as does the University of Memphis (http://www.memphis.edu). Rated #1 in nine national surveys was the University of Albany Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center program that leads to careers in research, higher education, and management positions in criminal justice (http://www. albany.edu/hindelang/). These colleges and universities are representative of the many colleges and universities that offer degree programs and training in criminology and law enforcement.
Investigative Resources
Professional Associations and Memorials
A major benefit of the Internet to law enforcement organizations worldwide is the vast amount of investigative resources available over the Internet that can provide assistance to investigators. The CIA Factbook Web site (http://
There are numerous Web sites with information regarding law enforcement professional associations and memorials. For example, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (http://www.nleomf.com) has a Web site.
Training and Education
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The National Association of Chiefs of Police (http:// www.aphf.org/nacop.html) is a tax-exempt, nonprofit educational association of law enforcement command officers with 60,000 members within the United States. Membership is open to any command law enforcement officer and directors of U.S. security agencies. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (http://www.theiacp.org/) has over 19,000 members in more than 100 countries and states that it is the world’s largest and oldest nonprofit police executive organization. The International Association of Women Police (http:// www.iawp.org) is an organization of law enforcement women that strives to ensure equity for women serving in law enforcement agencies. The National Center for Women and Policing (http:// www.womenandpolicing.org) advocates increasing the number of women actively involved in law enforcement across all ranks as an approach for enhancing responses to crimes and violence against women, for decreasing incidents of police brutality, and for stronger community policing initiatives. The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) (http:// www.policeforum.org) is an organization of leading police executives representing the largest law enforcement agencies at the city, county, and state levels that is committed to improved policing and enhanced professionalism through research and public policy debate involvement. The Community Policing Consortium comprises the International Association of Chiefs of Police (ICAP), the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE; http://www.noblenatl.org/), the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA), the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), and the Police Foundation (http://www.communitypolicing.org). The purpose of the consortium is to further the development of community policing research and to provide training and assistance. The consortium is supported by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Policing Services (COPS). The Fraternal Order of Police (http://www. grandlodgefop.org), founded in 1915, has over 2,100 lodges and almost 300,000 members and is the world’s largest organization of sworn law enforcement personnel. The Fraternal Order of Police is dedicated to improving the working conditions and the safety of law enforcement officers through “education, legislation, information, community involvement, and employee representation.”
Death Penalty Many Web sites (e.g., http://www.info-s.com/deathpenalty. html) that relate different viewpoints regarding the issue of the death penalty exist. For example, a major concern on either side of the issue is the execution of a death sentence upon a person who is actually innocent of the accused crime. Some sites provide data related to the death penalty. According to a University of Alaska Justice Center Web site, “by February 1999, 67 countries had abolished the death penalty entirely and 14 had abolished it for all but exceptional crimes such as crimes under military law or crimes committed in exceptional circumstances such as wartime” (University of Alaska at Anchorage
Justice Center, 2000). Amnesty International lists countries where death penalty executions were conducted (http: // web.amnesty.org / pages / deathpenalty index eng? OpenDocument).
COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES The Web sites described in the previous section provide access to online information, but law enforcement agencies have additional communication activities that use Internet technology. Communication among law enforcement agencies, other public service agencies, and the public is important to the public welfare. Also, the public has the right to be provided with information relative to public safety. Worldwide communication with law agencies can now be conducted over the Internet at a lower cost than international telephone rates. E-mail communications also reduce the cost of communicating on a global scale for law enforcement organizations and personnel. The Internet is a communication medium through which information in the form of text, audio, voice over IP (the transmission of voice communications using the Internet protocol for data transmission), graphics, videos, and live video transmissions can be transferred. Mug shots, drivers’ license photographs, and crime scene photographs and sketches can be e-mailed anywhere in the world on an as-needed basis at any time, as requested by other law enforcement or governmental agencies. The Internet is also a good communication medium for teleconferencing purposes that enables conferencing among people located remotely from one another with both audio and visual connectivity in real time, which gives the illusion of face-to-face conferencing. Prior to the explosion of Internet use, most law enforcement-related information was primarily transmitted via telephone, Teletype, fax, postal mail, and secure direct connections to centralized mainframes. Therefore, most agencies were rather isolated, especially regarding international crime-related information. Today, the amount and variety of law enforcement information available over the Internet are much more extensive and accessible.
Information Sharing The capability to share information is one of the most significant aspects of the Internet that has affected law enforcement, as evidenced by the volume of information regarding law enforcement now available. Previously, this information could only be shared on an almost strictly individual or agency-to-agency basis, with minimal information sharing with the general public. Some sites, such as Police-L (http://www.police-l.org), are restricted to use by sworn law enforcement officers and serve as a forum for officers to exchange information regarding practices and procedures or issues of interest or concern, as well as to communicate freely in a policeonly setting. Others are public service sites, such as the site at http://www.copnet.org/pubserv.html that serves to link the community with police as a united front to crime. Many law enforcement personnel are building their own personal Web sites for exchanging information, with some
COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES
of the sites publicly accessible and others requiring user names and passwords and primarily for use by other law enforcement persons. The most important information-sharing capability is that of law enforcement access to information contained within databases for law enforcement and criminal justice purposes. In the United States, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, in addition to some authorized noncriminal justice agencies, can access information contained in multiple databases through the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). NLETS links local, state, and federal agencies and provides nationwide interstate communications for the purpose of exchanging criminal justice information. This computer controlled message switching system is owned, managed, and operated by the participating states (NLETS, n.d.). The NLETS allows access to drivers license information, vehicle registration information, boat/snowmobile registration information, vehicle identification number (VIN) data from the National Crime Bureau (NICB), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aircraft data, Canadian information, state and local criminal history information, state road and weather condition reports, hazardous materials information, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children information, International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) information, El Paso Intelligence Center narcotics, alien, and weapons smuggling information, sex offender information, and Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) Tracing System information. NLETS also allows for point-to-point administrative messages, statewide broadcasts, regional broadcasts, all-points broadcasts, and hit confirmation. The Federal Bureau of Investigations maintains person and property data in the NCIC with allowed access made available to Federal Criminal Justice agencies, the 50 states, the District of Colombia, Puerto Rico, U.S. possessions, U.S. territories, and Canada. The NCIC provides stolen vehicle, license plate, boat, article, and securities information along with stolen/recovered gun information. It also contains information on wanted, missing, and unidentified persons and information on violent gangs and terrorists, violent felons, foreign fugitives, deported felons, and U.S. Secret Service Protective file information.
Chat Rooms and Message Boards Chat rooms and message boards are available to assist in information exchange by law enforcement personnel and the general public. Chat rooms and message boards allow persons to ask questions, discuss issues, and post messages. An added feature of chat rooms is that they allow for real-time conversation and information exchange. CopsOnLine (http://www.copsonline.com) and Police World (http://www.policeworld.net) both have chat rooms and message boards available for anyone to post questions and answers or to chat with others about areas of interest.
E-mail The use of the Internet for law enforcement e-mail allows for quick and rich communication. Color crime scene and
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suspect photos can be transmitted easily between law enforcement agencies. For suspects with no prior arrests, driver’s license photographs can be obtained for photo lineups. For suspected serial crimes, whether committed nationally or internationally, crime scene photographs can be transmitted for crime scene comparisons, enabling law enforcement personnel to determine whether crimes are related.
Communication Security Issues A large volume of information is readily available to law enforcement agencies and the general public, except where restricted due to reasons such as (1) the information is sensitive, (2) the investigation is ongoing, or (3) law restricts the information. Virtual private networks, encryption, and secure passwords protect some information-sharing connections so that the general public or persons with criminal intent cannot gain access to any sensitive or critical crime information. Security of communications for law enforcement agencies is an important issue due to the nature of most interagency and intra-agency communication restrictions placed upon the transmission of sensitive law enforcement information. Communication of information stored in federal databases is restricted to communication across land telephone lines (physically wired telephone lines) or other hard-wired connections (point-to-point physically wired data communication networks). Although these restrictions serve to protect the integrity and security of communicated information, it restricts the type of information that can be transmitted via wireless Internet connections to officers using laptops in patrol units that need to access criminal history information in addition to a wide variety of other restricted information available via NLETS, “a sophisticated message switching network linking local, state, and federal agencies together to provide the capability to exchange criminal justice and public safety related information interstate” (NLETS, n.d.). The transmission of such information on the Internet over hard-wired lines is restricted because of the risk that it might be intercepted by unauthorized persons. Virtual private networks (VPNs) may offer a solution to secure communications over the Internet. A VPN ensures point-to-point communication of messages and protects against interception by unauthorized persons through the use of a combination of firewalls, encryption, and authentication. The use of encryption alone, depending on the strength of the algorithm used, would provide security for law enforcement communications across the Internet, while also addressing issues of confidentiality and privacy whether the communication occurred over hard-wired or wireless communication channels because the communication could not be decrypted even if intercepted by unauthorized persons. In like manner, those with criminal intent can also use encryption and VPNs to secure their Internet communications. This would allow criminals to exchange communications with impunity over the Internet without concern for law enforcement interception and decryption. Digital signatures have yet to be established for the communication of law enforcement-related information
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and for authenticity verification of senders and receivers to resolve issues of privacy and security. Oftentimes the requesting agency is first required to fax their request using a departmental coversheet before the requested agency will send any information over the Internet. Even then, the information may be restricted, because certain information is commonly restricted to transmission only over hard-wired communication media. With the advent of wireless networks, transmission of such restricted information is raising legal issues. Regardless of these information restrictions, the Internet has impacted law enforcement by enabling significant changes in the manner that law enforcement agencies share information both publicly and privately. The primary advantages of the Internet for law enforcement agencies have been that of communication, information sharing, and access to information contained in shared databases. This focus is gradually shifting to include the e-commerce capabilities of the Internet.
LAW ENFORCEMENT USE OF E-COMMERCE Kalakota and Whinston (1996) indicated that the term “e-commerce” was related to the buying and selling of products, services, and information over computer networks today and in the future by means of the Internet. Within a few years of that statement in 1996, the Internet has become the major technology for e-commerce. Law enforcement has also expanded e-commerce on the Internet, as evidenced by the myriad of commercial Web sites selling law enforcement-related products, services, training, and information. Virtually any policerelated product can be obtained at any of the numerous commercial police supply companies that have established Web sites. Among the many services being offered over the Internet for law enforcement, one is significant in that it is enabling law enforcement to establish Web sites for the purpose of collecting traffic fines and fees (http://www.ezgov. com/newsfullpage.jsp?ArticleID=3684&category=pressre leases, http://www.cobbstatecourtclerk.com/). The Courts of New Zealand opted to have their own Web site developed for collecting fines online (http://www.fines.govt.nz). In addition, there are several commercial companies that offer services to governmental agencies that establish, operate, and maintain fee and fine-collecting Web sites.
CRIME AND THE INTERNET The Internet provides both a means for law enforcement to obtain and report data regarding criminal activities and a way for criminals to conduct their activities. Both are discussed in this section. With the rapid growth of the Internet has come an increased risk of exposure to illegal activities and criminal elements seeking to use new technologies to exploit vulnerabilities in those technologies (Macodrum, Hasheri, & O’Hearn, 2001). This exploitation of the Internet has not only resulted in new ways to commit “traditional” crimes but also in entirely new crimes made possible because of the Internet and new technologies.
Law enforcement has the responsibility to enforce laws that serve to protect persons, and this includes protection from those seeking to take advantage of vulnerabilities for unlawful gain at the expense of other persons or businesses.
International Crime The U.S. International Crime Control Strategy as of May 1997 was to obtain an environment whereby the global economy and global trading would increase, where respect for human rights and democratic norms would be more widely accepted, and where drug trafficking, terrorism, and international crime would not be allowed to undermine global economic stability and destroy peaceful worldwide relations (NSC, 1997). International crime has increased dramatically in the wake of globalization resulting from the increased global usage of the Internet by both individuals and businesses. International criminals conduct a wide range of crimes using the technology of the Internet. These crimes include fraud; extortion; counterfeiting; espionage including economic, military, and governmental; drug trafficking; terrorism; smuggling; money laundering; bribery; intellectual property thefts; slavery; and child pornography. Borders have no meaning to international criminals in conducting their activities but serve to hide and protect them from retribution for their crimes. The Internet has served as a communication medium through which criminals can form alliances and expand their realm of control on a global scale (NSC, 1997). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Web site (http://www. unodc.org/unodc/crime cicp sitemap.html) provides information regarding international terrorism, corruption, organized crime, and trafficking in human beings. One of the international crime trends is the expansion of computer and high-tech crimes and the resultant merging of powerful organized crime groups in various parts of the world such as Russia, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa (NSC, 1997).
Web Sites for Crime Statistics Crime statistics for the United States are available through the Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Reports Web site (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm). Information regarding the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is available on the same Web site, in addition to hate crime statistics and information pertaining to law enforcement officers killed and assaulted. The U.S. Department of Justice also maintains available crime statistics on its Web site (http://www. usdoj.gov). The Fed Stats Web site (http://www.fedstats. gov/agencies) provides links to an assortment of official statistical information for more than 70 Federal agencies that is publicly available from the Federal Government. The University of Maryland Libraries Web site (http://www.lib.umd.edu/MCK/STATS.html) has links to a large number of statistics sources including the U.S. Government, other countries, the United Nations, intergovernmental, nongovernmental, academia, search engines, and metasite sources, some of which contain crime statistics.
CRIME AND THE INTERNET
Internet Crime Internet-related crimes continue to rise as Internet usage expands and as criminals, or those with criminal intentions, increase the scope and means of criminal activities conducted over the Internet.
Internet Crime Statistics Crime statistics for Internet-related crimes in 2001 were reported by InterGov International as follows: Fraud (scams) 26%, child pornography 17%, stalking 11%, e-mail abuse 9%, harassment and threats 9%, hacking or viruses 9%, child related 6%, copyright violations 4%, terrorism 3%, chat room abuse 2%, and other 4% (InterGov, 2002). Some of these crimes, as well as other concerns, are discussed in the following paragraphs.
Fraud and Scams The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) represents a partnership between the National White Collar Crime Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has published its first-ever IFCC 2001 Internet Fraud Report (IFCC, 2001). The Internet Fraud Complaint Center Web site received 49,711 complaints during 2001 related to Internet crimes such as complaints of fraud, computer intrusions, spamming, unsolicited e-mail, and child pornography. Of the complaints received, 42.8% were related to Internet auction fraud, 20.3% were related to payment account and nondeliverable merchandise, and 15.5% were related to the Nigerian Letter fraud (http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/statistics.asp). This last one is a fraud scheme that combines the threat of impersonation fraud with a modified advanced payment scheme where a supposedly government official is attempting to transfer illegally out of Nigeria with an alleged millions of dollars, but is in need of monetary assistance until the alleged funds become available after escaping from Nigeria, at which point the alleged millions will be shared (FBI, n.d.; NCIS, n.d.).
Cyberstalking Prior to the Internet, cyberstalking did not exist. The first complaints of Internet stalking made to law enforcement were met with blank stares, laughs, or comments suggesting that the complainant turn the computer off (Hitchcock, 2000). Hitchcock (2000) went on to define cyberstalking as an online confrontation that spirals out of control, resulting in victims fearing for their lives.
Exploitation of Children Baker (1999) reported that the FBI is catching sexual predators for soliciting minors over the Internet and that the FBI Innocent Images program has been successful. The Internet allows anonymous communications and easy access to children surfing the Web and talking in chat rooms anywhere worldwide. There is no way of determining the number of children who have been lured over the Internet to meet a predator, nor is it known what has happened to those children who are now missing. Dube (1999) reported that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was to create an International Center for Missing and Exploited Children with offices in London
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and Washington, DC, in order to establish a global network whose purpose would be to present a more uniform response to the worldwide problem of missing children. The present mission of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children is stated as “to provide a coordinated, international response to the problem of missing and exploited children” by establishing a global network of participating countries that includes the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the Netherlands, Italy, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Belgium, and Australia (ICMEC, n.d.).
Child Pornography The U.S. Customs CyberSmuggling Center’s Child Exploitation Unit (http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/enforcement/ investigative priorities/c3/child exploitation.xml) is seeking to address the rapidly growing presence of child pornography on the Internet. Duffield (2000) stated that the Internet is being used to peddle and distribute pornography, including child pornography, worldwide, which has created the necessity of an international approach to child pornography. In 1997 the Swedish National Crime Intelligence Division was given the task of establishing centralized image storage for known child pornography images that had been seized, whether from over the Internet or in actual physical raids. This single library of child pornography images has since grown to include over 150,000 images from several countries that include Norway, Germany, France, England, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, Belgium, Ireland, and The Netherlands (Duffield, 2000). In the United States, the FBI Online Child Pornography Innocent Images National Initiative, which is a part of the Crimes Against Children (CAC), is a proactive, intelligence-driven investigative initiative with the goal of combating the proliferation of child sexual exploitation and child pornography on the Internet (http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/innocent.htm).
Hacking and Viruses Bequai (2000) stated that viruses and hacking are routine aspects of the Internet and that new solutions would be needed to deal with this area of Internet fraud. Hacking is done for a variety of reasons, such as for political purposes, to gain publicity, to point out security weaknesses, for grudges, and for profit. Hacking can also be performed through the placement of viruses across the Internet in order to disrupt information exchange across computers accessible to the Internet, whether it is for the purpose of disrupting e-commerce or simply for the satisfaction of disrupting communications or destroying data.
Theft There are many forms of theft, including monetary, intellectual, goods, services, identity, and confidential information. Espionage once mainly targeted governments to gain secrets that could be sold to other governments. With the Internet, corporate espionage has dramatically increased. Organizations and businesses need to be connected to the Internet to remain competitive or to access the wealth of information available. Credit card fraud is still a concern primarily because of hackers breaking into commercial sites and stealing credit card numbers that can
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then be sold or held for ransom. Electronic theft (e-theft) involves hackers using Internet banking connections to hack into banks for the purpose of making money transfers from legitimate accounts to bogus accounts, which could then be accessed by the perpetrators (Philippsohn, 2001b). Philippsohn (2001b) also reported that the number one Internet fraud within the United States is that of online auction fraud. Other thefts involve using the Internet in advance fee frauds, bogus investments, pyramid frauds, bogus Internet banking Web sites, cyberterrorism, virus propagation, and cyberpiracy (Philippsohn, 2001b). Money laundering over the Internet has increased dramatically as a result of the Internet’s characteristics of ease of access, anonymity, transaction speed, global reach, and nonexistent jurisdictional boundaries (Philippsohn, 2001a).
INTERNET LEGAL ISSUES The primary legal issues related to the Internet are the location or venue where Internet crimes occur and the jurisdictions where they are to be prosecuted. Jurisdictional issues have yet to be resolved and are often further complicated by the difficulty in establishing the venue of some Internet crimes. Because of this, legal opinions are widespread, with some proposing that international laws are needed while others propose using existing laws already in place through an extension of their jurisdictional power and reach. Geist (2001) stated that local law compliance is rarely enough to ensure that a business on the Internet is limited in exposure to legal risk because of the uniqueness of the Internet. Geist was referring to legal companies doing business over the Internet, and courts worldwide are having difficulties deciding jurisdictional issues involving legal entities. The jurisdictional issues related to criminal activities over the Internet are compounded in deciding what country should criminally try a case where the offender is on one side of the world and the victim is on the other side. In the Nigerian fraud scheme, some victims were actually lured to Nigeria, which puts them at risk because they have been involved in an attempt to defraud the Nigerian government (Internet ScamBusters, 1996, (http://www.scambusters.org/NigerianFee.html; U. S. Postal Inspection Services, n.d., http://www.usps.com/ websites/depart/inspect/pressrel.htm). In 1994 the Department of Justice announced that a Federal Grand Jury indicted three Nigerian citizens on nine counts for wire fraud and that extradition proceedings would begin (U. S. Department of Justice, n.d., http://www.usdoj.gov/ opa/pr/Pre 96/September94/519.txt.html). Security and privacy of information and data over the Internet are other critical concerns of Internet users, not only from the standpoint of being exploited by those with criminal intent, but also from the standpoint of governmental intrusions into private areas protected by law. The Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Web site has posted legal issues as related to electronic commerce (http://www.cybercrime. gov/ecommerce.html). Another Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Web site iterates the new authorities that relate to computer
crime and electronic evidence enacted in the USA Patriot Act of 2001 (http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/ PatriotAct.htm). The legal issues of encryption and the right to privacy pose a unique dilemma that has placed governments in the precarious position of having to balance the rights of individuals to privacy with the right and obligation of governments to protect its citizenry and industries. One proposed solution to the security and privacy issues on the Internet is the FBI Carnivore program, a packetfiltering program (FBI, n.d., http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/ carnivore/carnivore.htm) designed to examine packets of information on the Internet. This information is broken into packets, and then the individual packets are transmitted. With proper court authorization, the FBI can use Carnivore to view suspicious message transmissions over the Internet. The problem encountered with Carnivore is that the information packets composing one message are not transmitted together in sequence. When transmitted, they become intermingled with unrelated information packets not authorized for viewing by Carnivore. This intermingling of unrelated packets with the suspect packets makes it impossible to view only the authorized packets of information. The resulting issue becomes one of government trust and trust of law enforcement to only view, save, or in any way make retrievable only the packets of information authorized to be viewed. On July 24, 2000, Donald M. Kerr, Assistant Director, Laboratory Division, FBI, presented a Congressional Statement for the Record before the U.S. House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, the Internet and Data Interception Capabilities Developed by the FBI. Donald M. Kerr in his statement discussed issues related to the control and use of Carnivore (Kerr, 2000, http://www. fbi.gov/congress/congress00/kerr072400.htm).
CONCLUSION The ramifications of the Internet upon law enforcement, locally and globally, are widespread, numerous, and even controversial. Organized crime has at its disposal monetary support received from illegal transactions, while government must rely upon monies received from its citizenry. The greatest challenge faced by law enforcement in this technological age of the Internet is that of becoming technologically advanced beyond the level of criminal expertise and knowledge.
GLOSSARY Authentication The use of a password, encryption, or a combination of both, to confirm the identity and right of an individual to access protected networks or Web sites. Community policing A philosophy based upon the recognition that dedicated people working together through community partnerships can make their communities safer and better and as related to law enforcement, accomplished by putting more police officers into communities to address not only crimes but also quality of life issues.
REFERENCES
Cyberstalking The use of e-mail, instant messages, bulletin boards, chat rooms, or Web-based forums via the Internet by an individual to pursue and repeatedly attempt to contact another individual, the victim, which results in the victim feeling threatened and fearful of the contact. Digital signature A protocol that has the same effect as that of a real signature in that it is a mark that only the sender can make, it is readily identified by others as belonging to the sender, it confirms agreement, and it possesses the additional properties of being unforgeable, authentic, unalterable, and nonreusable. Encryption The use of coding to transform data or information into an unintelligible form that is confidential, unmodifiable, and not reproducible by unauthorized persons. Firewall A computer or computer software that prevents unauthorized access to private data or information located on a organization’s internal network by individuals located externally on the Internet. Jurisdiction The right, power, or authority to interpret and apply law within the limits or region where the authority may be lawfully exercised. Modus operandi As related to crime it is a distinct method used or operating pattern that indicates the work of a single criminal or a criminal group in two or more crimes. NIBRS The FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System using new guidelines beyond those of the UCR to better meet the law enforcement needs in the 21st century by reporting arrests and offenses using an incident-based system; collecting data at two levels, one of which would include more detail, and using a quality assurance program to improve the quality of the collected data. Packet-filtering program A computer program that examines sender, receiver, and sequencing information contained in the header of a packet. Protocol A set of rules that manage how software and hardware components communicate with one another or cross interfaces. Spamming Sending unsolicited e-mail to a large number of addresses. Stalking The repeated and unwanted behaviors of an individual attempting to contact another individual, the victim, which results in the victim feeling threatened and fearful of the contact. UCR FBI Uniform Crime Report instituted in the 1930s whose purpose is to generate a reliable set of criminal statistics that can be used in the administration, operation, and management of law enforcement. Urban legend An often lurid anecdote or tale based on hearsay and circulated as a true and factual story. Venue The country or place where alleged events take place that results in legal actions. Virtual private network An encrypted Internet or network “tunnel” to ensure point-to-point communication of messages and protects against interception by unauthorized persons through the use of a combination of firewalls, encryption, and authentication. Virus A computer program typically secluded within an innocuous program that produces copies of itself and
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then inserts the copies into other programs usually for the purpose of performing a malicious action such as denial of services or destruction of data. Voice over IP The transmission of voice communications using the Internet protocol for data transmission where the voice signal is converted into digital format, divided into packets, and transmitted over the Internet. Weed and seed Law enforcement grant-supported efforts to prevent, control, and reduce violent crimes, drug trafficking, drug abuse, and gang-related activities in specific targeted high-crime neighborhoods ranging in size from several city blocks to as large as 15 square miles throughout the United States.
CROSS REFERENCES See Authentication; Cybercrime and Cyberfraud; Cyberstalking; Cyberterrorism; Digital Signatures and Electronic Signatures; Encryption; Firewalls.
REFERENCES Baker, D. (1999). When cyber stalkers walk. ABA Journal, 85, 50–54. Bequai, A. (2000). America’s Internet commerce and the threat of fraud. Computers & Security, 19, 688–691. Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (n.d.). Electronic commerce: Legal issues. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://www. cybercrime.gov/ecommerce.html Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (n.d.). Field guidance on new authorities that relate to computer crime and electronic evidence enacted in the USA Patriot Act of 2001. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ cybercrime/PatriotAct.htm Dube, N. A. (1999). Globalsearch: The international search for missing and exploited children. International Review of Law, Computers and Technology, 13, 69–74. Duffield, C. (2000). Turning the technology tables of serious crime. Document World, 5, 40–42. Federal Bureau Investigations (FBI) (n.d.). Carnivore. Retrieved January 1, 2003 from http://www.fbi.gov/ hq/lab/carnivore/carnivore.htm Federal Bureau Investigations (FBI) (n.d.). Common fraud scams. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http:// www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/fraudschemes.htm Gallagher, P. (1999). E-commerce trends. International Trade Forum, 2, 16–18. Geist, M. A. (2001). Is there a there there? Toward a greater certainty for Internet jurisdiction. Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 16, 1345–1406. Hitchcock, J. A. (2000). Cyberstalking. Link-up, 17, 22–23. InterGov International (2002). Latest Web statistics. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://www.intergov.org/ public information / general information / latest web stats.html
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International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) (n.d.). Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://icmec.missingkids.com/ Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) (2001). IFCC 2001 Internet fraud report. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/ IFCC 2001Annual Report.pdf Internet ScamBusters (1996). SCAM: The Nigerian advance fee scheme. Reprinted from Internet ScamBusters, 11. Retrieved January 1, 2003 from http:// www.scambusters.org/NigerianFee.html. Kalakota, R., & Whinston, A. B. (1996). Frontiers of electronic commerce. New York: Addison-Wesley. Kerr, D. M. (2000). Internet and data interception capabilities developed by the FBI. Congressional Statement Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved January 1, 2003 from http://www.fbi.gov/congress/ congress00/kerr072400.htm Macodrum, D., Hasheri, H., & O’Hearn, T. J. (2001). Spies in suits: New crimes of the information age from the United States and Canadian perspectives. Information and Communications Technology Law, 10, 139– 166. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) (n.d.). Leading causes of death reports. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://webapp.cdc. gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus.html National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) (n.d.). West African organized crime section. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://www.ncis.gov.uk/waocu.asp National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS) (n.d.). Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://www.nlets.org/index.htm National Security Council (NSC) (1997). International crime control strategy. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/EOP/NSC/html/ documents/iccs-frm.html NUA, Scope Communications Group (2002). How many online. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://www. nua.ie/surveys/how many online/world.html Philippsohn, S. (2001a). Money laundering on the Internet. Computers and Security, 20, 485–490. Philippsohn, S. (2001b). Trends in cybercrime—An overview of current financial crimes on the Internet. Computers and Security, 20, 53–69. Ruthfield, S. (1995). The Internet’s history and development: From wartime tool to the fish-cam. ACM Crossroads, 2(1). Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http: // www. acm. org / crossroads / xrds2-1 / inet-history. html University of Alaska at Anchorage Justice Center (2000). Focus on the death penalty: International context. Retrieved January 1, 2003, from http://www. uaa.alaska.edu/just/death/intl.html U.S. Department of Justice (n.d.). Grand jury indicts Nigerians in wire fraud scheme. Retrieved January 1, 2003 from http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/ Pre 96/September94/519.txt.html U.S. Postal Inspection Services (n.d.). Postal inspectors crackdown on Nigerian scam. Retrieved January 1, 2003 from http://www.usps.com/websites/depart/ inspect/pressrel.htm
FURTHER READING All sites accessed and available as of January 2003.
Introduction NUA (Scope Communications Group) Internet Surveys: http://www.nua.ie/surveys/
Law Enforcement Agencies’ Web Sites Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives: http://www.atf.treas.gov/ Bureau of Justice Statistics law enforcement information: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/lawenf.htm Canine Police: http://www.policek9.com Crime Stoppers: http://www.c-s-i.org/ Domestic violence: http://info-s.com/domestic.html FirstGov, a locator for federal and state government law enforcement sites: http://www.firstgov.gov/ Hong Kong law enforcement: http://www.info.gov.hk/ police/index.htm Icelandic Police: http://www.logreglan.is/displayer.asp? catid =217 InterGov International: http://www.intergov.org/ International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors: http://www.ialefi.com/ International police agencies: http://www.policeinterna tional.com/, http://www.interpol.int/) International Web Police: http://www.web-police.org/ Law enforcement agencies and organizations: http:// search.officer.com/agencysearch/, http://info-s.com/ police-d.html, http://info-s.com/laworg.html Official Directory of State Patrol and State Police: http://www.statetroopersdirectory.com/ Pakistan law enforcement: http://www.sindhpolice.gov. pk/ Police Federation of England and Wales: http://www. polfed.org/main frame.htm Russia law enforcement: http://www.mvdinform.ru/index. php UK Police Services: http://www.police.uk/ Universal Police Link site: http://www.spinet.gov.sg/ pollink/index.html U.S. and International Government, Military, and Intelligence Agencies: http://www.sagal.com/ajax/ U.S. Department of Justice: http://www.usdoj.gov/ index.html World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems: http:// www.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/wfcj.htm Worldwide Governments on the WWW: http://www. gksoft.com/govt/en/world.html
Web Sites for Specific Law Enforcement Interests and Concerns Adoption records and searches: http://www. adopting.org/adoptees.html, http://www.birthquest. org Amnesty International—The death penalty: http:// web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty index eng?Open Document American Academy of Forensic Sciences: http://www. aafs.org
FURTHER READING
Background checks: http://info-s.com/background. html California Department of Justice, Stop Drugs: http://www. stopdrugs.org/identification.html Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies: http://www. hopkins-biodefense.org Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/ Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence: http://www.st-and.ac.uk/academic/intrel/research/cstpv/ Central Intelligence Agency—The war on terrorism: http://www.cia.gov/terrorism CIA Factbook: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/ factbook/index.html College and university phonebooks: http://www.uiuc. edu/cgi-bin/ph/lookup?Query= Community Policing Consortium: http://www. communitypolicing.org/ Corrections resources: http://www.officer.com/correct.htm Death Penalty: http://info-s.com/deathpenalty.html DOE Network: http://www.doenetwork.org Domestic Security in Florida: http://www.myflorida.com/ myflorida/domestic security/index.html Drug Enforcement Agency: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ Executive Office for Weed and Seed: http://www.ojp.usdoj. gov/eows/welcome.html FBI Crime Scene Safety Handbook: http://www.fbi.gov/ programs/lab/handbook/safety.htm Federal Bureau of Investigations—War on terrorism: http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/terrorism.htm Federal Emergency Management: http://www.fema.gov Federation of American Scientists: http://www.fas.org/ index.html Firearms and firearms identification: http://www. firearmsid.com/, http://info-s.com/firearm.html Florida State University School of Criminology & Criminal Justice: (http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/ Fraternal Order of Police: http://www.grandlodgefop.org/ Fugitives: http://www.fugitive.com/, http://www2. amw.com/amw.html, http://www.fugitivehunter.org/ usmostwanted.html, http://www.mostwanted.org/ Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Center Atlanta, Georgia—Unidentified deceased individuals: http:// www.fcmeo.org/UIDPage.htm Genealogy: http://www.nara.gov/genealogy/ Henry L. Stimson Center for International Security and Peace—Frequently asked questions: Likelihood of terrorists acquiring and using chemical or biological weapons: http://www.stimson. org/cbw/?SN=CB2001121259 IAGIM—Drug Development Association: http://www. iagim.org/index.htm International Association of Chiefs of Police: http://www. theiacp.org/ International Association of Women Police: http://www. iawp.org/ International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism: http://www.ict.org.il/ JURIST—Terrorism laws and policies: http://jurist. law.pitt.edu/terrorism.htm Kentucky State Medical Examiners Office: http://www. unidentifiedremains.net/
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Locum International Group—U.S. drug identification list: http://www.locum.co.il/druglist/index.php MEDLINEplus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ Michigan State Police: http://www.msp.state.mi.us/ persons/remains.htm Military personnel: http://www.nara.gov/regional/mpr. html, http://www.globemaster.de/faq/locator.html Missing Persons Cold Case Network: http://www. angelfire.com/mi3/mpccn/index.html National Association of Chiefs of Police: http://aphf. org/nacop.html National Center for Women and Policing: http://www. womenandpolicing.org National Criminal Justice Reference: http://www.ncjrs. org/lewww.html National Criminal Justice Reference—International subcategories: http:virlib.ncjrs.org National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: http:// www.nhtsa.dot.gov National Institute on Drug Abuse: http://165.112.78.61/ DrugAbuse.html National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund: http://www.nleomf.com National Library of Medicine: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/ National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives: http://www.noblenatl.org/ New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force: http://www.state.nj.us/lps/dsptf/dsptfhome.html Northern Michigan University Department of Criminal Justice: http://www.nmu.edu/cj/default.htm Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/grants/grants.html Orange County, CA, Sheriff’s Office—Street drug identification: http://www.ocso.com/sid/narcotics/ identification/drugs.html Organized crime and corruption: http://yorku.ca/ nathanson/default.htm Police Executive Research Forum: http://www. policeforum.org/ Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois: http://www.pti.uiuc.edu/ Political: http://www.tray.com/fecinfo/ Prison information and papers: http://www.soci.niu. edu/∼critcrim/prisons/prisons.html Public records: http://www.searchsystems.net/, http:// www.publicrecordfinder.com/ Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS) Program: http://www.iir.com/riss/ Sentencing: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/sent.htm Serial killers: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serialkillers. htm Telephone and e-mail information: http://www.anywho. com/ Telephone reverse lookup: http://www.officer.com/ research.htm Training: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/td/academy/academy. htm Unclaimed property: http://www.unclaimed.org United Nations: http://www.un.org University of Albany Hindelang Criminal Justice Research Center: http://www.albany.edu/hindelang/ University of Memphis: http://www.memphis.edu/
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Urban Legends: http://www.scambusters.org/legends. html U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://www.usdoj.gov/bjs/ U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Policing Services: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/ U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Grants: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps U.S Department of State: http://www.state.gov/ U.S Department of State, Office of International Information Programs—Response to terrorism: http:// usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/ Vital records: http://vitalrec.com/index.html
Communication Activities Copnet—Public services: http://www.copnet.org/pubserv. html CopsOnLine: http://www.copsonline.com Police World: http://www.policeworld.net Police-L: http://www.police-l.org/about.html
Law Enforcement Use of E-commerce Clerk, Cobb County State Court, Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia: http://www.cobbstatecourtclerk.com/ Collecting traffic fines and fees: http://www.ezgov. com/newsfullpage.jsp?ArticleID = 3684&category = pressreleases
Courts of New Zealand—Fines On-Line: http://www.fines. govt.nz/
Crime and the Internet FedStats—Statistical agencies: http://www.fedstats.gov/ agencies/ FBI Online Child Pornography Innocent Images National Initiative: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/innocent.htm FBI Uniform Crime Reports & NIBRS Federal Bureau of Investigations: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm Internet Fraud Complaint Center: http://www1.ifccfbi. gov/strategy/statistics.asp Uniform Crime Reports: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: http:// www.unodc.org/unodc/crime cicp sitemap.html U.S. Customs CyberSmuggling Center’s Child Exploitation Unit: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/enforcement/ investigative priorities/c3/child exploitation.xml University of Maryland Libraries—Sources of international statistics on the Internet: http://www.lib.umd. edu/MCK/STATS.html
Internet Legal Issues Cybercrime: http://www.cybercrime.gov Department of Justice Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section—Electronic commerce: Legal issue: http://www.cybercrime.gov/ecommerce.html
Law Firms Firms
Victoria S. Dennis, Minnesota State Bar Association Judith C. Simon, The University of Memphis
Introduction Legal Research Using the Internet Patent Law Income Tax Law Real Property Law Family Law Litigation Alternative Dispute Resolution Electronic Commerce (E-commerce)
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INTRODUCTION Law firms were not one of the first types of organizations to use the Internet extensively, but they have made significant gains in Internet presence in recent years. Researching legal issues was one of the first uses law firms made of the Internet, and the types of resources available for such research have continued to expand. The topics available online are much more extensive than just a few years ago. Eventually, law firms began to have Web sites online to provide contact information to their clients. Now those Web sites have expanded to provide additional services to clients. Law firms have also adopted Internet technology for use in providing internal Web capabilities within their organizations (intranets) and sometimes for links to specific outside organizations (extranets). Some ways in which the Internet is widely used by law firms are described in the sections below. Although a prominent use of the Internet by law firms is e-mail, this topic is dealt with in detail in other chapters. The first and most extensive section involves ways in which the Internet is used for legal research, which continues to be the capability of the Internet most used by law firms. The second major section describes client services available for lawyers using the Internet. The third section discusses concerns of in-house counsel, as well as other internal concerns related to the Internet, primarily the potential use of intranets and extranets. The final section provides a listing of some major online resources for law firms, with brief identifications of the types of online materials that are available at those sites. The discussions below attempt to provide an overview of ways that law firms are making applications of Internet technology, with enough details to indicate the range and quantity of resources available.
LEGAL RESEARCH USING THE INTERNET Use of the Internet to conduct legal research has become much more extensive in recent years as the number of lawrelated sites has expanded. Professional organizations, government entities, law firms and other legal professions,
Legal Ethics Client Services for Lawyers Using the Internet The Internet for In-House Counsel and Other Internal Activities Summary of Online Resources Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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and educational institutions are examples of suppliers of Web site content. The ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center conducted a survey of trends in legal publishing, which was reported on its Online Research site (http://www.abanet. org/tech/ltrc/oresearch.html). The findings indicated that progress in the movement by legal publishers from print formats to electronic formats (CD and Internet) had been slow but steady. About 30% of the media production by legal publishers was for Internet products. Prices have increased for products in print media format, which will likely cause a greater movement to Internet media. An initial concern related to the Internet involved reliability of information, but the expectation now is that the quality of Internet products will continue to improve. A good “first step” when performing legal research on the Internet is the Web site of the user’s state bar association. Most states’ bar associations have very comprehensive Web sites, with links to sites on specific topics as well as state statutes and rules. There are generally also lists of in-state contact individuals. For much online research, a nonlegal search engine such as Yahoo! or google.com may suffice to locate the information that is needed. Before information that is garnered from a Web site not sponsored by a reliable source is used, however, the validity of the information must be cross-checked with a reliable source. In locating a specific attorney or law firm, http://www. martindale.com, the Web site for Martindale–Hubbell, is frequently updated and is very useful. This Web site also contains links to other generalized legal Web sites. The two Web sites that most recent law school graduates become familiar with and continue to rely upon during practice are those operated by Westlaw and LexisNexis. Westlaw is the larger service, and the more user-friendly of the two, according to the American Bar Association’s 2001 Legal Technology Resource Center Survey. LexisNexis directs its services to a broader area than just the legal profession, facilitating not only traditional legal research but also research by accountants, academicians, corporate officers, journalists, librarians, and other professionals. The advent of these two services revolutionized legal research. Attorneys are no longer 457
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bound to law libraries; equally important, however, is the fact that information gathered through these online services can be relied upon to be extremely current. Both of these services are available through subscriptions. There are, additionally, a number of excellent free research Web sites. Some contain general knowledge, such as http://www.nolo.com, which contains a broad spectrum of information in a user-friendly format. This site, although directed somewhat to nonlawyers, has a wealth of knowledge and links. LexisNexis operates a free site, http://www.lexisone.com, that links to much of the basic information, such as cases and forms, that is offered through subscription services. Additionally, this site offers “pay as you go” options, such as a per-case charge for Shepardizing documents (determining the current status of case law or legal authority, finding the most recent decisions, and determining if other cases have dealt with the same factual issues). These types of payper-use options have made online research more accessible to sole practitioners and attorneys practicing in small firms, who may not be able to afford subscriptions to a full-service option. Other free sites offering good legal research options include http://www.lawyers.com, http://www.findlaw.com, and http://www.law.com. Additionally, there are a number of Web sites specific to areas of practice that are a good “first stop” before a broader search-engine Web search. In many cases, these sites can act as a practitioner’s “frequently asked questions” page, and consulting them first may make broader searches unnecessary. Several areas of law have a number of excellent sites with information specific to those practices. Some of those topics are described in this section, including Patent law Income tax law Real property law Family law Litigation Alternative dispute resolution Electronic commerce Legal ethics
Patent Law A patent is obtained by an inventor to keep others from producing or using that person’s invention for some length of time. To qualify, the invention has to be unique, have a use, and not otherwise be obvious in nature. Patent law is arguably the preeminent area of law accessible via the Internet. The nature of patents themselves and of those attorneys who practice patent law are a natural fit for creating and maintaining excellent Web sites. Information as basic to patent practice as Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution and Title 35 of the United States Code are readily available online. The U.S. Constitution states that the U.S. Congress has the power “ . . . to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.”
Title 35 of the United States Code contains the main body of law related to patents. For example, the time frame for patents is covered. Until a recent amendment, patents were issued for one nonrenewable time period of 17 years from the date the patent was issued. In June 1995, the term limit became 20 years from the date of application for the patent. The Patent and Trademark Office administers patent laws in the United States. An examiner in that office reviews each application to determine its qualifications for a patent. The regulations used by the Patent and Trademark Office are available from online sources. For more information than is available from the U.S. Code, it is necessary to tailor the search very specifically because the volume of information and the level of detail available in this area are enormous. A very good general patent Web site is located at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/patent.html). Here are some useful links provided on this site’s home page (Legal Information Institute, 2002b): Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution Title 35 of the United States Code Decisions of the Supreme Court and U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals related to patents Patent database International Patent News Service (free weekly e-mail notice of patents issued) World Intellectual Property Organization, including a database of intellectual property laws For a source of more specific patent information, a good recommendation is PatentLawLinks.com (http:// www.patentlawlinks.com/). This site (PatentLawLinks. com, 2002) provides links to access such items as Case law, including Supreme Court decisions and cases in the Court of Appeals and U.S. District Courts Patent search engines Worldwide patent office sites Patent law firms in the U.S. and in other countries Intellectual property law Statutes and regulations Academic and professional journals Intellectual property news and mailing lists Legal search engines, such as LawCrawler Patent-related forms Another useful Web site, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (http://patents.uspto.gov/), has a substantial index that allows searches for patents (United States Patent and Trademark Office, 2002). Users may also access information on the patenting process and apply online for patents.
Income Tax Law Income tax law is one of the more form-driven areas of practice, therefore lending itself well to online research. Whether an attorney needs to locate U.S. Code, court
LEGAL RESEARCH USING THE INTERNET
decisions, or the most current legislation or to download an arcane form, there are Web sites available to provide the needed information. An excellent Web site providing hundreds of well-described links is at taxsites. com (http://www.taxsites.com/federal.html). This website (Taxsites.com, 2002) has links to such materials as Tax legislation updates Summaries of recent tax acts Tax code and tax regulations IRS Web site Related court decisions These sections include subdivisions for free services and Web-based subscription services including LexisNexis and Westlaw. Another excellent Web site that provides a vast storehouse of information as well as tax forms that can be downloaded, is http://www.irs.gov.
Real Property Law Real property (more commonly referred to as real estate) law is an area of practice that is more slowly making information available on the Internet. For a variety of reasons, primarily the sheer volume of documents involved in each real property transaction, it is cumbersome to have a great deal of the information available online. Title searches, property tax information, and contractors’ liens are areas that may be researched online in some jurisdictions. The American Bar Association (ABA) site (http://www. abanet.org) has a section on Real Property, Probate, and Trust. It contains links to useful sources such as the Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal and Probate and Property Magazine. It also has a public information section, with links to a wide range of information on topics in which legal agreements will no doubt occur, such as Buying or selling a house (including mortgage borrowing and a lengthy family legal guide) Remodeling a house Renting a house Liability issues and insurance
Family Law Family law became an area of distinct legal specialization around 1960 and has become quite extensive in scope. According to the American Bar Association Section of Family Law Web site (http://abanet.org/family/), areas of interest include Divorce Custody Adoption Alimony Child abduction Federal and interstate legislation Mediation Paternity Genetic engineering
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The major areas listed above, as well as the general area of family law, can be found as links on numerous Web sites mentioned in this chapter that support legal research on the Internet.
Litigation Litigation generally refers to the handling of lawsuits and involves an enormously wide-ranging group of topics. Numerous Web sites on litigation are available. For example, the FindLaw Web site (http://findlaw.com/01topics/ 29litigation/) has links to litigation attorneys and litigation law firms, litigation practice support and consultants, and litigation expert witnesses (FindLaw for Legal Professionals, 2002). Some of the practice support and consultants links are listed below to provide a general idea of the types of available resources: Business consultants Courier/messenger services Document preparation Jury consultants Paralegals Technology consultants Trial presentation Large consulting firms often have specialty legal practices, with information provided at their Web sites. For example, Ernst & Young’s Web site (http://ey.com/) includes a link to their Litigation Advisory Services page (Ernst & Young, 2002). This page lists their main services, with explanations and instructions for obtaining additional information. Some of their services include Fact finding and discovery Analysis and quantification of damages Fraud and forensic investigation Expert witness testimony A special subtopic of litigation involves Internet or e-commerce issues. In the case of contracts, some Internet contracts are no different from traditional contracts. However, others are unique to the Internet. For example, several cases involving the terms of service have involved “clickwrap” agreements, which are similar to non-Internet “shrinkwrap” agreements and often involve the purchase of software online. Another Internet-related litigation topic has to do with consumer fraud, which is a standard litigation topic but with different circumstances because of the use of the Internet. Many Internet-related cases have involved false advertising and deceptive practices.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative dispute (ADR) involves ways of settling disputes without going to court. This option is increasingly given consideration, for reasons including the time delays in getting a case to court, as well as the rising costs of litigation. According to the Legal Information Institute Web site on ADR (http://law.cornell.edu/topics/adr.html),
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the two most common forms of ADR are arbitration and mediation (Legal Information Institute, 2002a). Arbitration is considered a simplified form of a trial, with arbitration hearings lasting only for a few hours. Mediation is a less formal method than arbitration, in which mediators trained in negotiations bring the opposing parties to a meeting to try to work out an agreement that both can accept. The Legal Information Institute Web site (Legal Information Institute, 2002a) contains links to related information, including Title 9 of the U.S. Code regarding Federal law supporting arbitration UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Recent decisions on arbitration by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Circuit Courts of Appeals State statutes dealing with ADR U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Dispute Resolution Technical arbitration and resolution International Chamber of Commerce Index of International Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Services Mediation Information and Resource Center ADR may now be conducted online, at such sites as http://www.mediate.com, http://www.arb-forum.com and http://www.squaretrade.com. As with other topics mentioned in this chapter, additional sites are available related to ADR, but this section provides a sampling of the resources that are available.
Electronic Commerce (E-commerce) The ABA Legal Technology Resource Center Web site (http://abanet.org/tech/ltrc/) has a link to “Web Development & E-Commerce,” with suggestions and resources for law firms to use to develop their own Web sites (ABA Legal Technology Research, 2002). The ABA site has links to topics such as How to plan, design, and build a Web site Tips for getting a law firm onto the Web, such as obtaining a domain name and a Web host Resources, such as product sites An article on “Web Worries of Dot-com Lawyers” (Beckman and Hirsh, 2000) discussed several concerns of “e-lawyers” related to providing legal services on the Internet. One service that was described involved providing documents on Web sites for a fee and using credit cards for the collection method. Concerns included checking for conflicts before obtaining any confidential information that might be submitted on the form and determining how to keep confidential information secure. The general conclusion was that e-lawyering is expected to continue, and many law firms will need to provide the service to remain competitive.
In addition to considering the possibility of conducting business themselves over the Internet, lawyers are now involved in other legal issues regarding e-commerce. Numerous articles and other resources are available online regarding this subject, which is likely to continue to expand. One concern is related to Internet agreements, such as those that involve approval to have links to another organization’s Web site or use its content, logo, etc. Some of the contracts involving the Internet are similar to existing non-Internet practices, but the use of specific Internet-related contracts removes some possible uncertainty, because the Internet has caused new concerns related to topics such as intellectual property and ownership. Sources are available for Internetspecific contracts, as well as other related information of value.
Legal Ethics The ABA has a Center for Professional Responsibility with an Ethics Department (ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, 2002). According to the Web site (http://www. abanet.org/cpr/ethics.html), which provides links to extensive information on this Center and related issues, the Center studies, develops, and implements model legal and judicial ethics standards. The Ethics Department reports on new developments and drafts potential revisions to the model ethics standards. This department also operates an extensive research service called ETHICSearch, which analyzes ethical dilemmas and helps users in determining appropriate standards and materials to resolve the dilemmas. Additional information on this service is available at this same Web site. The ABA Center for Professional Responsibility Web site also provides “Materials for Research in Legal Ethics,” with links to additional important information, such as Model Rules for Professional Conduct Model Code of Professional Responsibility Model Code of Judicial Conduct
CLIENT SERVICES FOR LAWYERS USING THE INTERNET Attorneys have been slower than many other businesspeople in developing ways to utilize the Internet to communicate with clients. Because of concerns about client confidentiality, the ethics of “advertising” by posting a Web site, and the concern about a Web site lacking of the proper decorum desired by the profession, as well as justifiable concerns regarding accusations of offering legal advice online, Web sites maintained by law firms have primarily listed the firm s’ addresses and telephone numbers, along with the attorneys’ names, but have contained very little other information. This is changing, as perceptions about the propriety of doing business on the Internet change. Although initially law firms developed Web sites to attract new clients, more legal Web sites are now being developed for other purposes, such as attracting recruits from law schools or serving as portals with information on specific areas of law. A significant change has
SUMMARY OF ONLINE RESOURCES
also occurred in the number of legal sites that act as extranets for existing clients, to allow secure document exchanges. According to findlaw.com, a law firm in Cordova, Tennessee is revolutionizing the way it interacts with clients using the Internet (Bodine, 2000). The law firm makes its Web content accessible for download into a Palm Pilot, and the attorneys utilize the free calendaring service offered at http://calendar.yahoo.com/. Only the person to whom the calendar belongs can view the details of the appointments (a client viewing his or her attorney’s calendar would only see that the attorney was busy during a certain block of time). Clients can then see when the attorney is available prior to calling to make an appointment. Because there is sometimes a perception by clients that attorneys are inaccessible, this level of openness in communicating makes the attorney–client relationship more of a partnership and makes the client feel comfortable when hiring an attorney that he or she will be able to contact the attorney when necessary.
THE INTERNET FOR IN-HOUSE COUNSEL AND OTHER INTERNAL ACTIVITIES In-house counsel have a single-minded responsibility, unique among attorneys, to a single corporate client. In the context of the Internet, this responsibility may be divided into three categories: Legal issues raised by the company’s current use of the Internet Research into how the company’s Internet use can and should develop, and the legal issues raised by this future Internet use How the practice of law will develop and change with the use of the Internet The first two categories present similar sets of issues: copyright protection and ensuring that the content of the Web site is accurate and is not biased regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, or otherwise offensive or unlawful. The company will likely want to have a statement regarding the content of any Web sites to which it links, limiting the company’s liability to that content over which it has direct control. If the Web site includes a service for which customers need to register, the Web site should have a license agreement which the customer must agree to by clicking on an “I Agree” button before proceeding further. This is an example of a “clickwrap” agreement. These agreements have been in place for a number of years, and their validity has been upheld in most jurisdictions. If the company is actually doing business via the Web site, it is also wise to have a “choice of law” statement posted on the Web site. Because Web sites can be viewed worldwide, a potential lawsuit could arise from anywhere in the world. This clause limits the litigation of any issues that arise between the company and the users from use of the Web site to a certain jurisdiction.
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Additionally, in-house counsel will want to develop a technology use policy for the employees of the company, as well as any contractors working onsite. Critical to such a policy is a clear statement that the use of the company’s resources is for business purposes only, and the employee should have no expectation of privacy. Only with such a policy in place can a company then safely, without fear of an invasion of privacy lawsuit from the employee, ensure that employees are not improperly or unlawfully using the company’s resources to access or post content on the Internet. Another type of decision related to Internet-related activities involves the use of “intranets” and “extranets.” Intranets, as the “intra-” prefix suggests, are used for internal Web-based activities in an organization. Accessing needed documents and data using Web technology can be relatively easy, but can also provide some security related to access. An individual group within a firm may have links to documents that they need within the group but may not have access to pages that belong to activities of other groups within the firm. Additionally, a firm’s internal library can be made available and regularly updated, along with links to external Internet data. When the firm has a need for secure transmission of confidential information to an outside organization, an extranet can be used for this Web-based connection using Internet technology. The need for privacy and security in the implementation and ongoing maintenance of such sites is extremely important. Because client-related data are vulnerable in ways that can create legal liability, it is crucial that privacy and security issues be addressed not just as a priority, but as a necessity. The use of intranets and extranets will continue to vary among different types of law practices. The work of the lawyer will be generally the same, but the technology used can be expected to change for some aspects of the work. Although businesses have used Internet technology for intranets and extranets for a number of years, the size of the organization has been directly related to the perceived need for these options. That same consideration is true of law firms. A larger firm would have a greater need for an extensive intranet that would be true of a small firm.
SUMMARY OF ONLINE RESOURCES A wide range of resources are now available on Internet Web sites for use by law firms. Listed below are some of the most extensive online sources of information, including the site addresses and descriptions of the sites. The topics shown are not a complete listing but are intended to emphasize the quantity of materials now available through use of the Internet.
http://www.abanet.org/home.html American Bar Association; provides a vast array of resources related to the topics discussed above, plus r
Law school accreditation Continuing legal education r Information about the law r Programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work r Initiatives to improve the legal system for the public r
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http://www.lawforum.net Law Forum; directory of law-related Web sites; has resources by state and by “type,” including
r
Manual of Patent Classification Forms r Fees r
r
Law schools Bars r Journals r Courts
r Movie/film r
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/ Legal Information Institute; has a keyword search capability as well as links to general topics such as
r r
http://www.lawnewsnetwork.com/ Law News Network; law news and information; has articles and the latest news on various legal topics; has links to practice centers, with sublinks; e.g. Intellectual Property practice center has these practice center areas: r r r r r r
Copyrights International and state laws Media law Patents Trademarks Trade secrets
r r r r r
http://www.patentlawlinks.com/ A Web site for patent attorneys; links to Web sites to access resources such as r r r r
Tech Law practice center has these practice center areas: r r r r r r r r r r r r
Biolaw Cable/telecom
Computer law Cyber intellectual property Cybercrimes Cyberspeech Domain names E-commerce Internet regulation Licensing Security/encryption Web sites/linking
http://www.lawguru.com Legal research and resources; various tools and other resources, such as r r r r r
Access to over 500 legal search engines, tools, and databases Links to thousands of legal sites Daily legal news Legal forms A library of articles on various legal topics
http://patents.uspto.gov/ Web site for the U.S. Patent Office; contains a “how to . . . ” section for finding patents and trademarks, getting patents and trademarks, etc., and allows searches for r r
Patents Trademarks
Enterprise law
Intellectual property
Taxation Family law Employment law Criminal law Legal education
r r r
Case law
Patent search engines
Worldwide patent office sites
Statutes and regulations Journals Legal search engines
Patent-related forms
http://findlaw.com/
Resources for four categories of Web site users:
1. Legal professionals r Legal subjects such as intellectual property, criminal law, litigation, immigration law, and gaming law r Continuing legal education r Software and technology r Laws—cases and codes r U.S. federal and state resources r Legal organizations r Forms 2. Students r Law schools r Law reviews r Law student resources r Outlines and exams r Employment 3. Business r Business formation r Finance r Intellectual property r Human resources r Corporate contracts 4. Public r Housing r Automobile
FURTHER READING r
Personal injury
Family
r Work
r Immigration
r
GLOSSARY Alternative dispute resolution Involves ways of settling disputes without going to court. Intranet Used for internal Web-based activities in an organization. Extranet Used for direct, secure transmission to an outside person or organization through the use of Internet technology. Litigation Generally refers to the handling of lawsuits, including court appearances at various levels. Patent Obtained by an inventor for some unique item, to keep others from producing or using that person’s invention for some length of time. Real property Commonly referred to as real estate.
CROSS REFERENCES See Legal, Social and Ethical Issues; Patent Law; Taxation Issues; Trademark Law.
REFERENCES ABA Center for Professional Responsibility (2002). Legal ethics. Retrieved May 25, 2002, from http://www. abanet.org/cpr/ethics.html ABA Legal Technology Research (2002). Retrieved May 25, 2002, from http://www.abanet.org/tech/ltrc/
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Beckman, D., and Hirsch, D. (June 2000). Web worries of dot-com lawyers. Retrieved May 25, 2002, from http://www.abanet.org/journal/jun00/tkdave.html Bodine, L. (2000). Marketing your firm on the Net: The next step. American Bar Association Law Practice Management Magazine. Retrieved from http://www. abanet.org/lpm/magazine/magarchive front.shtml/ Ernst & Young Litigation Advisory Services (2002). Retrieved May 27, 2002, from http://ey.com/ FindLaw for Legal Professionals (2002). Litigation. Retrieved May 27, 2002, from http://findlaw.com/01topics/ 29litigation/ Legal Information Institute (2002a). Alternative dispute resolution. Retrieved May 27, 2002, from http://law. cornell.edu/topics/adr.html Legal Information Institute (2002b) Patent law. Retrieved May 26, 2002, from http://www.law.cornell. edu/topics/patent.html PatentLawLinks.com(2002). IP law. Retrieved May 26, 2002, from http://www.patentlawlinks.com/ Taxsites.com (2002) Federal tax law. Retrieved May 26, 2002, from http://www.taxsites.com/federal. html United States Patent and Trademark Office (2002). Patents. Retrieved May 26, 2002, from http://patents. uspto.gov/
FURTHER READING Sanders, C. H. (2000). Trends in legal publishing for the millennium: Quality moves to the Internet. Retrieved 25, 2002, from http://www.abanet.org/tech/ltrc/ oresearch.html
Legal, Social, and Ethical Issues Issues
Kenneth Einar Himma, University of Washington
Introduction Free Speech on the Internet Introduction: Legal Protection of Free Speech Justifications for Free Speech Rights Internet Issues Intellectual Property Introduction: Legal Protection of Intellectual Property Justifications for Intellectual Property Protection Internet Issues Information Privacy
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INTRODUCTION The creation of the networked world has produced a host of social and individual benefits. The World Wide Web, for example, makes it possible for individuals to access a wealth of information at any time of the day from the convenience of their own homes. E-mail capabilities enable individuals to communicate information from one country to another at a fraction of what it would cost to make an international telephone call. Bulletin boards and discussion lists provide large groups of like-minded persons with a convenient forum in which ideas can be exchanged at any time of the day. The unique capabilities of these new technologies, however, have also created a host of novel legal, social, and ethical problems. The ability of users to communicate information to large audiences facilitates many legitimate purposes, but it also facilitates many purposes of questionable morality and legality. The fact that a user can, in principle, communicate information via the Web to millions of people around the world creates a variety of problems. Since, for example, the harm to an individual’s reputation caused by defamation is a function of how many people receive the defamatory material, the capabilities of the Web increase a user’s potential for causing harm by publishing defamatory material. Similarly, since the economic loss to a copyright holder caused by the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials is also determined by how many people receive those materials, the capabilities of the Web also increase a user’s potential for causing harm by sharing copyrighted materials. Not surprisingly, use of these new information technologies implicates a wide variety of interests of legal, social, and ethical significance. These interests include privacy, free speech, security, economic well-being, and intellectual property. This chapter discusses some of the important ways in which these technologies have unfavorably implicated these interests.
FREE SPEECH ON THE INTERNET While the establishment of the World Wide Web has greatly enhanced the ability of ordinary individuals to 464
Introduction: Legal Protection of Information Privacy Justifications for Privacy Rights in Personal Information Internet Issues Search Engines Hackers and Security Conclusion Glossary Cross References References
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receive and communicate information and ideas, online speech has begun to pose problems. Unfortunately, the Internet has been used not only to seek information and truth, but also to defame, defraud, sexually exploit, and incite other people. It is not surprising, then, that such conduct has given rise to a number of controversies regarding the scope of the right to free speech.
Introduction: Legal Protection of Free Speech There is a broad consensus among people in Western nations that citizens have a moral right to free speech that deserves legal protection. A number of nations, including Canada and the U.S., have formal constitutions that explicitly create a legal right of free speech limiting what the state may do in restricting the free flow of ideas. The Canadian Charter (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982), for example, provides that “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association” (part I, section 2). The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (United States Constitution, 1789) provides that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (First Amendment). While formal constitutions protecting free speech are less common in Europe, European nations also tend to regard the free flow of information among individuals as a fundamental value. Indeed, a recent draft of the proposed Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Draft of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2000) includes a provision establishing a right of free speech: “Everyone has a right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers” (chapter 2, article 11). Free speech is, in
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any event, also protected by the courts in many European nations as an “implied right.”
Justifications for Free Speech Rights Utilitarian justifications for protecting speech emphasize the benefits of free speech to the common good. John Stuart Mill (1989), for example, argues that allowing people the freedom to speak their minds and express their creative abilities promotes human happiness in several ways. First, allowing speech conduces the speaker’s well-being by facilitating the development of the speaker’s critical faculties. Second, allowing creative expression promotes the ideological and technological betterment of humanity. Third, and most importantly, allowing free debate of ideas increases the likelihood that the truth will be discovered— and knowing the truth is always conducive, in Mill’s view, to human well-being. Deontological justifications argue that there are strict moral limits on the extent to which one person may justifiably interfere with the autonomy of another person. Robert Nozick (1977) argues, for example, that every autonomous moral agent has a “natural” right to liberty that includes the right to express personal views free of coercive interference. Since people have natural rights by virtue of their status as moral agents and not by virtue of their status as citizens of some state, the operation of natural rights is not limited to obligating other individuals; even the state must respect a person’s natural rights. Indeed, so critically important are these rights that Nozick believes that the only legitimate function of the state is to provide institutionalized coercive protection of each person’s natural rights. Contract theorists justify a right to free speech in terms of citizen consent. While classical contract theories typically require that such consent be either express or tacit, the most influential modern approach focuses on what citizens would consent to. John Rawls (1999) argues that a just state is bound by those principles that rationally selfinterested agents would choose if they had to select principles constraining the government without having any specific information about their own particular preferences, abilities, and social circumstances. In Rawls’s view, citizens choosing from behind the “veil of ignorance” would protect themselves from oppression by selecting a principle that establishes a right to personal liberty, which includes a right to free speech. In particular, Rawls believes that citizens would choose a principle (the liberty principle) that grants each agent as much freedom as is compatible with like freedoms for all other agents.
Internet Issues Pornography on the Web Pornographic material on the Web is both plentiful and easy to come by. A search of the word “sex” on any mainstream search engine will produce not only links to scientifically and medically useful information on sex, but also links to pornographic Web sites. Entering “http://www. sex.com” into a Web browser will take the user to a portal that provides links to various different types of pornographic material, ranging from standard sexually explicit material to material that appeals to various “fetishes.” As
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is evident, the word “sex” can be used in a variety of Webbased devices to locate Web sites specializing in graphic sexual content. This raises the worry that children who are emotionally unprepared for pornographic content may accidentally or intentionally encounter it while surfing the Web. While it is fair to say that the effects of pornography on adults remain unclear, child development experts agree that chronic exposure to pornographic materials can have long-lasting and harmful effects on children (Benedek & Brown, 1999). The ease with which such materials can be accessed on the Web creates the possibility of such exposure in children—and its harmful consequences. Concerns about the potential impact of Web pornography on the emotional well-being of children are shared by legislators on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The European Parliament, for example, is on record as strongly advocating the enactment of legislation that would protect children from access to inappropriate sexual material on the Web. In particular, the European Parliament (1997) passed a resolution stating that “minors should be protected as soon as possible against access, via the new networks and services, to material which may harm their physical and psychological development” (Clause D, Resolution on the Commission Green Paper on the Protection of Minors and Human Dignity in Audiovisual and Information Services, 1997). The U.S. legislature has taken the most aggressive steps to reduce the chance that children encounter pornography on the Web. The Communications Decency Act (CDA), for example, prohibited the “transmission of any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene or indecent, knowing that the recipient of the communication is under 18 years of age” and the “knowing [transmission] to a specific person or persons under 18 years of age . . . [of] any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs” (Communications Decency Act, 1996, 47 U.S.Code section 223(a) and (d)). CDA authorized a prison sentence of up to two years for violations. The U.S. Supreme Court (the Court) held that CDA is unconstitutional on the ground that its language was overbroad and would restrict the constitutionally protected speech of adults (Reno v. ACLU, 117 S.Ct. 2329, 1997). Crucial to the Court’s decision was the observation that the Web is entitled to greater First Amendment protection than television and radio because one must take a series of affirmative steps to view specific content online. Children are far less likely to be accidentally exposed to sexually explicit material on the Web than on television, for example, since they cannot randomly sample Web pages simply by changing channels. While curious children can, of course, seek out such materials, it is the “ease with which children may obtain access to broadcasts” that, according to the Court, “justifie[s] special treatment of indecent broadcasting” (Reno, 117 S.Ct. at 2342). In 1998, Congress responded by enacting the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which makes it illegal for commercial Web sites to allow persons under 17 to view
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sexually explicit materials that are “harmful to minors.” COPA’s restrictions are narrower than CDA’s in three important respects: (1) While CDA applied to the entire Internet, COPA applies only to Web sites; (2) while CDA applied to all sites, COPA applies to only commercial sites; and (3) while CDA restricted “indecent” and “patently offensive” speech, COPA restricts only speech that is “harmful to minors.” The constitutionality of COPA is presently unsettled. Although the Court rejected the argument that the phrase “harmful to minors” is overbroad in Ashcroft v. ACLU (Ashcroft v. ACLU, 122 S. Ct. 1700, 2002), the decision established no more than that the “harmful to minors” standard was not itself constitutionally defective; as the Court put it, “COPA’s reliance on community standards to identify ‘material that is harmful to minors’ does not by itself render the statute substantially overbroad for purposes of the First Amendment” (Ashcroft, 122 S. Ct. at 1713). Accordingly, the Ashcroft decision leaves open the possibility that the Court might declare COPA unconstitutional on other grounds. (The Court was favorably impressed by the fact that the definition of the crucial expression “harmful to minors” incorporates principal elements of the constitutional standard for obscenity. COPA defines material as harmful to minors if and only if “(A) the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, taking the material as a whole and with respect to minors, is designed to appeal to, or is designed to pander to, the prurient interest; (B) [it] depicts, describes, or represents, in a manner patently offensive with respect to minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, an actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual act, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals or post-pubescent female breast; and (C) taken as a whole, [it] lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.” The language here incorporates key elements of the obscenity test established by the Court in Miller v. California 93 S.Ct. 2607, 1973.)
Online Hate Speech There are a growing number of racist, anti-Semitic, and heterosexist Web sites worldwide that advocate, typically in reprehensible language, violent measures to achieve hate-inspired political agendas. White supremacist Web sites, for example, frequently call for “race wars.” Extremist antiabortion Web sites feature photographs of women coming to or leaving from abortion clinics. The most infamous of these sites once posted a “wanted list” of abortion doctors and currently features an editorial advocating the arrest (which it describes as “an act of love”) of all persons with a same-sex sexual preference. (The infamous Nuremberg Files Web site can be found at http:// www.christiangallery.com.) Online hate speech creates a host of social problems. To begin with, the anonymity of online communications has emboldened racists, anti-Semites, and homophobes to create more hate sites with increasingly egregious content. Further, the worldwide availability of such content enables bigots to find one another with unprecedented ease and to more easily reach people whose educational and economic circumstances make them susceptible to content that identifies an “other” as scapegoat. Finally,
many hate sites explicitly encourage violent and terroristic acts to achieve their political agendas. Different countries have adopted different approaches to the regulation of online hate speech (see Biegel, 2001, for an outstanding analysis of the social and legal issues presented by hate speech). Legislation specifically restricting hate speech is not feasible in the U.S. According to prevailing interpretations of the U.S. Constitution, hate speech does not fall into any of the traditional categories of unprotected speech and hence appears to be protected by the First Amendment. Insofar as online hate is protected by the First Amendment, laws that target online hate sites on the basis of their content are constitutionally impermissible in the U.S. The U.S. is unique among western industrial nations in this regard. Many European nations, such as Germany, have laws criminalizing certain forms of hate speech. Indeed, the Council of Europe is currently preparing legislation that would prohibit posting or distributing racist or xenophobic material through a computer system (see http: // www.coe.int / T /E / Communication and Research / Press/Theme Files/Cybercrime/Index.asp for the Council of Europe’s Web site on cybercrime). For its part, Canada has already enacted extensive legislation against online hate. The Canadian Human Rights Act (1996–77) prohibits the communication over computer networks of “any matter that is likely to expose a person or persons to hatred or contempt by reason of the fact that that person or those persons are identifiable on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination.”
Spam Unsolicited mass commercial e-mailings (“spam”) are ethically problematic because they impose significant costs on consumers. First, spam consumes scarce network resources (e.g., time and disk space) for which recipients must pay. Second, recipients must expend significant quantities of time and energy to deal with these unsolicited mailings; as Richard Spinello (2000, p.63) points out, “If a vendor sends out 6 million messages and it takes 6 seconds to delete each one, the total cost of this one mailing is 10,000 person hours of lost time.” Third, ISPs and other consumers are harmed because large quantities of such mailings can overload networks, slowing response rates and even causing downtime. Spam raises special ethical issues because these costs are typically imposed on consumers without their consent. (The proliferation of pop-up advertisements on the Web raises some similar issues. For example, the consumer must expend time and effort to close a pop-up ad; in this respect, pop-up ads are like spam. Even so, there is one fundamental difference between the two: to receive a particular pop-up ad, one must perform a very specific cyberact—namely, direct a Web browser to retrieve the contents of a particular Web site. Receipt of spam, in contrast, does not require any specific act on the part of the user, apart from having an e-mail account.) Intentionally deceptive spam raises additional ethical issues. Many senders attempt to ensure that recipients view their mailings by concealing their commercial nature. Such practices are ethically problematic not only because they are dishonest, but also because they
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deliberately attempt to frustrate the intent of consumers who wish to save time online by deleting spam mailings without viewing them. Western nations agree on the need to restrict spam, but disagree on what sorts of restrictions are legitimate. The European Union recently adopted a general directive that requires spammers to obtain the consumer’s consent before sending unsolicited commercial e-mail (Saunders, 2002). While such legislation is not possible in the U.S. because commercial speech is protected by the First Amendment, intentionally deceptive commercial speech can be prohibited. In 1998, for example, the Washington State Legislature prohibited the transmission of unsolicited commercial e-mail to Washington state residents that contains false sender addresses or deceptive subject lines. Washington’s “Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Act” was upheld by the state’s highest court in 2001.
Filtering Devices There are a number of products that filter objectionable content online. Individual filtering programs, for example, can be installed on a user’s personal computer to block access to Web sites using certain sexually explicit terms or featuring images with a disproportionate quantity of flesh tones. Additionally, an increasing number of Web sites, though still a comparatively small percentage of total Web sites, participate in the Platform for Internet Content Selection ratings system, which suppresses Web sites that rate themselves for mature audiences, as well as Web sites that decline to rate themselves. The most contentious issue regarding such products involves their use by public libraries. While many persons believe public libraries should install such devices out of respect for the values of the communities they are intended to serve, library professionals and associations frequently oppose their use on two grounds. The first is that filtering programs are imprecise at this point in time: they sometimes fail to block access to pornographic content and sometimes block access to unobjectionable scientific or health-related content. The second is that there is a concern about whether it is ever appropriate for a library to censor content. The American Library Association, for example, takes the position that “A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views” (American Library Association Library Bill of Rights, Section V [1996]). In this view, any form of censorship is inconsistent with the duty of libraries to ensure the free flow of information to individuals of all ages. The U.S. Congress has recently entered the filtering controversy by enacting the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which requires public libraries to use filtering devices as a condition for receiving certain federal funds. A federal district court, however, recently struck down CIPA on the grounds that filtering devices typically screen out protected content. See American Library Association v. United States, 201 F.Supp.2d 401 (2002). The court’s holding suggests that library use of filtering devices could be mandated only if such devices filter out no protected material; thus, it leaves open the possibility of mandating use of such devices once filtering technology
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becomes more accurate. The case has been appealed to the Supreme Court.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Introduction: Legal Protection of Intellectual Property Western nations offer a number of different types of legal protection for intellectual property. First, patent law protects a person’s interests in his or her own inventions, which includes newly designed useful processes. (The intellectual property statutes of various English-speaking nations are available at the following Web sites: Canada— http: // strategis.gc.ca / sc mrksv / cipo / welcome /welcom-e. html; United States—http: // www.law.cornell.edu / topics/ topic2.html; United Kingdom—http: // www.intellectualproperty.gov.uk / .) A patent protects a person’s invention by granting the inventor a limited monopoly power over the invention. This allows a patent-holder the right to prevent other firms and persons from making or marketing it. Similar protections (“design patents” in some nations, “designs” in others) are also available for various aspects of a product’s ornamental design. Second, trademark law protects the right of a product or company owner to use marks that distinguish its goods and services from others. Trademark infringement generally occurs when a firm or individual uses a mark that is likely to confuse a reasonably intelligent consumer about the source or sponsorship of a good or service. Many nations allow a firm to establish a trademark simply by using it, but formal registration is frequently available as well. Third, copyright law protects the original expression of ideas and facts (i.e., the particular form, language, and structure of articulated ideas). It is crucial to note that copyright protection is never given to the underlying idea or facts themselves. Others are free to express the same ideas and facts as long as they do not intentionally duplicate the author’s original expression. Originality of expression typically requires the introduction of something new to the world; a person who simply copies the expression of some other person has not produced anything original that can be copyrighted. Copyright protection typically applies to original literary works (including computer programs), musical works, dramatic works, choreographic works, artistic works, sound recordings, and architectural works. Copyright law typically defines two intellectual property rights. First, it grants to authors an exclusive right to reproduce, modify, distribute, perform, and display the protected work. Second, it grants to authors certain moral rights of authorship. Such entitlements may include the right to claim authorship in the protected work; the right to prevent use of the author’s name as the author of any work he or she did not create; the right to prevent use of the author’s name as the author of a protected work if it has been modified; the right to prevent intentional distortion, mutilation, or modification of a protected work that would detract from the author’s reputation; and the right to prevent intentional or grossly negligent destruction of a protected work.
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Most nations include an exception for what are deemed “fair” uses (see, e.g., the “Fair Dealing” exception to Canadian copyright law beginning at section 29 of the Canadian Copyright Act (R.S. 1985, c. C-42) and the “Fair Use” exception to U.S. copyright law beginning at 17 U.S.C. section 107). Copyrighted material may generally be used for news, educational, and research purposes, provided that such material is not directly used for material gain. In determining whether a use of copyrighted material is fair or not, courts may look to the amount of material used relative to the copyrighted work as a whole and to the effect of the use on the market for the work. The last factor is especially important insofar as copyright is intended to protect an author’s right to collect the economic value of his or her expression.
Justifications for Intellectual Property Protection Theorists have produced three main lines of justification for legal protection of intellectual property. The first line is grounded in the Lockean view that persons have natural (or moral) property rights in their bodies and labor. Since the particular sequence of words or symbols chosen by authors to express an idea or fact is the product of their labor, they acquire an exclusive property right to that particular sequence of words or symbols—as long as no one else has a prior right to that sequence. The Lockean argument can thus roughly be summarized as follows: you made it; therefore, you own it. The second line of justification for intellectual property rights is grounded in the Hegelian view that creators use symbols, words, and sounds to express their personhood. As an expression of personhood, an original creative work realizes and extends the creator’s person. Since no one but the authors have a protected interest in their personhood, the authors acquire a protected interest in their expressions because such expressions are, in some vague but morally significant sense, literal extensions of their personhood. Roughly put, this line of argument can be summarized as follows: it is part of you; therefore, it is yours. The third principal line of justification is utilitarian in character. Protection of intellectual property rights is justified because such protection is conducive to the common good. People will be far more likely to invest time and energy in creating the intellectual products that contribute so much to human happiness, flourishing, and well-being if they are granted an exclusive property right in their original creations. Roughly put, this line of argument is: giving it to you benefits society; therefore, it is yours. It is notable, however, that intellectual property rights have recently come under fire from various quarters of cyberspace. The most extreme of these opponents is John Perry Barlow, who argues that existing intellectual property laws have no proper application in cyberspace. First, Barlow (1996) believes that cyberspace is a distinct metaphysical reality that lies beyond the proper jurisdiction of any nation: “Your legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to us. They are all based on matter, and there is no matter here.” Second, Barlow (1993) argues that information is itself a life-form that, like any other life-form, is entitled to
some moral standing. In Barlow’s view, information has a morally protected interest in freedom: “information,” as he has notoriously put the matter, “wants to be free.” Additionally, a number of theorists worry that the increasing willingness of online users to infringe upon copyright law undermines the social legitimacy of protecting intellectual property in cyberspace. In this line of analysis, which is roughly grounded in social contract theory, the legitimacy of any particular law depends on its being acceptable to those whose behavior it purports to govern. But the growing tendency, especially among younger online users, to reproduce and distribute copyrighted works without permission suggests that they no longer accept the legitimacy of intellectual property protection. Insofar as there is no longer a consensus on the legitimacy of such laws, the contractual basis for protecting intellectual property is deteriorating.
Internet Issues Domain Names Every computer on a network has its own Internet protocol (IP) address consisting in a unique sequence of numbers and dots (e.g., 213.57.66.9384) that defines its location on the Web. When a user accesses a particular Web site, the contents of that site are sent from the host server’s IP address to the IP address of the user’s computer. In effect, then, IP addresses make it possible for networked computers to find each other, enabling users to access the contents of Web sites hosted at other locations on the network. In most cases, users need not know a complicated IP address to access a Web site. Most Web sites have a natural language domain name (e.g., http://www.sportinggoods. com) assigned to its IP address that permits easier and more intuitive access to its contents. The user simply types in the natural language domain name and the ISP either looks for the corresponding IP address or submits a request to a “root server” that serves as a digital directory associating IP addresses and domain names. Once the ISP has determined the corresponding IP address, the desired site is accessed. Domain names can be very valuable commodities. An intuitive domain name saves online consumers time and energy: it is much easier to find a site with an intuitive domain name than with a complicated IP address that is difficult to find and remember. The resulting convenience to users can naturally translate into economic benefits; the easier it is to access a commercial Web site, the more likely users are to visit and buy from that site. Consequently, there have been a number of conflicts over the use and ownership of domain names. Early in the development of the Web, some people registered domain names featuring the trademarked names of large firms in the hope that the firms would buy those names whenever they decided to go online. (Compaq reportedly paid more than $3 million to purchase the domain name http://www.altavista.com from the former owner of Alta Vista Technology after acquiring the company. Until Compaq purchased the domain name, it was forced to use the ungainly http://www.altavista.digital.com.) Though a few such “cybersquatters” made a quick profit for their
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trouble, courts now treat the practice of speculating on domain names incorporating trademarks as actionable trademark infringement (see, e.g., Panavision v. Toeppe, 141 F.3d. 1316, 1998). More commonly, a slightly modified version of a popular Web site’s domain name is used to capture some of its traffic. One commercial pornographic Web site in the U.S., for example, uses the domain name “http:// www.whitehouse.com.” Users who type “http:// www.whitehouse.com” instead of “http: // www. whitehouse.gov” into their browsers—presumably a common mistake—will access sexually explicit material instead of the U.S. President’s official Web site. By such means, Web site owners can dramatically increase traffic to their sites. Though such practices can plausibly be characterized as deceptive, they can nonetheless be used for legitimate purposes of free expression. A user who mistakenly types “http: // www.gwbush.com” instead of “http: // www.georgebush.com” will access a site criticizing George Bush’s views and policies instead of his personal Web site. While the commercial use of a domain name similar to a trademarked name can dilute the value of the trademark and is hence unethical, the politically motivated use of a domain name to express legitimate criticism is arguably unobjectionable—as long as users are not likely to be confused about the origin of the site.
Illicit Copying over the Internet No case better exemplifies the clash between the intellectual property rights of copyright holders and the increasingly libertarian spirit of online users than the proliferation of MP3 file sharing over the Web. The development of the MP3 format was the first significant step in realizing the Internet’s latent potential for online dissemination of music files. Earlier technologies offered little incentive to share music files: the files were too large to be uploaded and downloaded quickly, and the sound quality was generally inconsistent. MP3 technology, however, permits the compression of nearly perfect digital reproductions of sound recordings into small files that can efficiently be transmitted from one user to another. Napster augmented MP3’s capabilities by introducing true peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing. Whereas users of earlier file sharing technologies had to download previously uploaded files from a central Web site or file transfer protocol site, Napster users could simply take music files directly from the computers of other users. Though a central server was needed to keep a searchable list of all the available MP3 files, its purpose was limited to helping Napster users find each other. Since users could share music files online without anyone needing to take the time to upload music files to some central server, Napster made it easier than ever before for large groups of users to share their sound recordings. Napster’s P2P networking capabilities also inhibited the efforts of recording companies to stop reproduction and distribution of their copyrighted materials. When music files had to be transmitted through a central server, recording companies could demand that the server’s owner destroy copyrighted files or litigate an expensive civil suit. But because Napster eliminated the need for centralized storage of such files, there was no one entity
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that could be pressured by copyright holders. Not surprisingly, the music industry viewed Napster as a grave threat to the value of its copyrights. The conflict came to a head when a group of music companies sued Napster for “indirect” violations of U.S. copyright law. Since Napster’s role was limited to enabling users of Napster’s MusicShare software to gain access to the hard drives of other users, the company could not be held liable for direct infringements. Instead, the plaintiffs sought to hold Napster liable for contributory infringement (i.e., knowingly assisting others in directly infringing a copyright) and vicarious infringement (i.e., benefiting financially from infringements when it has the ability to supervise and terminate users). The litigation ultimately proved fatal to Napster. A U.S. federal court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting Napster from assisting users in sharing copyrighted materials without the express permission of the owners (A&M Records v. Napster, 114 F. Supp. 2d 896, 2000). The court based its injunction on a prediction (as opposed to a final judgment) that Napster would lose at trial because (1) users were deriving an unfair economic benefit from using Napster by saving the cost of the relevant recordings and (2) Napster use was decreasing CD sales among users (Napster, 239 F.3d at 1017). Although the court’s decision did not conclusively settle the material legal issues, the injunction effectively functioned as a death sentence for Napster. (Because the court did not issue a final judgment, music sharing technologies and Web sites continue to proliferate. Indeed, http://www.afternapster.com lists 32 file sharing Web sites, many of which improve on the P2P networking capabilities of Napster.)
Plagiarism The availability of so much information on the Web has been of particular benefit to students. First, students have access to far more written academic materials than ever before; the availability of academic writings on the Web is a welcome supplement to the offerings of school and public libraries. Second, student research efforts are no longer tied to the operating hours of libraries; students can access a wide range of materials at any time from wherever they happen to be with their computers. A student with a cellular modem does not even need to be near land-based telephone lines. But the Web also makes student plagiarism much more tempting. The Web not only provides easy online access to an abundance of quality writings, but also produces it in a form that is easy to plagiarize. Formerly, plagiarists had to take the time to copy a text sentence by sentence onto a medium that could be turned in as their own; not infrequently, this involved hours of time typing or writing the text. Now plagiarists can take someone else’s text with a few keystrokes: They need to do no more than highlight the relevant text, enter the appropriate keystrokes to copy and paste it into a word processing document, and unethically claim it as their own work. Student plagiarism also raises third-party ethical issues, as there are a number of Web sites offering original research papers for sale. One such Web site boasts: “Our 80 full time researchers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Order now and we will write your term
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paper within your specified deadline.” (See http://www. term-paper-time.com. It should be noted that the site also states in ironically ungrammatical fashion: “We always urge them not to use the work as their own. Although the work we do is completely original and cannot be found anywhere else on the Web.”) While students must obviously accept full moral responsibility for initiating the sequence of acts that culminates in plagiarism, Web sites offering term papers for sale are not beyond ethical reproach since the operators are presumably aware that there is a high likelihood that students will claim the work as their own. Indeed, these sites seem to invite student plagiarism. After all, the only writing that is appropriately characterized as a “term paper” is writing that is being turned in as coursework; thus, advertising a piece of writing as a “term paper” is not unreasonably construed as a claim that the work is suitable, as written, to be turned in for a grade. If, as seems reasonable, knowingly aiding someone in committing an ethical violation is unethical, then offering term papers for sale in such a suggestive manner is also unethical. (Although there are now a number of Web-based products that assist instructors in detecting student plagiarism, these products will assist only in detecting instances of cut-and-paste plagiarism; they will not help in detecting instances where students have purchased specially written papers.)
INFORMATION PRIVACY Introduction: Legal Protection of Information Privacy The various constitutions differ with respect to how much protection they afford to privacy. The Canadian Charter and U.S. Constitution both contain a number of provisions that can be construed as concerned with protecting privacy. Each contains clauses protecting freedom of speech, thought, conscience, religious worship, as well as freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures (see the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution; and sections 2, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 13 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms). Such protections are reasonably construed as being concerned to establish a zone or sphere of privacy in which a person’s movements are protected against state intrusion. Neither the Canadian Charter nor the U.S. Constitution, however, contains a provision that explicitly defines a privacy right in personal information or data. While the U.S. Supreme Court has grounded a general right of privacy in the “penumbras” of the various protections mentioned above, the constitutional right to privacy in the U.S. has most commonly been cited as a justification for invalidating laws that restrain reproductive freedom (see, e.g., Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 [1965] and Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 [1973]). What protections there are in such nations for personal information are defined largely by statute and common law. In contrast, a recent draft of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union provides explicit privacy protection of personal information. Article 8 provides that “(1) Everyone has a right to the protection of personal data
concerning him or her [; and] (2) Such data must be processed fairly for specified purposes and on the basis of the consent of the person concerned or some other legitimate basis laid down by law. Everyone has the right of access to data which has been collected concerning him or her, and the right to have it rectified.” This draft of the Charter explicitly extends privacy protection, as a matter of constitutional right, to personal information. It is worth noting that European statutory law provides comprehensive protection of a person’s interest in information privacy. The European Parliament and Council of October 24, 1995, have issued a general directive governing the processing of personal information (the full text of the directive is available from http://www. privacy.org/pi/intl orgs/ec/final EU Data Protection.html). Chapter 1, article 1 provides that “Member states shall protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons, and in particular their right to privacy, with respect to the processing of personal data.” (“Processing of personal data” includes “collection, recording, organization, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, blocking, erasure or destruction” [chapter 1, article 2b].) Among other things, the directive limits the purposes for which personal information on an individual may be collected to “specified, explicit and legitimate purposes” and guarantees a right of access of the individual to such data. In notable contrast, the U.S. has adopted a far more conservative approach to protecting information privacy. Most recently, the U.S. enacted the U.S. Patriot Act in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. (The text of the U.S. Patriot Act is available from http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/Terrorism militias/ 20011025 hr3162 usa patriot bill.html. For a critical evaluation of the implication of the Act on information privacy, see http: // www.eff.org / Privacy / Surveillance / Terrorism militias/20011031 eff usa patriot analysis.html.) Among other things, the Patriot Act expands the surveillance capacities of the government in a number of ways. Section 213, for example, allows the government to conduct a search without notifying the subject that a warrant has been executed if “the court finds reasonable cause to believe that providing immediate notification of the execution of the warrant may have an adverse result.” Similarly, Section 216 allows the government to monitor an individual’s movements on the Web upon a showing that “the information likely to be obtained . . . is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation.” While the expansion of such investigative capacities may arguably further the interests of citizens in security, it also poses a direct threat to their interests in information privacy.
Justifications for Privacy Rights in Personal Information Consequentialist theories justify privacy rights as necessary for a person’s happiness and well-being. James Rachels (1975, p. 331) argues, for example, that protection of privacy rights is justified by our need to control the structure of our social relationships: “If we
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cannot control who has access to us, sometimes including and sometimes excluding various people, then we cannot control the patterns of behavior we need to adopt . . . or the kinds of relations with other people we will have.” Moreover, it is commonly believed that protection of privacy rights is justified by a concern to prevent the embarrassment or offense that would be caused to a person by disclosure of certain facts. Deontological theories of privacy, in contrast, take the position that private facts about a person are “nobody else’s business” regardless of what the consequences of disclosure might be. Privacy should be respected, on this line of reasoning, not only because it is conducive to wellbeing, but also because persons are intrinsically valuable beings entitled to be treated as autonomous endsin-themselves. The intrinsic value of each person, then, requires that certain facts be treated as private and subject to the control of that person—even if those facts might turn out to be extremely useful to other people. Some theorists, however, caution that legal protection of privacy should be narrowly crafted to avoid unnecessarily restricting the free flow of information. Solveig Singleton (1998), for example, argues that the collection and dissemination of consumer information from business to business should not be restricted by privacy protections. Business dissemination of consumer information, in her view, is not morally distinguishable from ordinary gossip. Inasmuch as a legal ban on ordinary gossip would violate the right to free speech, so too would a ban on the dissemination of ordinary consumer information. Thus, she concludes, “[any] country that takes the freedom of information seriously cannot properly prohibit one business from communicating information about real events and real people to other businesses.”
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Some facts, however, should be regarded as private in virtue of their intimate character. It is almost universally accepted that certain physical functions, such as those involving the sexual and excretory organs, express private facts because of their felt intimate character. Information regarding a person’s physical and emotional health is also widely regarded as private information that she should be entitled to control; indeed, so intimately vital are these facts that medical professionals are charged with a legal duty of confidentiality. While many privacy issues concern private facts, others are concerned with information of a significantly different character. Some information that is contained in public records concerns matters that most individuals would regard as sensitive. For example, many people are reluctant to make their debt history readily available to anyone who happens to be curious about it—and this is especially so if that history includes a bankruptcy. Likewise, many people who have paid their debt for criminal offenses are reluctant to make their criminal records easily available out of a concern that such information would be used to discriminate against them. The issue of whether someone has a moral right to control a particular piece of information that ought to be protected by the law thus depends on a variety of considerations. It depends not only on broad theoretical arguments regarding the general justification of intellectual property, but also on the character of the particular piece of information and how that information might be used by other persons. Such determinations present difficult issues of policy and ethics.
Internet Issues Corporate Use of Personal Information
Public and Private Information The general claim that personal information ought to be protected by law does not, by itself, tell us much about how to determine what information about a person deserves legal privacy protection. For example, the altogether plausible consequentialist claim that protection of information is justified by a personal need to control the structure of various social relationships says little about what information about a person ought to be protected by the law. For this reason, general justifications of privacy rights, such as discussed in the last section, represent only a starting point in determining what content privacy law ought to have. It is reasonable to think that whether a person ought to have a protected privacy right in a piece of information depends in part on the character of that information. Some facts about a person are generally accepted as private facts in which a person has a legitimate expectation of privacy. Since, for example, I am entitled to draw my drapes to prevent people from viewing what is going on in my home, the facts about what is going on my home are private—at least when the drapes are drawn (I can, of course, always voluntarily make private facts public by leaving my drapes open) and my behavior is lawful. Thus, I have a legitimate expectation of privacy in aspects of my behavior that I may rightfully prevent people from viewing; these aspects of my behavior define private facts.
Many commercial firms collect information from visitors to their Web sites, which is stored in small data files called “cookies” and deposited on the visitors’ own computers. These files typically contain information, such as passwords, on-site searches, dates of previous visits, and site preferences, that can be used by the firm to customize the user’s experience when she revisits its site. For example, a bookselling Web site might store a list of previous searches on the user’s computer so that it can be accessed by the site on subsequent visits to generate a list of books to recommend to the user. This enables the site to provide what it considers to be better service to users by tailoring their Web environment to personal preferences as expressed in the history of visits to the site. Though the use of cookies thus has a plausible business rationale, it raises a number of ethical issues. Typically, cookies are transmitted from the user’s hard drive to the site and retransmitted (possibly with modifications) from the site to the user’s hard drive in a way that does not interrupt the user’s browsing experience. This means that, in many cases, the user’s hard drive is being modified without the user being aware of it—and, more importantly, without user consent. The idea that someone else can, in essence, modify the user’s property without user consent raises, to begin with, ethical issues concerning the user’s property rights over the contents of the user’s computer.
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Moreover, some theorists worry that the use of cookies to keep information on the consumer raises privacy issues. As Richard Spinello (2000) put the matter, “cookie technology is analogous to having someone follow you through the mall with a video camera” (p. 111). In both cases, the technology keeps information on where you have gone, what you have looked at, and what you have purchased. If pressed, most people would likely have a difficult time explaining why they find this offensive; after all, this information appears to be significantly different from the sort of information that can be obtained by looking into a person’s bedroom or bathroom. But if the amount of press generated by the cookie controversy is any indication, many people experience similar discomfort with cookies. To the extent that one has a legitimate expectation that one’s movements in a public mall not be recorded, it can reasonably be argued that one also has a legitimate expectation that one’s movements in cyberspace not be recorded. While it is possible for users to set up their browsers to refuse cookies or to alert them whenever a site attempts to store a cookie, this can cause inconvenience to the user. Refusing all cookies restricts the user’s options in cyberspace as some Web sites cannot be viewed without accepting cookies. Setting the browser to ask before accepting cookies can result in frequent interruptions that radically change the quality of the browsing experience. Many users who restrict cookies find that the disutility associated with such frequent interruptions outweighs, at least in the short run, their privacy concerns and restore their browsers to the default setting that allows for unrestricted cookies. Though there is thus a sense in which users who decline to configure their browsers to refuse cookies can be presumed to consent to cookies, such consent is of questionable ethical significance. If the initial choice between A and B is not an ethically acceptable one, then the fact that a person voluntarily chooses A does not necessarily entail that the person consents to A. For example, the fact that I voluntarily choose to give a robber my money if my only other choice is being shot does not entail that I have, in any ethically significant way, consented to give the robber my money. Consent is ethically significant only to the extent that it is rendered in an antecedent choice situation that is ethically acceptable. Thus, if the choice between accepting cookies and not being able to browse a Web site efficiently is not an ethically acceptable choice to unilaterally impose on a user, then the fact that the user chooses to accept cookies does not entail ethically meaningful consent. More troubling to privacy advocates than the data kept by any one firm, however, is the possibility that it could be combined with the information of other firms to create a comprehensive file about a user. To continue Spinello’s analogy, this is analogous to having your movements in every store and mall recorded by a video camera and then keeping all those recordings in one central location that can be accessed by other persons. The more information about an individual that is centrally located and available for use by other persons and firms, the more likely it is to strike individuals as involving a breach of their privacy.
Notably, there are economic forces pushing in that direction. Businesses realize that consumer information is a valuable commodity and have evinced a growing willingness to sell it. Information about a consumer’s buying and browsing habits can be used to tailor advertisements and mailings to the consumer’s particular tastes and preferences, arguably serving both the consumer and the firm. It is not surprising, then, that trading in information itself is becoming an increasingly profitable venture—not only for firms specializing in information commerce, but also for ordinary firms specializing in other areas—and hence increases the likelihood that businesses will compile comprehensive files of personal information on individuals. (Online privacy services, such as Trust-E and BBB Online Privacy Program, rate various Web sites according to whether they agree to disclose their policies regarding the collection and dissemination of personal information by businesses. Trust-E is located at http://www.truste.org/, while BBB Online is located at http://www.bbbonline.org/.)
State Databases State databases raise a different set of issues since they contain only information that is “public” in an ethically meaningful sense. In most cases, what is at issue is the disposition of information that the public has a right to collect through its official state representatives. Thus, the information contained in state databases, if there legitimately, is information to which the public has some sort of antecedent claim. This distinguishes privacy issues involving state information from privacy issues involving corporate use of information that is not public in this sense. Though state information is a matter of public record, privacy advocates believe that governments should take strong steps to protect the privacy of driver’s license numbers, birthdates, official identification numbers (e.g., social security numbers), and other identifying information frequently used to access sensitive information about a person. This kind of information is uniquely subject to abuse: all that an identity thief in the U.S., for example, needs to obtain credit cards in another person’s name is that person’s social security number and date of birth. With those two pieces of information, an identity thief can inflict long-term damage to a person’s financial health and credit record. The online dissemination of information already available to the public also raises privacy concerns. As noted above, privacy advocates are opposed to posting a person’s public records online on the ground that such information can be used for discriminatory purposes. The availability of criminal records on the Web, for example, increases the likelihood that employers will discriminate against persons with criminal histories who have paid their debts to society. (The ready availability of such information on the Web could increase the probability of recidivism. If employers unfairly refuse to hire persons with criminal records, they are likely to reoffend.) Indeed, even a person’s marital history can be used to discriminate against a person. A landlord might refuse to rent to an older person who has never been married out of a suspicion that he or she might be gay. It is the possibility of such discrimination that, in this line of reasoning, requires granting
SEARCH ENGINES
a protected privacy interest in information that is admittedly public in one sense. Such records have, of course, always been available to the public, but the risk of misuse increases with the ease with which these records can be obtained. As a general matter, most persons are not willing to incur the inconvenience of visiting a courthouse and asking for a person’s criminal or marital records. Since posting such information on the Web eliminates such inconvenience, it dramatically increases the likelihood that people will seek such information and, a fortiori, the likelihood that people will abuse it. For this reason, privacy advocates oppose posting this sort of public information on the Web. These privacy concerns are exacerbated by the amount of information that might be made available on the Web. When it comes to privacy, the qualitative difference between what is and is not ethical is sometimes a matter of quantity. As Spinello’s mall analogy suggests, many people believe that it would violate a person’s legitimate interests in privacy to have his or her movements in a mall recorded and publicized. In relating this analogy to the issue of whether public records should be made available on the Web, it is crucial to emphasize that information about a person’s movements around a mall is, in some sense, “public” information that is freely available to whoever might happen to be there. Such worries are further exacerbated by the ease with which various records might be obtainable on the Web. Here it is worth noting that a number of companies sell software that purports to enable people to obtain, among other things, public records that include criminal history, debt history, real property acquisitions, and marital records. (One Web site boasts of a program, which it calls “the Internet’s best selling spy software” that will allow persons to find “driver’s records, lawsuits, criminal records, asset identification, . . . tax liens, . . . and court documents” (http://www.oddworldz.com/landoh34/ learn.html).) The idea that so much sensitive information about an individual can be obtained with just a few keystrokes makes many people rightly uncomfortable because of its susceptibility to being misused. Accordingly, privacy advocates argue that the easy availability of such information poses a significant threat to an individual’s legitimate interests in information privacy.
Encryption Programs and Public Policy A user’s privacy can be violated online in yet another way. Ordinary means of communicating over the Internet are surprisingly insecure. E-mail messages are typically routed through many servers en route to their final destination. This raises the possibility that such messages could be intercepted and read by persons other than the intended recipient. For example, hackers or even system administrators could breach a user’s privacy rights by reading the user’s confidential e-mail. One means for preventing these violations of privacy is the use of encryption programs. The most popular encryption programs function by means of an electronic binary “key” that maps strings of linguistic symbols into unintelligible code that can be deciphered only by someone who has the key. Senders and recipients who share a viable key,
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then, can communicate privately by means of encrypted messages. While privacy advocates generally oppose restrictions on such technologies, some legislators and citizens worry that more sophisticated encryption systems can be used to facilitate threats to national security. Since, for example, encryption software using a 128-bit key is virtually unbreakable, terrorists could use a system with a 128-bit key to communicate their plans via e-mail with only a negligible risk of discovery. Many regard this as an unacceptable risk to bear for the sake of online privacy in a post-September-11th world. Consequently, some officials favor legislation that prohibits the export of more sophisticated encryption software without providing state access to the keys.
SEARCH ENGINES Search engines are indispensable tools for sifting through the approximately 8 billion pages now on the Web (Suzukamo, 2002). (In 1999, S. Lawrence and C. L. Giles estimated that there were 800 million Web sites [Lawrence & Giles, 1999]. If these estimates are accurate, the number of sites on the Web is 10 times as large as it was three years ago.) If users know which sites contain the information needed and the precise URL addresses of those particular sites, users can simply enter the addresses into their browsers and it will access those sites. But if, as is more often the case, users do not know where to go to find the information needed, they must rely on a search engine to find appropriate Web sites. Navigating the Web without the use of a search engine can be a time-consuming process that fails to produce appropriate sites. A search engine imposes order on the Web by creating a large database that contains an index of each page’s URL along with a fairly substantial list of keywords describing its contents. When the user submits particular keywords to a search engine, the engine returns a ranked list of URLs containing those keywords. Search engines structure the Web by, in effect, characterizing each indexed page in terms of its content (as indicated by the appropriate keywords). Search engines, then, determine which pages users are likely to visit in two ways. First, search engines make available only those pages they have indexed—and there is currently no engine that has indexed every page on the Web. (Google, one of the most comprehensive search engines, states that it has indexed approximately 3 billion Web pages; see http://www.google.com/help/features. html.) For many people, a page that is not listed on any of the search engines does not exist; as Lucas D. Introna and Helen Nissenbaum (2000, p. 170) put the matter, “to exist is to be indexed by a search engine.” Second, users are more likely to visit only highly ranked pages. Anecdotal evidence suggests that users are likely to visit only the top 10 to 20 pages (or “hits”) returned by a search engine. If a low-ranked page exists for users, its existence is far less substantial than that of a highly ranked Web site. Insofar as the criteria that determine the inclusion and ranking of pages determine how frequently a Web site is visited, they have two consequences of ethical
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significance. First, they determine to what extent a particular publisher’s Web-speech is received. Second, they determine what content is ultimately available to persons seeking information on the Web. Given these critical effects, one can reasonably argue that search engines ought to employ ranking and inclusion criteria that satisfy both technical and ethical standards. Most search engines employ criteria that do not explicitly favor any particular class of publishers over another for reasons unrelated to merit. Web sites are usually either manually submitted to search engine editors who decide whether they are suitable for indexing or are retrieved by “spiders” that crawl the Web automatically indexing pages. A page’s rank is usually determined by either the number of times a particular keyword appears in the page or the number of other pages that contain links to the page. (Some newer search engines attempt to evaluate a page’s “authority.” Teoma, for example, ranks a site based on the number of same subject pages, as opposed to general pages, that reference it. The goal is to be able to identify pages that are regarded as “expert” among a particular subject community. See http://www.teoma. com.) But some search engines use economic criteria that favor firms willing to pay. Some engines, for example, allow a Web site to pay for expedited indexing—a process that can otherwise take months. Some engines permit firms to buy advertising linked to keywords; any search using a particular keyword will turn up a screen with an advertisement from a company that sells a related product or service. And some search engines have gone so far as to allow firms to bid on their top rankings. Critics of economic criteria have raised two distinct ethical worries. First, such criteria discriminate unfairly against Web sites that are unable or unwilling to pay to be indexed or favorably ranked. Second, as Introna and Nissenbaum (2000, p. 179) put the point, economic criteria compromise the ideal of the Web as a public good insofar as the Web “fulfills some of the functions of other traditional public spaces—museums, parks, beaches, and schools” and thereby contributes to the common good. On this view, selling influence on the Web is as ethically problematic as selling influence in a museum or school: in neither case should the common good be sold to the highest bidder.
HACKERS AND SECURITY There are a growing number of well-publicized incidents in which hackers obtain unauthorized entry into a firm’s or state agency’s servers. Some of these incidents involve comparatively innocuous exploration of a network’s structure; in such cases, hackers look around and leave without altering the system. Others involve the commission of computer pranks; one such famous incident involved an insulting message left by hackers on the New York Times Web site. Yet others involve the commission of cyberterrorism that threatens national security, as when a hacker breaks into a government network that stores classified material, or individual well-being, as when a hacker breaks into a corporate server and takes credit card and bank account numbers. (Some people distinguish “hacking” from “cracking.” Cracking, unlike hacking, involves
a malicious purpose: the intent is to gain entry to a network to cause harm or damage. In contrast, hacking is motivated primarily by curiosity.) The ethical quality of such behaviors seems quite easy to characterize. While the more malicious of these acts involve very serious ethical transgressions because of the harm they are intended to cause, all seem morally objectionable because they constitute an electronic form of trespass onto the property of another person. To obtain unauthorized entry into some other person’s network seems, from an ethical perspective, straightforwardly analogous to uninvited entry onto the real property of another person. Such trespass is widely regarded as morally wrong, regardless of whether it results in damage or harm, because it violates the property right of the owner to control the uses to which the owner’s property is put and hence to exclude other people from its use. Similarly, hacking into someone else’s network is wrong, regardless of whether it results in damage or harm, because it violates the property right of the owner to exclude other people from the use of the owner’s server. Many hackers, however, reject the analogy with landbased trespass on the ground that some hacking activity can be justified in terms of its social benefits—at least when it results in no damage or harm to innocent persons. Electronic trespass, they point out, contributes to increasing our technological knowledge in a number of ways. First, by gaining insight into the operations of existing networks, hackers develop a base of knowledge that can be used to improve those networks. Second, the very break-ins themselves call attention to security flaws that could be exploited by malicious hackers or, worse, terrorists. Thus, electronic trespass is distinguished, according to proponents, from other forms of trespass in that it is inevitably conducive to public benefit. Certain hacking activities have also been defended as a form of free expression in two different ways. First, the permissibility of benign break-ins appears to be a consequence of the claim that “information wants to be free.” If it is true, as an ethical matter, that all information should be free, then security measures designed to keep hackers out of networks are morally objectionable on the ground that they inhibit the free flow of information. (For a critical discussion of this claim, see Spafford, 1992.) Second, some writers have argued that benign break-ins can be defended as a form of protest or political activism (“hacktivism”). According to this reasoning, such incidents express legitimate outrage over the increasing commercialization of the Web. Politically motivated hacking, according to these writers, should be permitted as long as it results in neither harm nor profit (Manion & Goodrum, 2000).
CONCLUSION While the advent of the Internet Age has empowered ordinary citizens in novel ways, it has also created a number of equally novel ethical and social problems. Indeed, as is generally true, the very capabilities that increase a person’s ability to promote public and private interests also increase a person’s ability to harm other people. To the extent that, for example, the Internet enables ordinary citizens to reach a worldwide audience, it dramatically
REFERENCES
improves their ability to propagate unethical and dangerous ideas. We should expect that the social and ethical issues of the Internet and e-commerce are no less complicated than the remarkable technology that engenders them. For every argument that invokes traditional ethical and social values in defending a position about online behavior, there is a countervailing argument that resists the application of these values to a technology that seems so radically different from what has preceded it. The debates on these fascinating issues will fill the pages of academic and popular publications for the foreseeable future.
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Peer-to-peer file sharing A file sharing device that allows Web users to directly access files stored on the computers of other Web users. Spam Commercial e-mail sent to a user either without the user’s consent or against the user’s wishes. Trademark Legal device that grants a firm an exclusive right to use a mark that distinguishes its goods and services from those of other firms. Utilitarianism A consequentialist moral theory that holds that the goodness or badness of an action is determined entirely by its consequences on well-being, happiness, the number of preferences satisfied, or pleasure in the community.
GLOSSARY Consequentialism The class of ethical theories that determine the moral goodness or badness of an action entirely in terms of its consequences. Cookies Small files deposited by a Web site on a user’s computer for the purpose of enabling the Web site to track the user’s preferences. Copyright Legal device that grants an exclusive right to the holder to reproduce and distribute fixed, original expression. Cyberterrorism Hacking activity that attempts to harm innocent persons and thereby create a general sense of fear or terror among the population for the purpose of achieving a political agenda. Deontologism Ethical theories that take the position that the moral goodness or badness of some actions is determined, not by their consequences, but by their intrinsic features. Domain names Natural language phrases (e.g., http:// www.sportinggoods.com) that are associated with Web sites’ IP addresses. Encryption The translation of e-mail messages into code that cannot be deciphered and read by unintended recipients. File transfer protocol Device that allows a user to transfer files from a user’s personal computer to a central network server and conversely. Filters Programs designed to prevent a user from accessing Web sites with content that is deemed inappropriate. Hackers Persons who attempt to gain unauthorized entry to network servers. Hacking is usually distinguished from “cracking” in that the latter, unlike hacking activity, is intended to cause harm to innocent persons. Hacktivism Hacking activity motivated by a desire to express a political view or agenda. For example, a hacktivist might target a corporate Web site as a means of protesting the increasingly commercial character of the Web. Intellectual property Mental and abstract entities considered as property. Intellectual property includes music, expression of ideas, and designs. MP3 files Digital files using a format that permits the compression of nearly perfect digital reproductions of sound recordings into small files that can efficiently be transmitted from one user to another. Patent Legal device that grants inventors monopoly power over their inventions.
CROSS REFERENCES See Copyright Law; Cybercrime and Cyberfraud; Cyberlaw: The Major Areas, Development, and Provisions; Digital Divide; International Cyberlaw; Internet Censorship; Patent Law; Privacy Law; Taxation Issues; Trademark Law.
REFERENCES American Library Association Library Bill of Rights (section V) (1996). Retrieved April 3, 2003, from http:// www.ala.org/work/freedom/lbr.html Barlow, J. P. (1996). A declaration of the independence of cyberspace. Retrieved April 3, 2003, from http://www. eff.org/∼barlow/Declaration-Final.html Barlow, J. P. (1993). A taxonomy of information. Retrieved April 3, 2003, from http://www.eff.org/∼barlow/ EconomyOfIdeas.html Benedek, E., & Brown, C. (1999). No excuses: Televised pornography harms children. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 7(4), 236–240. Biegel, S. (2001). Beyond our control? Confronting the limits of our legal system in the age of cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Fundamental Freedoms (part I, section 2) (1982). Retrieved April 3, 2003, from http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/ Canadian Human Rights Act (section 13) (1976–77). Retrieved from April 3, 2003, http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/ h-6/29417.html Communications Decency Act (1996) 47 U.S. Code Section 223. Retrieved April 3, 2003, from http://caselaw. lp.findlaw.com/scripts/ts search.pl?title=47&sec=223 Draft of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (chapter 2, article 11) (2000). Retrieved April 3, 2003, from http://www.europarl.eu.int/charter/ pdf/text-en.pdf The European Parliament (1997). Resolution on the commission green paper on the protection of minors and human dignity in audiovisual and information services (COM(96)0483-C4-0621/96). Retrieved April 3, 2003, from http://www.gilc.org/speech/eu/ep-minorsresolution-1097.html Google (2002). Features. Retrieved April 3, 2003, September 9, 2002, from http://www.google.com/help/features. html Kornblum, J. (1998, August 11). Compaq buys AltaVista domain. Retrieved April 3, 2003, from CNET News.com
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http://news.com.com/2100-1023-214326.html?legacy= cnet Introna, L. D., & Nissenbaum, H. (2000). Shaping the Web: Why the politics of search engines matter. The Information Society, 16(3), 169–186. Lawrence & Giles (1999). Accessibility and distribution of information on the Web. Nature 400, 107–109. Manion, M., & Goodrum, A. (2000). Terrorism or civil disobedience: Toward a hacktivist ethic. Computers and Society 30, 14–19. Mill, J. S. (1989). On liberty. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press. Nozick, R. (1977). Anarchy, state, and utopia. New York: Basic Books. Rachels, J. (1975). Why privacy is important. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 4(3), 323–333. Rawls, J. (1999). A theory of justice (rev. ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 1999.
Saunders, C. (2002, May 31). EU OKs spam ban, online privacy rules. Internet News Retrieved April 3, 2003, from http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/ 1154391 Singleton, S. (1998, January 22). Privacy as censorship: A skeptical view of proposals to regulate privacy in the private sector (Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 295). Retrieved from http://www.cato. org/pubs/pas/pa-295es.html Spafford, E. (1992). Are computer hacker break-ins ethical? Journal of Systems Software 17, 41–47. Spinello, R. (2000). CyberEthics: Morality and law in cyberspace (p. 63). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett. Suzukamo, L. B. (2002, September 7). Have you Googled yet? Seattle Times, C7. United States Constitution, First Amendment (1789). Retrieved April 3, 2003, from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw. com/data/constitution/amendment01/
Library Management Management
Clara L. Sitter, University of Denver
Introduction Applications of the Internet in the Management of Library Resources Identification Selection Acquisition Organization Access Utilization Evaluation Applications of the Internet in the Management of Library Functions Planning Organizing
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Staffing Directing Controlling Reporting and Budgeting Areas of Focus for Information Professionals in Library Management Collections Users Technology Providers Education Glossary Cross References Further Reading
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Identification
Library and information science (LIS) leaders have been among the most enthusiastic professionals to embrace the Internet. The development of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s forced librarians to examine their roles in the information environment. The Internet is a source of information as well as a platform for delivery. In addition, librarians use the Internet as a tool for the management of both information resources and general library functions. Internet sources of information provide an obvious complement to library collections. The advantages of Web-accessible materials over print, CD-ROM, or tape versions are many. They can be updated frequently, accessed remotely, and searched electronically.
Many types of information are available from the Internet, e.g., indexes, abstracts, full-text journals, and electronic books. In addition there are many types of reference tools including dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, and handbooks. Reference materials are most useful via Internet access when the sources are continually updated. Libraries pay for access to many Web-based reference materials.
APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERNET IN THE MANAGEMENT OF LIBRARY RESOURCES Information resources for library collection development are subject to a cycle of activities. Steps in the continuing cycle include identification, selection, acquisition, organization, access, utilization, and evaluation. Internet resources being viewed as a source of information implies that they are subject to the same cycle. Internet sites identified as valuable and recommended by librarians are generally selected, linked, promoted to users, and eliminated when no longer relevant. The subject is complicated because Internet access in most libraries is open to all sources and the distinction between “recommended” and “available” resources is not always clear to library users. The management of collections is aided by Internet use. Each activity uses Internet applications. Identification of possible resources, both free and fee-based, is the first step in the collection development process.
Indexes and Abstracts Online database searching had its beginning in the early 1970s. Dialog offered the first publicly available online research service in 1972. Online databases began with dial-up modems to vendors providing access to commercial (fee-based) databases on a pay-per-search basis. Database vendors offered a variety of resources such as bibliographic indexes, abstracts, and directories. Trained library professionals typically did mediated searches with charges passed on to users. Fees were based on an initial access charge plus per-use/per-minute charges. Web access replaced dial-up service as it became available. Now most libraries pay for fixed-fee subscriptions and permit users to do their own searching at no cost. Database vendors continue to provide an important service allowing libraries to search on a pay-per-search basis for resources they are unable to provide by subscription. FirstSearch, OCLC’s online database package, was first available in 199l and is now used by nearly 20,000 libraries. Many other vendors market individual databases and packages of databases to libraries and consortia.
Full-Text Journals (e-zines, e-journals, webzines) E-zines (electronic magazines, or e-magazines), e-journals, and Webzines are terms used for electronic publications with no print counterpart. In addition, there are Web versions of print journals. 477
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Access to full-text journals expanded during the 1990s. User demands prompted vendors to expand the number of databases, journal coverage, and retrospective years covered. Libraries developed local area networks on which they loaded CD-ROM or tape resources. Libraries invested large sums of money in technology and infrastructure to support these networks, in addition to the cost of materials. This provided library access, expanded later to institution access, and finally to remote access. Institutions were restricted by the limitations of their technology and the rising cost of materials. The Internet eliminated the problem of technology limitations and shifted the constraints to budget choices.
Full-Text Journal Projects A number of library-based special projects began in the mid-1990s with the goal of providing access to quality fulltext journals available online. Examples include JSTOR and Project MUSE. JSTOR started with a 1994 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to the University of Michigan to provide access to core scholarly journals in the social sciences and humanities, beginning with the earliest issues in the 1800s. One year later it was established as a nonprofit organization (http://www.jstor.org). The idea for Project MUSE was born in 1995 at Johns Hopkins University with the Milton S. Eisenhower Library and Johns Hopkins University Press (JHUP) collaboration plan to offer the full text of JHUP scholarly journals via the World Wide Web. In 1999, MUSE published online 46 JHUP titles in the humanities, the social sciences, and mathematics, available for institutional subscriptions either as a package or as individual titles. In 2000 they began adding journals published by other university presses and within two years the project became a collaboration of 29 nonprofit publishers offering more than 220 full-text, peer-reviewed journal titles (http://muse.jhu.edu). A “linking relationship” between MUSE and JSTOR was announced in 2002. The arrangement provides navigation between the two databases beginning with 18 journal titles held by both. In 2002 MUSE reported a 65% overlap in the two customer bases. The arrangement helps both sets of users by providing easy access to gaps in holdings of each.
Electronic books (E-books) The Gutenberg Project started computer-accessible titles in 1971 when Michael Hart was given an operator’s account with a large amount of computer time by the operators of the Xerox Sigma V mainframe at the Materials Research Lab at the University of Illinois. His idea was to produce public domain editions using replicator technology so that once an item was stored in a computer it would be available to anyone and everyone in the world. The Gutenberg Project (http://www.promo.net/ pg/history.html) began its focus with the United States Declaration of Independence and reached 5,000 titles in April 2002. The goal is to offer 10,000 titles by the end of 2003. Commercial offerings of full-text books were quick to follow the full-text journal explosion. Commercial
e-book ventures started in the late 1990s and began marketing individual and packages of contemporary books to libraries. One of the most visible, netLibrary (http://www.netLibrary.com), claiming to be the world’s premier provider of electronic books (eBooks), was founded in August, 1998, in Boulder, Colorado. Three years and millions of dollars later, the company had digitized nearly 40,000 titles but was financially unable to continue. OCLC purchased netLibrary in January 2002 and added eBooks to their growing list of services to libraries. MetaText (http://www.MetaText.com), a division of netLibrary, hosts and manages Web-based digital textbooks. XanEdu, a division of ProQuest Information and Learning, purchased MetaText in August 2002. Textbook service will undoubtedly continue to grow as distance learning opportunities expand and face-to-face class technology demands more interactive teaching using electronic tools. E-books have had mixed success. Complaints include eyestrain, tedious navigation, and reading device performance. Advantages, particularly appropriate for student textbooks, include frequent updating, highlighting, font size manipulation, and searching options. Technology improvements will encourage the acceptance of this format for books. A number of libraries, primarily academic and public, are purchasing and promoting e-books. Some libraries circulate e-book readers, whereas others permit only electronic access. Improved technology may determine the success of the e-book format.
Other Reference Tools Electronic resources including dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, handbooks, books of quotations, and statistical resources are available in libraries and homes today. Many library e-resources are available by subscription and may include a print copy. During the 1980s CDROMs supplemented the print resources but within 10 years the norm was access to Web resources with the print edition as a bonus. Web sources of library materials are desirable because they provide frequent updates, remote access, and shelving economy. Issues related to the use of electronic Web-based library resources include licensing agreements, nonmediated use of resources, and identification of users.
Selection The selection process is enhanced by the use of a variety of Web-based resources including Global Books in Print, WorldCat, and publisher Web sites. Bookstore vendor sites such as Borders/Amazon (http://www.amazon.com) and Barnes & Noble (http://www.bn.com) can aid in the selection process. A number of large local bookstores, such as the Tattered Cover in Denver (http://www. tatteredcover.com), have Web sites and are particularly helpful for locating local and regional materials.
Bibliographic Verification Titles and holdings are verified easily through Internet connections. Subject searches in library catalogs, as well as identifying area holdings of duplicate titles, are accomplished with a single search.
APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERNET IN THE MANAGEMENT OF LIBRARY RESOURCES
Vendor Services Online vendor catalogs and services to support collection development officers in libraries make heavy use of the Internet. Essentially all vendors have Web sites with useful information online. Orders are submitted electronically.
Acquisition Integrated Acquisition Modules The acquisition of library materials has been streamlined with the use of integrated acquisition modules. Orders may be placed electronically and the library catalog can be updated to show that the item is on order. Electronic MARC records are transmitted to provide full cataloging for the online catalog. On-order status is updated when the item is received.
Online Service Options License agreements developed with the shift from buying electronic products to paying for access. Increasing percentages of materials budgets are committed to online resources. The licensing of electronic information can be a complex issue involving elements such as user identification and information ownership as well as service and access charges. Libraries and systems are forming subscription groups to get better pricing for electronic products. Statewide funding for public access to general databases is developing. The state of Alaska, for example, provided funding for all citizens of Alaska to access a package of databases beginning in 1998.
Organization The organization of information, including the creation of catalog records, is an example of one of the earliest applications of electronic resources. Machine-readable cataloging (MARC) was developed in the 1960s. Bibliographic utilities were created in the 1970s to aid librarians in the creation of surrogate records for library materials. The major utilities are OCLC (Online Computer Library Center, http://www.oclc. org/home) has more than 41,000 members. In 2001 OCLC merged with WLN (Western Library Network), a longtime bibliographic utility serving members primarily in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Canada, and Australia. RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network) serves many special library members. RLG (Research Libraries Group, http://www.rlg.org) is a not-for-profit membership corporation with more than 160 universities, national libraries, archives, historical societies, and other institutional members. A-G Canada is a computer-based bibliographic network offering its database and services to a variety of Canadian libraries and also to a few libraries in the northeastern United States. A-G Canada was formerly known as Utlas International, and then ISM/LIS (Information Systems Management/Library Information Services).
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Bibliographic utilities offer access to standard catalog (MARC) records to ensure bibliographic control. Early access was available through phone lines and modems. Web access has increased the efficiency of the service. OCLC began offering Internet access to records in 1995. OCLC has provided leadership in the establishment of standards for library materials as well as standards for encoding records for electronic resources, archival materials, and other formats. Most public and school libraries use the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), whereas academic (higher education) and special libraries more often use the Library of Congress Classification (LCC). Both systems classify materials by subject. OCLC provides members with classification tables in electronic format with crosswalks relating the two systems. Cataloging electronic formats prompted discussions by catalogers, resulting in the development of Dublin Core metadata elements. The elements are characteristics of electronic resources including such things as title, creator, subject, date, and language. The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI) is an organization dedicated to promoting the adoption of metadata standards and developing specialized vocabularies for describing resources that enable more intelligent information discovery systems (http://dublincore.org).
Access Union catalogs for library systems, districts, and affiliates have been available for many years. Early formats for union catalogs included computer printouts, ROM readers (looped microfilm), and microfiche. By the 1990s many libraries had migrated to online public access catalogs (OPACs) for patron use. These were first made available by loading magnetic tape updates quarterly or annually onto local area networks. Most library systems now permit daily updates by library staff. OPACs are the norm for public and university libraries as well as many school and special libraries. State and regional systems often provide links to libraries within the area. An example is ACLIN (Access Colorado Library Network, http://www.aclin.org). Consortium agreements encourage the creation of union catalogs by related institutions. The integration of library catalogs for geographic, interest, or service areas increases access to information resources. An example, Prospector, is a unified catalog of 16 academic, public, and special libraries in Colorado and Wyoming. The catalog provides records for more than 13 million items that can be accessed by a single search. Integrated online library systems continue to improve. Library users embrace new features such as added content in library catalogs, linking to online resources, and expanded search capabilities. Libraries continue to customize functionalities in their systems. Trends in automated library systems are reported annually in the April issues of Library Journal. WorldCat, a product of OCLC, is the largest union catalog in the world with nearly 50 million unique MARC records in more than 400 languages representing more than 41,000 members from nearly 100 countries. As
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WorldCat continues to grow, the concept of a global library becomes more imaginable. Reciprocal borrowing has been encouraged by the adoption of one-card systems for states or regions. Geographic lines of service are blurred for the user. Service areas will expand as states continue to develop cooperative agreements.
Utilization Circulation Systems managing the circulation of library materials can provide much information for both user and library. Many systems permit users to check their personal records online, renew materials, and reserve books. Selfcheckout is also a feature in many automated systems. Almost any library function that is automated can also be accessed through the Internet if libraries choose to make access available. Generally circulation records for individuals are not kept after the materials are returned.
Programming Library programming has changed since the Internet has been available. The ability to create Web sites, post documents, promote programs, and send distributed messages expands the ability of libraries to communicate with users as well as to learn what similar institutions do for programming. Plans for the promotion of books and reading are generously shared. Successful ideas are easily replicated for use in other systems. Specialized discussion lists and Web sites facilitate the recycling of successful programs for library users of all ages. This is a popular practice for youth summer reading programs. Electronic distribution lists impact professional communication of ideas related to programming, problem solving, and other work-related concerns. Discussion lists for librarians number in the hundreds. Each association division, function area, and special interest group has at least one discussion list. The American Library Association alone offers nearly 200 lists (http://lp-web. ala.org:8000/guest/main). Most librarians subscribe to multiple lists.
Resource Sharing Sending resources across system and geographic boundaries increases as access is facilitated. Viewing worldwide records and the expansion of cooperative borrowing create the illusion of “one world, one library”—but not without concerns. Local libraries keep personal information about library borrowers. Most libraries protect patron privacy and resist the temptation to form large patron databases beyond the local library system. The protection of patron records will undoubtedly become an issue as onecard agreements develop. Interlibrary loan service (ILL), a process for sharing resources by loaning materials library-to-library, has been common practice since the beginning of the 20th century. The first ILL guidelines were established in 1917. In the beginning multiple copies of paper requests were mailed from library to library in search of the needed items. Materials were sent through the mail to the requesting library. Until electronic records were available this process could take weeks. In the early days a few vendors offered full-text articles for a portion of their indexed resources, resulting in elaborate local area network configurations for periodic updates. In some cases patrons shuffled appropriate discs to access the full text. Subscriptions were expensive. Electronic access to library catalogs and availability of online indexes multiplied ILL requests rapidly. Until databases began offering full text articles by way of the Internet the demand on interlibrary loan offices was immense. Even with patron access to many full-text articles, support for ILL service is a major financial commitment for most libraries. Document delivery is a term implying the purchase of information sources from commercial suppliers when ILL is not available or when faster service is required. An early example of a document delivery service, Uncover, developed by CARL (originally Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries) scanned journal articles and then made them available by faxing “on demand” for a price. Ingenta purchased Uncover in 2000 and continues to provide service to libraries.
Service Virtual reference is one of the hot topics in continuing education and professional literature. The interest will likely continue as patron demands become stronger. This is an area for possible outsourcing or collaboration. Asynchronous e-mail reference has been a service of libraries for a number of years, but the delay in response is unsatisfactory for many users. Ask Jeeves and Refdesk.com, free round-the-clock resources, prompted librarians to think about offering virtual 24/7 reference service. Early projects included California’s Metropolitan Cooperative Library Service (July 2000) and the Library of Congress Collaborative Digital References Services (CDRS) following a few months later. In June 2002, the Library of Congress and OCLC launched Question Point (http://www.questionpoint.org/), a collaborative reference service developed with input from participating members of the Global Reference Network, a group of libraries and institutions worldwide that are committed to digital reference. Virtual reference is being developed in a number of different configurations by all types of libraries.
Instruction In-house tutorials as well as links to outside instructional modules are common on many library Web sites. Libraries of all types offer instruction through workshops, classes, point-of-use tutorials, handouts, help screens, and oneon-one contacts. The Internet is often both the subject of instruction as well as the tool for teaching. Helping library users become wise consumers of information is an important responsibility for today’s information professional. Colleges and universities have a strong focus on instruction. The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has established a number of standards and guidelines including “Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education” (http://www.ala. org/acrl/ilcomstan.html). Academic librarians traditionally called their instructional service “bibliographic instruction” or simply BI. The term lingers although the
APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERNET IN THE MANAGEMENT OF LIBRARY FUNCTIONS
ALA Library Instruction Roundtable (LIRT) changed the terminology to simply “instruction” in the 1990s. Public libraries spend an increasing amount of energy instructing users in Internet and database searching. Literacy is a strong focus for many public libraries. The Public Library Association (PLA) projects reflect the priorities for many public libraries (http://www.ala. org/pla). School libraries continue a strong focus on “literacy” skills. The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) continues to take a leadership role in providing resources for school library media specialists (http://www.ala.org/aasl/index.html). Many K-12 libraries offer Internet accessible tutorials for students. External links to well-done instructional packages are found on library Web pages. Librarianship is a generous profession when it comes to sharing expertise as well as resources.
Evaluation Statistics on the circulation of specific titles as well as subject areas in library collections can be valuable when making collection development decisions. Library automated systems can provide access to much more circulation information than most libraries utilize. In general, libraries make a practice of using statistics rather than specific user information in collection development. The extent to which libraries use circulation information is a policy decision made by individual libraries. Much valuable information can be derived from the user database and the profile of library users. Most libraries have resisted tying circulation records to specific patron records to protect the privacy of the users. Sending e-mail to users alerting them of books they might want to check out, the amazon.com model, might be viewed as a service. But doing so at the cost of invasion of privacy is a serious tradeoff. Collection development in libraries has improved because of electronic records. The Western Library Network (WLN), together with Pacific Northwest member libraries, developed a “conspectus” approach to collection analysis beginning in the 1980s. As electronic manipulation became possible WLN could run an analysis of age, depth, and breath of individual collections. In addition, collections could be compared with core title lists or holdings in other institutions. Paper reports gave libraries documents that identified strengths and weaknesses in their collections. Although the initial analysis was not Internet-based, follow-up collection development Internet activities have developed. Examples include locating out-of-print resources, comparing similar collections, and accessing electronic records. WLN merged with OCLC in January 2001. Collection development options will continue to expand and will be available through Internet access. The Internet allows anyone and everyone to become an author and a publisher. Quality and quantity have no restrictions. The evaluation of Internet materials and the filtering of public and school library Internet workstations continue to be a public concern. The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is an example of the strong interest of the public in Internet materials. Back-
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ground on CIPA and the position of the American Library Association (ALA) is available at http://www.ala.org/ cipa
APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERNET IN THE MANAGEMENT OF LIBRARY FUNCTIONS In addition to the unique applications of the Internet to library resources and user services, the Internet enhances traditional management functions such as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling, reporting, and budgeting. Enhanced communication and user access to information are most important applications of the Internet in the management of library functions. The applications of the Internet in library management may not seem different from applications in other management units but the attitude and approach may be distinctive. Librarians, and information providers in general, are extremely cooperative and collaborative professionals. Electronic communication was accepted early in its development as a way to collaborate beyond library walls, system networks, and political borders.
Planning The planning aspect of library management is a process leading to the development of statements or documents addressing library philosophy and values, vision, mission, goals, objectives, actions, activities, policies, and procedures. This process is not unlike planning processes in many institutions, although it may be more complex due to the range of user characteristics, the variety of information packages, and the differences in information sources. The planning process generally includes an environmental scan of internal and external factors. Internal factors may include personnel, services, and resources such as facilities, collections, budgets, and technology. External factors include influences such as political, economic, social, and technological issues (PEST). An analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), along with internal and external factors, is useful in the planning process. Data to support both PEST and SWOT analyses are available from electronic sources on the Web. Internet resources facilitate library planning in a number of ways including easy access to information. Access to U.S. Census records, as well as state and local community data, provides invaluable information about the user and nonuser bases of libraries serving the public. Online U.S. Government documents describing K-12 and higher education (e.g., the National Center for Educational Statistics, http://www.nces.ed.gov) provide resources for school and academic libraries. Special libraries, profit and nonprofit, access various elements of community analysis information as well.
Vision, Mission, Goals, and Objectives Libraries began creating Web pages early in the development of the Web. Vision and mission statements are regularly posted on Web sites. Preparation of these
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documents for Web access prompted renewed interest in using them as public relations tools.
Strategic and Long-Range Planning The Internet is used for e-mail discussions, transfer of draft statements, and collaborative creation of strategic and long-range planning documents. Library Web sites provide a means for public access to these and other institutional documents.
easy access for job seekers. Jobs posted on library Web sites provide easy communication as well. Both employees and employers can compare salaries, job descriptions, and qualifications. Still and moving pictures provide additional information about job settings for remote applicants. Webbased portfolios prepared by applicants will likely become standard for job seekers. Video conferencing, Web cams, and Web sites facilitate a broader recruitment base.
Policy-Making Decision makers within library systems sometimes make policies based on norms in like institutions. Internet access to examples of policies provides a foundation and argument for adopting particular positions as well as providing a thorough analysis of users.
Forecasting and Decision-Making Access to information is critical for forecasting and decision-making for library administrators. Library and Internet resources provide access to private and public information on all topics relevant to decision-making.
Organizing Organizing as a function of library management is generally an internal activity. The Internet provides a tool for communicating the organizational structure when libraries choose to post their organizational charts or structures on their Web sites.
Organizational Structure Internet technology has increased options for libraries in areas including resources, communication, and services. The increased complexities of library management, along with other external factors, have resulted in a trend toward nontraditional organization. Hierarchical structure and organization by function such as public services and technical services is no longer used in many libraries or may be supplemented by cross-functional teams. Flat organizational charts, participatory management, and collaborative groups may be displayed graphically as round, spoke, star, or other creative illustrations of the relationships. Electronic communication helps the structures work.
Training Currently local training is still predominately face-toface but prepared modules available on the Internet are growing. Generic training and continuing education opportunities through Internet access are regularly offered. Specific training, e.g., from OCLC, is offered via webcast presentations viewed from workstations in employee offices. Employee support for continuing education, training opportunities, and job enrichment are motivating factors for professional and support staff. Identification of appropriate sources, access to good technology, and budget allocations for time and registrations are important success factors. Associations, graduate schools, and interest groups sponsor downlinks for special continuing education opportunities.
Retention, Evaluation, and Policies and Procedures The Internet applications relative to retention, evaluation, and policies and procedures are information-based and communication-oriented. Employee access to online evaluation forms, policies, and procedures helps keep staff informed. Updates are easily made. Public access to personnel documents gives potential employees insight into the institution. E-mail distributed to employees provides instant communication for updates and changes.
Legal Issues Access to discussions of legal issues as well as to the laws themselves is an obvious application of the Internet. Web access to proprietary legal databases is a help to administrators as well as to library users.
Staffing
Directing
Library management staffing issues include recruiting, training, retaining, evaluation, policies and procedures, and legal issues. Access to information and resources via the Internet has resulted in a greater awareness of job opportunities. Librarians in general have strong professional networks for service that may also be used for recruiting staff. Librarians conscious of professional development are likely to change jobs and institutions multiple times throughout their careers.
Motivation
Recruiting A broader search for employees has been possible since the Internet became available for free or inexpensive job postings. Links from professional associations or state libraries to joblines in state and regional affiliates provide
Access to Internet resources may indirectly provide motivation within an organization. Simply keeping up with technology, resources, and communication available via the Internet has been an incentive to staff to update technology skills, learn new resources, and manage volumes of e-mail messages.
Leadership Strong leaders are needed in the library information science field. Because leaders in the profession are aging, rapid advancement will be possible for the new generation of information professionals. Remote mentors, online training, and continuing education modules will support developing leaders.
AREAS OF FOCUS FOR INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS IN LIBRARY MANAGEMENT
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Communication
Digital Libraries
The Internet makes communication easy by using distributed e-mail, discussion lists, and electronic access to documents. The problems with electronic communication result from the absence of face-to-face communication including facial expressions, eye contact, voice tone, and other body language, which may result in occasional misunderstandings. Smaller PDAs (personal digital assistants), wrist-size computers, and wireless technology will facility Internet connections.
By definition, digital libraries offer materials in digital format. An example, Jones e-global Library, a subsidiary of Jones Knowledge, was one of the earliest to be developed. Jones University was the first higher education institution accredited on the basis of a digital library. Jones e-global Library was designed to support the students in distance programs of Jones University but it expanded to provide electronic resources as a supplement to all types of libraries and users. When web-based resources became widely available to libraries the need for the packaged services of digital libraries declined. Commercial digital libraries had a short life. The creation of a digital library across institutions presents one of the greatest challenges for information professionals. The Digital Library Federation (http://www. clir.org/diglib/about/strategic.htm) and the Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov), along with library leaders from all types of libraries, may collaborate to develop standards, create tools, identify content, and negotiate licenses.
Controlling Standards Many standards have been developed for library services and collections. Competency standards have been developed for librarians. Examples include the Special Libraries Association (SLA), http://www.sla.org/content/ SLA/professional/meaning/competency.cfm; the American Library Association (ALA), http://www.ala.org/work/ standards.html; the Medical Library Association (MLA), http://www.mlanet.org/; and the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIST), http://www. asis.org/AboutASIS/professional-guidelines.html
Reporting and Budgeting The availability of the Internet as a tool for communication to the service base, the public in many cases, has resulted in a wider distribution of the business of libraries. As libraries spend larger proportions of materials budgets on access it will be important to communicate other library values to decision makers.
AREAS OF FOCUS FOR INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS IN LIBRARY MANAGEMENT The opportunities and challenges for information professionals are enormous. Many of the Internet-related challenges facing information professionals relate to collections and users. In addition there is concern for the future of the library information science profession itself.
Copyright Digital copyright issues will continue to be a concern. See information on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act at http://www.ala.org/washoff/dmca.html. Librarians are champions of copyright protection for authors and creators of information resources. At the same time, they must balance creator rights with public access to information by opposing per-use charges for electronic information (http://copyright.ala.org/internet.html).
Preservation Technology will continue to be a challenge, particularly for the preservation of digital records, as advances are made and migration is difficult. Digitization projects continue to expand to include more archival and museum resources, offering opportunities for stronger collaboration with these related institutions.
Users Access
Library users do not always recognize the differences between free and fee-based library materials. The Internet as a delivery vehicle for purchased resources makes the access seamless to many library users. As consortia expand, access to fee-based databases will be even smoother. Communication with users will be more important to ensure continued funding.
Issues of easy access to electronic information, equal access for all citizens, and preservation of intellectual freedom all relate to the defense of a democratic society. ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif “Access to Electronic Information, Services, and Networks: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights”) provides guidance for professionals (http://www.ala.org/alaorg/oif/electacc.html). The overload of Internet information, the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots,” and the demand for Internet filtering will continue to be challenges and political issues for information professionals.
Budgets
Information Literacy
Increasingly larger portions of library budgets will be invested in “access” rather than ownership of materials. The public may begin to question the value of walk-in libraries. Libraries must continue to examine their roles in the lives of information seekers as well as recreational readers.
Teaching information users of all ages to be smart information consumers will become even more important as libraries become more virtual and patrons are more independent searchers. Information professionals in all types of libraries share the responsibility for instruction.
Collections Fee-Based Resources
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Privacy As technology becomes even more sophisticated, librarians will have to weigh the advantages of knowing user preferences with the trade-off of invading patron privacy. Librarians may find themselves among the few to defend privacy as the public rushes to give up rights in the name of national security. “Privacy; an Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights” (http://www.ala.org/alaorg/ oif/privacyinterpretation.html) is a resource for information professionals involved in developing policies related to user privacy. Following 9/ll Congress passed legislation to expand the powers of law enforcement for the purpose of security. See http://www.ala.org/washoff/patriot.html for information on USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism). These actions raise important issues of privacy.
Distance Delivery and Disintermediation As students and workers telecommute, the role of all types of libraries becomes more focused on access than on users. The challenges of licensing electronic resources, providing virtual reference, and keeping up with technology may be more easily addressed than the lack of human contact. The increased distance and reduction of face-toface time between librarians and users will be an adjustment and a loss for both. Librarians will be challenged to find ways to continue the connection with patrons. The TEACH Act (Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act) of 2002 clarified the terms and conditions for higher education institutions to use copyrighted materials in distance education.
Technology Librarians will continue to embrace new technologies as they become available. It has become cost-effective for libraries to cooperate and collaborate in technology issues including resource management, continuing education, policy-making, legislative positioning, and public relations. PDAs (personal digital assistants) with Internet and cell phone capabilities, wrist-size computers, wireless networks, and countless other devices are finding library applications. [NOTE: The font size for this paragraph is 10 point!]
Providers LIS Professionals The need for library information science professionals is great. The professional work force is graying. For the past few years there has been a shortage of school library media specialists, youth services librarians, and catalogers. Now there is a growing need for reference librarians and technology experts.
org/projects/certification/certification.html. The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), the Public Library Association (PLA), and the Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) established standards and processes with formal announcement in 2002. The proposed areas of competencies include nine core areas: (1) budgeting and finance, (2) fundraising, (3) library building, planning, and maintenance, (4) organization and personnel management, (5) technology, (6) building alliances and networking, (7) strategic planning and marketing, (8) serving diverse populations, and (9) current Issues in public library management. A general foundation in library and information science is necessary for all information professionals, but specialized knowledge is needed in many areas in order to do the job well. Library administration is the first area identified. Much of the training will be available on the Internet through online classes and workshops.
Education The Internet has impacted library education. Curricula are more technology oriented, courses may be all or partially online, and schedules may be nontraditional. The master’s degree is generally regarded as the first and terminal degree for the practicing librarian. The Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE, http://www.alise.org), with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, conducted a study of education in library and information science resulting in the KALIPER (Kellogg-ALISE Information Professionals and Education Renewal project), published in 2000 (http:// www.alise.org/publications/kaliper.pdf). The report identified six trends including investments in information technology. National meetings, the Congress on Professional Education (COPE), in 1999, 2000, and 2003 addressed professional education (http://www.ala.org/congress). Accreditation of master’s programs, now granted by the American Library Association, is moving toward an independent agency. Practitioners and educators continue to discuss core competencies. Library professionals in general enthusiastically defend core professional values. Examples of the values of information professionals can been seen in the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association (http://www. ala.org/alaorg/oif/ethics.html), as well as other associations of information professionals. The important values include resource sharing, equity of access, intellectual freedom, literacy and learning, copyright protection, patron privacy, information preservation, and respect for diversity. These values are observed in the interaction of librarians and users but also carry over into the general management functions of administrators. Regardless of the Internet revolution a commitment to professional values will remain firm.
Professional Certification Librarians have always been committed to lifelong learning. Plans have been proposed for public library administrators to receive additional training and education courses beyond the MLS or MLIS to be certified public library administrators (CPLA); see http://www.pla.
GLOSSARY Access vs. ownership Paying to use materials rather than buying them. This concept is a major shift for library collection development.
FURTHER READING
Bibliographic control The process of using standard descriptive and identifying characteristics to create a surrogate record for each information item. Bibliographic utility A company offering cooperative cataloging support for members. Members contribute new records and download existing ones, resulting in a large union catalog. Controlled vocabulary The preferred subject term for retrieval of information in electronic databases. Comparable to subject headings for library catalogs. Crosswalks A program or instrument to show equivalent values in multiple schemes such as classification [Dewey Decimal (DDC) to Library of Congress (LC)] or standard cataloging records [MARC to Dublin Core]. Digital library An organization that provides the resources, including the specialized staff, to select, structure, offer intellectual access to, interpret, distribute, preserve the integrity of, and ensure the persistence over time of collections of digital works so that they are readily and economically available for use by a defined community or set of communities. [Paraphrased from the Digital Library Federation’s (DLF) working definition, http://www.clir.org/diglib/about/strategic.htm] Dublin Core (DC) Dublin Metadata Core Element Set. A set of standard metadata elements describing characteristics of an electronic information package. The work began at a workshop in Dublin, Ohio, in 1995. See http://dublincore.org/ E-reference materials Electronic resources including indexes and abstracts, bibliographies, reference tools, and full text books. Information package A broad term for recorded information in any form such as print, graphic, electronic, video, or music. MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloging, http://lcweb.loc. gov/marc/umb) Standard descriptive data for catalog records for library materials encoded with machinereadable format. Metadata Data about data; descriptive elements of an information package encoded with a standard format such as MARC, Dublin Core, or GILS (Government Information Locator Service) to create machine-readable records. Essentially they are a set of elements for describing electronic resources for electronic library records. OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) The largest bibliographic utility in the world (http://www.oclc. org/home). In addition to cooperative cataloging other services include support for acquisitions, serials, interlibrary loan, online databases, and e-books. OCLC began as the Ohio College Library Center in 1967 and changed its name in 1981 to reflect wider membership. Relational database A database with information from searchable fields of records stored in separate files (e.g., name, title, subject) to facilitate searching. Surrogate record A record representing the characteristics (descriptive and identifying elements) of an information package. Union catalog A combined catalog with records of more than one collection.
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Virtual library Digital formats make up the collections of a virtual library. The terms digital library and virtual library are often used interchangeably, though technically they are not the same. Virtual reference service Reference service provided to remote users by using real-time virtual reference systems software. WorldCat The combined catalog of OCLC member libraries. WorldCat is the largest union catalog in the world with nearly 50 million unique MARC records in more than 400 languages representing more than 41,000 members from nearly 100 countries.
CROSS REFERENCES See Databases on the Web; Digital Libraries; Research on the Internet.
FURTHER READING Evans, G. E. (2000). Developing library and information center collections (4th ed.). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. Retrieved 2000 from http://www. lu.com/getpage.cfm?file = textbook2.html & userid = 77731466. [Supplement] Evans, G. E., Ward, P. W., and Rugaas, B. (2000). Management basics for information professionals. New York: Neal–Schuman. Libraries and the Internet (2001) CQ Researcher, 11, 465– 488. Liu, L.-G. (1996). The Internet and library and information services; Issues, trends, and annotated bibliography, 1994 –1995. New York: Greenwood Press. Lynch, C. (2000). From automation to transformation: Forty years of libraries and information technology in higher education. EDUCAUSE Review, 35, 60–68. Reitz, J. M. (2003). Dictionary of library and information science. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Reitz, J. M. (2002) ODLIS: Online dictionary of library and information science. Retrieved February 25, 2003, from http://vax.wcsu.edu/library/odlis.html#B Sherman, C., and Price, G. (2001). The invisible web; Uncovering information sources search engines can’t see. Medford, NJ: Information Today. [See also http://www. invisible-web.net] Shuman, B. A. (2001). Issues for libraries and information science in the Internet age. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. Smith, K. W. (ed.) (1998). OCLC 1967–1997: Thirty years of furthering access to the world’s information. New York: Haworth Press. [Available at http://www.oclc.org] Stueart, R. D., and Moran, B. B. (2002). Library and information center management (6th ed.). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. [Support site at http://www.lu. com/management] Taylor, A. G. (1999). The organization of information. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. [Supplement available at http: // www.pitt.edu / ∼agtaylor / courses/glossup.html] Tenopir, C., and Ennis, L. (2002) A decade of digital reference, 1991–2001. Reference & User Services Quarterly. 41, 264–73.
Linux Operating System System
Charles Abzug, James Madison University
Overview What Is an Operating System? What Linux Is All About Why Linux Is Important, and Why It Can Be Useful to You History of Linux MULTICS UNIX Richard Stallman, the Free Software Foundation, and the GNU Project Andrew Tanenbaum and MINIX Linus Torvalds and the Initial Development of Linux Why Is Linux So Much More Popular Than Its Progenitors?
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OVERVIEW Linux is probably the best all-around operating system in use in the world today. Linux has a number of competitors, most of which are commercial products, like Microsoft Windows in its various manifestations, IBM’s OS/2, Sun Microsystem’s Solaris, SGI’s IRIX, and Novell’s NetWare. In contrast to these other operating systems, the development of Linux is carried out not by paid employees operating in an industrial environment, but by a small army of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers, many working evenings and weekends during their spare time. Both the mode and the culture within which Linux was nurtured are responsible in large measure for the superiority both in usability and in performance attained by this operating system. In order to explain this attainment, it is necessary first to describe what is an operating system and what is the role of the operating system in the functioning of a computer. In addition, it is necessary to convey the uniqueness of Linux in terms of both how it was originally developed and how it continues to evolve.
What Is an Operating System? The operating system is the most important piece of software in a computer. There are two principal points of view for looking at an operating system, that of the computer system and that of the user and programmer.
The View of the Computer System From the point of view of the computer system, the operating system is the software responsible for mediating the control of all three families of the computer’s resources: hardware, software, and data. The hardware resources controlled by the operating system include one or more central processing units or CPUs, the main memory (often referred to as random access memory or RAM), the keyboard and display, and also any devices that may 486
Origin, Appropriateness, and Proper Pronunciation of the Name Linux GNU and Copyleft, and Their Impact on the Evolution of Linux Worldwide Cooperation and Support: A Grassroots Movement Hardware Architectures Supported Distributions of Linux and Vendor Support The Future of Linux Extending Your Knowledge About Linux Acknowledgments Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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be present. These devices include communications facilities, such as a network card or modem, as well as all storage devices, including magnetic disks (“hard” disks, floppy disks, and various proprietary removable disk cartridges, such as Zip, Jaz, and Bernoulli), CDs or DVDs, and tape drives. Software resources of the computer include, in addition to the operating system itself, a variety of utilities that may be bundled with the operating system by the vendor, as well as any separate commercially purchased or custom-programmed software applications. Applications software, at a minimum, on a computer intended for use as a personal workstation usually includes a word processor, e-mail handler, spreadsheet, Web browser, and database manager. Applications software on a server may include a robust database manager specifically designed for simultaneous access by multiple users, or some other heavy-duty application. In a corporate environment, computers are typically purchased en masse, and both the hardware configuration and the installed software are usually identical or nearly identical for a group of desktop systems purchased together as a single purchasing action by a commercial or governmental organization. The data resident on each system, however, are what distinguish that system from all others that may be otherwise identical. The data make each computer different from every other system in the organization. Thus, in summary, the operating system is the highly complex software that controls all three types of resources of the computer: hardware, software, and data. The operating system is much more, however, than merely the manager of the resources of the computer system. In addition to mediating the control of the disparate resources of the system, the operating system also provides the interface with which the user interacts with the computer, both to pass on the expressed wishes of the user to the computer and to communicate to the
OVERVIEW
user information about what the system is doing, as well as reports regarding the status of requests made by the user, and warnings and messages regarding errors and malfunctions that the user needs to know about.
The View of the User and of the Programmer So far, we have considered the operating system principally from the point of view of its role in controlling the computer. The other point of view is that of the user or of the programmer. There are several services provided both to the user and to the programmer by the operating system. These include execution of programs at the user’s request; performance on behalf of the program of input/output operations, thus saving the programmer from having to program such operations in detail; interaction with devices, thereby relieving the programmer of having to program in detail in accordance with the needs of the individual device; reading and writing of files of various types; handling of communication from the user to the machine, typically via either a command-line interface (CLI) or a graphical user interface (GUI); communication between processes; detection and reporting to the user of errors occurring in system operation; communication to the user of status reports, including report of the successful completion of tasks requested by the user; a set of rules for writing function or subroutine calls that can be invoked from an application program and that are carried out on its behalf by the operating system (application programming interface, or API); and provision of an environment conducive to the development by programmers of applications to carry out useful work on behalf of the user, as well as to the testing, debugging, and maintenance of application programs.
Design Goals for an Operating System There are four principal goals that the developer must meet in the design of the operating system. First among these is efficiency of use of the resources of the system. The resources of the computer system are expensive, and the user therefore is eager to see the resources put to use efficiently, as well as to get his work accomplished in a timely manner. Second in importance is ease of use of the system. Users come in a great range of levels of sophistication of computer skills. The entire spectrum of users, from the almost totally computer-illiterate to the most highly skilled computer professional, should all be able to exercise an adequate level of control over the operation of the system so as to obtain from it a high level of service. A third goal is that the resources of the computer system be adequately apportioned to the various tasks to be accomplished so that each task progresses at a speed and efficiency appropriate to its importance relative to other tasks. In particular, if two or more users share the machine, then each user must be allocated an appropriate
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share of each of the various resources of the system. Finally, the security needs of the system must be adequately addressed. This last concern is particularly important for a system whose use is shared by multiple users.
Operating Environments There are several different environments in which computer systems function. In extreme circumstances, a particular environment may require the services of a specialpurpose operating system whose design is optimized to serve the special environmental needs of that system particularly well. In most cases, however, a general-purpose operating system can be developed that meets the needs of a broad range of uses, and also which includes sufficient flexibility to enable the system manager to configure the system on installation to meet the operational needs anticipated. A good general-purpose operating system will also provide a range of facilities and services that can be adapted and tuned as necessary so as to enable the system to continue to meet the needs of its operational environment even as these needs change over time. Broadly speaking, the operational environment of a computer system falls into one of three categories. The simplest environment is that of the single-user-ata-time. Most desktop computer systems, including those of higher-performance capability also known as workstations, fall into this category. The old DOS that came with the original IBM PC (IBM DOS) as well as with most PC clones produced by other manufacturers (MS-DOS) was a single-user operating system. DOS was not only a singleuser but also a single-tasking operating system. That is, the user could have the computer do only one thing at a time, and had to wait until the current task was completed before assigning a new task. Single-user operating systems with more sophistication were developed, in which the user is able to initiate several tasks that run concurrently, thus allowing a more efficient use of computer resources. When a disk-read or disk-write operation is required, for example, it is usually necessary for the read/write head of the disk drive to travel to some location overlying one particular circular track selected from the many that exist on each of the disk platters. This operation, known as a disk head seek, is incredibly slow by computer standards, occupying an amount of time in which the CPU, were it free and unencumbered, could perform thousands or even millions of operations. Thus, while the disk drive is executing its head seek, the CPU could be doing something else that is not dependent upon the completion of the disk-read or -write operation. In an old-fashioned single-tasking system, this does not happen; instead, the CPU must wait for the disk-read or the -write operation to complete before resuming operation. In the large-scale computer (minicomputer or mainframe), multitasking operating systems were developed as early as the 1960s. At the smaller scale of the personal computer, several operating systems that enabled the single-user microcomputer also to do multitasking were developed in the 1980s. These included Mac OS for the MacIntosh, several variants of Microsoft Windows, and IBM’s OS/2. Several UNIX variants were developed for the PC as well, which were even more capable.
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Next in complexity, after the single-user multitasking environment, is that characterized by multiple simultaneous users. This environment is characteristic of most minicomputers and mainframes, as well as of servers. Operating systems with facilities that enable their use in a server or multiuser environment include the server versions of Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, as well as Novell NetWare, the server version of IBM’s OS/2, DEC’s VMS, various mainframe operating systems, and a host of proprietary variants of the UNIX operating system, including IBM’s AIX, Hewlett–Packard’s HP-UX, Silicon Graphics’ IRIX, and HP–Compaq/DEC’s ULTRIX. Historically speaking, one of the earliest capabilities to be developed in operating systems was the ability to handle batch jobs. This development took place prior to the development of multiuser, multitasking operating systems. In a batch environment, one or more tasks are submitted to be run on the system. Each of these runs to completion, and the results are collated and left for later, offline examination by the user. Modern systems with multiuser, multitasking capability may also be provided with the capability to run batch jobs. Usually, the tasks submitted as batch jobs have no need for ongoing monitoring or supervision by the user. Examples of such jobs are regular, complete system backups and periodic scanning of the entire system for computer viruses. Such a job can either be scheduled to run at a time when the user is not present, so as not to compete for system resources with tasks of greater urgency, and thus interfere with the performance of those tasks for which the user is anxiously awaiting results. Alternatively, the batch job can be run in background at a reduced priority level, so that it runs only when a task to which the user is attending will not be slowed or delayed. Operating systems in the more robust category often have the capability to run batch jobs in addition to handling multiple tasks and multiple users. Finally, there is the real-time environment, where the computer is used to control something whose on-time performance is critical. Examples of real-time environments include the flight-control and navigational computers of aircraft and spacecraft; various military environments, such as the command and control computers used in single-vessel and integrated fleet defensive systems, like the U.S. Aegis system; aircraft and antimissile weaponssystems control computers, like the U.S. Patriot antiaircraft and antiballistic-missile system; systems used in medical diagnosis and treatment; systems used in factory or shop floor automation, including robotics, large-scale distributed computer systems used to control transnational telecommunications systems; and the computers used to control nuclear power plants. In several of these cases, a general-purpose operating system can be used that provides, besides the multiuser and multitasking features found in many modern operating systems, additional facilities suitable to the more exacting needs of a real-time environment. However, in those instances where the real-time needs are particularly severe, only a specialpurpose operating system will do. In such extremely constrained circumstances, it is usually cost-effective to have a dedicated, special-purpose computer that does nothing
else but see to the needs of the so-called hard real-time environment.
What Linux Is All About Linux is a UNIX-like group of operating systems, which was developed as a cooperative effort by a loosely knit team of capable and enthusiastic programmers who volunteered their services. The programmers on the original development team were associated with the Free Software Foundation’s GNU project. The activities of programmers working on the GNU project were augmented by Linus (pronunced “Lee’-nuhs”) Torvalds and a small number of associates working with him. This latter group contributed the operating system’s kernel. The name Linux, which properly applies to the kernel alone, is derived from Linus Torvalds’ first name. The Linux kernel was originally targeted at the Intel ×86 family of processors. However, it now comes in several varieties, each of which runs on a particular hardware platform. The various incarnations of the kernel intended for the different hardware platforms are all integrated with the pre-existing GNU software to form a complete operating system. Quite a number of hardware platforms are currently supported. The various members of the Linux family are all multiuser, multiple-concurrent-process operating systems featuring time-sharing, but also supporting batch processing in background. They differ from each other only in whatever way is necessary to support the particular hardware architectures on which they run. The look-and-feel of all these systems is very similar. Linux is open-source software. The source code is bundled together with the executable code and the documentation, and all can be had without charge. Should the user require the code and manuals on CDs, then these are available for purchase at a very modest charge to cover the media, duplication, packaging, and distribution costs only. The software is universally usable by anyone for any purpose with absolutely no licensing fees. The Linux user is free to modify any or all of the source code, and then to recompile the modified code, to meet the needs of his system. If the modification is potentially of use to other members of the Linux community, then he is encouraged to share with the community the changes made. Furthermore, anyone at all who enhances the software is welcome to distribute the enhanced version, provided that the provisions of the GNU General Public License are upheld, preserved, and transmitted onward together with the new code and documentation, thus preserving the users’ freedom to read, study, modify, and enhance the software.
Why Linux Is Important, and Why It Can Be Useful to You The importance of Linux is due to a number of factors. Some of these are technical and some nontechnical, but particularly related to the Linux culture. Performance and efficiency are superb. In particular, users who find themselves often frustrated by the notorious hourglass encountered in the various Windows
OVERVIEW
environments find themselves warming up to Linux as they encounter a snappier and more responsive system. Reliability is certainly among the best in the industry. Linux systems are extraordinarily stable, with several server systems known to have been running continuously for several years without ever having to reboot. The organization “The Linux Counter” (http://counter. li.org) encourages Linux users to register as well as to provide information voluntarily regarding their installation of Linux, and especially its performance. The data displayed recently show that there is one machine that has been running Linux continuously for 1000.3 days (i.e., nearly three years). This machine happens to be not an Intel architecture machine, but a Hewlett– Packard/Compaq/DEC Alpha. However, there is a list of the top ten machines reported to be up continuously on Linux, and the other nine, all of which consist of Intel hardware (one 80486 and the rest in the Pentium family) have all been running for more than 500 days. In fact, the average running time reported for Linux is an astounding 37.7 days. The contrast between the ultrahigh reliability of Linux and the frequently appearing “blue screen of death” of the Windows world is particularly striking. Linux complies with the Portable Operating System Interface Standard (POSIX). More than 95% of the code is written in the programming language C, and thus it can be ported relatively readily to any new hardware architecture that might be developed. Linux already runs on a huge variety of hardware, ranging from desktop systems to mainframes (details presented below). Over the entire range of hardware supported, there is a consistency both of user interface and of programmer interface. Thus, the user does not need to learn a new operating system when switching to a new hardware platform. There is a standardized structure to the Linux file system, which results in a uniform location of critical files over both different hardware platforms and different Linux distributions. The Linux community recognized relatively early on that the originally different file structure used by the various vendors in their Linux distributions was chaotic, and so a Filesystem Standard (FSSTND) was developed to bring the situation under control. Subsequently, a superior Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) replaced FSSTND. Development and evolution is vastly different for Linux from what it is for proprietary operating systems. Since they are volunteers, Linux developers do not have to answer to either a marketing department or a profitoriented corporate bureaucracy. A proposed change or a reported software error is posted by the interested party on the Internet, where it is likely to be seen very quickly by any number of Linux enthusiasts. If one of them deems it to be worthwhile, then either the change is implemented or the bug gets fixed, whichever is applicable, and detailed information on the change is then also posted. There is a spirit and a culture of cooperation, and therefore anyone who programs an improvement in the code, even though primarily intended
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for his/her own private use, will usually also post it on the Internet so that other users may also benefit from it if they wish. All of the improvements are then collated for integration into the next release of the kernel software. This is in marked contrast to the philosophy encountered in the commercial softwaredevelopment world, where the attitude taken towards the users is typically, as described by Stallman (1999), “If you want any changes, beg us to make them.” In addition, in the commercial environment users must often pay for upgrades with no assurance that the bugs that they have reported have already been fixed rather than still sitting in the queue waiting to be worked on. New modules can be linked in to the kernel, and old modules delinked, while the system is running. In most cases, it is not necessary to bring down the system for reboot. The operating system is highly flexible in use. The user can exercise a high degree of control from a single window over several jobs, including both foreground and background processes. Linux incorporates features of both major streams of the UNIX world: AT&T UNIX and Berkeley Standard Distribution. For example, there are several shells (CLIs) available under Linux. The first popular UNIX shell was the Bourne Shell. The “Bourne Again Shell” (bash) is an improved version of the original UNIX Bourne Shell from AT&T UNIX. The developers of Berkeley UNIX produced the “C Shell,” which differs in several key aspects from the earlier Bourne shell. Linux offers the TC Shell (tcsh), which is an improvement on the C Shell. The “Z Shell” (zsh) is a hybrid, and contains several features of both bash and tcsh, and of the Korn Shell as well. Several additional shells are also available. Some of the more valuable facilities once unique to one or another of the primordial shells have now been incorporated into one or more additional shells, thus to some extent reducing the differences among them in facilities offered. For example, the C Shell of Berkeley UNIX introduced a history facility, which had not been present in the original Bourne Shell. History retains some number of most recently issued commands. The retained commands can then be re-executed, either in the identical form to which it had originally been issued or in altered form. Bash incorporates a history facility, thus in some small measure reducing the number of features that distinguish bash from tcsh. Although the facilities that originally distinguished certain shells have been incorporated under Linux into other shells as well, thus diminishing the uniqueness of the feature set offered by each separate shell, the original differences in command syntax between the various shells have been retained. Several additional UNIX features are also supported by Linux. Redirection of both input and output is a simple means of executing a program and providing the input from a file instead of from the console or standard input device (keyboard), and of having the program’s output written to a file instead of to the standard display
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device (usually either a video display tube or a flat-panel liquid-crystal display). Many other operating systems also allow input and output to be redirected to files, but redirection in other operating systems can be a cumbersome affair (e.g., in VMS). Filters are also prevalent in Linux, as they are in UNIX. These are programs designed specifically to process a stream of input data and to produce a stream of output data. Filters often intervene to process output data from one program before the data are input into another program. Linux also supports both hard links and soft links to facilitate the sharing of files. A hard link points to the file’s physical structure on the disk, whereas a soft link connects references to the file through the directory structure. A large number of UNIX utilities are also supported. These include about 15 extremely helpful utilities that support either simple tasks, including date (writes the current date and time to the standard output device); echo (specifies a text string to be written to the standard output device); and lpr (sends a file to the printer); or routine file manipulation and disk management tasks, including cat (concatenates files and displays the concatenation on the standard output device); cd (changes the present working directory to a specified new location); chgrp (changes the group ownership associated with a specified file); chmod (changes the permissible access mode for a file); chown (changes the ownership of a file); cp (makes a duplicate copy of one or more files, either in the same directory or in a different, specified directory); df (prints on the standard output device either the number of free disk blocks or the size in kilobytes of the free disk space, and the number of free files); dd (copies files between devices, converting between different block sizes when so specified); ln (creates either a hard link or a soft link to a file); ls (lists the contents of a directory); mkdir (creates a new directory); rmdir (deletes specified directories); mv (moves and renames files and directories); and umask (sets the default access permission bits for all subsequently newly-created files and directories). There are also several well-known complex or specialpurpose utilities. These include awk and grep (used for searching for patterns in a file);
sed (a batch editor);
finger (provides specific information regarding autho rized users of the system);
make (used principally to update a set of executable programs after modifications are made to the source code); and pine (used both to receive and send news and e-mail). Shell script is the term used in the UNIX culture to denote what is usually termed a command procedure in other operating systems. A command procedure or shell script is a list of operating-system commands that may contain program-like features. If there is a distinct ordered list of operating-system commands that the user needs to execute repeatedly, for example, immediately after every log-in or immediately before every log-out, then most operating systems have a facility for recording the list of commands in a file, which can then either be executed automatically upon log-in or log-out, or can be invoked by the user through the issuance of a single command that results in the execution of the entire contents of the batch file, which can contain as few as one operating-system command or as many as thousands. In most cases, both interactively typed operating-system commands and prerecorded batch command procedures (like the *.bat files of MS-DOS/PC DOS and the *.cmd files of Windows) are executed through interpretation. That is, each command in turn is examined, parsed, and translated in turn into a series of executable machine instructions. Several of the Linux shells, however, provide a facility for the user to write command procedures called shell functions, which are retained in memory in partially parsed (preprocessed) form. This allows the command procedure to be executed more speedily when called, as it is not necessary to do all of the work of parsing every time the command procedure is executed. Note that the shell function can be stored in memory either in bash or in zsh. In addition, zsh has a facility called autoload that allows the user to specify a shell function that is not immediately loaded into memory but is, instead, stored on disk, thereby economizing in the use of memory. Only when the shell function is actually invoked is it copied from disk to memory, thus economizing both in the setup time and in the encumbrance of memory, which can be significant if there are many shell functions seldom used. Additional features from the UNIX world supported in Linux include two very powerful editors, vi and emacs, as well as a wide variety of utilities. Support is provided for a huge variety of peripheral devices and adapter cards. Ample tools and facilities are provided for software development, including, in addition to make, the Concurrent Versions System (CVS) and the Revision Control System (RCS). These utilities are very useful not only for developing new software, but also for taking existing software and both configuring and installing it to run either on a different hardware architecture or on a different operating system. Several emulators are available to enable the running of programs designed for other operating systems. The operating systems supported include Mac OS for the MacIntosh (executor), the old DOS operating system that ran on the early Intel hardware (dosemu), the Windows environment (wine and wabi), several flavors of UNIX, including
HISTORY OF LINUX
AT&T’s System V Release 4, the University of California at Berkeley’s Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD), and Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) UNIX. In addition, GNOME and KDE provide Windows-like environments for running modern Windows applications under Linux, and Plex86, distributed by Debian, allows other operating systems designed for the Intel 80 × 86 hardware environment to run under Linux on Intel 80 × 86 hardware. There is also a commercial product called VMWARE that comes in versions that allow other operating systems to run under Linux. Note that several of these operating-system emulators require licenses as well as executable code for the operating-system environment being emulated. Note that Linux is currently reported as being installed and used in a total of 183 distinct countries, pseudo-countries, and other geographical areas, such as the Faeroes Islands (http://counter.li.org). The total number of users is currently estimated as being somewhere between 3 and 24 million, with a “best guess” of 18 million (http://counter.li.org/estimates.php).
HISTORY OF LINUX Linux is not an isolated phenomenon. It arose as the culmination of what can be considered in computer science terms to be a rather lengthy history of development. Understanding what were the antecedents of Linux and how it came into being provides substantial insight into what Linux is all about.
MULTICS The Linux story begins with the development in 1965 of an operating system called MULTICS (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service). MULTICS was a joint effort undertaken originally by MIT and General Electric (GE). Shortly after the work was begun, GE decided to get out of the computer business, and sold off its computer operation to Honeywell, which thus became the successor to GE. Subsequently to initiation of the project, AT&T’s Bell Laboratories joined the development team, thus increasing the team’s membership from two to three. However, in 1969 Bell Labs withdrew from the MULTICS project.
UNIX Two members of the Bell Labs team that had been working on the MULTICS project were Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson. There was a particular computer game that they had enjoyed playing that had run on the MULTICS system, and they were frustrated that due to their employer’s withdrawal from that project they were no longer able to play their favorite game. There was an unused Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-7 computer available in their laboratory, so Thompson developed a simple operating system to enable them to port the game to the PDP-7. He originally wrote the operating system in PDP-7 assembler in 1969, and gave it the name UNICS as a play on the name of the MULTICS system they had previously been working on. Subsequently, the spelling was changed to UNIX. As it was originally developed, UNIX was not portable. It was closely linked to the PDP-7 hardware for which,
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and in whose assembly language, it was originally developed. A need for portability was soon recognized, however, and in order to facilitate the achievement of portability, Thompson developed a new programming language. The new language was derived from a pre-existing language called BCPL, and it was given the simple name “B.” The new language provided, unlike most previous languages available at that time, such as COBOL and FORTRAN, an unusual level of access to the hardware of the machine. Subsequently, Ritchie developed another language derived from “B,” which he called “C.” Then Ritchie and Thompson together rewrote UNIX in “C” in 1973. They did this to make it easily possible to port most of the operating system to other hardware, as most of the software could be compiled and executed on any computer for which a “C” compiler was available. Only a relatively small part of the code of the kernel, which had to be written in assembly language, would have to be rewritten in order to allow execution on the new hardware. AT&T recognized that UNIX had some fine qualities, although initially they appeared to be oblivious to its commercial potential. Therefore, it was initially distributed free of charge. Consequently, there developed early on a UNIX culture in which contributions of code for use in UNIX were made from all over the world. AT&T belatedly realized that UNIX had commercial potential. They therefore claimed it as their intellectual property and undertook a very far-sighted strategy to continue popularizing the operating system. They licensed it to academic institutions at very low rates. As a result, several generations of computer science students were exposed to UNIX at a very early stage in their careers. According to the Bible, at one point in its development the human race enjoyed a common language: “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech” (Genesis 11:1). The UNIX world at one time enjoyed the same homogeneity. Just as in general human civilization, so, too, for UNIX this state of affairs did not last very long. The University of California at Berkeley started its own separate dialect of UNIX, which featured the C shell, a CLI that was decidedly different from the Bourne shell, which had become popular early on in the UNIX world. There were other differences that also distinguished the University of California at Berkeley’s BSD. AT&T tried to control and standardize UNIX around their evolutionary dialect, which eventually became “System V Release 4” (SVR4). Furthermore, individual hardware vendors started getting into the UNIX business, and one of the first things a hardware vendor tries to do is to differentiate its product from that of its competitors to facilitate its goal of selling more of its hardware. Thus, not only did the two principal streams of UNIX diverge from each other, but also each one developed into multiple dialects. One of the major advantages of having a single standardized operating system in use on different hardware platforms is that the user does not have to undertake a major personal training program every time he migrates to a new hardware platform. If the UNIX dialect in use on each platform is different, however, then an appreciable portion of the advantage of having a common operating system is lost. Another problem afflicting the UNIX world was the set of licensing restrictions. Commercial UNIX was
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supplied without source code, as is the usual practice with fully proprietary operating systems, such as Hewlett– Packard/Compaq/DEC’s VMS, the various members of Microsoft’s Windows family, IBM’s OS/2, Apple’s Mac OS, and various other proprietary operating systems used on PCs, workstations, minicomputers, and mainframes. Not only is the source code not supplied, but also usually the license provisions explicitly forbid the user from disassembling the software, that is, from generating an assembly-language source code program by constructing it from the executable machine code. If the user were to have access to an assembly-language source code program, then he would be free to study the program, attain an understanding of how it works, and possibly modify the program, either to fix program errors or to introduce new functionality not present in the original version. Having access to the original source code is more valuable in this regard than a disassembled program, because the original source code usually contains identifiers (names of variables and of methods, functions, or procedures) that are meaningful and that hint at the function carried out by the item identified. In addition, the original source code usually includes embedded comments put there specifically to help the person reading the code to understand the design concept as well as the function or purpose of constants, variables, methods, functions, procedures, or individual lines or groups of lines of assembly code. A disassembled program, on the other hand, will usually assign identifiers arbitrarily, and therefore the identifier names provide no hint whatsoever at the functionality of the identified items. Also, of course, a disassembled program will include absolutely no explanatory comments. In following a policy of both not revealing the source code and also explicitly forbidding the user from disassembling the executable code, the operating-system vendor typically keeps the user dependent upon him both for fixing any errors that may be present and for making any needed functional improvements. The vendors’ policy is eloquently summarized by Stallman (1999): “If you want any changes, beg us to make them.” The history presented here of the roots of Linux in the UNIX world has necessarily been very brief. Much more extensive coverage of the history of UNIX can be found in the separate chapter in this volume covering UNIX.
Richard Stallman, the Free Software Foundation, and the GNU Project Stallman had watched the UNIX environment deteriorate from one of cooperative development, with a lot of sharing of code and ideas and a spirit of community, to an insular environment in which individual vendors competed with each other and foreclosed any possibility of user involvement in the development of the operating system or of mutual cooperation to fix and improve. In reaction to this development, Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation (FSF) in 1984 and initiated the FSF’s major activity, the GNU Project. He quit his job in the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, both so that he could devote himself fully to the project and so that his employer would not be able to claim the developed system as its intellectual property.
The principal project undertaken by the Free Software Foundation was the development of a UNIX-like operating system that would be totally free of proprietary code and thus would be open, giving programmers the ability to study and modify the code at will and, in particular, to share in the benefit made by improvements contributed by others. The overall name for the project was “GNU,” a name that stands recursively for “GNU is Not Unix.” Development started on proprietary UNIX systems, but as various code modules were developed, these were swapped one by one in exchange for their proprietary cousins, and eventually the entire system was implemented in nonproprietary open-source (“free”) code. The major goal of the GNU project was to produce a UNIX-like operating system totally as an open-source product. Nevertheless, several decisions were made that exerted strong influence on the technical aspects of the project. Three of these are especially worthy of note. First, although 32-bit microprocessors were relatively new in 1984 when the project was initiated, it was decided that 16-bit processors would not be supported. Second, the traditional UNIX emphasis on minimization of memory usage was dropped, at least for utilization of up to 1 Mbyte. Finally, wherever possible dynamically allocated data structures were used, in order to avoid the problem of arbitrarily determined size limits. These decisions have had far-reaching effect on the efficiency and performance of GNU/Linux. The various parts of GNU were developed over a period of several years, leaving the kernel for last. The concept adopted for the GNU kernel was that it would be based upon the Mach microkernel. Mach was originally developed at Carnegie-Mellon University, and was subsequently continued at the University of Utah. The major advantage of Mach over previous UNIX and UNIX-like kernels was its capability to support loosely coupled multiple processors. The GNU kernel was therefore based upon a collection of servers, in the terminology of the project a “herd of GNUs.” It was therefore given the name “HURD.” (One of the delightful features of the Linux culture is the sense of humor that pervades it.) This was a functionally very useful concept, but it did have a distinct downside. Development of the GNU kernel was very much drawn out in time because of the difficulty involved in debugging the asynchronous multithreaded servers inherent in the concept that must pass messages to each other (Stallings, 2000). This extended development time for the GNU kernel was the sole remaining obstacle to fielding the entire GNU operating system. Thus, the time was ripe for Linus Torvalds to step in with his Linux kernel. This had a less ambitious design concept than the HURD kernel being worked on by the GNU stalwarts, but although differently conceived, it was very well matched to all of the extrakernel elements of the GNU project. It came along at just the right time to be plugged into the main body of GNU software and thus to complete the free and open-source UNIX-like operating system that was the goal of GNU.
Andrew Tanenbaum and MINIX Due to the evolution of UNIX into a number of disparate proprietary dialects, as well as its ever-increasing
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complexity and the absence of source code, UNIX had evolved into a system that was no longer well suited to teaching about operating systems. Two well-known faculty members responded to this situation by designing UNIX-like operating-system kernels that were intended to meet pedagogic needs. Robert Comer developed XINU (note that XINU is UNIX spelled backwards), and Andrew Tanenbaum produced MINIX. These were both available at low cost, and with complete disclosure of source code, thus lending themselves well for use by students. The student could study and understand all of the code, and could also produce his own modifications. From a pedagogical perspective, this results in a very good grasp by the student of how an operating system works.
Linus Torvalds and the Initial Development of Linux A graduate student in computer science named Linus Torvalds studied operating systems in 1991 at the University of Helsinki in Finland, using Andrew Tanenbaum’s textbook and his UNIX-like kernel MINIX. Torvalds was not satisfied, however, both with the MINIX kernel, because of its limited capability, and with the MINIX file system. He therefore decided to try to develop a more capable as well as a pedagogically useful UNIX-like kernel on his own. Torvalds recognized, however, that this was a major undertaking, particularly in light of the modest amount of experience that he had had with operating systems at that time (he was then a relatively junior graduate student). Therefore, when he started work on the new kernel in April 1991, he posted a notice in a widely read news group to inform others of his new project and to solicit their collaboration. The solicitation was successful, the code was posted, corrections were made and also posted, and the first kernel was released publicly in October 1991. Originally, this was just a fun pastime for computer geeks. However, the code evolved into a mature form, and eventually a stable version of the kernel was produced. The first release of the stable kernel took place in March 1994.
Why Is Linux So Much More Popular Than Its Progenitors? Linux greatly exceeds in popularity its immediate ancestor, Minix, as well as most flavors of UNIX, from which it is derived. It is much more robust and capable than Minix, probably due in large measure to its multiauthored origin together with the “Copyleft” provisions that were so critical in encouraging voluntary contributions to the development of the code. Also its magnificent stability and the uniformity of look and feel across platforms are probably the major reasons, in addition to the openness of the source code, for the headway made by Linux against the various proprietary flavors of UNIX.
Origin, Appropriateness, and Proper Pronunciation of the Name Linux Torvalds originally used the name Linux only privately, and attempted publicly to name his new kernel Freax. An associate, Ari Lemmke, who ran the FTP site used
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originally to distribute the code, didn’t like that name, and therefore decided to use Linux instead. Thus, Linux was born. Strictly speaking, the name Linux should be applied only to the kernel, which is the particular contribution made by Linus Torvalds and collaborators. The great majority of the code included in the various distributions of Linux belongs not to the kernel but to other, noncontinuously memory-resident parts of the operating system, such as those comprising the GNU project, which was nearly complete except for the kernel before Linus Torvalds came on the scene. Stallman (2000) has contended that the most appropriate name for the total software package should really be GNU/Linux, reflecting the fact that the contribution of GNU code to the entire enterprise is greater than that of Linux, and that the name Linux belongs principally just to the kernel. Despite the attractiveness of Stallman’s point, however, most of the world community has come to accept the name Linux for the entire package. This may be not completely fair to the many programmers who made immense contributions of time and effort to the total body of the software both in preLinus Torvalds days and subsequently, and in particular to Richard Stallman himself, who almost single-handedly developed and promoted the concept of free software, together with the Copyleft that has been crucial to its success, and who also initiated the GNU project, nurtured it, and led it to success by dint of substantial personal sacrifice as well as incisive leadership. Nevertheless, the world has accepted the name Linux for the entire package, including the part contributed by GNU, and therefore the name Linux is retained here. What is the proper pronunciation of Linux? There are two principal streams of thought. Some computer folk use a pronunciation based upon the Anglicized pronunciation of Torvalds’ first name. Native speakers of English commonly butcher the pronunciation of other peoples’ languages, including the pronunciation of foreign names. Thus, the typical pronunciation of the name Linus by most speakers of English is “Lye’-nuhs.” This pronunciation is normally used, for example, both for the name of the character in Charles Schultz’s Charlie Brown comic strip and for the name of the two-time winner of the Nobel Prize (chemistry and the Nobel Peace Prize), Professor Linus Pauling of Cal Tech. The sound of Linus as pronounced by most speakers of English is similar to the English pronunciation of the Persian name Cyrus (Sigh’-ruhs). The equivalent pronunciation of the name of the operating system, Linux, would thus be “Lye’-nuks.” However, in Swedish the correct pronunciation of Linus is “Lee’-noos,” and Linus Torvalds himself uses the pronunciation “Lee’-nooks” for the name of the operating system. According to Eric S. Raymond’s Rampantly unofficial Linus Torvalds FAQ (http://www.catb.org/∼esr/faqs/linus/), although Linus Torvalds comes from Finland, his native language is not Finnish but Swedish, there being a considerable minority of native Swedish speakers in Finland. Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish, and residents of localities that have substantial nativeSwedish population are entitled by law to carry out their communications with government entities in Swedish (http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/finnswedes.html).
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This author is strongly of the opinion that Englishspeaking people should pay foreigners the courtesy of at least attempting to pronounce their names authentically, and is therefore a strong advocate of the pronunciation “Lee’-nooks.” The modern miracle of the Internet allows us all to hear the actual voice of Linus Torvalds pronouncing the name Linux (ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/ linux/kernel/SillySounds/english.au).
GNU and Copyleft, and Their Impact on the Evolution of Linux In setting up the Free Software Foundation, Richard Stallman very creatively adapted the provisions of copyright law to his purpose of assuring both (a) that the source code would perpetually remain open and (b) that a vendor would be strictly prevented from making derivative works from the free software and making these derivative works proprietary, and then legally exerting control over the users and enticing them away from the free product toward the vendor’s proprietary derivatives. To accomplish these goals, Stallman copyrighted the software, and required, as a condition for obtaining a license to use it, that all derivative works made from Free-Software-Foundation-produced software and subsequently copied and distributed, be covered by the identical copyright. There could be no license fee required for the use of the software, although a modest charge could be made to defray the cost of distribution media. Also, it was required that the source code either be distributed in its entirety together with the executable code or be made readily available for no more than a modest charge for reproduction. Deliberate obfuscation of the source code is prohibited, as is restriction on further modification and derivation of new software (http://www. opensource.org). A friend of Stallman’s, Don Hopkins, sent him a letter around 1984/5, on the envelope of which he had scribbled, “Copyleft—all rights reversed.” This summed up very nicely Stallman’s use of copyright law to accomplish the opposite of what copyright normally does. Instead of restricting the user’s right to the software, it guaranteed completely unobstructed right. Therefore, Stallman adopted Hopkins’ term, “copyleft,” and used it to refer to the GNU Public License Agreement, or GPL. This remains the standard license under which all GNU software and the Linux kernel are distributed today.
Worldwide Cooperation and Support: A Grassroots Movement Linux is not just an operating system; it is a culture. The concepts promulgated by Richard Stallman under the aegis of his brainchild, the Free Software Foundation, have become the bywords of the Linux movement. There is a small army of enthusiasts who enjoy the camaraderie and the easygoing humor of the Linux community. Anyone who has the technical smarts, as well as the time and will, may participate. The Linux community is a true meritocracy. No one needs to know, nor does anyone care, what is your race, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation, what you look like, or how you dress. Whether you have
a pleasant or an obnoxious personality makes very little difference. Unlike the situation in the commercial world, there are no supervisors or executives to suck up to; all that counts is the quality of your contribution. In addition, the key to its astonishing success has been the Internet. As Linus Torvalds himself has said, “One of the most important and unique facets of the Linux development project has been the effect that feedback (mostly via the Internet) has on development: feedback accelerates development dramatically” (foreword to Sobell, 1997). Also, “Linux wouldn’t be what it is today without the Internet and the contributions of an incredible number of people” (Sobell, 1997).
HARDWARE ARCHITECTURES SUPPORTED In the commercial environment, in most instances an operating system is designed for a single hardware architecture. In fact, the kernel of the operating system, which is the part that must reside in memory starting immediately after boot-up and continuing until system shutdown, is highly specific to the hardware architecture, so much so that the name “UNIX,” for example, although widely thought of as a single operating system, is, in reality, a family of operating systems, since the kernel that implements UNIX on each and every different hardware platform is different from every other UNIX kernel. This despite the fact that the different versions of UNIX implemented on two particular hardware architectures may have a totally common look and feel. In the UNIX world, in fact, in addition to the various kernels, each specific to a particular hardware architecture, there are also several varieties of UNIX, of which the major variants are AT&T’s SVR4 and the BSD. The look and feel of these major variants are similar, but definitely not identical. In the case of Linux, again we are really dealing not just with one single operating system but rather with a family of operating systems. However, Linux comes in only one flavor, the look and feel being nearly identical across all hardware architectures. The kernel is standardized for each hardware family. Linux runs on quite a number of hardware architectures, including the Amiga, the Apple–IBM–Motorola PowerPC, the Atari, the DEC/Compaq/Hewlett-Packard Alpha, the Intel 32-bit processor family (consisting of the 80386, the 80486, Pentium, Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium 4, Celeron, and Xeon), the MIPS 10000 series, the Motorola M68000 series, the IBM System/390 zServer iSeries architecture, and the 64-bit architectures produced by Intel (Itanium) and AMD (Sledgehammer).
DISTRIBUTIONS OF LINUX AND VENDOR SUPPORT A distribution of Linux consists of a package containing all of the software necessary to both install and run Linux. There is an Internet site that lists many Linux distributions (http://www.linuxhq.com/). A recent search on this site revealed 164 distributions, some of which are
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specifically geared to particular languages. There are, for example, distributions listed for the Arabic language (http://www.haydarlinux.com/), as well as for Hebrew (http://ivrix.org.il/). There are seven principal Linux distributions for English-speaking users. One of these, Debian, is produced by a nonprofit corporation called “Software in the Public Interest, Inc.” The Debian Linux distribution is produced through the contribution of volunteers. Other commonly used Linux distributions are commercial, and are listed in alphabetical order, together with the percentage of users reported to have installed each distribution, according to the Linux Counter (http://counter.li.org): Caldera (percentage not reported), Connectiva (1.2%), Corel (percentage not reported), Mandrake (20%), Red Hat (30%), Slackware (12.1%), and SuSE (11.7%). The noncommercial Debian distribution is reported to be installed on 13.2% of users’ machines. Thus, the five most commonly used distributions account collectively for more than 85% of the installed base of machines. On May 30, 2002, four corporations that produce Linux distributions. Caldera, Connectiva, SuSE, and Turbolinux, announced that they were combining forces to attain a uniformity of their distributions. They are naming their uniform version UnitedLinux.
THE FUTURE OF LINUX At present, there are two principal factors limiting the expansion of Linux. First is the limited number of mainstream software applications that run under Linux. In the words of Linus Torvalds (foreword to Sobell, 1997), “Linux has the same problem all other operating systems have had: a lack of applications . . . . In order to be a real driving force, Linux needs to have more applications, and those applications need to be readily available with wide distribution and low price.” However, he is optimistic regarding the future, as he also states, “So far Linux ports of various applications have followed DOS/Windows pricing (less expensive) rather than the UNIX pricing (more expensive), so I’m reasonably hopeful we can have the types of applications that will help Linux grow.” In fact, several vendors have released versions of their mainstream applications ported to Linux. The number of such applications is still modest, but is growing. The other major factor limiting the expansion of Linux is the natural hesitancy of corporate IT managers to rely upon major software that is not a product of a monolithic “reputable” vendor. The corporate world feels more comfortable when dealing with entities that can be sued if something goes wrong with the software. The Linux culture doesn’t fit into the corporate mold. Some IT managers, nevertheless, have listened to their technical experts and have taken the leap to Linux. There is a modest, but growing foothold occupied by Linux in the commercial world. Augmenting this process are two packages that allow Windows applications to run under Linux: KDE and GNOME. Unfortunately, not all Windows applications run successfully in one of these environments. If either of them should develop to the point where nearly everything runs, or if a new windowing environment for Linux were to appear incorporating an improvement in functionality providing universal compatibility with all Windows
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applications, then that could have a major impact in expanding the acceptance of Linux. Where will Linux be in another year, or in 2, 5, 10, or 20 years? Prediction is a notoriously unreliable endeavor in the computer industry, probably even more so than in general society. The further out we look, the harder it is to predict with any level of accuracy. For example, Bill Gates is supposed to have declared in 1981 that 640 Kbytes is as much memory as anyone would ever need. In addition, it is said that Ken Olson opined in the 1960s or 1970s that there would never be computers in individual households. These are both very intelligent people who each possessed an excellent grasp of the computer industry at the time they made the pronouncements for which they are famous. The reason that their prognostications were so far off the mark is that developments took place in the industry that were simply unpredictable at the time they spoke. As a rule, the shorter the outlook, the more straightforward it becomes to make a credible prediction. Looking at Linux, certainly in the short term, that is, for the next one or two years, we can expect to see continued growth at a rate comparable to what has occurred in the past few years. Linux enthusiasts expect and hope that this growth will continue beyond the immediate future into the medium- and far-term future as well. Although there are some who expect Linux eventually to unseat Windows from its current position of industry dominance, a more balanced view would not consider that to be a high-likelihood event. The basis for the expectation of accelerated growth is the expected continuation of at-best mediocre performance, insufficient reliability, and erratic operation of Windows, coupled with the traditionally sluggish responsiveness by the Windows software vendor in the fixing of bugs. This latter, in particular, is generally thought to be due perhaps in part to the attitude of the company (let the user find the bugs for us, and let him come to us on his hands and knees begging us to fix them), but is probably due in greater measure to the limited ability of the software producer to manage a project of enormous complexity consisting of millions of lines of code, while also trying to keep up with changes in the hardware environment and increasing demands by users for added capabilities in the software. However, it must be borne in mind that the deeper the inroads that Linux makes in Windows’ share of the market, the greater the incentive this gives to Microsoft to become competitive! No one can predict where that will lead. Will Microsoft change its long-standing policy and release the source code to allow critical examination, as well as custom modification, by the programming community? Will they solicit suggestions for code changes and for bug fixes, perhaps offering to pay handsomely for sound code contributed by users? Will Microsoft surprise the world by itself adopting the Linux kernel, thoroughly rebuilding the rest of its operating software to maintain the look and feel of Windows, while achieving the benefits of the open-source movement for continued evolution of the kernel? Alternatively, will some other commercial firm perhaps come up with a new operating system that will be technically competitive with Linux, while also having the advantages of roots in the commercial environment and complete compatibility with Windows applications that
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would make it competitive with Windows? I certainly do not mean to suggest that a commercial challenger is likely to arise to Windows’ dominance of the marketplace, but surprises and revolutions in the technological arena certainly do occur, and such a possibility cannot be glibly ruled out. The high-tech marketplace is littered with the corpses of formerly giant firms that had dominated major segments of the industry, and that subsequently either abandoned the computer marketplace and limited themselves to other areas of business, went out of existence entirely, or have been swallowed up by later or oncesmaller upstarts. Names like General Electric, Honeywell, Control Data Corporation, and Digital Equipment Corporation come readily to mind. No one can foretell the future of Microsoft.
EXTENDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LINUX Stallings (2001) presents an excellent exposition of the general principles of Operating Systems. Moody (1997) contains a very readable introductory essay on Linux, while Stallman (1998, 1999, 2000) presents a concise, well-written, and authoritative summary of the history and evolution of Linux. Sobell (1997) is probably the best overall comprehensive introduction to the practical use of Linux. McCarty (1990), Kofler (1999), and Sarwar et al. (2002) are also good source materials on how to work with Linux, though briefer than Sobell. Guidance on the installation, configuration, and administration of a Linux system is provided in Red Hat (2003a, 2003b). Peterson (2001a, 2001b) provides a more comprehensive coverage of the details of working with Linux, while Bovet & Cesati (2001) describes the kernel internals in considerable detail.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank my son, Mordechai Tsvi Abzug, for several conversations about Linux in which I bounced some ideas off him and obtained valuable feedback that contributed to the content of this chapter. I also thank Dr. Mal Lane, head of the Computer Science Department at James Madison University, for giving me the opportunity to teach Operating Systems.
GLOSSARY Application software Programs usually of commercial origin that effect the end-goals of the user. Architecture The fundamental design structure of a computer system. Assembly The process of generating, based on a computer program written in assembly language, object code or executable code which consists principally of a list of machine-language instructions. See also compilation. Assembly language code Source code that bears a oneto-one correspondence to the hardware instruction set of the computer. See also executable code. Batch job A task requested to be accomplished by the computer, which can be executed without any further input from or interaction with the user.
Command-line interface (CLI) A facility for the user to communicate his wishes to the computer by typing specific commands a line at a time. See also graphical user interface (GUI). Compilation The generation, from a source code program written in a high-level language, first of an assembly-language program that describes how the high-level language instructions are to be implemented as a sequence of machine language instructions specific to the hardware of the physical computer, and then the machine language instructions corresponding to the intermediate assembly-language expression of the program. (Note: Sometimes the machinelanguage instructions are produced directly, bypassing the assembly-language step.) See also assembly. Device A physical apparatus that is part of the hardware of a computer. Usually, a device either stores data on a computer in form sufficiently robust that the data are retained even if the electrical power is turned off, or mediates in the transmission of data between the computer and the external world. Disassembly A process by which a set of executable machine-language instructions is analyzed and rewritten as a list of assembly language source code instructions. See also assembly. Executable code A list of instructions both written in machine language and containing all memory locations explicitly specified, and therefore directly executable by the computer. See also source code and machine code. Graphical user interface (GUI) A facility for the user to communicate his wishes to the computer principally by pointing with an appropriate device and in a designated manner either to pictorial elements displayed on an appropriate two-dimensional surface or to lists (menus) of various options appearing on the display medium. See also command line interface (CLI). Kernel The portion of the operating system that must reside continuously in the primary memory of the computer from the time of completion of boot-up until system shutdown. Machine code A program expressed as a list of machine instructions directly executable by the computer, except that some of the references to memory locations might not yet be completely specified. See also source code and executable code. Multitasking An environment in which several tasks can be executed concurrently on behalf of the computer user, exploiting time periods when one task must remain idle while waiting until a critical event occurs before that task can be resumed, and performing other tasks in the meantime. Multiuser An environment in which a computer system can serve the needs of several users concurrently by interleaving the execution of tasks for different users. Open-source A special program development environment in which, in contrast to the commercial software environment, the source code for the software is freely distributed, thus enabling the user community freely to modify the software either to fix bugs in the code or to enhance or alter the functionality of the software to meet the individual needs of different systems.
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Portability The ability of software originally written with the intention of being executed in a particular hardware-combined-with-operating-system environment, known as a platform, to be transformed and transported for execution on a different platform. Real-time A relatively unusual environment in which a computer system operates under defined constraints for responding to specific external events. For example, a collision warning system in an airplane must generate a warning and deliver it to the pilot sufficiently speedily as to enable him to take appropriate action to avoid the impending collision. In a real-time system, the issuance of an error message instructing the user to close down some applications in order to free up excessively encumbered memory space is usually precluded. Shell A particular CLI having explicitly defined properties. Shells available in the Linux environment include the Bourne Again Shell (bash), the TC Shell (tcsh), the Z Shell (zsh), and the Korn shell (ksh), and generally contain facilities for program-like operations. Shell script A file containing a sequence of commands addressed to the operating system that facilitates the repeated execution of the included commands without their having to be laboriously retyped each time they are executed. Source code A complete list of instructions that describes how a computer program is to be executed, written in a precisely defined programming language that is relatively easy for a human reader to understand, yet is also readily converted by appropriate special software into a set of machine-language or executable instructions. Utilities Software provided together with the operating system, which provides commonly used functions that can greatly enhance the ability of the computer system to provide service to the user.
CROSS REFERENCES See Open Source Development and Licensing; Unix Operating System.
REFERENCES Bovet, D. P., & Cesati, M. (2001). Understanding the Linux kernel (1st ed.). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly. Kofler, M. (1999). Linux (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: AddisonWesley. [Note: This book includes two CDs containing part of the Red Hat Linux distribution. Red Hat has produced several distributions since this version, but in any case this earlier distribution is certainly adequate to get started learning Linux, and it is always possible to update later.] McCarty, B. (1990). Learning Red Hat Linux. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly. [Note: This book includes a CD containing part of the Red Hat Linux distribution. Red Hat has produced several distributions since this version, but in any case this earlier distribution is certainly adequate to get started learning Linux, and it is always possible to update later.] Moody, G. (1997). The greatest OS that (n)ever was. Wired,
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Issue 5.08, August 1997. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.08/linux pr.html Petersen, R. (2001a). Linux: The complete reference (4th ed.). Berkeley, CA: Osborne/McGraw–Hill. [Comes with significant parts of several Linux distributions, including Caldera (“OpenLinux eDesktop and eServer”), Red Hat, and SuSE on several compact disks.] Petersen, R. (2002). Red Hat Linux 8: The complete reference, DVD Edition. Berkeley, CA: Osborne/ McGraw–Hill. [Comes with all of of the Red Hat Linux distribution on DVD and all Red Hat manuals.] Red Hat (2003a). Red Hat Linux 9: Red Hat x86 Installation Guide. Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http:// www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-9-Manual/ pdf/rhl-ig-x86-en-9.pdf [Note that Red Hat also has installation guides for the Hewlett–Packard/Compaq/ DEC Alpha, for the Intel Itanium, and for IBM’s eServer zSeries of System/390 mainframes, in addition to the Intel x86 processor series.] Red Hat (2003b). Red Hat Linux 9: The official Red Hat Linux getting started guide. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/ linux/RHL-9-Manual/pdf/rhl-gsg-en-9.pdf Sarwar, S. M., Koretsky, R., & Sarwar, S. A. (2002). Linux: The textbook (1st ed.). Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley Longman. [Note: This book includes a CD containing part of the Mandrake Linux distribution.] Sobell, M. G. (1997). A practical guide to Linux. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. [Note: This is a superbly written book. It delves very thoroughly and very systematically into the technical aspects of working with Linux. Linus Torvalds learned about UNIX and was inspired to work with it through a predecessor to this book. Probably the best all-around work on Linux available today.] Sobell, M. G. (2003). A practical guide to Red Hat Linux. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Stallings, W. (2001). Operating systems: Internals and design principles (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice–Hall. Stallman, R. (1998). Linux and the GNU Project. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-andgnu.html Stallman, R. (1999). The GNU Project. In C. Dibona, M. Stone, & S. Ockman (Eds.), Open sources: Voices from the open source revolution. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from http://www. gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.html Stallman, R. (2000). What’s in a name? Retrieved April 4, 2003, from http://www.gnu.org/gnu/whygnu-linux.html
FURTHER READING History and Development of Linux: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.08/linux.html http://counter.li.org/ (an organization that compiles statistics on Linux usage) Open-Source Initiative: Open-Source Definition: http://www.opensource.org http://www.gnu.org Linux Headquarters: http://www.linuxhq.com
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Linux Documentation Project: http://tldp.org/ Linux Distributions: http://www.fokus.gmd.de/LINUX/LINUX-distrib.html (describes several distributions) http://www.caldera.com (Caldera distribution) http://en.conectiva.com/ (Connectiva distribution) http://linux.corel.com/ (Corel distribution) http://www.debian.org (Debian distribution) http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ (Mandrake distribution)
http://www.redhat.com/ (Red Hat distribution)
http://www.slackware.com/ (Slackware
distribution)
http://www.suse.com (SuSE distribution)
Linux Kernel Archives: http://www.kernel.org Linux Journal: http://www2.linuxjournal.com/ Note that there are also various Linux users’ groups (LUGs) that are excellent forums for dissemination of information.
Load Balancing on the Internet Internet
Jianbin Wei, Wayne State University Cheng-Zhong Xu, Wayne State University Xiaobo Zhou, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Introduction Workload Characteristics of Internet Services Web Applications Streaming Applications Taxonomy of Load-Balancing Strategies Load Balancing in the Server, the Network, and the Client Sides State-Blind versus State-Aware Load Balancing Load Balancing at Different Network Layers Server-Side Load Balancing DNS-Based Load Balancing Dispatcher-Based Load Balancing Server Cooperative Load Balancing
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INTRODUCTION The explosive growth of the Web technology in the past decade created great opportunities for posting data and services on the Internet and making them accessible to the vast online users. Due to the unprecedented scale of the Internet, popular Internet services must be scalable to support up to millions of concurrent client requests reliably, responsively, and economically. These scalability and availability requirements pose great challenge on both processing power and networking communication capacity. Internet services have become an important class of driving applications for scalable computer systems. In particular, a cluster-based architecture is gaining momentum. The architecture deploys a cluster of networked server nodes that work collectively to keep up with ever-increasing request load and provide scalable Internet services, and load balancing is a key integration that distributes the client request load between the servers for scalable and highly available services. The architecture is often referred to as a Web cluster or a distributed Web server. This chapter gives a survey of state-of-the-art load-balancing strategies on the Internet. Internet services are applications accessible to remote clients on the Internet via ubiquitous networking protocols. For scalability and availability, large-scale Internet services are often run on Web clusters. According to Hennessy and Patterson (2003), the Google search engine used more than 6,000 Linux/Intel PCs and 12,000 disks in December 2000 to serve an average of almost one thousand queries per second as well as index search for more than one billion pages. A most recent survey of large-scale Internet services also revealed that all the representative services were running on a cluster of hundreds or even thousands of servers at more than one data centers (Oppenheimer & Patterson, 2002). Internet services on a Web cluster rely on the load-balancing technology to
Network-Side Load Balancing Client State-Aware Load Balancing: Caching Proxy Network Client and Server State-Aware Load Balancing: Content Delivery Network Client-Side Load Balancing Server State-Blind Load Balancing Server State-Aware Load Balancing Conclusion Acknowledgment Glossary Cross References References
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distribute client requests between the servers efficiently and transparently. The concept of load balancing is not new. It has long been developed as a prominent technology in both distributed systems and parallel computers. However, load balancing on the Internet distinguishes itself by its new Internet workload characteristics and unique quality of service (QoS) objectives. In parallel computers, load balancing is to assign parallel tasks of a job onto (virtual) processors with the objective of balancing the processors’ workload and meanwhile minimizing the interprocessor communication cost due to the task dependences (Xu & Lau, 1997). Its overall goal is to reduce the execution time of parallel tasks. In traditional distributed systems, load balancing is to schedule the execution of independent jobs with the objective of efficient utilization of system-wide computational resources. It is often implemented in a form of load sharing—ensuring no processor is idle while there are jobs waiting for services in other processors. By contrast, load balancing on the Internet is to distribute the Web service requests between the client, server, and network for enhancing the level of QoS in terms of the service responsiveness, scalability, and availability. Figure 1 shows a typical information flow infrastructure of the Web services. To access Internet service via a URL address like http://www.yahoo.com, which contains the domain name www.yahoo.com, a client first contacts its local domain name system (DNS) to get the IP address of the domain name. If its local DNS does not contain the IP address, the domain name resolution request goes upward to the root name server until the service’s authoritative DNS is reached. The resolved IP address of the domain name is usually stored in the local DNS for reuse in the future. With the IP address, the client sends subsequent service requests to the server. The requests may go through a client proxy, Internet service provider (ISP) 499
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proxies in the network, and a server proxy. The IP address may be a virtual IP address of a Web cluster. In this case, it is the dispatcher in front of the cluster that decides the actual server in the back-end to serve the incoming requests. Two primary performance metrics related to QoS are capacity and latency. Capacity refers to the number of concurrent requests that the server can support without causing significant queueing delay. Latency is the service time, as perceived by the client. It is the request processing time in the server, including its possible queueing delay, plus the request/response transmission time in the network. These two metrics are related. A high-capacity server would cause less queueing delay and consequently lead to quick responses to the requests. For the objective of QoS, load-balancing techniques on the Internet usually make use of multiple servers to process the client requests in parallel. The servers can be either distributed locally at the same site or globally distributed at different geographical locations. We refer to the techniques on locally distributed servers as server-side load balancing (or server load balancing) and the techniques on globally distributed servers as networkside load balancing (or network load balancing). Serverside load balancing aims at scaling the server processing capacity and communication bandwidth with the increase of the number of participating servers. Due to the scale of the Internet, service transmission time on the network is a significant performance factor, in particular in streaming applications. Wide deployment of broadband networks helps alleviate the problem to some extent. On the other hand, fast networking entices service providers to create services eager for more bandwidth. Network-side load balancing is to move the services closer to clients so as to reduce the network transmission delay on the Internet. Load balancing on the Internet is also concerned about the workload distribution between servers and the clients.
For example, e-commerce services often use mobile codes like JavaScript to verify integrity and validity of user inputs at the client side. This not only avoids back-and-forth data transmission between the server and the client, but also reduces the server-side processing workload. We refer to this type of load balancing as client-side load balancing (or client load balancing). A primary objective of clientside load balancing is to improve the quality of Internet services by migrating certain tasks from server to client. Recent advances in peer-to-peer computing further the concept of client-side load balancing by allowing clients to help each other toward the objective of high QoS. Load-balancing mechanism aside, another important aspect of load balancing is policy. Internet services exhibit different workload characteristics from traditional parallel and distributed applications. Unlike jobs in distributed systems and tasks in parallel computing, the basic scheduling unit of load balancing on the Internet is client request. The requests are nonuniform in size because they may need to access different data and cause different types of operation. Although the requests from different clients are independent, they are actually related if they are about to access the same data. The requests from the same client may belong to the same session and must be handled together. Due to these distinct workload characteristics, many different policies of load balancing have been developed. This chapter surveys representative policies under different load-balancing mechanisms. It starts with a description of Internet traffic characterization, followed by a classification of load-balancing strategies.
WORKLOAD CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNET SERVICES Load balancing on the Internet is largely determined by workload characteristics of the Internet services. Two
WORKLOAD CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNET SERVICES
important Internet services are Web and streaming applications.
Web Applications Web traffic, carried by HTTP protocol over TCP, is one of the dominant components of Internet traffic. It is closely tied to contents of Web pages and to dynamics of the TCP transmission protocol. Past studies of Web workloads concentrated on conventional information provider sites and found several important characteristics common to the sites: target file types, file size distributions, file popularity distributions, self-similarity in Web traffic, reference locality, and client request patterns. An early study summarized the Web traffic characteristics as follows (Arlitt & Williamson, 1997): r Images and HTML files together account for over 90% of
the files transferred. The majority of HTTP requests for Web pages are smaller than 500 bytes. HTTP responses are typically smaller than 50 Kbytes and the median transfer size is small (e.g., less than 5 Kbytes). r Ten percent of the files account for 90% of requests and bytes transferred. The file popularity distributions are Zipf-like. The file size distributions are heavy-tailed. The file transfer size distributions are also heavy-tailed, although not as heavy-tailed as the file size distributions. r The user request patterns are exponentially distributed and independent (e.g., Poisson distributions). However, significant traffic variance (burstiness) is present on a wide range of time scales. The aggregate traffic generated by many users of the Web has been shown to exhibit self-similarity. The characteristics of Web traffic have a significant impact on choosing load-balancing strategies. It is often assumed that the service time of a request is proportional to the size of its requested file. Simple strategies, like random and round-robin algorithms, are good enough when the requests are uniform in size and independent (Kwan, McGrath, & Reed, 1995). To take advantage of temporal locality in requests, locality-aware distribution strategies make server selection based on the requested content (Pai et al., 1998). In the case that the file transfer size distribution is heavy-tailed, a size interval task assignment with equal load (SITA-E) performs excellent in terms of both mean response time and mean slowdown, provided the system load is not too high (Harchol-Balter, Crovella, & Murta, 1999). Recent years witnessed a number of major changes in the Web applications (Arlitt, Krishnamurthy, & Rolia, 2001; Padmanabhan & Qiu, 2000). The most notable ones include the following: Web pages are shifting from static content to dynamic content; e-commerce becomes one of the major Web applications; and continuous media are increasingly gaining interests. Dynamic Web pages are generated by programs that run on servers every time the corresponding pages are accessed for producing a different page for every access. Simple examples are the pages that contain displays of a visitor counter or the current date and time. Responses of search engines, stock-quote sites, and personalized Web pages, which are generated on
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the fly from databases, are typical examples of dynamic pages. Although dynamic pages provide a far richer experience for users than static pages, generating dynamic pages on the fly imposes additional overhead on server resources, especially on CPU and disk I/O. These changes of the workload characteristics pose a challenge to existing load-balancing techniques in performance. Some of the strategies are even no longer applicable. For example, a size-based strategy may not work for dynamic contents because the service time for dynamic content due to its size is unknown . The potential for caching requested files declines and some requested files are even noncacheable because they cause dynamic page generations. Interest in e-commerce has grown substantially in the past several years (Arlitt et al., 2001; Menasce, Almeida, Fonseca, & Mendes, 1999). E-commerce workloads are composed of sessions. A session is a sequence of requests of different types made by a single customer during a single visit to a site. During a session, a customer can issue consecutive requests of various e-commerce functions such as browse, search, add to the shopping cart, register, and pay. Different customers may exhibit different navigational patterns and hence may invoke the different functions in different ways and with different frequencies. Menasce et al. (1999) present analysis techniques of workload and performance modeling as well as capacity planning for e-commerce sites. The key QoS issues on e-commerce sites include responsiveness, availability, and security. For responsiveness and availability, it is increasingly common for ecommerce sites to include the capacity of load balancing to avoid bottlenecks or overloading servers. Loadbalancing strategies must be session-oriented. That is, they must direct all consecutive and related requests of a session from a given customer to the same server. This is known as session integrity (also referred to as sticky connections). For example, a customer may add an item to the shopping cart over a TCP connection that goes to server 1. If the next connection goes to server 2, which does not have the shopping-cart information, the application breaks. This required coordination in serving of related requests is referred to as client affinity (affinity routing). Hence, the round-robin load-balancing strategies are not applicable in the stateful e-commerce applications while locality-aware request routing mechanisms provide a convenient way to support session integrity. For security, e-commerce transactions are often encrypted via the secure socket layer (SSL) protocol. Processing SSL transactions puts an extra load on server resources. This means customer’s transaction requests and browsing requests have different requirements for the server-side resources and different impacts on the revenue of the sites. On the other hand, an e-commerce merchant tends to share servers handling transaction requests with other merchants in a Web cluster. Load-balancing strategies must deal effectively with these issues. For example, Wolf and Yu (2001) proposed a family of load-balancing algorithms to dispatch various types of customer requests to different servers. The servers are partitioned into two categories, sharable for the public requests (such as browse requests) and not sharable for private requests (such as transactions).
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Streaming Applications The Internet is seeing the gradual deployment of streaming applications, such as audio over IP, video conferencing, and video-on-demand (VoD). These streaming applications generate traffic with characteristics and requirements that differ significantly from traffic generated by conventional Web applications. Audio and video streams are continuous and timebased. The term “continuous” refers to the user’s view of the data. Internally, continuous streams are represented as a sequence of discrete elements (audio sample, video frame) that replace each other over time. They are said to be time-based (or isochronous) because timed data elements in audio and video streams define the semantics or “content” of the streams. Timely delivery of the elements is essential to the integrity of the applications. Hence, streaming applications have stringent timing and loss requirements. However, unlike typical Web pages, streaming media does not necessarily require the integrity of the objects transferred. There can be some packet loss, which may simply result in reduced quality perceived by users. Continuous streams are often bulky in transmission. This is especially so for video of a reasonable quality. Media servers that support streaming applications need to move data with greater throughput than conventional Web servers do. Typical audio stream rates remain on the order of tens of kilobytes per second, regardless of the encoding scheme. Video streams span a wide range of data rates, from tens of kilobytes per second to tens of megabytes per second. The server disk-I/O and networkI/O bandwidth can be the resource bottleneck. The characteristics of encoded video (frame size and frequency) vary tremendously according to the content, the video compression scheme, and the video-encoding scheme. In addition, streaming traffic usually consists of a control part and a data part, potentially using different protocols like RTSP and VoIP, while conventional Web traffic is homogeneous in this case. Hence, a traffic manager must parse the control channels to extract the dynamic socket numbers for the data channels so that related control and data channels can be processed as a single, logical session. Compared to the studies of Web workload characterization, few insightful studies of streaming workloads exist. Past studies of streaming workloads found several common characteristics (Chesire, Wolman, Voelker, & Levy, 2001): r
The video popularity distributions are Zipf-like. The skew parameter a ranges from 0.271 to 1.0. r Request arrival patterns are nonstationary. For example, in some movie-on-demand systems, the rush hour is usually around 9 PM. r Users tend to preview the initial portion of a video to find out whether they are interested. These characteristics and requirements of streaming applications impose a great impact on caching and load balancing. For example, the video-browsing pattern suggests that caching the first several minutes of video data
should be effective. However, this partial cache notion is not valid for Web object requests. The large video size and the typical skews in video popularity suggest that several requests for the same object coming within a short time scale be batched and a single stream be delivered to multiple users by multicast so that both the server disk I/O and network bandwidth requirements can be reduced. Due to the media popularity distributions, data placement methods can also be crucial to load balancing in distributed streaming servers. There are essentially two complementary techniques: striping (i.e., data partitioning between servers) and replication. The main advantages of data striping are high disk utilization and good load-balancing ability. However, a wide-range data striping can lead to high scheduling and system expansion overhead. The cost is especially high when the servers are to be deployed in a geographically distributed environment. Replication tends to isolate servers from each other for scalability and reliability. Nevertheless, it can lead to load imbalance produced by the uneven distribution of media popularity, because the servers storing hot media files can be overwhelmed by client requests.
TAXONOMY OF LOAD-BALANCING STRATEGIES Internet services are applications that are, as shown in Figure 1, realized through collaborations between three parties: the service provider (i.e., server), the delivery network, and the service requester (client). Accordingly, loadbalancing techniques can be deployed in each of these three sides to distribute and deliver the client request load between the participating components in the information flow path. Load-balancing strategies can also be classified according to the type and amount of information about the flow path they take into account. The third categorization dimension of load-balancing strategies is their implementation layer in the network protocol stack.
Load Balancing in the Server, the Network, and the Client Sides A scalable Internet service is often provided by a group of servers either connected by a local area network (LAN) or distributed over a wide area network. We refer to the locally distributed servers that collaboratively provide the same Internet services on a single location as a Web cluster. Load balancing in a Web cluster focuses on the distribution of client requests between its servers for the purpose of increasing the service responsiveness, scalability, and availability. Three major distribution approaches exist: DNS based, dispatcher based, and cooperative server based. Since all Internet services are advertised by their URLs, which include their domain names, the DNS-based approaches rely on the server-side authoritative DNS server to make load-balancing decisions during the process of domain name resolutions. This process allows the authoritative DNS server to implement different load-balancing policies to select an appropriate server for each client request. The DNS-based approach
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can be easily scaled from a Web cluster to globally distributed servers and there would be no bottleneck risk in the DNS server. However, the DNS-based approach can only control a small fraction of address-mapping requests due to the presence of caching in the information flow path and cannot directly control subsequent requests because of the address caching in client browsers and other name servers along the path between the client and the authoritative DNS server. Moreover, although the authoritative DNS server can detect failed servers and exclude them from the list of available servers, clients may still send them requests because of the cached IP addresses. By contrast, the dispatcher-based approach relies on a load-balancing dispatcher in front of the Web cluster to distribute the client requests. However, the dispatcher itself can be a potential performance bottleneck, especially when it needs to process all responses from the servers. This centralized load-balancing strategy is mostly applicable to Web clusters and is hardly extensible to wide area network environments. The cooperative server-based approach uses a twolevel routing mechanism, in which the authoritative DNS server initially distributes client requests to servers based on a simple policy like random or round robin. On the receipt of a request, a server may handle it by itself or redirect the request to another one according to the states of the servers. Unlike the dispatcher-based approach, this kind of approach allows all the servers to participate in making decisions on load balancing. It avoids single failure points and potential performance bottleneck and offers good scalability. On the other hand, request redirections may cause an increase of response time in certain situations. The objective of load balancing on the network side is to reduce the service delivery overhead by deploying server replicas (or surrogates) close to its prospective clients. Network-side load-balancing techniques can be integrated with caching proxy servers and content delivery networks (CDN). The caching proxy servers store Web resources in anticipation of future requests. It therefore can reduce the network transmission latency and serverside overhead. With the support of CDN, service providers duplicate their services in geographically distributed surrogates around the world (network edge). On the receipt of a client request, the CDN makes use of DNS-based load-balancing strategies to direct the request to the most appropriate surrogate according to the client geographical locations, the CDN topological information, states of the servers, etc. Therefore, DNS-based approaches are also included in the network-side load-balancing category. On the client side, there are also load-balancing techniques intended to relieve the server workload incurred by the client requests. To access a service provided by more than one server, a smart client can direct its requests to an appropriate replica if the client has some state information about the replicas. In e-commerce services, mobile codes like JavaScript are widely used to verify integrity and validity of the client inputs at the client side to avoid the back-and-forth communications between the server and its clients.
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State-Blind versus State-Aware Load Balancing The second characteristic of load-balancing strategies is the state information considered by the strategies. The state information about a client request includes the client IP address, port number, physical location, request content, request priority, and round-trip time between the client and the server. Client state information like session ID and cookies facilitates client-affinity scheduling to ensure that the requests from the same client in a session are handled by the same server in a Web cluster. The state information about a server includes its static configuration and dynamic workload (e.g., the number of active connections and response times). State-blind policies assume little knowledge about the state information, except static configuration parameters. Since they do not rely on content-specific information or dynamic workload information about the servers, their implementations incur little run-time overhead. However, the state-blind policies may make poor assignment decisions due to highly variable client requests and the change of server workloads. State-aware policies, in contrast, tend to make adaptive decisions in response to the request content information and/or the workload change. The state-aware policies can be further classified into three categories: client state aware, server state aware, and client and server state aware.
Load Balancing at Different Network Layers The third classification dimension of the load-balancing strategies is the network layer of their implementations. This implementation issue has a great impact on the performance and efficiency of load-balancing strategies because it determines the possible information to be used by the strategies and the related overhead. Two major implementation strategies are layer-4 (TCP layer) and layer-7 (application layer) implementation with respect to the OSI network stack. In a layer-4 implementation, information like IP address and TCP port number can be used to select a server for each request. However, it is limited to content-blind load-balancing policies because this approach cannot get any application-specific information in this layer. By contrast, a layer-7 implementation can take full advantage of the information obtained from the lower layers. For example, a session identifier can be used for session affinity scheduling in e-commerce services; request-specific contents from the application layer can be used for contentaware scheduling. In summary, we present our classification of the loadbalancing strategies in Figure 2. It also contains representatives of each category in both academia and industry. Details of the strategies are reviewed in the next three sections.
SERVER-SIDE LOAD BALANCING DNS-Based Load Balancing Recall that an Internet service is often advertised by its URL. As shown in Figure 1, a domain name resolution
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Figure 2: Taxonomy of load-balancing strategies on the Internet.
is carried out by the DNS servers along the path from the client browser to the service authoritative DNS server. DNS-based load-balancing strategies rely on the authoritative DNS server to map the domain name to an appropriate server IP address for each client request. To reduce the response time for future requests, the resolution is usually cached on the intermediate DNS servers and browser cache. Each resolution has a property of time-to-live (TTL) set by the authoritative DNS server. It determines a valid period of the resolution in the caches.
Client State-Aware Load Balancing The client state-blind approaches can be extended to take into account some client-specific information in loadbalancing decisions. F5’s 3-DNS Controller (F5 Network, n.d.) implemented a strategy based on proximity-based address mapping for geographically distributed servers. By comparing the IP address of the client with the IP addresses of the available servers, the controller can determine the proximity of the servers and assign the client’s requests to the nearest server.
Server State-Aware Load Balancing State-Blind Load Balancing The simplest DNS-based load-balancing approach in a Web cluster is round robin (Kwan et al., 1995). In this approach, the DNS server assigns the IP addresses of the cluster servers in a round-robin manner to the clients’ address–mapping requests. It uses a circular server list and a pointer to the last selected server to make the decision. That is, if the last assignment was to server Si , then the current request will be assigned to S(i+1)mod n, where n is the number of servers. Random assignment is another simple state-blind approach, in which the DNS server assigns requests to the servers randomly. Statistically, given a large number of requests, this approach can guarantee an equal distribution of client requests to the available server IP addresses. The round-robin approach can be easily extended to clusters with heterogeneous servers. A variant of the round-robin policy is weighted round robin (WRR). It assigns requests to the servers according to the relative weights of the server capacities. The weights can be calculated in terms of static server configuration information like CPU speed, memory size, and network bandwidth. We refer to this as static WRR.
There are also DNS-based approaches that utilize serverside state information for load balancing. A leastconnection policy allows the DNS server to assign requests to the server with the least number of active connections. The server workload information can be either periodically reported by the servers or polled by the DNS server on demand. A variant of the least-connection policy is weighted least-connection policy for clusters with heterogeneous servers. Denote Wi and Ci as the server weight and the number of active connections, respectively. In the weighted least-connection policy, the DNS server will assign the next client request to the server with minimal Ci / Wi . Another example of the server state-aware policies is dynamic WRR. In this policy, the DNS server calculates the server weights periodically in terms of their dynamic workload such as the number of active connections or measured response time, and assigns each incoming request to a server in the same way as WRR. A critical question is how often does the DNS server need to collect the server workload information? An alternative to periodical workload information collection is an asynchronous alarm mechanism, in which the servers keep evaluating
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their resource utilization and send the DNS server alarms only if their utilization has exceeded a predefined load threshold. The DNS server excludes any alarmed server from the available server list until the server load is back to normal.
Client and Server State-Aware Load Balancing There are DNS-based load-balancing approaches that take into account the state information about both sides. An example is adaptive TTL (Colajanni, Yu, & Cardellini, 1998). It uses hidden load weight, which is the number of incoming requests from different client domains, to distribute requests. The DNS server assigns client requests to the available servers in the round-robin manner and associates a client-specific TTL value to each request. The client-specific TTL is set in terms of the hidden load weight of the client domain as well as the server processing capacity. It is known that the hidden load weight increases with the TTL value. The TTL should be set inversely proportional to the hidden load weight in order to amortize the hidden loads from different client domains while being proportional to the server processing capacity. In summary, the DNS-based load-balancing approaches are simple to implement because they do not require modifications of the existing network switch. Their main drawbacks are as follows: r Unbalanced
load distribution. As we see from Figure 1, the DNS-based approaches allow clients to contact the server directly based on their cached name resolutions. This is prone to unbalanced load distribution between the servers. Although the authoritative DNS can set the TTL value to limit the duration of each resolution in concept, it will not take effect without the cooperation of intermediate DNS servers and the client’s local DNS server. In addition, a small value of TTL would lead to a possible bottleneck in the authoritative DNS. r Low availability. Due to the existence of name resolutions in caches, client requests will continue to be sent to a server, whether the specific server is online or not, before the resolution expires. Consequently, some clients
may perceive a service failure, even though there are other servers available for the service. It is because of these drawbacks that DNS-based approaches became rarely used for load balancing in locally distributed Web clusters. However, they can be tailored to direct requests to geographically distributed servers for global load balancing. Related issues in the context of network-side load balancing will be reviewed in NetworkSide Load Balancing.
Dispatcher-Based Load Balancing In a Web cluster, a dispatcher serves as the cluster gate, as shown in Figure 3, which intercepts all incoming requests. It has a single public IP address representing the Web cluster. Since the Web cluster together with the dispatcher form a virtual server, the IP is often referred to as virtual IP (VIP) address of the virtual server. The dispatcher identifies each server in the cluster with a unique private address, either an IP or a media access address (MAC) address, depending on the architecture. In contrast to the DNS server, the dispatcher has complete control over the routing of all incoming requests and acts as a centralized scheduler. It selects the most appropriate server according to a load-balancing policy and forwards the requests to the selected server. The choice of the routing mechanism has significant impact on the performance and efficiency of the strategies because different routing implementations will reveal different amounts of information about the client requests at different costs. Two major implementations are the network layer (layer 4) and the application layer (layer 7) with reference to the OSI network stack. Layer-4 implementations are oblivious to the client request content. They simply forward the client requests to a selected server regardless with the requests are connection requests or not. Layer-7 implementations distinguish connection establishment requests from those following up requests in a connection. On the receipt of a client connection request, the dispatcher establishes a TCP communication channel with the client. It then keeps receiving
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Figure 4: TCP splicing architecture. requests from the channel and relaying them to the servers selected based on a load-balancing policy. The dispatcher can be configured into two functional modes according to the way in which the response packets are routed: two-way (two-armed) and one-way (onearmed). The one-way configuration allows servers to return their responses directly to the clients, without going through the dispatcher. In contrast, the two-way configuration requires all the responses to pass through the dispatcher. Therefore, it allows different subnet configuration for the servers. There are many different ways to route packets at the network layer in each configuration.
Two-Way Dispatcher Architecture Packet rewriting is a layer-4 implementation based on the IP network address translation (NAT) (Egevang & Francis, 1994). In a Web cluster, the dispatcher is set to a different IP address from the servers and configured as a default gateway. On the receipt of a client packet, the dispatcher selects a target server and then rewrites the packet’s destination IP address accordingly. The server’s response packets need to go through the dispatcher because it acts as the server’s gateway. When the dispatcher receives the packets, it replaces their source IP addresses with the virtual IP address, making them look as if they were coming from the virtual server. For example, when a client packet arrives at the dispatcher, its destination address is the VIP, 141.200.10.1. The dispatcher decides the packet should be redirected to a server in the cluster, say Server 1. Then the dispatcher changes the packet’s destination address to 10.0.0.2. Server 1’s response packets contain 10.0.0.2 as the source addresses. When they reach the dispatcher, their source addresses are replaced with the VIP. Due to the modification of the IP head, the checksum needs to be calculated twice. TCP splicing is a layer-7 implementation (Cohen, Rangarajan, & Slye, 1999). It inserts a special TCP splicing component in between the network and the MAC layers. When the dispatcher is contacted by a client to establish a TCP connection, it accepts the request instead of rerouting it immediately to a server. The dispatcher then intercepts the client’s subsequent requests. After that, the
dispatcher selects a destination server and establishes another TCP connection with the server. Once both connections are set up, the TCP splicing component transfers all the requests between the two connections by altering their headers accordingly (source and destination IP addresses, IP and TCP header checksums, and other fields). Therefore, the request and response packets look as if they were being transferred in a single TCP connection. Figure 4 presents the detail of the routing mechanism by assuming a client with IP address 200.0.0.1 wants to access http://www.xyz.com. The client sends a connection request to the Web cluster (step 1). The dispatcher gets this request and establishes a connection with the client (step 2). After getting the client’s data request, the dispatcher chooses a server, say Server 1, to handle the request and then splices the two connections (step 3). On the receipt of a client request with a source address of 200.0.0.1 and a destination of 141.200.10.1, the TCP splicing component modifies its source and destination addresses to 200.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.2, respectively (step 4). After modification, the request is sent to the Server 1 directly (step 5). Similarly, when it receives a response from Server 1 with a source of 10.0.0.2 and a destination of 200.0.0.1, the splicing component changes its source and destination to 141.200.10.1 and 200.0.0.1, respectively (step 6). The response is forwarded to the client in a similar way without the intervention of the dispatcher (step 7). Consequently, TCP connection splicing avoids many protocol overheads at high-level network layers. The dispatcher with two-way configuration is easy to implement by hardware and does not require modifications of existing environment. However, the dispatcher with a two-way configuration tends to be a performance bottleneck because it must process both client inbound requests and outbound responses (Schroeder, Goddard, & Ramamurthy, 2000). This problem becomes even more severe when the responses are bandwidth-demanding, particularly in streaming services.
One-Way Dispatcher Architecture Packet forwarding is a layer-4 implementation. It assumes that the dispatcher is located in the same LAN as the
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servers. They all share one virtual IP address. The dispatcher configures the VIP as its primary address and the servers use the VIP as their secondary address. The servers disable their address resolution protocol (ARP) so that the incoming packets can reach the dispatcher without conflict. On the receipt of a client packet, the dispatcher forwards it to a selected server on the LAN by changing its destination MAC address to that of the server. The receiving server processes the client’s packets and sends the response packets to the client directly, without the intervention of the dispatcher. For example, assume there is a client packet with a source address of 200.0.0.1 and a destination of 141.200.10.1 arrives and the dispatcher selects a server, say Server 1, to respond to the packet. The dispatcher changes its destination MAC to 12:34:56:78:90:bb. Since all response packets use the VIP as their source, the service transparency is retained. Packet tunneling is another layer-4 implementation based on IP encapsulation on the dispatcher and the servers (Simpson & Daydreamer, 1995). IP encapsulation is to wrap each IP datagram within another IP datagram as payload, thus providing a method of redirecting the IP datagram to a destination different from the original one. In this approach, the IP addresses of the dispatcher and the servers should be configured in the same way as in the packet forwarding mechanism. After deciding a server for each incoming datagram, the dispatcher encapsulates the datagram via IP encapsulation; the source and destination of the outer header are the VIP and the selected server IP address, respectively. Then the new datagram is forwarded to the selected server. The target server unwraps the datagram and gets the original datagram. Because the server shares the VIP with the dispatcher, the original IP datagram is delivered to the server through its private (secondary) address. The packet tunneling approach requires IP encapsulation to be supported in the dispatcher and all the servers. TCP connection hop is a software-based proprietary solution by Resonate (Resonate, 2001). It combines the advantages of IP encapsulation and TCP splicing. Its key component, resonate exchange protocol (RXP) operating between the network driver and TCP/IP stack, needs to be installed in the dispatcher and all the servers. When the RXP receives an IP datagram, it selects a server based
on its load-balancing policy and encapsulates the original datagram in an RXP datagram for the target server. The RXP header of the RXP datagram is stripped off by the RXP component in the target server. The original datagram travels up the TCP/IP stack and is processed as if it came directly from the client. Since the server shares VIP with the dispatcher, it replies directly to the client. TCP handoff is a layer-7 implementation (Pai et al., 1998). Figure 5 depicts the architecture of the TCP handoff approach. The dispatcher and the servers are modified to put the TCP handoff protocol on top of the TCP/IP stack. As an example, we assume that a client wants to access the Internet service. The client sends a connection request to the dispatcher; the request flows up the TCP/IP stack, and arrives at the dispatcher (step 1). The dispatcher accepts this request and establishes a connection with the client (step 2). The client sends a data request to the dispatcher (step 3). The dispatcher receives the data request; makes a server selection decision based on the request content; and hands the connection to the target server using the handoff protocol (step 4). The server takes over the established connection (step 5). The server’s responses are returned to the client directly as if it came from the virtual server (step 6). For acknowledgment packets, a forwarding module located between the network interface driver and the TCP/IP stack is used (step 7). The module first checks whether an acknowledgment packet should be forwarded. If so, the packet is modified and sent to the appropriate server without traversing the TCP/IP stack. Note that both the one-way and two-way implementations of a dispatcher define load-balancing mechanisms and leave load-balancing policies open. In the following, different policies will be reviewed.
State-Blind Load Balancing As in the DNS-based approaches, both the round-robin and randomized assignment policies can be applied for load balancing in the dispatcher. Albeit simple, they overcome the limitation of the DNS-based implementations. The state-blind policies overlook the client request-specific information and server dynamic states. This makes these approaches not very appealing in practice.
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Client State-Aware Load Balancing State-blind load-balancing approaches treat client requests independently. However, the client’s requests are dependent on many Internet services (i.e. e-commerce). That is, these requests must be forwarded to the same server to preserve the dependent information, such as the content of a client’s shopping cart, between requests. This required coordination in the process of related requests is called client affinity. One approach to keeping client affinity is to use the SSL session ID to ensure it. SSL runs on top of TCP and uses the session ID to uniquely identify each session. Therefore, the dispatcher can achieve client affinity by forwarding the packets with the same session ID to the same server. Some other methods, such as cookie, can also be used to keep client affinity (Kopparapu, 2002).
Server State-Aware Load Balancing Server-side state information, like dynamic workload in terms of active connections, response time, etc., can be considered to improve the performance of load balancing. The LocalDirector (Cisco Systems, n.d.b) uses a leastconnection policy to dispatch incoming client requests to the servers with the least active connections. Weighted least-connection policy takes the number of active connections and the servers’ capacities into consideration. It is the same as that used in DNS-based approaches. The fastest response policy selects the server with the least response time.
are inspected at individual servers and sent back to the dispatcher. The dispatcher uses the same policy as LARD to determine the most appropriate server. The size interval task assignment with variable load (SITA-V) (Crovella, Harchol-Balter, & Murta, 1998) is based on that the distribution of the client request sizes is heavy-tailed with infinite variance. SITA-V assigns requests with small sizes to the servers with lighter workload. It improves the ratio of the requests’ waiting times to their service times. This can improve the user-perceived performance.
Server Cooperative Load Balancing In general, cooperative load-balancing approaches deploy a two-level request routing mechanism. Client requests are initially assigned by the authoritative DNS server to target servers. It is followed by a possible redirection from the target server to others for load balancing. That is, based on some load-balancing policies, all servers are allowed to participate in the process of request distribution. These servers can be locally distributed or geographically distributed. Since all servers can decide which is the most appropriate server, there is no centralized point of becoming a potential performance bottleneck. Note that these schemes assume that the client requests can reach different servers through broadcasting or DNS-based round robin. Also, different load-balancing policies can be applied to these implementations.
Client and Server State-Aware Load Balancing While the server state-aware load-balancing approaches consider the state information of servers, it is also necessary to take into account the client state information and combine them together. Except for the source IP address and TCP port number, the dispatcher can get more information from client requests; for example, it can get the URL information and the request content. Moreover, the client characteristic is also useful for load balancing. Locality-aware request distribution (LARD) (Pai et al., 1998) makes server selection based on the client request content. It considers not only the load balancing but also the cache hit rate. For example, requests are categorized into content types, such as A, B, and C. For requests for content type A, they are dispatched to Server 1, while requests for contents of types B and C are dispatched to Server 2. Hence, the cache system of Server 1 is mainly used by content of type A while the cache system of Server 2 is occupied by contents of types B and C. Consequently, both servers’ cache hit rates increase, which in turn improves the system performance in terms of response time. Meanwhile, the dispatcher limits the number of accepted requests. It hence has the flexibility to distribute the load among all servers. The requests for the same type of contents are dispatched to the same server when the server is nonoverloaded. Otherwise, the requests are dispatched to the server with the least active connections. An extension of LARD that reduces the overhead of the dispatcher is scalable content-aware request distribution (Aron, Sanders, & Druschel, 2000). The client requests are redirected to different servers by a simple scheme, such as DNS-based round robin. Their request contents
Request Redirection Mechanisms The redirection mechanisms used in server cooperative load balancing include IP filtering, HTTP redirection, URL rewriting, packet rewriting, and IP tunneling. The last one is the same as IP tunneling in the dispatcher-based approaches. IP filtering only accepts wanted packets. The IP filtering component operates between the network interface driver and TCP/IP stack. An incoming packet is broadcasted to all servers. When it arrives at the IP filtering component, the component decides whether it should accept the packet based on the load-balancing policy. If so, the packet is forwarded up to the TCP/IP stack for further processing. HTTP redirection makes use of the HTTP redirection provided in HTTP protocols (Fielding et al., 1999). A client sends a request to a server. Then the server can reply to it with another server’s address according to its loadbalancing policy and set the status code for redirection. By checking this status code, the client sends new requests to the selected server, if needed. For example, a client sends a request to Server 1. The server decides to let Server 2 process this request. It replies to the client with status code 301 (“Moved Permanently”) or 302 (“Moved Temporarily”) and sets Server 2’s address as the new location. The client checks the status code and sends a new request to Server 2. URL rewriting is based on dynamic URL generations. When a client requests a Web page, the URLs contained in this page are generated dynamically according to the server’s load-balancing policy. These URLs point to different servers. Consequently, requests for these URLs are directed to different servers. For example,
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http://141.200.10.1/document.pdf is a link inside http:// www.xyz.com/index.html. When a client accesses this index page, the server can replace it with http:// 10.0.0.2/document.pdf before responding to the client. Thus, if client accesses this link, the request is sent to the new location. Distributed packet rewriting is similar to packet rewriting (Bestavros, Crovella, Liu, & Martin, 1998). When a packet reaches a server, the server uses a hash function to calculate the packet’s destination by the use of the client’s IP address and port number to determine to which server the packet should be redirected. Then the server rewrites the packet to redirect it to the selected server. However, for fragmented packets, since only the first fragment contains the required IP and port number, the rest of the packets could be misrouted.
Load-Balancing Approaches Cooperative load-balancing approaches must have the knowledge about the servers. They are different in what kind of client state information is taken into account in server selection. Network load balancing (Microsoft, 2000) makes use of IP filtering. When a packet arrives, an IP filtering component uses a randomization function to calculate the server priority based on the client’s IP address, port number, and other state information. The server with highest priority accepts the packet and forwards the packet to the upper TCP/IP stack while other servers discard it. It also ensures consistent mapping—same client IP and port will always be mapped to the same server. However, the client’s IP addresses and port numbers statistically depend on whether the client is residing behind proxy servers or other NAT devices. When client affinity is enabled, all clients from that domain are processed by one server and load balancing is defeated. A distributed cooperative Web server (DCWS) uses the URL rewriting to implement its load-balancing policy (Baker & Moon, 1999). Each server maintains the information of all pages in a local document graph. The graph consists of a set of tuples that store the page size, hit rate, and other information. When the client requests a Web page, the hyperlinks inside the page are dynamically generated based on their loads (i.e., hit rates) and the server’s load. The main disadvantage of this approach is the calculation overhead of dynamically generated hyperlinks and the reconstruction of related pages. A scalable Web server (SWEB) uses the HTTP redirection to distribute load across servers (Andersen, Yang, Holmedahl, & Ibarra, 1995). On the receipt of a client request, SWEB selects a server with least response time to direct the request. The calculation of the response time is on the basis of several parameters: redirection latency, data reading time, CPU time, and network delay. Workload-aware request distribution (WARD) uses a ward-analysis algorithm to determine the frequently requested contents, so-called base, that can be fitted into the cluster’s memory (Cherkasova & Karlsson, 2001). These contents are further partitioned into two groups, core and part, according to their sizes and frequencies of requests. The core contents include the most frequently accessed objects and is replicated and placed on the cache of all servers. The part contents are divided among servers in a
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balanced manner using hit rates and object sizes. These partitions are called local and remote partition. On the receipt of a client request, a server checks the request content. If the requested content is not in the base partition, it is served locally. Otherwise, if the requested object belongs to core or local partition, it is served locally. In other cases, it is handed off to an appropriate server. WARD can reduce the request redirection number and improve the mean response time of client requests.
NETWORK-SIDE LOAD BALANCING For scalability and availability, giant Internet services are often run on more than one geographical site on the Internet. Network-side load balancing is to distribute requests between different sites for balancing the workload of the sites and reducing the service transmission delay on the network. The geographically distributed servers can be organized in different ways. This section reviews two most important structures: caching proxy network and content delivery network , and their related load-balancing strategies.
Client State-Aware Load Balancing: Caching Proxy Network Web caching takes advantage of the temporal locality in requests for reducing the network load and access latency. Web caching proxies are the intermediate servers between clients and servers that act as agents representing the server to the client and the client to the server. As shown in Figure 6, Web caching proxies, including client-side forward caching proxies, network-side forward and reverse caching proxies, and server-side caching proxies, form a network. Forward caching proxies forward a client’s request to the Web cluster, cache the response, and deliver the response to the client. These proxies are normally controlled by the clients or clients’ network providers. Reverse caching proxies return requested content either from their caches or after fetching the content from its origin servers. Furthermore, reverse caching proxies are under the same administrative control as the Web cluster. By serving clients’ requests from the proxies, the proxy network reduces the client-perceived network transmission latency, saves network bandwidth, and offloads the traffic of origin servers. The caching proxy network can be organized as a hierarchical or mesh structure. In the hierarchical structure, low-level caching proxies close to the clients forward requests to a high-level proxy closer to the origin server if they cannot satisfy the requests. The solid arrows in Figure 6 represent a chain of proxies, from the lowest client forward proxy to the highest server proxy. The hierarchical proxy structure is an extension of computer memory hierarchy. It is simple to implement, but costly in space because a highly demanded Web object may be stored in many low-level cache proxies. By contrast, the mesh (cooperative) structure of caching proxy servers allows a forward proxy to communicate with its predetermined peers using an intercache protocol like Internet cache protocol (Wessels & Claffy, 1997). If a caching proxy cannot find a valid response in its cache, it searches its peers. If they do,
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Client and Server State-Aware Load Balancing: Content Delivery Network CDN is an infrastructure for delivering content from locations closer than original content provider sites to clients by replication. CDN improves client-perceived performance of Internet services by serving client requests from CDN servers. It works similarly to caching proxy servers. However, CDN has some advantages (Rabinovich & Spatscheck, 2001). First, CDN servers can be deployed around the network transparently, which is not always possible for caching proxies. The second is that service providers have full content control, such as content replication. For caching proxy servers, it is hard to control which content should be placed on which proxy servers. Another advantage is that CDN can improve performance for uncachable content, such as dynamic content and live streaming content. Finally, the content of Internet services can be placed on a CDN server before being accessed by clients. There are two kinds of replication mode for CDN: full replication and partial replication. In full-replication mode, the origin sites are modified to use the authoritative DNS servers provided by CDN companies. The client requests can be delivered to CDN servers or be forwarded to the original sites. Partial replication needs modifications of the hyperlinks inside Web pages. For example, a hyperlink http://www.xyz.com/image.gif from XYZ company’s homepage can be changed to http://www.cdn.com/www.
xyz.com/image.gif. Therefore, when a client sends a request for this object, the host name needs to be resolved by CDN name servers. The products using such a DNS redirection mechanism include WebSphere from IBM (IBM, 2002) and EdgeSuite from Akamai (Akamai, 2002).
DNS-Based Request Redirection For network-side load-balancing approaches, there are several mechanisms to redirect client requests to an appropriate geographically distributed server or site, such as DNS redirection, packet tunneling, and NAT peering. As forementioned, DNS cannot effectively control server selection since such resolution can be satisfied by caches or name servers other than authoritative DNS servers. Assigning a small value to TTL may cause the DNS servers to bottleneck and increase client-perceived latency. To alleviate this problem, two-level DNS redirection is proposed (Leighton & Lewin, 2000). On the top level, some DNS servers are used to resolve requests for higher-level domain names such as .com or .org. On the bottom level, the DNS database is replicated or partitioned among a number of geographically distributed DNS servers. When receiving a resolution request, a top-level DNS server responds with the address of a bottom-level DNS server that is close to the client. Therefore, it is possible to set a small TTL value without making the DNS servers overloaded. Another approach is to place fully replicated DNS servers on the edge of the Internet. Resolution requests are directed to the DNS server closest to the client. Another issue with DNS-based request redirection is an originator problem. It is known that an authoritative DNS server receives a request from a client’s local DNS server instead of the client directly. However, sometimes, the location of the client is quite different from the location of the client’s local DNS server. For example, in AT&T WorldNet, most clients use only two DNS servers no matter where they are. Therefore, the closest server for a local DNS server sometimes is a distant one for the client compared to other servers.
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NAT Peering NAT peering is an implementation that can be used to redirect a client request from one site to another, avoiding the limitations of DNS-based redirection. The purpose of NAT is to provide a solution for IP address depletion. It provides a way to translate public IP addresses and TCP ports to private IP addresses and TCP ports. The main advantage of this approach is that it can be installed without modifications of hosts or routers. Figure 7 presents an illustration of NAT peering for request redirection between different sites or servers. As an example, a client c issues a request to an Internet service on the public IP address 200.0.0.1. The NAT device in local area network A receives the request and selects an appropriate site or server based on its load-balancing policy. Assuming B is selected, the request’s destination address is changed accordingly while its source IP address is preserved. Therefore, the response is sent directly back to client c while its source address is changed to A’s IP address 200.0.0.1. Consequently, all client requests are still sent to its original destination A. NAT peering is widely supported by such switches as Cisco CSS11000 (Cisco System, 2002).
Case Studies Akamai CDN. By using more than 12,000 servers in over 1,000 networks, Akamai’s distributed content delivery system fights service bottlenecks and shut-downs by delivering content from the Internet’s edge (Dilley et al., 2002). To handle traffic bursts, Akamai’s infrastructure directs client requests to appropriate servers as well as additional servers. When receiving a client’s resolution request, the Akamai CDN name server determines the target server using both client- and server-side information. Specifically, to determine the target server, it takes many metrics into account, such as network topology, bandwidth, and server’s load. Moreover, the target server should have the requested content. For example, a media stream request should not be directed to a server that handles only HTTP. To prevent a server from overloading, a CDN’s load-balancing system must monitor the state of services, and their servers and networks. Akamai uses a threshold method for this purpose. All sites periodically report their service states and site load information to a monitoring application. When the load of a site exceeds a predefined threshold, more servers are allocated to process client requests. If the load exceeds another higher threshold, the
vices deploy and administer their own enterprise CDNs. They use multiple levels of load balancing to distribute client requests for a single giant Internet service. At the top level, the services distribute their servers geographically to offer higher availability and better performance. At this level, services can adopt various request redirection mechanisms to distribute client requests to an appropriate site. The site selection can take into account the site’s load and network’s traffic information. After receiving a client request, the front-end, which can be a dispatcher, selects an appropriate server from local servers. At this level, all server-side load-balancing approaches can be deployed. The Web site of the 1998 Olympic Winter Games is a good example of enterprise CDNs that IBM developed (Iyengar, Challenger, Dias, & Dantzig. 2000). It supported nearly 635 million requests over the 16 days of the game and a peak rate of 114,414 hits in a single minute around the time of the women’s freestyle figure skating. For scalability and availability, Web servers were placed in four different global wide sites. Client requests to http://www.nagano.olympic.org were routed from their local ISP into the IBM global services network (IGS), and IGS routers forwarded the requests to the server site geographically nearest to the client. Each site had an installation of one SP-2 machine configured with 10 R6000 uniprocessors and an 8-way symmetric multiprocessor and had 12 open IP addresses. Load balancing at each site was conducted in a hierarchical way. At the top level, two routers acted as the entry points of each site. One is the primary point and another one is a backup. Between the routers and the Web servers were four IBM network dispatchers (NDs) for load balancing. Each of these four NDs was the primary source of 3 of the 12 IP addresses and the secondary source for two other addresses. These NDs were assigned to different values based on whether they were the primary or secondary source for an IP address. Secondary addresses for a ND were assigned a higher value. Therefore, the routers delivered incoming requests to the ND with the lowest value. On the receipt of the request, the ND distributed it to a server based on the servers’ load. Three more examples of large-scale representative Internet services on their own CDNs were recently surveyed (Oppenheimer & Patterson, 2002). To keep the services’ identities confidential, the authors used the names of “Online,” “Content,” and “ReadMostly” to refer to an online service/Internet portal, a global content-hosting service, and a high- traffic Internet service with a very high readto-write ratio, respectively. At the survey time, both the Online and ReadMostly services supported around a hundred million hits per day and the Content service supported around 7 million hits per day. The Online service used around 500 servers at two data centers, the Content 500 servers at four data centers, and the ReadMostly more than 2000 servers at four data centers. They generally use policies that take into account servers’ load and availability to distribute client requests. The Online service provided its clients with an up-to-date list of appropriate
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servers for their selection. In the Content service, each two of its four sites worked in redundant pairs. Its clients need to install a software package that points to one primary and one backup site of the content service. The ReadMostly service used DNS-based load-balancing strategies based on its sites’ load and health information. Among locally distributed servers, round-robin DNS servers or layer-4 dispatchers were used to direct client requests to the least loaded server. Finally, we note that CDN was originally proposed for fast delivery of media-rich contents. For CDN to deliver live streaming media, there are some challenges because the media cannot be stored in advance on CDN servers. IP multicast or application-level multicast are used to distribute streaming media to CDN servers. For IP multicast, a multicast group is created by the origin server before the stream is distributed. A CDN server joins or leaves the group when it receives the first client request or finishes the last client request. Application-level multicast is based on a distribution tree of intermediate servers that makes use of IP unicast to deliver stream from the root (origin server) to the leaves (CDN servers).
CLIENT-SIDE LOAD BALANCING Client-side load balancing mainly refers to load distribution between clients and servers. In addition, some services running on several servers are not transparent to their clients and the server selection is left to clients. We classify this type of client-guided load distribution as client-side load-balancing strategies, as well. In concept, client-side approaches can get as much client state information as they want. Thus, we classify these approaches in terms of whether they take server state information into account.
also provide the servers’ URLs, geographical locations, and domain information. It is up to the clients to decide where to download the software. As an example, from the homepage of Free Software Foundation, we can find a list of available mirror servers that includes their location information. A client can select the geographically closest server to reduce the network latency. An extension of this approach is dynamic server selection (Crovella & Carter, 1995). In this approach, the round-trip time is measured periodically. Based on the mean of four round-trip measurements, the server with the least average round-trip time is selected to send the client’s requests. Smart client determines an appropriate server on the basis of server-side state (Yoshikawa et al., 1997). When a client visits a site, it downloads an applet from the site. The applet retrieves some server state information, such as its workload, response time, network connectivity, and configurations. As a result, the applet selects a server based on the state information. One disadvantage of this approach is that the information exchanging between the servers and the applet increases the network traffic.
CONCLUSION Load balancing on the Internet is to distribute the workload generated by Internet services between the server, client, and network aspects for the objective of providing high-level quality of service. This chapter presents a classification of load-balancing strategies in three dimensions: where they are realized (client side, server side, or network side), what knowledge the strategies take into account in making decisions, and on which network layer they are implemented. Under the framework, state-of-the-art loadbalancing strategies in each category are reviewed, focusing on their mechanisms, polices, and interplay with existing network routing and service delivery infrastructure.
Server State-Blind Load Balancing Client-side caches, like browsers’ caches, can be constructed as an efficient and scalable peer-to-peer Web cache system for reducing servers’ load by delivering requested content from this system (Xiao, Zhang, & Xu. 2002). This approach assumes that the communication within a local area network is much faster than that between the clients and origin servers. These caches are managed by middleware components, which function as proxies for client requests, installed in all clients. When a client wants to access an Internet service, it first issues a request to the component within the same host. If the requested content is not cacheable, the component forwards the request to the origin servers. Otherwise, the component communicates with components running on other hosts to search the requested content. If a valid content is not present there, the request is sent to the external servers and the content is stored in the clients’ caches for future use.
Server State-Aware Load Balancing Some software distribution sites use another approach to balance the load of their servers. Before letting a client download their software, they provide several available servers with some location information. Meanwhile, they
ACKNOWLEDGMENT This material is based on work supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants CCR-9988266 and ACI-0203592. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendation expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
GLOSSARY Caching proxy network A group of caching proxies that collaborate to reduce the network traffic and the origin server load by exploiting the temporal locality of client requests. Client load balancing A kind of technology performed with the cooperation of clients and servers to distribute client request load of an Internet service between clients and servers. Client-aware load balancing The distribution of client requests to the servers of a Web cluster based on information about the clients. Content delivery network A network of geographically distributed servers delegated to deliver content for origin servers.
REFERENCES
Content-aware load balancing The distribution of client requests to the servers of a Web cluster based on the requested content (see content-blind load balancing). Content-blind load balancing The distribution of client requests to the servers of a Web cluster without considering any information about the requested content (see content-aware load balancing). DNS-based load balancing The reliance on DNS servers to distribute client requests between locally and globally distributed servers during the process of domain name resolutions of requests. Layer-4 dispatcher A device that distributes the client requests at the TCP layer when it is contacted for establishing a TCP connection. Layer-7 dispatcher A device that distributes the requests at the application layer by establishing a TCP connection with a client per request and delaying the request distribution until the request content is examined. Least loaded distribution A load-balancing policy that assigns client requests to the server in a Web cluster with least load, which can be measured as a function of active connections, CPU utilization, etc. Load balancing dispatcher A switch in front of a Web cluster that receives the client requests and directs them to appropriate servers; also referred to as load switch or load balancer. Network load balancing The distribution of client requests of an Internet service between servers across wide area networks to reduce the service access latency and increase the service availability. One-way dispatcher A device that intercepts all client requests of a Web cluster and allows the cluster servers to respond to the requests directly. Round-robin load distribution The assignment of client requests to the servers of a Web cluster in a cyclic manner whereby each server appears one or more times in a round. Server cooperative load balancing A two-level request routing mechanism that allows an assigned client request to be redirected to another server. Server load balancing The distribution of client requests of a Web cluster between the cluster servers so as to reduce access latency and increase service scalability and availability. Two-way dispatcher A device that intercepts both client requests and server responses. Virtual IP The only IP address of a Web cluster visible to clients; in practice, often the public IP address of the load-balancing dispatcher. Web cluster A group of servers that work collectively to provide the same Internet services at a single location.
CROSS REFERENCES See Web Quality of Service; Web Services.
REFERENCES Akamai (2002). EdgeSuite. Retrieved October 5, 2002, from http://www.akamai.com/en/html/services/ edgesuite.html
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Andersen, D., Yang, T., Holmedahl, V., & Ibarra, O. H. (1995). SWEB: Towards a scalable World Wide Web server on multicomputers. In Proceedings of 10th IEEE International Parallel Processing Symposium (pp. 850–856). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. Arlitt, M. F., Krishnamurthy, D., & Rolia, J. (2001). Characterizing the scalability of a large Web-based shopping system. ACM Transaction on Internet Technology, 1(1), 44–69. Arlitt, M. F., & Williamson, C. L. (1997). Internet web servers: Workload characterization and performance implications. IEEE/ACM Transaction on Networking, 5(5), 631–645. Aron, M., Sanders, D., & Druschel, P. (2000). Scalable content-aware request distribution in cluster-based network servers. In Proceedings of 2000 USENIX Annual Technical Conference (pp. 323–336). Berkeley, CA: USENIX Association. Baker, S. M., & Moon, B. (1999). Distributed cooperative Web servers. In Proceedings of the 8th International World Wide Web Conference (pp. 1215–1229). New York: Elsevier Science. Bestavros, A., Crovella, M., Liu, J., & Martin, D. (1998). Distributed packet rewriting and its application to scalable server architectures. In Proceedings of 6th International Conference on Network Protocols. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. Cherkasova, L., & Karlsson, M. (2001). Scalable web server cluster design with workload-aware equest distribution strategy WARD. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Advanced Issues of E-Commerce and Web-Based Information Systems (pp. 212–221). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. Chesire, M., Wolman, A., Voelker, G. M., & Levy, H. M. (2001). Measurement and analysis of a streamingmedia workload. In Proceedings of the 3rd USENIX Symposium on Internet Technologies and Systems (USITS) (pp. 1–12). Berkeley, CA: USENIX Association. Cisco Systems. (2002). Cisco CSS11000. Retrieved October 5, 2002, from http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/ cc/pd/si/11000/ Cisco System. (n.d.b). Cisco LocalDirector 400 Series. Retrieved October 5, 2002, from http://www.cisco.com/ warp/public/cc/pd/cxsr/400/index.shtml Cohen, A., Rangarajan, S., & Slye, H. (1999). On the performance of TCP-splicing for URL-aware redirction. In Proceedings of the 2nd USENIX Symposium on Internet Technologies and Systems (USITS). Berkeley, CA: USENIX Association. Colajanni, M., Yu, P. S., & Cardellini, V. (1998). Dynamic load balancing in geographically distributed heterogeneous web servers. In Proceedings of the 18th IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (pp. 295–302). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. Crovella, M. E., Harchol-Balter, M., & Murta, C. D. (1998). Task assignment in a distributed system: Improving performance by unbalancing load. In Proceedings of ACM Sigmetrics Conference (pp. 268–269). New York: ACM Press.
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Crovella, M. E., & Carter, R. L. (1995). Dynamic server selection in the Internet. In Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE workshop on the Architecture and Implementation of High Performance Communication Subsystems (HPCS’95) (pp. 158–162). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. Dilley, J., Maggs, B., Parikh, J., Prokop, H., Sitaraman, R., & Weihl, B. (2002). Globally distributed content delivery. IEEE Internet Computing, 6(5), 50–58. Egevang, K., & Francis, P. (1994). The IP network address translator (NAT) (RFC 1631). Network Working Group. Reston, VA: The Internet Society. F5 Networks (n.d.). 3-DNS Controller: Make the most of your network. Retrieved October 5, 2002, from http:// www.f5.com/f5products/3dns/ Fielding, R., Gettys, J., Mogul, J., Frystyk, H., Masinter, L., Leach, P., et al. (1999). Hypertext transfer protocol—HTTP/1.1 (RFC 2616). Network Working Group. Reston, VA: The Internet Society. Harchol-Balter, M., Crovella, M. E., & Murta, C. D. (1999). On choosing a task assignment policy for a distributed server system. International Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing, 5(2), 204–228. Hennessy, J. L., & Patterson, D. A. (2003). Computer architecture: A quantitative approach (3rd ed.). San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann. IBM (2002). IBM WebSphere software platform. Retrieved October 5, 2002, from http://www.ibm.com/ websphere Iyengar, A., Challenger, J., Dias, D., & Dantzig, P. (2000). High-performance Web site design techniques. IEEE Internet Computing, 4(2), 17–26. Kopparapu, C. (2002). Load balancing servers, firewalls, and caches. New York: Wiley. Kwan, T. T., McGrath, R. E., & Reed, D. A. (1995). NCSA’s World Wide Web server: Design and performance. IEEE Computer, 28(11), 68–74. Leighton, T., & Lewin, D. (2000). Global document hosting system utilizing embedded content distributed ghost servers (International Publication WO 00/04458). World Intellectual Property Organization. Menasce, D. A., Almeida, V. A. F., Fonseca, R., & Mendes, M. A. (1999). A methodology for workload characterization of e-commerce sites. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Electronic Commerce (pp. 119– 128). New York: ACM Press. Microsoft (2000). Network load balancing technical overview (white paper). Retrieved October 5,
2002, from http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/ techinfo/howitworks/cluster/nlb.asp Oppenheimer, D., & Patterson, D. A. (2002). Architecture and dependability of large-scale Internet services. IEEE Internet Computing, 6(5), 41– 49. Padmanabhan, V. N., & Qui, L. (2000). The content and access dynamics of a busy Web site: Findings and implications. In Proceedings of the ACM SIGCOMM (pp. 111–123). New York: ACM Press. Pai, V. S., Aron, M., Banga, G., Svendsen, M., Druschel, P., Zwaenepoel, W., et al. (1998). Locality-aware request distribution in cluster-based network servers. In Proceedings of the 8th ACM International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems (pp. 205–216). New York: ACM Press. Rabinovich, M., & Spatscheck, O. (2001). Web caching and replication. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Resonate. (2001, April). TCP connection hop (white paper). Retrieved October 5, 2002, from http://www. resonate.com/solutions/literature/iwp cd tcp connect hop.php Schroeder, T., Goddard, S., & Ramamurthy, B. (2000). Scalable Web server clustering technologies. IEEE Network, 14(3), 38–45. Simpson, W., & Daydreamer. (1995). IP in IP tunneling (RFC 1853). Network Working Group. Reston, VA: The Internet Society. Wessels, D., & Claffy, K. (1997). Internet cache protocol (ICP), version 2 (RFC 2186). Network Working Group. Reston, VA: The Internet Society. Wolf, J. L., & Yu, P. S. (2001). On balancing the load in clustered Web farm. ACM Transaction on Internet Technology, 1(2), 231–261. Xiao, L., Zhang, X., & Xu, Z. (2002). On reliable and scalable peer-to-peer Web document sharing. In Proceedings of 2002 IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press. Xu, C.-Z., & Lau, F. (1997). Load balancing in parallel computers: Theory and practice. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic. Yoshikawa, C., Chun, B., Eastham, P., Vahdat, A., Anderson, T., & Culler, D. (1997). Using smart clients to build scalable services. In Proceedings of the USENIX Annual Technical Conference (pp. 105–117). Berkeley, CA: USENIX Association.
Local Area Networks Networks
Wayne C. Summers, Columbus State University
Introduction to Local Area Networks Why Do We Want to Network Computers? Types of LANs Difference Between LANs and WANs LAN Topology LAN Architecture LAN Hardware and Media Copper Wire Fiber Wire Wireless Hardware Devices LAN Software Role and Applications of LANs in the Internet, Intranet, Extranet, and E-commerce Worlds Wireless Local Area Networks LAN Installation Needs Analysis
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INTRODUCTION TO LOCAL AREA NETWORKS A network is a collection of two or more devices linked together. Typically the connection is a physical connection using wires or cables, although wireless connections for networks are also possible. In addition to the hardware required for the connection, communication software is necessary to allow the communications to occur. Networks facilitate the sharing of resources including hardware, software, and data as well as enhancing communications between computers and users of computers. Networks can be classified as local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). The main distinction between these classifications of networks is the radius of the network. A local area network is a network where the computers are physically close together. This may mean that the computers are in the same room, in the same building, or even at the same site. Computers in a wide area network are often distributed beyond metropolitan areas. The Internet is an example of a WAN.
Why Do We Want to Network Computers? In the early days of computing, there were a small number of computers, which could be used by only one person at a time. With the emergence of time-sharing in the 1960s, individual computers could be used by more than one user simultaneously. This significantly expanded the functionality of computers, but had several limitations. Chief among the limitations was that as more users connected to the shared computer, the amount of resources available for each user’s transaction became less. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the personal computer (PC) resulted in the return of one computer—one user (Figure 1). Finally, in the 1990s, hardware and software became available to network multiple PCs (Figure 2). Before
Site Analysis Equipment Selection Site Design Server Configuration Installation Schedule Installation LAN Administration Configuration List System Log Training Backup Security Conclusion Glossary Cross References Further Reading
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LANs, copies of data needed to be kept by every user of the data on each computer; copies of software or application programs used by each user had to be installed on each computer; every computer needed its own printer. Networking computers removes this need for redundancy. Data in a networked environment can be shared. Each user can access the data from other computers via the network. This feature of networks helped speed the transition from mainframe computing to networked computing. Networked computers allow important information to be shared among different computer users. Rather than copies of data being kept on each computer, one copy of the data can be kept on a server and accessed remotely via the network. Changes to the data can be made once and then accessed by all. Rather than software being installed on every computer, it can be shared in a network environment. Application programs can be stored on one computer and run remotely from another computer. In an office configured with multiple non-networked computers, each computer must have a copy installed of each application program that is used. In addition to the need to purchase copies of the software for each computer, the software must be installed and maintained on each computer. Network versions of many application programs can be purchased. A networked version of software is typically much cheaper than purchasing large numbers of copies of a particular piece of software. Network software only needs to be installed once on a server, allowing users on the other computers to access the software. When it is time to upgrade the software, it only needs to be done once on the server, instead of on all of the computers. Installing software on multiple computers simultaneously can be facilitated using a computer network. Networks facilitate the sharing of hardware. Hardware can be installed in one location and accessed 515
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IBM Compatible
IBM Compatible
IBM Compatible
IBM Compatible
IBM Compatible
IBM Compatible
Printer
Printer
Figure 1: Before networks.
Figure 3: Print server.
over the network from other computers. Printers can be networked so that multiple users can share the same printer or other hardware device. Other peripheral devices including modems, CD and DVD ROMs, and networking devices such as routers can all be shared using a LAN. Before LANs, computer users who needed to communicate with others had to use traditional methods such as physically visiting another user, calling on the telephone, or having a letter delivered to the other person. Communication has been enhanced tremendously with e-mail and instant messaging. Both of these methods require the use of a LAN.
server and e-mail server software installed and function as both a Web server and a communications server. A workstation can also be one type of server and a client for another type of server. For example, a computer can be running Web server software but print through the network using another computer that functions as a print server.
TYPES OF LANs Computers that can access a network are often referred to as computer workstations. Any device (workstation, printer, modem, etc.) that connects to a network is called a node. Many of the early networks allowed simply the sharing of resources between PCs. These types of networks are called peer-to-peer networks. Each computer has the same potential for sharing files and hardware devices. A peer-topeer network is easy to design and maintain, but is limited in its capabilities. Most networks today are classified as client/server networks. In a client/server network, one or more of the computers function as servers, while the remainder of the computers functions as clients. A server is a computer that provides a service while a client computer makes use of the service provided. Examples of servers include print servers, file servers, mail servers, and web servers. A print server (Figure 3) is a computer that provides access to one or more printers across the network. Print servers were among the earliest types of servers. A file server provides a repository for files that can be accessed by other computers over the network. Mail or communication servers manage the flow of incoming and outgoing electronic mail for users accessing the server from client workstations. Web servers are computers running software that provides access to World Wide Web documents. Computers on a network can run more than one type of server software and can function as multiple types of servers. For example, a computer can have both Web
IBM Compatible
Printer
IBM Compatible
Difference Between LANs and WANs As mentioned earlier, the main distinction between LANs and WANs is the radius of the network. A LAN is a network where the nodes are physically close together. In most cases, the nodes are in the same room, although they may be in the same building or in nearby buildings. Typically, networks with a radius greater than a kilometer or two are classified as wide area networks. Other ways of distinguishing between LANs and WANs include transmission speed and ownership. LANs are typically faster networks with speeds of at least 10 Mbps. WANs are generally significantly slower, with most connections to WANs around 1.5 Mbps. LANs are owned by the organization where the network is used. WANs generally use hardware that is owned by a network provider. A final distinction is with the difference in protocols used by LANs and WANs. The next section describes two of the protocols (Ethernet and token ring) used by LANs. WANs typically use different protocols, including frame relay and X.25.
LAN Topology LANs can be organized in a variety of ways. One way to classify networks is by their electrical configuration or logical topology. This is basically the way that the data are transmitted between nodes. The main two logical topologies are bus and ring. In a bus network, the data are broadcast from one node to all other nodes in the LAN even though the data may be intended for only one node. Each of the nodes receives the data, but they are only “read” by the node that the data are intended for. The data include an address for the destination node or nodes. Ethernet is the primary protocol that supports the bus logical topology.
IBM Compatible
Ethernet
Figure 2: After networks.
Figure 4: Bus network.
TYPES OF LANs
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Figure 5: Terminator and BNC Tconnector. In a ring network, the data are sent from one node to the next in sequential order in a circular fashion. Each node inspects the destination address of the data packet to determine if the data are meant for it. If the data are not meant for the node, the data packet is passed along to the next node in the logical ring. LANs can also be classified by the physical layout of the network. The physical layout is known as the physical topology. The physical topology of the network can have a significant influence on a LAN’s performance and reliability. The three main physical topologies are bus, ring, and star. There are also hybrid networks including star– bus and star–ring, which incorporate parts of both types of networks. In a bus topology (Figure 4), the nodes are arranged in a linear fashion, with terminators (Figure 5) on each end. The nodes are connected to the “bus” with connectors. Bus networks are easy to install but not very reliable. Any break in the connection, or a loose connection, will bring down the entire network. In a ring topology (Figure 6), each connected node is an active participant in the ring network. Each data packet is received by a node, and, if it is not intended for the node, it is passed along the ring to the next node. If one of the nodes or its network card malfunctions, the network stops functioning. In a star network (Figure 7) each connected node is attached to a central device. Typically this device is a hub or a switched hub, but it could also be other devices, including a multistation access unit (MAU). Star networks are more reliable and easier to troubleshoot. Star networks do require an additional hardware device such as a hub or switch and additional cable. Because each node is inde-
Workstation
Workstation
Laptop computer
Workstation
Figure 7: Star physical network. pendently connected to the central device, a failure only affects the single node. Of course if the central device fails, the entire network fails.
LAN Architecture The most popular network architecture for LANs today is Ethernet. Ethernet was invented by Robert Metcalfe and others at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) around 1973. Ethernet uses the carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) access method. Carrier sense refers to each node being able to “listen” for other users using the network, only attempting to use the network if it is not being used. Multiple access means that any node on the network may use the network without requiring further permission. Collision detection lets the node know if a message was not delivered and controls the mechanism for retransmitting the data packet. CSMA/CD is most efficient when there are a limited number of nodes requesting access to the network. In 1981, the first Ethernet standard was developed by a consortium comprising Digital, Intel, and Xerox. This was followed by a second Ethernet standard in 1982, called Ethernet II. Ethernet II (Figure 8) had the following characteristics: Bus topology,
Coaxial cable using baseband signaling,
Data rate10 mbit/sec,
Maximum station separation of 2.8 kilometers, and
Maximum number of stations 1024.
In addition, the IEEE has developed a standard, also often referred to as Ethernet, called the IEEE 802.3 standard (2002; see Figure 9). The two standards are very similar and have similar frame layouts. Ethernet can run over a variety of media types including several types of coaxial cable, twisted pair cable,
Preamble
Figure 6: Ring network.
8 octets
Destination Address 6 octets
Source Address 6 octets
Type 2 octets
Data Unit 46- 1500 bytes
Figure 8: Ethernet II frame layout.
Frame Check Sequence 4 octets
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Preamble 8 octets
Start Frame Delimiter 1 octet
Destination Address 6 octets
Source Address 6 octets
Length 2 octets
Logical Link Control IEEE 802.2 Data 46- 1500 bytes
Frame Check Sequence 4 octets
Figure 9: IEEE 802.3 frame layout. and fiber optic cable, as well as wireless formats, including radio signals and infrared. Table 1 lists several of these media types. The first number indicates the speed in megabits, the “Base” refers to baseband transmission, meaning that the entire bandwidth is dedicated to just one data channel, and the last number or letter indicates the approximate maximum segment length or the media type. A second network architecture, token ring (Figure 10), was developed in the early 1970s by IBM. Token ring uses the token passing access method. Only the computer that has the 24-bit packet of data called the token may use the network. This token is generated by a designated computer called the active monitor and passed around the ring until one of the computers wishes to use the network. When a computer wants to use the network, it seizes the token, changes the status of the token to busy, inserts its data frame onto the network, and only releases the token when it receives a confirmation that the data packet has been received. A token ring network uses a sequential logical topology, which was traditionally a ring physical topology but now is typically a star topology. IBM specified two architectures that operated at 4 and 16 Mbps.
LAN HARDWARE AND MEDIA There are a variety of media choices for connecting computers to a local area network. Early networks used copper wires, either coaxial or twisted-pair.
Copper Wire Coaxial cable consists of a center wire surrounded by insulation and then a grounded shield of braided wire. The
shield minimizes electrical and radio-frequency interference. Coaxial cable was typically either thinnet or thicknet. Thicknet (Figure 11) was the original standard for Ethernet, as defined by the IEEE 10Base-5 standard, and uses 50- coaxial cable (RG-8 or RG-11 A/U) with maximum length 500 m. Thinnet (Figure 12) is defined by the IEEE 10Base-2 standard and uses 50- coaxial cable (RG-58 A/U) with maximum length 185 m. RG-58 is similar to the coaxial cable used with cable TVs. Cables in the 10Base-2 system connect to other devices with BNC connectors (Figure 13). Twisted-pair networking cable also has two different forms—UTP (unshielded twisted-pair) and STP (shielded twisted-pair). Both types of cable consist of either two or four pairs of wires. Each pair are twisted together. Shielded twisted-pair cable has an additional layer of conducting material surrounding the twisted pairs of wires. Unshielded twisted-pair cable does not have the additional layer. Telephone companies use UTP cable with two twisted pairs of wires. UTP is the most common and least expensive method for networking computers (Figure 14). There are six categories of unshielded twisted-pair cabling ranging from Category 1 (CAT1), which is ordinary telephone cable used to carry voice, to Category 6 (CAT6) (Figure 15), which is designed for high-speed networks. CAT6 uses 23 AWG copper as opposed to the 24 AWG used in Cat5 and lower; therefore the signal attenuates less with speed and distance. CAT6 also uses a tighter twist ratio that cuts down on internal crosstalk. UTP uses RJ45 connectors (Figure 16) to plug into the different networking devices.
Table 1 Types of Network Media
Standard
Popular name
Speed
10Base2
Thinnet cheapnet
10Mbps
10Base5
Thicknet yellow hose 10BaseT twisted pair Ethernet UTP Fast Ethernet
10Mbps
Fast Ethernet Fiber Ethernet FOIRL Fast Ethernet Gigabit Ethernet 10 Gigabit Ethernet
100Mbps 10Mbps
10BaseT
100BaseT4 100BaseTX 10BaseFL 100BaseFX 1000BaseT 10GBase
10Mbps
100Mbps
100Mbps 1000Mbps 10000Mbps
Media Thin coaxial cable RG-58 Thick coaxial cable RG-8 or RG-11 Unshielded twisted pair CAT3, CAT5 4 pair telephone grade cable 2 pair data grade cable Multimode fiber optic cable 2 strands fiber cable Cat5e Fiber
Maximum Segment Length 185 meters 500 meters 100 meters
100 meters 100 meters 1000 meters 412 meters 100 meters 300 meters
LAN HARDWARE AND MEDIA
Starting delimiter 1 octet
Access Control 1 octet
Frame control 1 octet
Destination address 6 octets
Source address 6 octets
Optional Routing Information Field upto 18 octets
Optional LLC Fields 3 or 4 octets
519
DATA Unlimited size
Frame Check Sequence 4 octets
Ending delimiter 1 octet
Frame status 1 octet
Figure 10: IEEE 802.5 token frame layout.
Fiber Wire Fiber-optic cable (Figure 17) is becoming more common as demand for higher transmission speeds increases. Fiberoptic cable transmits data using pulsating laser light instead of electricity. Fiber-optic cable consists of a thin glass or plastic filament protected by thick plastic padding and an external plastic sheath. A light signal travels faster, farther, more reliably, and more securely than electricity. Fiber cable can send reliable signals at speeds of 100 GB/s as far as 10 kilometers. Unfortunately, fiber-optic cable is expensive to buy, install, and maintain.
Wireless Wireless LANs are rapidly becoming commonplace in businesses and homes. Early wireless LANs were lightbased, using infrared light to transmit the data. Wireless LANs that are light-based require line of sight for all devices on the network. Because of this limitation and the slow data speed, there are few light-based infrared wireless LANs. Most wireless LANs use radio waves to transmit the data. Each device in a wireless network requires an antenna to receive and transmit the radio signals. Wireless LANs can be peer-to-peer (Figure 18), which only requires that each device be equipped with a wireless network card that contains the antenna, or a more complete network that requires an access point (Figure 19). The access point contains an antenna, a radio transmitter, and a wired network interface, typically an RJ45 port. The access point acts as a base station (similar to a hub) for the wireless network and also as a bridge between the wireless and wired networks. Regardless of whether the network is wired or wireless, every device on the network must be connected to the network with a network adapter or network interface card (NIC) (Figures 20–22). The card must be physically connected to the device, either installed directly into a slot in the computer or connected via a port like a USB port. The network card provides the interface between the node on the network and the network media.
signal travels, it loses energy and becomes weaker, thus becoming difficult to read. As the network cable becomes longer, it becomes more likely that two or more machines will transmit at the same time, causing a “collision.” It will take longer for the machines to detect the collision. There are several ways to increase the radius of a network. The simplest device to use is a repeater. A repeater (Figure 23) is an electronic device used to extend the distance of a network by amplifying the signal and reducing the electrical interference within the network. The repeater relays the data from one segment of the network to another without inspecting or modifying the data. Repeaters can also be used to connect segments of the network that use different cable media. Repeaters operate at the physical layer of the network. A hub (Figure 24) is a multiport repeater that allows the distance of the network to be extended as well as allowing multiple devices to connect to the LAN. A hub is a device that brings all of the connections together (Figure 25). Like a repeater, the hub does not inspect or modify the data. Repeaters and hubs boost the signals on a network, but do not solve problems involving collisions. Other devices, however, alleviate this problem by limiting traffic on the network. A bridge (Figure 26) is an electronic device that connects two or more networks running the same network protocols. It allows the isolation of the different networks. The different networks may have different topologies. Bridges are used to increase the efficiency of a network by limiting the amount of broadcast traffic to “one side” of the bridge. By doing this, networks can be expanded without a significant increase of traffic. Bridges operate at the physical and data-link layers and make use of the physical addresses associated with the network cards. A switch (Figure 27) is a multiport bridge. Switches are often referred to as switching hubs. A switch combines the appearance and functionality of a hub with the additional functionality of a bridge. Switches have all but replaced hubs in local area network installations. Although typically not part of a LAN, routers provide the interface between a LAN and WAN or between different LANs. Routers route the traffic between different
Hardware Devices Several factors limit the radius of a local area network. The farther a signal travels along a twisted pair or coaxial cable, the more likely it is to be degraded by noise. As the
Figure 11: RG-58 coaxial cable.
Figure 12: RG-8 coaxial cable.
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Figure 13: BNC connector. networks by maintaining tables of networks and their addresses. Routers are more sophisticated than switches and bridges and work at a higher level of the network.
LAN SOFTWARE Local area network software can be classified into three categories: network operating systems, network utilities, and network applications software. Not too many years ago, operating systems and network operating systems were distinct. Today almost all operating systems have network operating system functionality built in. In other words, the user does not need to add any additional software to the operating system to get the computer to function on a network. All of today’s popular operating systems, including all recent versions of Microsoft Windows, all versions of Linux and Unix, and all versions of the Macintosh OS, support the connection of a computer to a network right out of the box. In addition to the usual computing tasks performed by an operating system, a network operating system also r
Manages the network connection,
Directs data traffic onto and off of the network,
r Manages the flow of data between the different devices,
r Manages communication and messages between the
network users, and r Provides for security of the data and other resources available on the network.
Figure 15: CAT6 twisted pairs of wires. another device to indicate the time it takes to reach a target machine. Ping is a useful utility for troubleshooting networking problems. Arp is used to map the physical address of a networked device to the corresponding network IP address that has been assigned to the device. Traceroute uses the ping utility to map the route packets of data take from a source to a destination machine. Network operating systems typically include drivers for most network adapters, so that the adapter can be plugged into the computer and the computer can function on the network without too much additional configuration. Network application software includes client front end software that is specific for use by client computers. This would include Web browsers and e-mail software clients that would be run when needed. Hosts functioning as servers would have server software that would be constantly running, waiting for connections from clients. Web servers and e-mail servers would be examples of this. Other types of network application software would include database client and server software as well as groupware software.
r
ROLE AND APPLICATIONS OF LANs IN THE INTERNET, INTRANET, EXTRANET, AND E-COMMERCE WORLDS
The network operating system provides the interface between the LAN hardware and the applications running on the host. Included with most of the network operating systems are specific network utilities such as ping, arp, and traceroute, which provides network functions. Ping sends ICMP ECHO REQUEST and ECHO REPLY packets of data to
One of the major uses of local area networks is to facilitate connections by users to the Internet. This requires the connection of the LAN to the Internet via either a dial-up telephone connection or a leased line. A dial-up connection requires a modem that converts the network’s serial digital signal to the phone line’s analog signal. A leased line connection requires a router that is then connected to another hardware device called a CSU/DSU (channel service unit/data service unit). The CSU/DSU in turn
Figure 14: CAT5 patch cable.
Figure 16: RJ45 connector.
WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORKS
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Ethernet Bus Access Point Figure 17: Fiber-optic cable. connects the network’s router to the end of the leased line and converts the network’s serial data signal to and from the leased line’s digital signal. The leased line provides a high-speed Internet connection for the organization owning the LAN. The leased line is typically leased from an Internet service provider (ISP). The ISP maintains the actual connection to the Internet using its own router. Connecting a LAN to the Internet requires that the devices on the LAN support the TCP/IP suite of protocols that provide the foundation of the Internet. These protocols are necessary for computers on the LAN to be able to communicate with devices in other parts of the Internet. The TCP/IP suite of protocols include r r r r r r
Transmission control protocol (TCP)—establishes and maintains the Internet connection, Internet protocol (IP)—handles the routing of packets of data across the Internet, Simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP)—receives and delivers e-mail messages, Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)—facilitates the delivery of Web documents, File transfer protocol (FTP)—transfers files, and Telnet—allows users to remotely connect to other computers over the Internet.
Many organizations have set up their own internal Internets called intranets. An intranet is a private network that uses many of the same protocols as the Internet. An intranet appears to the user like the Internet, but it is typically not open to anyone outside the organization. An intranet is not a replacement for a LAN but rather runs within a LAN and supports many of the same applications as the Internet, typically Web servers and browsers and e-mail servers and clients, as well as additional groupware software. The core of most intranets is the Web site, which typically contains most of the internal documents that need to be disseminated among the organization’s members. Setting up an intranet site on an organization’s LAN requires a lot of organization and planning in selecting the hardware, software, and data needed to create a functional intranet.
Figure 18: Peer-to-peer wireless network.
Wireless Figure 19: Wireless network with access point.
Some organizations have taken the intranet concept one step further and linked distributed parts of the organization together through the Internet via an extranet. An extranet is basically an intranet that may include access by customers, suppliers, and trusted partners.
WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORKS Wireless local area networks (WLANs) provide the freedom to access data without being tethered to the network with wires. WLANs enable users to take laptops and handheld computers anywhere, any time, and still access the network. This is becoming more important in today’s world of information. Wireless networks are easier and less expensive to install. Wireless networks do not require spending money on cable and then spending additional money and time installing the cable. Wireless access points and NICs have become much cheaper in the past year. Installing a wireless network involves turning on the access points, installing the software for the access points and NICs, and identifying the access points for the NICs to connect to. Modifying a wireless network is easy. There is no need to remove and/or relocate cable. There is no longer a concern for network cable failure. Companies are using WLANs to keep track of inventory in warehouses. Workers who need to be constantly in contact with their networks are more frequently using
Figure 20: Network Interface Card with RJ45, BNC, and AUI connections.
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LOCAL AREA NETWORKS
Figure 23: Repeater.
LAN INSTALLATION Before a LAN is installed, a lot of planning needs to take place. The process can typically be broken down into seven steps: Figure 21: Network Interface Card with RJ45 connection.
r r r r
wireless LANs. WLAN devices have become commonplace among workers in the health care industry. One area where WLANs are beginning to have a great impact is in education. Students and faculty no longer need to find wired computer labs to communicate and work. With wireless devices, students and faculty can access the networks in any buildings where wireless access points have been installed. Wireless networks still have some drawbacks. Chief among these drawbacks are the limitations on distance and bandwidth. The radius of a WLAN can be extended by adding additional points of access to the network. Adding additional access points can also help increase the bandwidth of the WLAN. There are also new standards and associated wireless devices emerging that support increased bandwidth. The other major drawback for WLANs is security. A WLAN transmits radio signals over a broad area. This allows an intruder to lurk anywhere and intercept the signals from the wireless network. One way of inhibiting access to wireless networks is to turn on Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). WEP relies on a secret key that is shared between a mobile station and the access point. The secret key is used to encrypt packets before they are transmitted, and an integrity check is used to ensure that packets are not modified in transit. Unfortunately WEP is easily compromised. Additional levels of security are now being developed and implemented to protect the transmission of data.
Figure 22: PCMCIA wireless NIC.
r r r
Needs analysis, Site analysis, Equipment selection, Site design, Server configuration, Installation schedule, and Installation.
Needs Analysis The first aspect of installing a local area network is determining the needs of the organization and the users. Is a local area network needed? What aspects of the network are needed? Who will be using the network? What will they be using the network for? Will a local area network help the bottom line of the organization? Reasons for installing a local area network might include r
Need for improved communication, Need for centralizing data, r Need for sharing hardware, r Need for automating work flow, and/or r Need for enhanced security of data. r
Site Analysis Once a need has been established, it is necessary to determine where the LAN will be installed. What parts of the organization’s site will be networked? Where will the servers be located? A site plan will need to be drawn. If a fire escape plan is available, it can be used as a template for the building and the locations of rooms and doors. It is best if the architectural plans can be found. The site plan (Figure 28) is a map of the location where the network is installed and should include
Figure 24: 4-port hub.
LAN INSTALLATION
Two hosts connected with a hub. Figure 25: Hub connecting two hosts. r r r r r r
The dimensions of the site including the location of each employee, The location of all immovable objects including doors and windows, The current location of all moveable objects, The location of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and ducts, The location of electrical outlets and the current wiring scheme, and The current location of all computer equipment and the planned location for any additional devices.
Equipment Selection As the site plan is developed, an inventory of equipment on hand needs to be conducted. An inventory of equipment will identify the capabilities of the equipment incorporated into the proposed network. This will identify which equipment will be obsolete once the network is installed and which equipment will require modification. Older workstations may still be useful as print servers. Table 2 shows the features to be noted in the equipment survey. Once the current equipment has been inventoried, it is now time to identify new equipment that will need to be purchased. This list should be correlated with the user needs identified earlier. Once this list is prepared, vendors can be contacted, soliciting their recommendations for meeting the hardware and software needs. Be sure to consider any infrastructure constraints including electrical power and distances. Table 3 is an example of a form that could be used to compare different vendor proposals.
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8-port switch Figure 27: Switches.
is time to create a working site design (Figure 29). This design will include details of where all devices, including networking devices, will be located. The locations for all network connections must be indicated. The locations of all network cable must be delineated.
Server Configuration Once the computers that will be installed as servers arrive, they need to be configured. Server software needs to be installed and the directory structure of the server needs to be organized. The directory structure begins with the root directory, with all other directories within it and the files and subdirectories within those. Typically, there will be directories for the network operating system, separate directories for each server application, and directories for the clients who will be connecting to the server.
Installation Schedule Networks take a considerable amount of time to install. It is important to have an installation schedule. There will be times when employees’ computers will need to be turned off and possibly moved. Disruption needs to be minimized wherever possible. Be sure to include in the installation schedule the possibility for shipping delays on the equipment that has been ordered. Be sure to read the manuals before the installation begins so that there will not be any surprises once the installation starts. Also prepare the site before the installation begins. This may involve moving furniture, installing new outlets, and removing equipment that will no longer be used. Don’t forget to back up any data that are on systems that will be affected by the move.
Site Design Once the site plan from the site analysis has been completed and the equipment lists have been completed, it
A network with a bridge
Figure 26: Bridges.
Figure 28: Sample site plan.
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Table 2 Equipment Inventory Form Serial Number Processor RAM size and configuration Hard disk Other drives CD-ROM Monitor Warranty information
will need to be trained in the procedures they will need to follow to use the network.
xxxxxxxxxxx Intel Pentium 4–1.8 GHz 256 MB; 2 × 128 MB DIMM 20 Connor GB One 3.5, 1.44 MB Toshiba 24× 17 Toshiba XVGA Expires Jan. 2003
Installation Before the installation begins, it is best to discuss everything with someone who has been through a LAN installation before. Have this person look over the designs, schedules, and forms to ensure that nothing was forgotten. Depending on the size of the installation, it may take anywhere from a couple hours to a couple of days. Be prepared for delays. If this is a wired network, the cable media will need to be pulled first. This is the part that typically takes the longest time. While the cable media are being pulled or shortly thereafter, the remaining components will need to be installed. This would typically include the patch panels in the communications rooms and the wall outlet for each device that will be networked. Once this is completed, the electronic devices (hubs, switches, etc.) will need to be installed. If network cards need to be installed in the older computers, this will be done next. Finally, the software for the network cards will need to be installed on each workstation and server if this has not already been done. Be sure to install the appropriate network software. The final two stages of the installation are testing and training. Every device will need to be tested to ensure that its network connection works. This should be done before any of the users access the network. Be sure to test all of the network devices and the networked printers. Users
LAN ADMINISTRATION Once the LAN has been installed, there are several key aspects of administering the network.
Configuration List Using the equipment inventory forms developed during the installation, along with similar documentation for the new devices, a set of configuration lists needs to be developed. These would include a list of all computers, similar to the equipment inventory form, directory lists for each server that is installed, a list of all server users, and a list of all printers and other shared devices. It is also very important to keep copies of the network plans developed for the installation of the network.
System Log The system log is documentation for the network. It provides a detailed history of the network’s hardware, software, and configuration features. As changes are made to the network, these changes need to be documented in the system log. As problems arise with the network, these also need to be documented in the system log. This log needs to be maintained from the beginning. The system log should include all hardware and software warranties, hardware and software information, current setup structure, backup and recovery plan, backup logs, and error/ downtime logs.
Training Training does not end after the network has been installed. The network is a dynamic part of an organization’s computing system. As changes are made, employees will need additional training.
Table 3 Vendor worksheet Vendor 1 Model Server H’ware S’ware Workstations H’ware S’ware NIC Switches/hubs bridges Access points Routers Cabling Other TOTAL COST:
Quan.
Vendor 2 Price
Model
Quan.
Vendor 3 Price
Model
Quan.
Price
GLOSSARY
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ZONE 1 ZONE 2
Room 1
Room 2 Girls Restroom
Room 7 Rm 8 Secretary’s Office Room 9
ZONE 3
Boys Restroom
Room 3
Room 4
Teachers Lounge
Classroom
Library
Room 6 Classroom
Classroom
Room 5 Classroom
Restroom Room 13 Chapter I Classroom
ZONE 4 Room 16
Room 14
Computer Lab
Room 12 Classroom
Note Has 10 drops needs 24
Router 2 Port Boxes/Faceplates 4 Port Boxes/Faceplates 16 Port Hub, w/patch panel
Karate Room
24 Port Hub, w/patch panel Counselor’s Office
Classroom
Room 15 Room 10
Conference Room
Cat 5 Runs Line Between Hubs
Room 11
Figure 29: Sample site design.
Backup
GLOSSARY
As more and more data are kept on networked servers and shared by more than one user, it becomes critical that a procedure be established for backing up critical data. This may be the most important task for a network administrator. Hardware and software can be replaced. New employees can be hired. But it is difficult to recreate large amounts of data. The network administrator must establish a schedule for backing up all critical data.
Access point A hardware device consisting of an antenna, a radio transmitter, and a wired network interface. Used for wireless networks. Bridge A network device for segmenting a local area network into two or more segments. Bus network A network where the nodes are arranged in a linear fashion. Ethernet The most widely used local area network architecture standard. Extranet A private portion of the Internet accessible only to individuals within an organization. Hub A network device for connecting multiple nodes to a network. Internet A vast collection of networks linked together, built around the TCP/IP Suite of protocols. Intranet An organization’s internal network, built around the TCP/IP Suite of protocols. Local area network (LAN) A network where the nodes are typically physically close together. Logical topology Based on the electrical configuration of the network. Network A collection of two or more devices. Network interface card (NIC) An adapter for connecting a computer to the network media. Physical topology Based on the physical configuration of the nodes in the network. Repeater A network device for extending the radius of a network. Ring network A network where the nodes are arranged in a circular fashion.
Security Once computers become accessible to other individuals, security issues need to be considered. In a networked environment, users will need user IDs and passwords. If security is extremely important, then encryption of data might also need to be implemented. If the local area network is attached to another network, then a firewall may be necessary to control access to critical data between the two networks.
CONCLUSION Local area networks have played a very important role in providing computer access to large numbers of users. They have allowed users to share hardware, software, and most importantly data. They now also provide access to the Internet as well as organizations intranets and extranets. With the emergence of wireless local area networks, the applications of local area networks will continue to expand.
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Router A network device for connecting a LAN to another network, typically a WAN. Star network A network that has the nodes connected to a central device, typically a hub or a switch. Switch A network device for connecting multiple nodes to a network, allowing two devices to communicate only with each other at a given moment. Wide area network (WAN) A network where the nodes are physically far apart.
CROSS REFERENCES See Conducted Communications Media; Extranets; GroupWare; Intranets; Wide Area and Metropolitan Area Networks; Wireless Communications Applications.
FURTHER READING Charles Spurgeon’s Ethernet Web Site (2002). Retrieved October 7, 2002, from http://www.ethermanage.com/ ethernet/ethernet.html Ciama, Mark (2001). Guide to designing and implementing wireless LANs. Boston, MA: Course Technology. Comer, D. E. (2001). Computer networks and internets with Internet applications (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Ethernet Codes master page (2002). Retrieved October 7, 2002, from http://map-ne.com/Ethernet/ Goldman, J. E. (1997). Local area networks: A client/server approach. New York: Wiley. Goldman, J. E. (1998). Applied data communications, A business-oriented approach (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley. IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD (ETHERNET) (2002). Retrieved October 7, 2002, from http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/ 802/3/index.html Link-layer technologies (2002). Retrieved October 7, 2002, from http://www.cs.columbia.edu/∼hgs/internet/ ethernet.html Official Internet protocol standards (2002). Retrieved October 7, 2002, from http://www.rfc-editor.org/ rfcxx00.html Panko, R. (2001). Business data communications and networking (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Stallings, W. (2000). Data and computer communications (6th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Subramanian, M. (2000). Network management: Principles and practice. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley. Taylor, E. (2000). Networking handbook. New York: McGraw Hill. Thomas, R. M. (1989). Introduction to local area networks (2nd ed.). Sybex Network Press. Webopedia (2002). Retrieved July 5, 2002, from http:// www.pcwebopaedia.com/TERM/l/local area network LAN.html
M M
Machine Learning and Data Mining on the Web Qiang Yang, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, China
Introduction Web Content Mining Wrapper Induction Learning Web Ontology Web Page Classification Web Structure Mining Page Rank Algorithm Reinforcement Learning Hubs and Authorities Web Usage Mining Obtaining Web Logs Extracting User Sessions Learning Path Profiles Web Object Prediction
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INTRODUCTION In recent years, machine learning and data mining have made great impact on the Web, both in research and applications. This impact is, to a large part, due to the availability of large quantities of data in many information sources on the Web. A major source of data is the Web itself, which is ever increasing at a rapid rate. The Web contains millions of Web pages that are interconnected to each other in complex ways. The content of many Web pages is also dynamically changing. Visitors to the millions of Web servers leave large quantities of Web log data. It is natural for one to wonder if any significant, interesting, and even unexpected patterns can be discovered from the Web using machine learning and data mining techniques. The possibility of learning useful information from the Web has been recognized early by researchers such as Etzioni (1996) and has been tackled by researchers from many different angles including machine learning, agent technologies, data mining and knowledge discovery, information retrieval, and computer networks. In this chapter, we give a focused survey of some significant techniques and applications of machine learning and data mining on the Web. In this survey, we follow the categorization of Za¨ıane, Xin, and Han (1998) to classify the Web mining and machine learning issues into Web content mining, Web structure mining, and Web usage mining. To this categorization we also add Web-based recommendations using collaborative filtering, which is often used in electronic commerce applications. For introductory tutorials on machine learning, two of the popular books are Machine Learning by Mitchell (1997) and Data Mining: Practical Machine Learning Tools
Learning to Prefetch Web Agents Web Page Clustering Learning to Adapt Web Sites Learning from Click Streams Web-Based Recommendation for E-commerce Pearson Correlation Speeding Up Collaborative Filters Personalization Systems Conclusion Glossary Cross References References
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and Techniques with Java Implementations by Witten and Frank (1999). For an introduction to data mining, the recommended readings are Data Mining Concepts and Techniques by Han and Kamber (2001) and Principles of Data Mining by Hand, Mannila, and Smyth (2001).
WEB CONTENT MINING Wrapper Induction In its raw form, Web pages are coded in the HTML format. This unstructured format makes it very difficult for computer programs to make sense of its content and manipulate it. To first convert the Web page into structured formats such as relational table formats or hierarchical formats (XML), users often extract useful content information from the Web pages by following a set of rules. When made explicit, the set of rules is called a wrapper. The process of building the rules from experience and handcrafted examples is called wrapper induction. The term wrapper induction was coined by Kushmerick, Weld, and Doorenbos (1997). We illustrate the key idea behind wrapper induction using the Stalker system of Knoblock, Lerman, Minton, and Muslea (2000). Consider the example fragments from a university Web site in Figure 1, where Ex1 through Ex4 are portions of the faculty home pages that contain address information. From these examples, we wish to build a relational database table such as that shown in Table 1. The task of wrapper induction is of great importance to practitioners. With a cleaned table such as Table 1 it is possible to offer the user with more advanced services, such as structured search by attributes, integration of multiple 527
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Ex1: ...Faculty:JohnAddress: 3435 CS Building
Phone:...
Table 2 Data Prepared for Training the Covering Algorithm
Ex2: ... Faculty:Smith
Address:233 Engineering
Phone:... Ex3: ... Faculty:Mary
Address: 3225 CS Building
Phone:... Ex4: ... Faculty:Steve
Address: 3112 Admin
Phone:...
Figure 1: Training examples for the wrapper learning algorithm. databases that are distributed on the Web, or accomplishment of even complex tasks such as comparison shopping and travel planning (Knoblock et al., 2000). Inspecting these examples, one possible extraction rule can be constructed as R1= SkipTo(Address) SkipTo(),
which has the following meaning: start from the beginning of the document and skip every token until you find a landmark consisting of the word Address, and then, again, ignore everything until you find the landmark . R1 is called a start rule because it identifies the beginning of the address. One can write a similar end rule that finds the end of the address; for sake of simplicity, we restrict our discussion here to start rules. Other rules can also be used to identify the address. For example, R2=(Address:)
R3=(Faculty:_ Capitalized_
Address:)
can also be used as start rules. R2 uses the three-token landmark that immediately precedes the beginning of the address in examples E1, E2, and E3, while R3 is defined based on a nine-token landmark that uses the wildcard Capitalized , which is a placeholder for any capitalized alphabetic string. To deal with variations in the format of the documents, one can introduce disjunctions into the extraction rules. For example, let us assume that the addresses that are within one mile from your location appear in bold (see example Ex4 in Figure 1), while the other ones are displayed as italic (e.g., Ex1, Ex2, and Ex3). We can extract all the names based on the disjunctive start rule either(Address:)
or SkipTo(Address)SkipTo()
Wrapper induction algorithms are based on supervised learning methods, by first constructing a training data set with the help from human users. From the Web pages, for example, a human expert can build the following table of potential indicative tokens. The inductive learning Table 1 Cleaned Training Examples
Example ID
Token 1
Token 2
Class
1 2 3 4
Address Address Faculty Phone
: :
Address Address Faculty Phone
algorithms can then use these examples to train different classification models for learning how to recognize the given class labels such as “Address” and so on. The examples can be further extracted to form the training examples as shown in Table 2. Using these training examples, various classification models can be learned. Kushmerick (2000) studied different classes of inductive learning algorithms that are grouped under the class PAC learning. The idea is to feed positive and negative examples to a learning algorithm, which then constructs a disjunctive normal form to capture the commonalities of the examples. An issue is how many examples must the learner see before it can confidently reduce its error to a minimum. Kushmerick explored this so-called sample complexity. Knoblock et al. (2000) used a rulelearning algorithm known as a covering algorithm by performing a local search in the space of extraction rules. Using this algorithm, a learner iteratively builds a set of rules based on the examples it has seen so far. Each time a new rule is selected, a subset of remaining examples are covered by the new rule. The process continues until all examples are covered. Recognizing the sequential nature of the problem, Hsu and Dung (1998) extended this idea by designing a finite-state automaton to learn the states and their transitions. These states and transitions are essentially the inductive rules for extracting the contents. Hsu and Dung demonstrated that this method is superior to many other algorithms in accuracy.
Learning Web Ontology As the XML is moving into the forefront of Web-based computing and database management arenas, the importance of ontology learning becomes apparent. Ontology refers to shared domain theories about object names and meaning that help not only humans, but also machines (Berners-Lee, Hendler, & Lassila, 2001). For example, a database may use “phone” to mean agent phone for one database schema in a real-estate Web site, while “agentphone” in another schema. The mapping function between the two schemas or XML DTDs can be learned from examples. Doan, Domingos, and Levy (2001) described a multistrategy learning algorithm to learn a variety of mapping functions between the two schemas, including a na¨ıve Bayesian classifier and a domain-dependent name matcher.
Web Page Classification Faculty Names John Smith Mary Steve
Address
Phone
3435 CS Building 233 Engineering 3225 CS Building 3112 Admin
— — — —
Another active area of Web content mining is Web page classification. The idea is to classify the Web pages into a known class using supervised learning techniques. For example, based on the content of the page, a Web page classifier may learn how to categorize Web pages into one of financial news or political news or some
WEB STRUCTURE MINING
Table 3 Classification Example Key words Stock 1 0 1 —
Movie 1 1 1 —
Show 0 1 1 —
Banks 1 0 0 —
Class financial entertainment financial —
other categories. Using this idea, Dumais, Cutrell, and Chen (2001) experimented with building a user-friendlier search engine. Liu, Ma, and Yu (2001) applied Web page classification to discover unexpected information from competitors’ Web sites. We now illustrate Web page classification using the na¨ıve Bayesian models. The na¨ıve Bayesian method assumes that the attributes of the data are independent and use the joint distribution of the data to make classifications; Witten and Frank (1999) provided a detailed description. Given a set of Web pages, each page can be considered a collection of words; this collection is also known as a bag of words. The words in each document form a vector, and together we have a vector space model. Essentially, we can consider the vector space model as a relational training table. In a supervised learning scheme, each vector has a class label such as “entertainment” or “financial.” For example, suppose we choose the words “stock,” “movie,” “show,” “banks” as the key words to classify the Web documents into entertainment and financial classes. The training data can then be formed as shown in Table 3. Suppose that we choose to use a na¨ıve Bayesian method for classifying this collection of documents. Let C be a class label such as “financial,” Ki be the binary presence of a key word such as “stock.” Let Pr [C | Ki ] be the probability that a document belong to the class C given that the key word Ki appears in the document. Then the probability that a particular document D belong to a class C can be calculated using the na¨ıve Bayesian formula (1) with the labeled documents as training data. The class with the largest probability value is taken as the predicted document. Pr [C | D] = −
Pr[K1 | C]∗ Pr[K2 | C]∗ . . . Pr[Kn | C]∗ Pr[C ] . Pr[D] (1)
Besides machine learning, the information retrieval community is strongly interested in Web page classification and full-text search on the Web. This community has a long history of research in text retrieval, where the text can be any text-based document. Both supervised and unsupervised learning methods have been applied to document retrieval. McCallum and Nigan (1998) and Yang (1999) provided systematic studies of statistical methods for document retrieval.
WEB STRUCTURE MINING Page Rank Algorithm We now turn our attention to the discovery of important structural relations on the Web. The hyperlink structure
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of the Web presents a unique opportunity for researchers to learn a great deal about the Web and its users. Conceptually, we can consider each Web page as a node in a graph structure and the hyperlinks that connect the Web pages as edges between the nodes. Then the Web can be modeled as a giant directed graph. This graph encodes important information about the intention of the Web page authors and relation between Web contents. For example, by counting how many pages are pointing at a particular page, we can estimate how important the authors of the Web pages would consider that page. This important page ranking score can be constantly updated using a crawler and used to enhance a search engine. In fact, this is the key idea behind powerful search engines such as Google (http://www.google.com). Before the arrival of the Google search engine, the hyperlink structure had largely gone unused in Web search engines. In developing Google, Brin, and Page (1998) had an intuitive idea. By crawling millions of Web pages with hundreds of servers, a Web page’s “PageRank” can be computed that corresponds to an objective measure of its citation importance that corresponds well with people’s subjective idea of importance. At a high level, PageRank captures the intuition that a page is important if it is pointed at by many other pages, or by other important pages. This knowledge can be learned by counting the socalled back links to each page; that is, the hyperlinks that lead to the page. Practice has shown that PageRank is an excellent way to prioritize the results of key word based searches on the Web. PageRank is defined as follows. Suppose that a Web page A has pages T1 . . . Tn that point to it. The parameter d is a damping factor, which can be set between 0 and 1. Let C ( A) be defined as the number of links going out of page A. The PageRank of a page A is given as PR( A) = (1 − d) + d( PR(T1 )/C(T1 ) + · · · + PR(Tn)/C(Tn)). (2) PageRank or PR( A) can be calculated using a simple iterative algorithm, and has been found to correspond to the principal eigenvector of the normalized link matrix of the Web.
Reinforcement Learning The PageRank algorithm is an instance of the more general reinforcement learning algorithm in machine learning for solving sequential planning and learning problems (Kaelbling, Littman, & Moore, 1996). Reinforcement learning builds on a collection of states that are interconnected to each other in a network, similar to how hyperlinks are connecting the Web pages. The value of certain states in this network is considered high if they are worthwhile to reach from one or several starting states. The system learns, among the many possible edges in the network, which are the good intermediate states to reach in order to find the final goal states. This is accomplished by letting the important states reinforce each other. A state is important if it is connected to other important states. Furthermore, the closer a state is to an important state, the more important it is as well. This is similar to the damping factor d used in the PageRank algorithm.
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can be further ranked by their hubs and authorities scores. The pages that are ranked high in the list are returned as the search result. In experiments on real Web pages, this method has shown dramatic improvement over text-based search engines.
Authority
Hub
WEB USAGE MINING
Figure 2: Illustrating hubs and authorities in Kleinburg (1998).
Hubs and Authorities Google’s idea of page ranking can be further extended to include a classification system for Web pages that are important in two different ways. The authority Web pages are those that are pointed to by many other Web pages. The hub pages are those that contain many pages that point to other pages. These hubs and authorities relationship reinforce each other similar to the reinforcementlearning algorithm. These pages can be used when a search engine decides which page should get higher priority in search results ranking. This is the essential idea behind Kleinberg’s Hubs & Authorities (1999) algorithm for searching Web pages. With each page p, we associate a nonnegative authority weight x( p) and a nonnegative hub weight y( p). We maintain the invariant that the weights of each type are normalized so their squares sum to one. We view the pages with larger x- and y-values as being better authorities and hubs, respectively. The scores for all pages can be computed using the reinforcement idea. If p points to many pages with large x-values, then it should receive a large y-value; and if pis pointed to by many pages with large y-values, then it should receive a large x-value. Given weights x( p) and y( p), and the set of hyperlinks E that contains all links of the form (q, p) or ( p, q), the weights can be computed from the formulas (3) and (4). Then x( p) ←
�
y(q)
(3)
x(q).
(4)
q:(q, p)∈E
�
y( p) ←
q:( p,q)∈E
With these definitions and algorithms, it is possible to greatly improve the basic key word based search on the Internet. For any key word based search, the resulting pages
Web servers record the visiting behavior of millions of Web users. By analyzing the Web logs, it is possible to obtain important insights into user behavior on Web sites and use the information to guide other applications. For example, it is possible to predict a user’s future needs based on their past visits to the Web servers. With the learned information on user preferences and behavior, it is also possible to design better Web caching systems and prefetching systems for retrieving new Web pages. It is even possible to dynamically reconfigure the user interface for a particular user to cater to the user’s individual interests (Srivastava, Cooley, Deshpande, & Tan, 2000).
Obtaining Web Logs Much of the machine learning and data mining research in Web usage mining starts from the log data accumulated at Web servers or proxy servers. Figure 3 shows an example Web log data from a NASA Web site; many of such logs are available for experimentation (http://www.Webcaching.com). Each record in the log file contains the IP address of the visitor, the date and time of the visit, the HTTP protocol used in the transaction, the error code, and the file size. Any popular Web server can easily accumulate gigabytes of such data in a short amount of time.
Extracting User Sessions Based on the Web logs, researchers have built various machine learning algorithms to extract the Web usage patterns of user groups as well as individuals. The first task is usually data cleaning, by breaking apart the long sequence of visits by different users into user sessions. Here a user can be identified by an individual IP address. Furthermore, the sequence of visits may be made by the same user at different times. Thus, there is a further need to separate the visiting sequence of pages into visiting sessions. Most work in Web usage mining employs a predefined time interval to find the visiting sessions. For example, one can use a two-hour time limit as the separating time interval between two consecutive visiting sessions. However, by
kgtyk4.kj.yamagata-u.ac.jp - [01/Aug/1995:00:00:17 -0400] "GET / HTTP/1.0" 200 7280 kgtyk4.kj.yamagata-u.ac.jp - [01/Aug/1995:00:00:18 -0400] "GET /images/ksclogomedium.gif HTTP/1.0" 200 5866 d0ucr6.fnal.gov
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"GET /history/apollo/apollo-
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Figure 3: An example Web log.
WEB USAGE MINING
studying the Web logs carefully, one can find more meaningful session separators. The work by Lou, Liu, Lu, and Yang (2002) designed an algorithm using clustering analysis to find the group of related Web servers visited by users from a Web proxy server. If a user jumps from one group of related servers to another, then it is highly likely that the user ends one session and starts another.
Learning Path Profiles Once a Web log is organized into separate visiting sessions, it is possible to learn user profiles from the data. Schechter, Krishnan, and Smith (1998) developed a system to learn users’ path profiles from the Web log data. A user visiting a sequence of Web pages often leaves a trail of the pages URL’s in a Web log. A page’s successor is the page requested immediately after that page in a URL sequence. A point profile contains, for any given page, the set of that page’s successors in all URL sequences and the frequency with which that successor occurred. A path profile considers frequent subsequences from the frequently occurring paths. They can be used to predict the next pages that are most likely to occur by consulting the set of path profiles whose prefixes match the observed sequence. The idea was similarly exploited by Pitkow and Pirolli (1999) in their work on finding the longest repeating subsequences from a Web log and using these sequences to predict users’ next likely requests. Similar to the path–profile-based prediction, Albrecht, Zukerman, and Nicholson (1999) designed a system to learn an Nth-order Markov model based on not only the immediately preceding Web page, but also pages that precede the last pages as well as the time between successive Web page retrieval activities. Together these factors should give more information than the path profiles. The objective is still the same: to predict which is the next page to be most likely requested by a user. One particular fact about the Web is that the user sessions follow a Zipf distribution. By this distribution, most visitors view only few pages in each session, while few visitors visit many pages in a sequence. However, experiments show that the longer paths also provide more accurate predictions. To exploit these facts, Su, Yang, and Zhang (2000) developed an algorithm to combine path profiles with different lengths. For any given observed sequence of visits, their “cascading” model first selects the best prediction by looking for path profiles with long lengths. When such paths do not exist in the model, the system retreats to shorter length paths and makes predictions based on these paths. Experiments show that this algorithm can provide a good balance between prediction accuracy and coverage.
Web Object Prediction It is possible to design systems that learn from Web logs and make predictions. However, how are these predictions actually applied on the Web? One way to apply the prediction is to integrate traditional Web caching and model-based Web-object prefetching together. Web caching is already a well-studied area in the computer network area, where mature technology exists for ranking objects that are in the cache when new objects arrive.
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Figure 4: Illustrating Web page prediction using path profiles. These algorithms are called cache-replacement policies (Cao & Irani, 1997). To make the integration possible, Yang, Zhang, and Li (2001) computed the probability that an object will be requested in the near future using an association-rule-based model and then used the probability to estimate the future access frequencies. The association rules are similar to the path profiles mentioned above, but with a more sophisticated rule selection and pruning method. Each association rule comes with a support and confidence measurement as in association rule mining (Argawal & Srikant, 1994): P1 , P2 , . . . , Pn → Oi support = count ({P1 , P2 , . . . , Pn, Oi }) count ({ P1 , P2 , . . . , Pn, Oi }) . conf = count ({P1 , P2 , . . . , Pn}) In this rule, P1 through Pn are Web pages that occur in a row up to the prediction window, and Oi is the object that is predicted to occur. An object can be an HTML page itself or it can be an image or a sound object that is embedded in an HTML page. If the number of items { P1 , P2 , . . . , Pn, Oi } is over a minimum support threshold, and the confidence value is above a predefined confidence threshold, then the rule is stored in a prediction module.
Learning to Prefetch When a user requests a sequence of pages that matches the left-hand side of a rule, the right-hand side can be predicted to occur with the associated confidence value as the probability of occurrence of Oi . The Web prefetching system can then add all such predicted probabilities together from all rules in the prediction model as a measure of the potential future frequency estimation for Oi . These scores are compared, and the top percentages of the objects are selected to be prefetched into the cache if they are not already there. This prefetching method runs side by side with an existing caching system. Empirical tests on several real Web logs show the integrated system can indeed outperform Web caching alone by a large margin in terms of higher hitting rates, byte-hit rates, and reduction in latency. It should be noted that the integrated system demonstrated an increase in network bandwidth as well. Thus, a balance should be reached in the number of pages that are prefetched versus the number of pages that are cached using the traditional caching algorithms.
Web Agents Web users have been burdened not only by the delayed response from Web servers, but also by the sometimes confusing Web interfaces. The problem is caused by the complex structures of Web sites and of the contents of
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the pages themselves. For example, a user looking for a particular faculty member in a university Web site may find himself lost in the wrong path. To this end, machine learning has also been applied to help alleviate the problem. WebWatcher (Joachims, Freitag, & Mitchell, 1997), an agent tour guide system, learned users’ Web browsing preferences through an adaptive user interface. It does this by integrating both content and usage information in order to prioritize the links on each page a user visits. To use the system, a user types in a text description of the final objective of the browsing session; for example, a user may first specify that he or she wants to find the publications of a particular faculty member working on machine learning at a university Web site by providing the system with the key word “machine learning faculty.” This description is then associated with each link the user traverses. This information is used to assess the similarity to other users browsing sessions for the same goal. The WebWatcher agent can then determine the links that are most relevant to the targeted page and highlight such links for the user. Another example is the AVANTI Project (FN96), which attempts to predict the user’s eventual goals. Similar to WebWatcher, AVANTI presents prominently the links leading to pages a user will want to see.
Web Page Clustering The PageGather system (Perkowitz & Etzioni, 2001) provides users with shortcuts to the users’ intended pages and displays them on a page. It takes as input a Web server’s access log, where the log data record the pages visited by a user at the site. Based on the visiting statistics, the system provides links on each page to visitors’ eventual goals, skipping the in-between pages. Perkowitz and Etzioni (2001) defined the index page synthesis problem as: given a Web site and a visitor access log, create new index pages containing collections of links to related but currently unlinked pages. An index page is a page consisting of links to a set of pages that cover a particular topic (e.g., electric guitars). In their system, two pages are considered linked if there exists a link from one to the other, or if there exists a page that links to both of them. To find a collection of pages that are related to each other, a clustering algorithm is applied to the Web logs. The PageGather algorithm takes five basic steps as shown in Table 4. A requirement for the PageGather algorithm is that in its last step, a human webmaster is needed to determine the appropriateness of the generated index pages. This will likely create a bottleneck for the workflow, especially
for sites that have many Web pages to be indexed. Is there a method to find out the optimal number of index pages and links to generate without too much human intervention? Aimed at solving this problem, Su et al. designed an algorithm for finding an optimal number of pages and hyperlinks to include in the index pages (Su, Yang, Zhang, Hu, & Ma, 2002). First, they applied a clustering algorithm on the Web log data similar to the PageGather algorithm. Then, instead of inspecting the resulting clusters manually, they defined a cost function to capture the users’ efforts in browsing a Web site. They defined the cost for a user to access the index pages to be the OverallCost, which is the overall cost of the browsing Web pages and index pages. This cost has two parts. The first part PageCost is the cost of flipping index pages. The second part TransitionCost is the cost of switching from one Web page to another. Then our cost models are as follows: OverallCost = PageCost + TransitionCost.
Based on the cost functions, Su et al. calculated the effect of including a variable number of index pages as shown in Figure 5. The graph shows that as the number of index pages increases, the transition costs decrease due to the number of potential target pages that are included in the index pages. However, the cost of reading through a single index page also increases due to the number of hyperlinks included. The optimal point for the overall cost can be seen to be between the two extremes in the number of index pages. A webmaster can use this optimal point to decide how many index pages to include for the Web site.
Learning to Adapt Web Sites The Web is increasingly connected to the wireless world. The adaptive Web site system of Anderson, Domingos, and Weld (2001) takes a Web log as input and learns the users’ preference models to build a more compact Web site for wireless WAP users. For example, a Web user may frequently access certain pages while almost never visit other pages. It can also observe that the user who makes a sequence of visits through a set of Web pages almost always ends with a certain page—the target page of the sequence. It then uses this information to build a utility model for the space of pages and search for a subset of Web pages that maximizes the expected utility. The end result is a smaller Web site catering to a particular user or group of users, which can then be used to dynamically generate a new Web site for other devices, such as the PDA or cell phones.
Table 4 The PageGather Algorithm PageGather Algorithm (Server Access Logs) Process the access log into visits.
Compute the cooccurrence frequencies between pages.
Create the graph corresponding to the matrix to find maximal cliques.
Rank the clusters found.
For each cluster, create a set of index links to the documents in the cluster.
Present clusters to the Webmaster for evaluation.
Source: Perkowitz & Etzioni (2001)
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WEB-BASED RECOMMENDATION FOR E-COMMERCE
builder starts with the Tapestry system. The Tapestry system (Goldberg, Nichols, Oki, & Terry, 1992) defines collaborative filtering as a process where people collaborate to help one another perform filtering by recording their reactions to documents they read. It allows people to rank documents that users find interesting based on annotations contributed by others. Based on the given relationship between users, advisor and advisees can be discovered. Any user can serve as an advisor if he or she chooses to record their feelings about a document based on the key words they choose. If another user wishes to receive advice about a document, he or she seeks helps from other potential advisors who have ranked the document. The requirement for inputting users’ relationships makes Tapestry rather limiting in making inferences. To counter this problem, the GroupLens system attempts to automate the processing, by employing an automated collaborative filtering system (Konstan, Miller, Maltz, Herlocker, Gordon, & Riedl, 1997). Its central idea is to apply a statistical collaborative filter to automate the inference of relationship. The GroupLens system identifies advisors based on the Pearson correlation of voting history between pairs of users, which measures the degree with which the rating histories of two users are linearly correlated. For example, consider the three users in Table 5. In this table, users one and two have both ranked all three movies. User three ranked the first two movies Star Wars and Pearl Harbor, but has not watched AI: Artificial Intelligence. What should we assign as a predicted rating for AI: Artificial Intelligence for the third user based on the other users’ ratings? This is the problem of collaborative filtering. To capture this intuition formally, let ru,i be a rating of user u on product item i. Let r u be the average rating of user u in history. Let wa,u be the Pearson correlation between users a and u, and let α be a normalizing factor. Then the prediction for user a’s rating on item i is Pa,i .
1.4 Overall Cost
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Figure 5: Overall costs computed based on the NASA Web log.
Learning from Click Streams Any useful information about the Web users is of great value to the Web site managers. The WUM system (SP00) operates on Web logs to present the Web site managers with a graphical view of the sites’ traversal patterns. The KDD CUP 2000 (Kohavi, Brodley, Frasca, Mason, & Zheng, 2000) was designed to learn the relationship between user behavior and the business goals of an electronic commerce Web site. For example, a question posted in the competition was this: Given a set of page views, will the visitor view another page on the site or will the visitor leave? A large number of machine learning tools were applied to build models for this and other related questions. For example, many researchers used decision trees, regression analysis, and neural networks to learn from the data. The result was shown to be indeed very useful in guiding the marketing activities of the company.
WEB-BASED RECOMMENDATION FOR E-COMMERCE With the rise of the Internet, the Web has become a major medium for companies and institutions to reach out to its users and customers. On the Web it is possible to assign an ID number to a user, so that the users’ behaviors can be identified. For a frequently visiting user, it is possible to make recommendations based on the users’ previous behaviors or based on other similar users’ behaviors.
Pa,i = r a +
1� (ru,i − r u) · wa,u. α
The calculation of the correlation weight factor wa,u is based on the formula below. wa,u =
Pearson Correlation The basic machine learning algorithm for recommendation systems is based on statistical correlation, known as Pearson correlation. Stated simply, it makes inference on a user’s preferences for new products based on ratings of other similar users for the same or similar products. Here the notions of similarity and relationship are important. The application of correlation as the basic relationship
� 1 (ra,i − r a )(ru,i − r u) . � � |items| items � (r − r )2 � (r − r )2 a,i a u,i u items
For example, in the Ringo (later called Firefly) system, a statistical collaborative filtering system recommendations for music albums are computed based on variations of the Pearson correlation formula and the high-ranking albums are provided for users. The result is more interested users
Table 5 User Ratings for Movies Ratings for Movies User ID 1 2 3
items
Star Wars
Pearl Harbor
AI: Artificial Intelligence
5 2 5
2 5 4
4 1 ?
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and higher sales for the company. Built on the same key idea, Breese, Heckerman, and Kadie (1998) experimented with a Bayesian classifier that computes the probability of membership in an unobserved class c based on the assumption that ratings are conditionally independent. This model can both learn the users ratings on items and users classes that are hidden. To learn the hidden class labels, an EM algorithm was used to learn the model structure with a fixed number of classes. Through experiments, the researchers have found that the Bayesian classifier takes longer time to train but have comparable accuracy in predictions.
Speeding Up Collaborative Filters A major problem with both the Pearson correlation and Bayesian methods is that they take a long time to compute a prediction for a new user. In Chee, Han, and Wang (2001) a partition-based method is designed to speed up Pearson correlation with very large user and product databases. A tree is constructed based on a clustering algorithm, where each leaf node of the tree contains a subset of the users that are most similar to each other. Using this idea, the computation efficiency for Pearson correlations is greatly enhanced. Experiments show that the system can scale linearly with the size of the data and can produce accurate results even when the data are very sparse, which is a common problem with electronic commerce applications where the number of products and users are extremely large.
Personalization Systems The correlation-based recommendation system is one example of personalization services on the Web. Other types of personalization services have also been extensively studied. Basu, Hirsh, Cohen, and Nevill-Manning (2001) described a system for recommending technical papers for paper review committee members so that the recommendations fit their interests. Their approach uses multiple information sources such as the information from the reviewers’ home pages. Many recommendation systems have been built based on similar ideas. For example, the NewsDude system which we discussed earlier uses was constructed based on user preferences that correspond to both long-term and short-term user interests. Both types of interests can be learned using supervised learning algorithms. These interest models can be applied to articles that are downloaded online. Experiments have shown that they are very helpful in filtering out a large number of unwanted articles for its users.
CONCLUSION In this chapter, we have given a focused survey on machine learning and data mining on the Web and for the Web. We have chosen to consider four related areas of machine learning and data mining for Web content, Web structures, Web usage, and Web recommendations. The amount of research activity is increasing at a very rapid rate. Many systems are not covered in this short chapter, but they can be found in various sources. Many research
papers can be found from the research index Web site http://citeseer.nj.nec.com.
GLOSSARY Association rules An IF-Then rule such that when the left-hand side of the rule holds, the right-hand side of the rule also holds with high probability. Clustering A data mining and machine learning technique that groups similar items together. Collaborative filtering A machine learning method to learn a user’s preferences by taking into account preferences of similar users. Data mining The process of applying machine learning to databases in order to discover interesting and useful patterns from the data. PageRank A score assigned to a Web page to designate its importance in being a hub (contains many hyperlinks to other important pages) or authority (pointed to by many other important pages). Supervised and unsupervised learning Techniques used to learn the relationship between independent attributes and a designated dependent class attribute (the label). Supervised learning (for example, na¨ıve Bayesian, decision trees, and rule induction) requires the class-labeled examples as input, whereas unsupervised learning (for example, clustering) does not. Web log mining Learning users’ browsing behavior from Web log data using sequential learning methods such as Markov models and sequential association rules. Wrapper A mapping in the form of a set of rules between semistructured texts such as HTML to structured contents.
CROSS REFERENCES See Data Mining in E-Commerce; Data Warehouses and Data Marts; Knowledge Management.
REFERENCES Argawal, R., & Srikant, R. (1994). Fast algorithms for mining association rules. In J. B. Bocca, M. Jarke, & C. Zanido (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Very Large Databases (pp. 487–499). San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann. Aggarwal, C. Wolf, J. L., & Yu, P. S. (1999). Caching on the World Wide Web. In IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, 11, 94–107. Albrecht, D., Zukerman, I., & Nicholson, A. (1999). Presending documents on the WWW: A comparative study. In IJCAI99 (pp. 1274–1279). Sweden. Anderson, C. R., Domingos, P., and Weld, D. S. (2001). Personalizing web sites for mobile users. In Proceedings of the 10th International WWW Conference, 2001. Retrieved from http://www.www10.org/ Basu, C., Hirsh, H., Cohen, W. W., & Nevill-Manning, C. (2001). Technical paper recommendation: A study in combining multiple information sources. Journal of AI Research, 14, 231–252.
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Breese, J. S., Heckerman D., & Kadie, C. (1998). Empirical analysis of predictive algorithms for collaborative filtering. In Proceedings of the 14th Conference on Uncertainty in Artificial Intelligence (UAI-98) (pp. 43–52). San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann. Berners-Lee, T., Hendler, J., & Lassila, O. (2001). The semantic Web. Scientific American, 284(5), 34–43. Brin, S., & Page, L. (1998). The anatomy of a large-scale hypertextual Web search engine. Journal of Computer Networks and ISDN Systems, 30(1–7), 107–117. Chee, S., Han, J., & Wang, K. (2001). RecTree: An efficient collaborative filtering method. In Y. Kambayashi, W. Winiwarter, & M. Arikawa (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2001 Data Warehousing and Knowledge Discovery, Third International Conference (pp. 141–151). New York: Springer. Cao, P., & Irani, S. (1997). Cost-aware WWW proxy caching algorithms. In Proceedings of the USENIX Symposium on Internet Technologies and Systems (pp. 193–206). Berkeley, CA: USENIX. Doan, A., Domingos, P., & Levy, A. (2001). Reconciling schemas of disparate data sources: A machine-learning approach. In Proceedings of the 2001 ACM SIGMOD Conference (pp. 509–520). New York: ACM Press. Dumais, S. T., Cutrell, E., & Chen, H. (2001). Bringing order to the Web: Optimizing search by showing results in context. In Proceedings of CHI’01, Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 277–283). New York: ACM Press. Etzioni, O. (1996). The World Wide Web: Quagmire or gold mine? Communications of the ACM, 39(11), 65– 68. Goldberg, D., Nichols, D., Oki, B. M., & Terry, D. (1992). Using collaborative filtering to weave an information tapestry, CACM 35 (12), 61–70. Han, J., & Kamber, M. (2001). Data mining—Concepts and techniques. San Mateo, CA: Morgan Kaufmann. Hand, D., Mannila, H., & Smyth, P. (2001). Principles of data mining. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Hsu, C., & Dung, M. (1998). Generating finite-state transducers for semi-structured data extraction from the Web. Information Systems, 23(8), 521–538. Joachims, T., Freitag, D., & Mitchell, T. (1997). WebWatcher: A tour guide for the World Wide Web. In Proceedings of The 15th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (pp. 770–777). Somerset, NJ: IJCAI Inc. Kaelbling, L. P., Littman, L. M., & Moore, A. W. (1996). Reinforcement learning: A survey. Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, 4, 237–285. Kleinberg, J. (1999). Authoritative sources in a hyperlinked environment. Journal of the ACM, 46(5), 604– 632. Knoblock, C. A., Lerman, K., Minton, S., & Muslea, I. (2000). Accurately and reliably extracting data from the Web: A machine learning approach. IEEE Data Engineering Bulletin, 23(4). Kohavi, R., Brodley, C. E., Frasca, B., Mason, L., & Zheng, Z. (2000). KDD-Cup 2000 organizers’ report: Peeling the onion. SIGKDD Explorations, 2(2), 86–98. Konstan, J., Miller, B., Maltz, D., Herlocker, J., Gordon, L.,
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Managing a Network Environment Environment
Haniph A. Latchman, University of Florida Jordan Walters, BCN Associates, Inc.
Introduction to Network Management Benefits of a Network Environment Return on Investment Innovations and Wider Reach Principles of Network Management Network Management By Design Local Area Network Connectivity Network Management Issues in LAN Technologies Ethernet—The De Facto LAN Standard LAN Interconnections and Campus Area Networks (CANs) Wide Area Network (WAN) Considerations Options for Internetwork Connections Using the Local Telephone Line for Network Connections To Connect or Not to Connect to the Internet? Dedicated Internet Networking Connections Network Operating Systems (NOS) Peer-to-Peer Client/Server
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INTRODUCTION TO NETWORK MANAGEMENT Computer networks and their interconnections with the Internet have now become integrated into the business, academic, government, and personal environment. To grasp the impact of this complete saturation, we need only to consider the network centric processes used to perform everyday functions in daily life. Purchases, investments, research, education, interaction with governmental agencies, personal communication, and many other activities are now routinely handled or enhanced by using the World Wide Web (WWW). Even though this integration is virtually seamless in today’s society, if we dissect the systems used to accomplish these tasks, we find a complex “network of networks” at the core. However transparent these tasks are to end users of current technology, without competent management of the underlying interconnected networks, none of these actions would be possible. In this chapter, we discuss the fundamental design issues and operational techniques, as well as the “best practices” that are involved in managing and maintaining a network environment.
BENEFITS OF A NETWORK ENVIRONMENT Before we get to the specifics of how networks are maintained, it is instructive to consider the root purpose of computer networks. If computer networks are deployed
Mainframe/Thin Client Systems Aspects of Network Management User Management Application Distribution Network Policies Management Utilities E-mail Communication E-mail—A Major Application in the Network Environment Establishing a Corporate Internet Domain WWW Access Firewalls and Proxy Servers Monitoring and Content Filtering Mobile Users User Support Conclusion Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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and used arbitrarily without regard to the real-world benefits obtained from their usage, then personal computers (PCs) and networks would become little more than “gadgets” that may complicate rather than simplify a person’s life or a company’s operation. For computer networks to be truly useful there must be a net gain in terms of overall efficiency, financial impact, or functionality in the completion of a given task when compared to other traditional methods of undertaking the same task, or, alternatively, there should be some innovation or creation of new resources not previously available without computer networks.
Return on Investment The positive impact of computers and the associated networked environment on overall business and corporate functions, when properly integrated with sound, traditional business practices, is well documented. As a simple example, assume that corporation XYZ Inc. has numerous PCs connected to a common network. XYZ Inc.’s employees can instantly share or transmit large and complicated documents or other pieces of information across the network, rather than delivering this information by other traditional means. (The term “sneakernet” was coined to describe a network of persons who share information by hand delivery of documents or other information. A properly configured PC network eliminates the need for such a “network.”) Thus the use of a well-designed computer network can result in significant improvement in overall efficiency for important organizational functions. As another 537
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example, when considering how to allocate the budget for equipment purchases, XYZ Inc. can better leverage resources by obtaining a few shared printers strategically located throughout its office rather than acquiring a separate printer for each of its several hundred employees. Or, XYZ Inc. could procure a few advanced printers, thereby maximizing resources for increased functionality and quality.
Innovations and Wider Reach Another possible objective to be satisfied by deploying a computer network would be the ability to produce unique, innovative products or revolutionary ways to deliver services that makes existing products more appealing or more accessible to consumers. For instance, assume that XYZ Inc. sells auto insurance. Because of its Internet presence, XYZ Inc. can now sell insurance plans automatically via its e-commerce enabled Web site. Auto insurance is not a groundbreaking product, but the new way of offering this product makes XYZ Inc.’s services more accessible to potential clients. Now anyone in the world can do business with them, instead of just people in their local community, and the transaction is easier for the customer, who can purchase insurance any time of day or night, rather than having to meet with an agent in person during business hours.
PRINCIPLES OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT Since the purpose of using a computer network in the first place is to achieve a net gain of resources or functionality, the methods used to manage a network should reflect these same ideals, so that maximum performance of the network can be realized while minimizing the effort required for management. To illustrate, suppose XYZ Inc. uses its computer network to efficiently share information and deliver services. The information technology (IT) department of XYZ Inc. keeps the network running at peak performance. However, the IT department must employ an inordinately large staff to handle the management load, since the network was designed poorly, without due consideration to its maintenance, and therefore the efficiencies gained by the good performance of the network are outweighed by the huge cost incurred for network management and maintenance. Even though the network functions as it should, the root purpose of the network is not realized, since there is no net resource or functionality gain in the overall operation of the organization. So, when we form a management strategy, our governing principles must be to maximize network availability, performance, and functionality while minimizing resources needed for maintenance and management.
Network Management By Design The management of a computer network may be viewed as being a separate process from the design of a network, since in many cases the design of a network requires a higher level of skill than does the management. For example, there are separate competency certifications for “administration” of a Microsoft network (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) as opposed to the “engineering”
or designing of such networks (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer). To conserve resources, a firm may choose to outsource the design of their corporate network and retain a network manager to perform the day-to-day operations of the system. Even though network design and management are often separated as just described, it can be said that the management of a network begins with its design. A network may be designed with good performance in mind, but without good planning, the resources required to manage the resulting network may be prohibitive. On the other hand, a network may be designed to be extremely easy to manage, but not to deliver the performance or functionality desired by the organization. Therefore, we assert that good network management begins with a good design that accounts for acceptable performance and functionality while allowing for relative ease of maintenance. There are an ever-growing number of factors to consider when a network is designed and an effective network management plan is developed. Emerging technologies may render inconsequential considerations that may have been essential in the recent past, or new considerations may become apparent where previously they were unimportant. For example, until quite recently, options were limited for high speed connectivity between sites separated by great distances. Because the only feasible options for remote connectivity were relatively slow links (56 kbps or 128 kbps integrated digital services network [ISDN], for instance), network infrastructure and network management strategies and applications had to be designed to accommodate these slow links. Now, however, faster connections are more affordable and available (digital subscriber lines [DSLs], for example), so exchanging information across the telephone line is no longer a major constraint. Remote management of technology systems has therefore become much more viable, thereby allowing a single IT professional to quickly troubleshoot problems from miles away (Newsome, 2002). Since network design and network management considerations change so rapidly, we will attempt to generalize these issues into a few essential categories, and then focus on how these concerns relate to the management of networked environments. The discussion that follows first focuses on local area networks (LANs), then on LAN interconnections, and finally on Internet mediated wide area networks (WANs).
LOCAL AREA NETWORK CONNECTIVITY Network Management Issues in LAN Technologies When you decide on a LAN connectivity solution for a particular computer network, there are many choices available. However, depending on the particular installation, these choices may be limited or some choices can be eliminated. For example, in an environment where there could potentially be a high amount of electromagnetic interference (EMI) such as a power plant, the only functional choice may be a connectivity solution that is immune to EMI, possibly using fiber optic technology rather than twisted copper wire. Or, in a building that is not conducive
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to a wire-based installation because of a unique interior decoration scheme (such as in a historical building where modification is prohibited) a wireless solution may be the only choice. In cases where such restrictions exist, the management techniques will be defined by the requirements of the given solution. However, in cases where these restrictions are not inherent, a network may be designed with acceptable performance, nominal cost, and minimal management effort in mind. Some issues impacting the overall management of the resulting networked environment include speed, ease of installation, upgradability, cost, and compatibility with legacy systems.
Ethernet—The De Facto LAN Standard The most popular LAN connectivity solution is Ethernet— operating at speeds of 10 Mbps to 1 Gbps and based on the Institue of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 standard. Although initially deployed using coaxial cable (10Base-5 or 10Base-2), star-wired 10Base-T hubs have been the most successful Ethernet LAN technology, and the most attractive from a network management point of view. In 1996 it was estimated that 83% of all LANs were based on the Ethernet standard, representing some 120 million computers, and in 1997, 77% of all networking equipment shipped was Ethernet based (Stallings, 2002). There are several reasons for the strong support for Ethernet as the LAN technology of choice. The most important of these from a network management perspective include the overall network reliability, scalability from 10 Mbs up to speeds of 1000 Mbps, ease of management and troubleshooting, as well as low cost and almost ubiquitous availability from all manufacturers.
Classic Ethernet and Fast Ethernet 10/100Base-T Ethernet, operating at 10/100 Mbps over twisted pair cable, has virtually become the de facto LAN standard for corporations of all sizes because it satisfies key network management requirements in an extremely effective way. Ethernet provides good throughput performance for most LAN applications, it is easy to install (aside from the actual wiring, implementing this solution is almost as simple as plugging in a telephone), it is easy to upgrade (adding nodes is accomplished by simply purchasing additional hubs or switches and plugging in additional cables), it is a relatively inexpensive solution compared to other currently available technologies, and it benefits from compatibility and availability of hardware and software support (a multitude of vendors offer products which are compatible with this standard). Classic Ethernet (10Base-T) and fast Ethernet (100Base-TX) (Johnson, 1995; Wolf, 1999) are now predominantly found in most LANs, together with a variety of intelligent hubs and switches providing half-duplex and full-duplex operation at 10 Mbps up to 200 Mbps. The network manager is responsible for selecting the network components (network interface cards [NICs], hubs, and switches) to ensure that the network is easily managed and that a clearly defined migration path exists for moving from 10Base-T to higher bandwidth networks. For example, this may require the replacement of a
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10Base-T hub in a network group with a 10/100Base-T Ethernet switch. The NICs in this work group would still operate at 10 Mbps, while the switch could support 100 Mbps NICs automatically, provided that the NICs support autosensing and negotiation. In addition the switched operation localizes high intensity traffic pairs to their own switched segment thus improving overall LAN performance (Schuyler, 2001). The network manager would also want to ensure that the high quality CAT-5 twisted cabling is used even for classic 10Base-T networks, since this same cabling could then be usable for 100 Mbps and even 1 Gbps operations. In this migration the network manager would also need to ensure that the overall segment lengths and number of total repeaters do not violate the rules for proper operation of the IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD protocol on which all flavors of Ethernet are based.
Innovative LAN Technologies for Home and Small Office Networks Other options available for local networks in small offices and home applications include the 802.11× wireless LANs and the power line and phone line LANs (Brown, 2002; HomePlug, 2002). While these alternatives for connecting computers and peripherals are not well known in the corporate environment and may not compete favorably with industry standard, specifically designed, wired networks, they do provide some options for retrofitting existing buildings with network connectivity with no new wires—namely deploying a purely wireless system or using the existing telephone or even electrical wiring as the data communication channel. In 2002, the HomePlug Alliance released its first power line products based on the HomePlug 1.0 specification. These devices provide Ethernet and universal serial bus (USB) bridges to the power line communication bus, operating at speeds of up to 14 Mbps with virtually complete coverage in typical homes (Karagiannis, 1999). The power line LANs are thus quite attractive and competitive with the better known wireless LANs, which operate at speeds of 11 Mbps (802.11b) or 54 Mbps (802.11a) but with somewhat less reach using a single wireless access point. Even with multiple access points, the wireless solutions are less attractive because of the need for a wired infrastructure to interconnect the access points. Powerline LANs have the advantage of already having many connection points (electrical outlets) in almost every room in the home, while phone line LANs (and even cable-based connectivity) have limited connection points in only a few select rooms (Lin, Latchman, Lee, & Katar, 2002; Latchman & Yonge, 2003). The deployment of new technologies such as wireless or power line LANs, always triggers the question of network management and maintenance. Network managers are hesitant to add newer and less well-understood technologies into the network since user support and management will certainly become more of a challenge. On the other hand, the designers of consumer grade wireless and power line LANs, acutely aware of the inexperienced personnel in home and small office networking environments, have attempted to make the new products very easy to install and manage. Even a seemingly complex matter
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such as enabling encryption for data and network security is easily handled by novice home users.
LAN Interconnections and Campus Area Networks (CANs) Interconnection of LANs within a local enterprise that consists of several buildings form what is called a campus area network (CAN). Among the major contenders for backbone LAN interconnection technologies are fiber distributed digital interface (FDDI), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), fast Ethernet, and gigabit Ethernet (Atkins & Norris, 1998). Again in this realm of operation, gigabit Ethernet is becoming a major contender, partially because of the overall familiarity with the lower speed flavors of Ethernet and the fact that the frame format is virtually identical (McLeod, 2002). While FDDI, ATM, and gigabit Ethernet all support the use of multimode or single mode fiber links, gigabit Ethernet also supports the 1000BaseTX physical layer using four pairs of CAT-5 in conjunction with a sophisticated five-level coding scheme on each pair. In this way, gigabit Ethernet may be implemented using existing CAT-5 cabling by simply installing new gigabit Ethernet switches (Kadambu, Kalkunte, & Grayford, 1998). Gigabit Ethernet is also substantially less expensive than their ATM and FDDI counterparts. It is also easier to manage since personnel who already understand classic and fast Ethernet can readily be trained in extending their expertise to this higher speed incarnation of a standard they already know well—often simply involving the use of new maintenance and troubleshooting tools. In addition to wired CANs and LANs, it is possible to provide alternative or complementary wireless LAN and CAN solutions using a network of wireless access points (McKenzie, 2001). The proliferation of portable computing devices such as notebook and palm computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and even personal area networking devices, has resulted in greater demand for mobile access to network resources. In this regard, the issues of network and information security and encryption become urgent concerns in the management of the networked environment.
WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN) CONSIDERATIONS Networks of computers within an office complex or even some homes share resources within the LAN but users may also need to exchange information with other networks separated by possibly large distances. For example, branch offices in regional, national, or international corporations need to communicate with each other and with the headquarters on a regular basis, often instantaneously, in order to increase the overall efficiency of the organization as a whole. Wide area networks (WANs) provide such long-distance interconnections of LANs. WANs are distinguished from campus area networks (CANs) or metropolitan area networks (MANs) in that the CANs connect several buildings in a campus setting (such as a university) and MANs provide a high speed data backbone for a large city, while WANs may cover much larger geographical regions and
use different telecommunications and networking technologies to accomplish the interconnection. The largest and best known WAN is the “mother of all networks”—the Internet, a network of networks. Thus network managers and designers often consider establishing their corporate WANs by interconnecting each network in their multiple branch offices to the Internet with a local Internet link, and then using privacy mechanisms to create what has become known as a virtual private network (VPN) (Harris, 2002). In other corporations, however, network managers insist on the establishment of a completely private WAN with dedicated leased telecommunications links between the various nodes (LANs) in their network. While inherently more costly, this option provides many advantages such as privacy and guaranteed performance when compared with shared access networks such as the Internet. Other smaller organizations simply need their single LAN to be interconnected with the Internet to exchange electronic mail (e-mail) with clients and suppliers and for e-commerce and accessing the World Wide Web for research or even to publish its own WWW content.
Options for Internetwork Connections Interconnections between networks and to the Internet exploit the embedded telecommunications infrastructure used for circuit switched voice communication for more than a century now (Morrison, 2002). The difference is that the telecommunications infrastructure is now being used for exchanging packets of data (rather than voice only) and the links are thus often shared by many users. Users of the data network have their own packets encapsulated within “envelopes” bearing their addresses and other pertinent information to keep the information separate in transit, as well as to route the packets to the correct destination. The public switched telephone network (PSTN) operates on the principle of circuit switching in which a complete end-to-end channel is established and held for the entire duration of the information interchange (such as a telephone conversation). Initially data services were offered using the same PSTN with adapters (modulators/demodulators, modems) for interfacing the digital data with the PSTN. Data services are more efficiently served by a packet data network (PDN) in which segments of data are routed progressively through a digital network without the concept of a circuit and with all links in the network shared by other data traffic. Examples of PDNs are X.25, and its successor frame relay, as well as the Internet itself. Traditional telecommunications links are still used to interconnect nodes in these networks but the traffic streams which traverse these networks now all share the capacity of the links.
Using the Local Telephone Line for Network Connections The simplest and most common connection to the Internet (or from one network to another) is obtained by using a pair of analog modems connected via a voice (plain old telephone service [POTS]) line. Other variations
WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN) CONSIDERATIONS
of internetworking connections using telephone lines are the use of integrated digital services network (ISDN) and asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSL) connections. Both of these latter technologies use the same single pair of copper wires that provide telephone service to residential and business customers, but require special conditioning of the line to maximize the overall bandwidth, and also have restrictions on the total distance from the local exchange for which the service will work. ISDN uses a digital scheme called time division multiplexing (TDM) to provide three independent digital channels, two operating at 64 kbps and one at 16 kbps. One of the 64-kbps channels could then be used for POTS voice service and the other for dial-up or even full-time data services. The two 64-kbps channels may also be linked together to form a 128-kbps data channel. The 16-kbps channel is used for signaling and low speed data. ADSL uses frequency division multiplexing to allow the lower 4 KHz of bandwidth to continue to be used for POTS voice and then the upper bandwidth to be used for high speed (broadband) data with asymmetric speeds of some 9 Mbps to the user and 1.5 Mbps from the user.
Dial-Up Connections to the Internet Let us imagine that a network manager has designed a 100-Mbps Ethernet-based network for an organization using hubs and switches, with about 100 computers sharing internal resources such as printers and inbound and outbound facsimile services. The network users are also able to send e-mail within the network, and the corporate Web site is outsourced to an external hosting company. Now the need is simply to provide inbound and outbound Internet e-mail services to all users in a seamless and inexpensive manner. In this case the network manager could provide a plain old telephone service modem operating at 56 kbps to each employee who would then use a telephone line to dial-up to an Internet service provider to get access to e-mail and the WWW. Clearly this would be a very inefficient solution and would also open up security and monitoring problems for the network manager. Alternatively the network manager could set up an e-mail gateway on the LAN that would accept outgoing Internet e-mail and receive incoming e-mail for the users on the LAN, and that gateway machine could then itself be configured to make a 56-kbps dialup connection periodically to retrieve and send Internet e-mail. This is a very low cost solution that provides e-mail connectivity as required. Depending on the security concerns with regard to interconnecting the corporate LAN to the Internet, one could even design a “stand-alone” mail exchanger with a single phone line that would alternately dial to the Internet to send and retrieve e-mail, and then itself be polled by a dial-up connection from a network connected computer to synchronize mail with the corporate LAN. In this way the corporate LAN would never be directly connected to the Internet.
To Connect or Not to Connect to the Internet? Clearly there is a trade-off between the need to exchange information between the corporate LAN and other net-
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works such as the Internet and the concern over network and information security and privacy. The option just outlined for using a single dial-up connection has been used successfully by relatively small organizations wanting to exchange Internet e-mail in a fairly secure and low cost manner. However, when the volume, frequency, and size of Internet e-mail are large, intermittent dial-up connections at 56 kbps tend to be inconvenient and slow, especially when there are large file attachments. Moreover, it is often desired to provide e-mail and WWW hosting and WWW browsing solutions in-house, rather than by outsourcing to external providers, and in these cases the network manager must decide on an appropriate scheme for establishing a dedicated connection between the corporate LAN and the Internet.
Dedicated Internet Networking Connections Dedicated Internet connections, operating at speeds ranging from 64kbps to 10 Mbps, are available, via cable TV distribution systems, ADSL, satellite and even local wireless connections between the user and a nearby provider. However, for most corporate applications dedicated internetwork connections are provided by means of high capacity digital telecommunications circuits of the type normally used for interconnecting telephone exchanges or switches. The simplest of these is the digital signal level-1 (or DS-1) link, which is essentially composed of 24 time division multiplexed digital voice channels (DS-0) each operating at 64 kbps, thus making the overall data rate of the DS-1 signal about 1.544 Mbps, including management overhead. Most small- to medium-sized corporations are connected to the Internet and/or branch offices via a dedicated DS-1 infrastructure, with either multiple DS-1 links for higher capacity or fractional DS-1 capacity in multiples of 64 kbps as needed. Higher capacity links are also available with DS-2 (the equivalent of 4 DS-1s) operating at 6.312 Mbps), DS-3 (the equivalent of 7 DS-2s) operating at 44.736 Mbps, DS-4 (the equivalent of 6 DS-3s) operating at 274.176 Mbps, and DS-5 (the equivalent of 2 DS-4s) operating at 560.160 Mbps (Latchman, 1997). Depending on the distances involved, these connections can be provided over copper facilities (usually multiple pairs) or over pairs of optical fiber for longer distances. In addition to the DS-x hierarchy there is an optical communications hierarchy specification as shown in Table 1. Clearly a network manager would need to carefully weigh the pros and cons of having a dedicated network connection between the corporate LAN and the Internet or branch offices, and whether to outsource some services to third party providers. If the decision is to establish a dedicated connection, the manager would need to consider the volume of traffic likely to be exchanged over the proposed links and factor concerns such as costs, quality of service, reliability, and security to make the final decision as to the type of connection to be supported. An alternative to fully dedicated interconnections is to use cell or frame services provided by some network operating companies to establish partially private networks using a shared digital infrastructure. Services in this class include frame relay services and asynchronous transfer mode.
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Table 1 Optical Communications Hierarchy Optical Carrier Level OC-1 OC-3 OC-9 OC-12 OC-18 OC-24 OC-36 OC-48 OC-96 OC-192 OC-256 OC-768
Speed (Mbps) 51.84 155.52 466.56 622.08 933.12 1,244 1,866 2,488 4,977 9,953 13,271 40,000
Security Concerns and Virtual Private Networks As mentioned earlier, network managers often design their global corporate network using the Internet as the shared interconnection network, rather than the more costly private network consisting of dedicated long-haul digital telecommunication links. While interconnecting branch offices and the corporate headquarters via the Internet has some attractive features, there are also serious security and performance concerns due to the shared nature of such connections. Indeed, some large network service providers, while contributing to the global Internet connectivity, offer global interconnection nodes on a restricted “internetwork,” which is not shared by regular Internet traffic, thus guaranteeing better performance from the point of view of potential network congestion, delays, and packet loss. Another major concern is the matter of information and network security when corporate network resources are connected to shared networks such as the Internet. Figure 1 shows a typical corporate network with a large infrastructure at the headquarters location as well as multiple satellite offices and mobile users connected back to the headquarters’ resources via dedicated and dial-up Internet connections. This scenario is now quite common and serves to illustrate some of the key challenges in managing a network environment spanning multiple geographically disparate locations and that also caters to mobile users. Since the satellite offices and traveling users are connected to the corporate network via the Internet, a key concern will be the issue of security as proprietary information traverses the global Internet. Figure 1 shows an encrypted tunnel through the Internet forming a virtual private network (VPN) between all satellite offices and itinerant users. This encrypted tunnel is formed by invoking industry standard public key cryptography schemes at the packet level, between the interface nodes on both networks interconnected via the public network. In this way information can be seamlessly sent and received securely without the need for application level encryption. Figure 2 illustrates the difference between a VPN infrastructure and
individual branch offices directly connected to the Internet.
NETWORK OPERATING SYSTEMS (NOS) In addition to augmenting functionality and performance for corporate networks, network operating systems often include features that minimize the time needed to manage a network. Some of these features include authentication, resource access, application delivery and installation, and permission and policy management. Having authentication handled by a NOS can save time for the network manager by allowing the manager to create a single account for users that can be used from any workstation in the organization, rather than having to create authentication for each individual workstation. Managing resource access can be facilitated by a NOS in that users can be granted access to network resources (files, printers, applications, etc.) as groups rather than as individuals. Applications can be set to install automatically from a server for an entire organization when triggered by user actions (log-in, for example), so that a network manager need not physically go to each workstation to install software updates. Networkwide permissions and policies can be managed by assigning individuals to groups. In this way, a network manager can grant permission to users to perform some action (change a password, for example) by simply adding the user to a group with those permissions. Network managers configure permissions for a few broad groups instead of for each user individually. In choosing a NOS that will be both functional and manageable, it is good to evaluate the features available from various NOSs to see which will lend the most assistance to a particular network implementation. To help illustrate some management approaches that can be adopted with different NOSs, we will give an overview of some common NOSs available.
Peer-to-Peer In a peer-to-peer system, each node on the network acts as both a client (a user of some service) and a server (a deliverer of a service). Some examples of peer-to-peer NOSs are Windows 95/98/ME. Peer-based systems are often used in very small networks where funds and resources are limited. In a peer-based system, users can access files, printers, and other services from other workstations, but there normally is no central authentication system (in order to access resources, users must have an account on each peer). Advantages of this type of system include ease of setup and maintenance (for a small number of users), low cost (generally, peer-to-peer network functionality is built into the desktop operating system so additional software is not necessary), and good fault tolerance (since there is no single point of failure). When peer-based networks are managed, it is important to create some structure to define the manner in which resources are accessed, since no logical structuring is done for you. Necessary decisions must be made as to how users’ files will be stored (centrally or in a distributed manner), how user accounts will be managed (created as needed per workstation or all at once), how permissions
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Figure 1: Virtual private network for network interconnection. will be handled, and how updates and maintenance will be performed on workstations.
Client/Server Client/Server NOSs are common for corporate networks where there are more than 10 users. Some examples of client/server NOSs are Windows NT/2000 Server and Novell Netware. Client/Server systems rely on the processing power of both the client and server nodes to some extent, although networkwide services (file storage, printing, messaging, authentication, etc.) are provided by the server (Spanbauer, 1999). Normally, each client node (workstation) has a small software program that runs when the workstation boots up and that will allow the end user to authenticate (log in) to the server. There are many advantages of a client/server system from the perspective of network management. For example, user accounts can be created in one place (the server) so that users can use the same log-in credentials no matter what node they use to log-in. Wherever a user logs in, the network manager can define triggered actions in a
log-in script for installing or updating applications, updating workstation configuration, delivering important instructions or messages, updating virus definitions, or virtually any other task the manager chooses.
Mainframe/Thin Client Systems Whereas client/server systems involve processing on both the client and server sides, mainframe and thin client systems use the processing power of the server almost exclusively. Although some type of software on the client side is still necessary, normally the only processing done on the client side is whatever is necessary to connect to the server. Instead of using processing power to run applications, the client just does enough to exhange user input (keystrokes, mouse movements, etc.) and user output (screen displays) between the client and server. Although we are grouping mainframe and thin client systems together, it could be said that mainframe systems are a subset of thin client systems. Any system where application processing is done on the server side could be termed a “thin client” system, and mainframe systems
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Figure 2: VPN WAN vs. private WAN. are just one example of this. In mainframe systems, the software on the client side is normally termed a “terminal emulator,” since historically, mainframe systems are accessed by a “dumb terminal,” which is simply a screen display and a keyboard that connects to the central mainframe. One drawback of this type of system is that application compatibility is restricted to programs that run on the proprietary operating system of the mainframe or server. More recently, the concept of a “terminal” that uses processing power on the server side for applications has been expanded to include full desktop PC functionality. Now, with products such as Citrix Metaframe and Microsoft Windows Terminal Services, any application that can be run from a PC desktop can also be run from a thin client connected to the terminal server.
Advantages of mainframe and thin client systems from the perspective of network management include complete centralized management. Instead of being required to maintain hundreds of individual PC workstations, a network manager only needs to be concerned with a single computer, the mainframe, or a terminal server. All troubleshooting can be done from the server side.
ASPECTS OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT User Management Computer networks are functional only to the extent that people can use them effectively. A network manager has the responsibility to make technology accessible for end users. An observed weakness on the part of many network managers is their loss of focus on deploying useful
ASPECTS OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT
technological solutions from the users’ perspective. It is important for network managers to ensure that, while the network is managed efficiently, the needs of the end user are given full consideration. There are virtually an unlimited number of issues to consider related to management of network users. In the following, some of the major areas are considered.
User Accounts The first step in giving the user access to network resources is the creation of some type of log-in credentials. Traditionally, this involves a user name and a password, but depending on the security required for a particular installation, it may also include fingerprint recognition or other high security identification methods. While it may also be possible to enable open networking without the need for creating separate user accounts, this is strongly discouraged except in the most simple of networked environments. The use of a unique user name and a strong password, with users regularly forced to change and select passwords that are not easily guessed or found in dictionaries, is commonly accepted as providing adequate security for most environments (Kay, 2000).
Naming Although any unique user name is generally acceptable within the limitations of the particular NOS, it is recommended that the network manager design a standard naming convention for user accounts. Any convention likely to yield unique user names is acceptable. For small organizations, the convention may be <first initial>, for example. Using this naming convention, Albert Einstein’s user name would be aeinstein. For larger organizations where initials and names are more likely to be duplicated, a more sophisticated naming standard
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may be necessary, such as <first initial><middle initial> .
Automation Depending on the NOS, there are various utilities that can be used to automate the creation of user accounts. When a network administrator creates a Linux or Windows 2000 Server account, for example, a script is often run to fill in properties of the user account that would otherwise be entered manually. Instead of the network manager having to specify every user property individually, the script prompts the manager for the unique information for that user (name, password, etc.) and automatically sets other properties (file access permissions, home directory path, log-in time restrictions, etc.), thus making the process of account creation easier and more standardized.
Privileges It is by means of the user account that the network manager can grant a user access to various network resources (printers, files, etc.). In addition to automating the user creation process, various NOSs allow for automation of user assignment to access network resources. Rather than simply having a database of user accounts, passwords, and individual permissions, a logical directory is created, where access to network resources can be set, not simply by explicit assignment to a user or group of users, but to a location in the directory (Lais, 2000). When a directory is well designed, little or no explicit user assignment to network resources is necessary. Users are automatically given access to network resources by virtue of their assigned location in the directory. For example, using Novell Directory Services, a directory structure can be created as shown in Figure 3.
XYZ Inc.
Seattle
Dallas Figure 3: Typical Novell Directory Services structure.
Minneapolis
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Since appropriate access permissions have been granted to the various container objects, there is no need to do any explicit assignment of rights to individual users. Users are automatically given access to files, printers, and other resources when their user accounts are created in the given container. This approach to user management saves time for the network manager and improves overall efficiency.
Application Distribution One of the most time consuming tasks in setting up a PC workstation is installing applications. To minimize the time needed to install applications on a multitude of workstations, some software manufacturers include the capacity for their setup programs to use a configuration file that shows what settings the network manager wants to apply. Using this method, network managers can simply start the installation process and then wait for it to finish. Since the configuration file contains all of the desired options, there is no need for the network manager to give full attention to the setup of the workstation to answer questions about what directory the program should be installed to, who the software should be licensed to, etc. The network manager has already answered these questions in advance in the configuration file. An innovative feature of some NOSs is the ability to completely automate the installation of applications. Instead of loading installation disks and stepping through the installation process for each individual workstation, automatic installation can be set to run upon a user’s login or some other event. For example, with Windows 2000 based networks, a difference file can be generated by running a script that notes the state of a model PC before an installation, and again afterward. The difference file lists all of the files added or modified during the installation, and this file is consulted during the automatic installation to determine what files and settings to add or change on the workstation during the installation. Another approach to automating workstation setup and application installation is disk cloning. Instead of sampling the system state before and after a particular application is installed, the entire hard drive or partition is copied to an image file. This file is then used to create a clone of the sampled workstation by copying the disk image to the workstation to be set up. Instead of spending hours installing a workstation’s operating system, software patches, hardware drivers and applications, network managers can simply spend a few minutes cloning a workstation. One limitation of disk cloning is that normally the model of the workstation and the workstation to be cloned must be identical in terms of hardward configuration. Some examples of disk cloning utilities are Norton Ghost by Symantec and Zenworks Imaging by Novell.
Network Policies Even when operating system and application installation are automated by means of cloning or otherwise, there still may be a need for workstation configuration as to security settings, user restrictions, or the like. Instead of having to travel to individual workstations to make these settings, network policies are used by some NOSs to
establish or configure various settings on a workstation. For example, if a network manager wants to make sure that users do not have the ability to change display settings on workstations, the manager can enable a policy that will restrict access to a workstation’s display configuration utility. For Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT, these policies are configured using a utility called the System Policy Editor. This utility generates a policy file that is accessible to workstations so that when a user logs in, the policy is enabled on the workstation. For newer NOSs such as Windows 2000, group policies are used so that different policies can be enabled for different users or groups. These policies are configured using the group policy snapin for the Microsoft Management Console.
Management Utilities While NOSs provide various functions that are useful to network managers, these functions are normally enabled and configured by using proprietary utilities included with the NOS. For example, Windows 2000 uses the Microsoft Management Console to configure various NOS settings. Novell Netware comes with several utilities, such as Netware Administrator and ConsoleOne. Increasingly, management of networks is accomplished using Webbased utilities. For example, Novell Netware has a utility called iManage, where many network management functions, such as printer setup and remote control, can be performed from any accessible WWW browser on the network. In addition to the management functionality built into NOSs, other products are available that bundle several additional network management functions together as a suite. Examples of this include Novell Zenworks and Microsoft Systems Management Server.
E-MAIL COMMUNICATION E-mail—A Major Application in the Network Environment Of all the ways the Internet has come to be used through the course of its development, perhaps the most widely used service, having the most practical benefit is electronic mail. In business, it is a quick way to contact a large number of customers, colleagues, vendors, or staff with new products, information, orders, or instructions. At home, it is an inexpensive way for family and friends to exchange news, pictures, thoughts, or plans with loved ones on the next street or across the country or the world.
E-mail Clients There are many variations in how e-mail applications function from the perspective of the end user depending on the choice of e-mail client used to send and receive e-mail. Although there are software applications whose only function is to send and receive e-mail, more and more frequently e-mail functionality is bundled together with software offering additional functionality. For example, Microsoft Outlook is not only an e-mail client, but also a personal information manager, so that e-mail, task and appointment scheduling, project tracking, and contact management can all be done centrally. The Web
WWW ACCESS
browser suite Netscape Communicator comes with an e-mail client called Netscape Messenger, so that Web browsing, Web design, and e-mail can all be done from one set of applications. Additionally, Web-based e-mail has also become popular. Many Web-portal sites such as Yahoo and Microsoft Hotmail provide e-mail accounts that can be accessed from any compatible Web browser connected to the Internet. The advantage to the end user is that e-mail can be sent and received without doing any configuration of a proprietary e-mail client and without having to leave the familiarity of the Web browser used to access the WWW. Of course to enable the exchange of Internet e-mail from the corporate network, the network manager will have to establish a presence on the Internet in terms of a corporate Internet domain. This will be necessary regardless of whether the e-mail is being hosted externally or on a local server on the LAN with a dedicated Internet connection. Since this is a key required step we will discuss the major procedures involved in establishing an Internet domain for Internet e-mail and WWW services. Providing Internet e-mail and WWW hosting for an entire organization basically involves the establishment of a fully certified Internet domain (or a subdomain) for the organization, with pointers to domain name servers as part of the domain name system (DNS). The domain name servers are programmed so that all references to http://www.XYZinc.com and e-mail for [email protected] are forwarded to computers that are permanently connected to the Internet with their respective Internet protocol (IP) addresses stored in the DNS tables (Kallum, 1995). The computer with IP address corresponding to http://www.XYZinc.com and to the mail exchanger designated for [email protected] may be on the corporate LAN and accessible via a dedicated Internet connection and firewall scheme as described earlier. Alternatively, the network manager may elect to outsource mail and WWW hosting services to a reliable third party with regular updates to the corporate WWW site and frequent upload and download of corporate Internet mail. In this latter case the DNS entries for the domain XYZInc.com would reflect the IP addresses of the outsourced servers, and XYZ Inc. would then need to have only a low speed dedicated interconnection, a dial-up link to the Internet, or in some cases a link that is disconnected outside of working hours. The required servers for e-mail and the corporate WWW site are always online at outsourced locations permanently and reliably connected to the Internet.
Establishing a Corporate Internet Domain Before the corporate WWW site http://www.XYZInc.com or the e-mail address [email protected] becomes active, the domain name XYZInc.com must be registered with an appropriate domain registrar by providing the following key information and paying the appropriate annual fees: Organization name and address of the party that will own the domain; Name, address, and e-mail address for the administrative contact, billing contact, and technical contact; and
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Primary and secondary domain name servers for the domain name system. Both IP addresses and fully qualified Internet names are required. The registration of a domain name with the DNS management hierarchy ensures that when this new domain (XYZInc.com) is referenced, for example, as part of a WWW address or an e-mail address, the appropriate servers can be correctly identified by their Internet protocol addresses. The DNS server then simply maps the host names such as www (referenced as www.XYZInc.com) to an IP address by way of a lookup table maintained by the designated DNS servers. Once the domain name is registered and the DNS is active, a mail exchange (MX) DNS entry can be set up on the designated domain name server, to direct all mail to a certain mail server. If the mail server to which the MX record on the DNS server points is a computer on the local LAN of the company, then this computer would run a mail server program which would accept and send Internet e-mail for the users of the corporate network.
WWW ACCESS Another responsibility of network managers is to ensure that all authorized users have reliable access to the Internet for WWW services. In a basic sense, access to the Internet is a matter of having the IP protocol running on a PC along with an appropriate network interface card connected to a routed network on the public Internet. However, due to security vulnerabilities and the limited number of IP addresses, it is not usually practical to allow each PC workstation to have its own unique address on the public Internet. Indeed even for organizations that have the luxury or the necessity for most if not all corporate computers to be fully integrated into the Internet, namely having a publicly addressable IP address, the network manager has to manage this IP space carefully, with full regard to the issues associated with IP routing and the implications of classless IP addresses as well as the transition from the older address format (IPv4) to the newer IPv6 addressing schemes.
Firewalls and Proxy Servers There are a variety of methods used to provide Internet access to users while addressing the potential challenges of having a host on the public Internet. One approach that addresses the security issue is to install a softwareor hardware-based firewall system so that private data are unavailable from the public side of the firewall. Another possible solution is to install a proxy server. With a proxy server, one host machine is configured as the only node authorized to exchange WWW traffic with the public Internet. The WWW proxy server fields and delivers WWW requests from other workstations, which are thus insulated from security threats and hackers, yet they still can access the public network. Another approach that addresses both the security and the finite address issues is to use network address translation (NAT). With NAT, a type of router is used that has an address on the public Internet. On the private side, the NAT-enabled device may function
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as a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server that dynamically assigns addresses to hosts on the private network. As data are delivered from the public network to the private, the NAT router dynamically assigns addresses for each internal (private) node. From the public side, the entire network appears as a single node, while the private network transparently connects to the Internet.
Monitoring and Content Filtering Even if data on a private network were protected, a network manager should also be concerned about how the Internet is used by internal staff. Filtering Web content before it gets to the desktop is one way of ensuring that users do not access inappropriate content on the WWW. Desktop utilities such as Web-Blocker are available as freeware for business and personal use, and others are sold commercially. Another technique that can supplement Web filtering is logging user activity while online. If desired, a network manager can periodically check an activity log for inappropriate Internet usage and take appropriate action if necessary.
MOBILE USERS Another consideration for network managers is how to handle users who are mobile. Mobile users can be separated into at least two categories. First, there are users who may rotate between several different locations, using a different PC at each location. In this scenario, a network manager would ensure that either the user has separate user accounts for each location, or if a WAN-enabled directory is being used for authentication, a user alias can be used so that a single user can obtain access to different resources depending on location. Second, there are users who roam while carrying along the primary PC in the form of a laptop or handheld computer. In this case, the network manager will have to make sure that the mobile PC is configured to interface with varying network topologies (10Base-T, 100Base-T, 10Base-F, Token Ring, dial-up, etc.), in addition to making resources available by location. A feature of NOSs that makes mobility easier for users to handle is the roaming user profile. A user profile allows a user to have the same look and feel of the user’s interface regardless of log-in location. This is accomplished when a set of configuration files on the user’s workstation are copied to and from the server whenever the user logs in. Since these configuration files are stored on the server, the user’s personal settings are preserved no matter where the user logs in.
USER SUPPORT In addition to configuring the network and monitoring its performance, a network manager should form a strategy for supporting end users. Inevitably, questions or problems will arise due to hardware failure, software bugs, or user error. Helpful network managers will provide end users with a definite point of contact so that problems can be resolved quickly and effectively. Proactive user support strategies include thorough user training on system software and hardware and creation of an intuitive user
interface so that applications, files, and resources can easily be accessed. In addition the network manager will be concerned with the selection of hardware and operating systems for the file and application servers in the network as well as an appropriate backup regime to protect mission critical corporate data from loss due to equipment failure. The choices of operating systems for use in the network (servers as well as clients) include the Microsoft Windows environment, Apple Macintosh environment, and various flavors of the UNIX operating systems. Since the network resources (especially the servers) can be seriously damaged by electrical power outages, appropriately sized uninterruptible power supplies should also be provided, with the capability for graceful system shut down in the event of catastrophic power failures.
CONCLUSION There are many resources available to network managers to make the job of administering networks less time consuming and ultimately more effective (Wisniewski, 2001). Although we have not covered every possible network configuration and software setup, we have outlined concepts and general techniques that can be applied to a broad range of network types. With technologies appearing at the speed of “Internet time,” network managers benefit themselves by becoming well acquainted with the general strategy features of updated and newer NOSs and network management utilities. By having a good appreciation of the concepts of network management and staying abreast with new technologies as they become available, network managers can serve well their organizations and the users who depend on them. Looking to the future, one interesting aspect of network management that will become progressively more important is related to the issue of quality of service for multimedia traffic such as broadcast and interactive voice, video, and gaming services. The convergence of these services will be the driving force for many of the demands on the emerging home and office computer network environment.
GLOSSARY 10Base-T A media access specification operating at 10 Mbps over twisted pair cabling. This specification, along with its other varieties (including 100Base-TX), form the predominant networking infrastructure for modern LANs. 802.11x A set of protocols specified by the IEEE for wireless LAN connectivity. 802.11b, also known as Wi-Fi, has thus far been the most common specification in use commercially and supports data rates of up to 11 Mbps. The 802.11a specification is gaining wider acceptance and operates at data rates up to 54 Mbps. Other specifications such as 802.11e and 802.11i will address issues such as security and quality of service. Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) A high speed digital access mechanism using regular telephone lines whereby higher data rates are sent to the subscriber and substantially lower data rates are supported from the subscriber to the network.
GLOSSARY
Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) A switching technology in which data packets are transmitted in 53-byte cell units. Each cell is handled asynchronously, with buffering and queueing before being transmitted. Campus area network (CAN) A network generally spanning an area the size of a campus composed of several buildings in relatively close proximity. Carrier sense multiple access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) The method generally used in Ethernet defining how multiple hosts share a common medium. “Carrier sense” implies that hosts intending to transmit will “listen” first to see if the medium is currently in use. “Multiple access” denotes the fact that multiple hosts share the medium. “Collision detection” describes the process used to handle conflicts when multiple hosts attempt to transmit simultaneously. Dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) A protocol which is used by a server to assign IP addresses and other networking parameters to enable access automatically to network resources. Directory A database of network resources and user information needed to authorize persons to access hardware and software on a network. Ethernet A medium access control protocol using CSMA/CD whereby nodes on a network “compete” for access to send packets. This is normally implemented on a physical or logical bus topology. Fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) A network connectivity specification using fiber optic medium and that provides bandwidths of 100–1,000 Mbps over distances up to 250 km. FDDI is generally used in MAN and WAN applications, since it provides for transmitting data across relatively large distances. Frequency division multiplexing (FDM) A method used to allow multiple signals to share a single medium, where each signal uses a separate frequency band. FDM is currently in popular use in broadband networks. Firewall A combination of software and hardware used to restrict access to and from internal network resources based on address, authentication, or port. Frame relay A data communication service for intermittent traffic, which operates between the typical low data rates offered by ISDN and the higher data rates supported by ATM. Unlike earlier packet switching protocols, in frame relay, error handling is done on an endto-end basis. Gigabit Ethernet Ethernet networks providing 1,000 Mbps throughput. While this technology is gaining in popularity, even faster bandwidth networks are in development, providing 10 Gbps. Currently, 1,000 Mbps transmission speeds are generally used for shared uplinks. However, it is increasingly more common for networks to provide 1,000 Mbps to the desktop. HomePlug Alliance A consortium of technology companies committed to the successful development and launch of power line networking devices and solutions for home networks. The alliance is responsible for the HomePlug 1.0 protocol, which provides for 10 Mbps power line LANs. A new protocol, HomePlug AV, operating at 100 Mbps, is expected to be released at the end of 2002.
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Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) A worldwide organization of engineers and researchers in the field of electrical engineering. A major service provided by the IEEE is the development of common standards and protocols, such as those relating to LAN connectivity and computer bus circuitry. Integrated services digital network (ISDN) A digital scheme for a completely digital end-to-end telephone service supporting digital voice video and data over regular phone wires. Local area network (LAN) A network of interconnected computers contained within a single location, such as room or a small building. Metropolitan area network (MAN) A network generally spanning a city or metropolitan area. Network address translation (NAT) A protocol allowing multiple nodes to gain access to the Internet while using a single public Internet address. Packets addressed to the single public Internet address are forwarded to internal private nodes by “translating” the destination address of the packets into the private address of nodes on the “inside” of the NAT device. Network interface card (NIC) A hardware device that allows a PC or other equipment to participate as a node on a network. Network operating system (NOS) An operating system with built-in capability to participate in a network as a node. Proxy server A server that intercepts all requests for data from the Internet from internal network nodes. The server allows or rejects requests based on bandwidth, content, or location thresholds configured by the network manager. Public data network (PDN) A network whereby a vendor will provide WAN connectivity to its customers. Rather than using the Internet, a vendor will use private links to provide service only to its customers. Traditionally, this has been the preferred WAN connectivity solution for organizations, since WAN communication over the Internet has been viewed as insecure. However, with the emergence of secure VPNs, organizations are becoming more comfortable using the Internet to connect remote locations. Public switched telephone network (PSTN) The worldwide telecommunication network commonly used for voice telephone communication. Quality of service (QoS) The required performance threshold to deliver a particular network service at an acceptable data rate. Time division multiple access (TDMA) A method allowing multiple signals to simultaneously be carried across a medium, where “time slots” are allotted to each independent channel. Universal serial bus (USB) A specification allowing computer peripherals to be installed (or uninstalled) on a “hot swap” basis. In addition to convenience, other advantages of USB include the allowance for multiple devices (up to 127) to share a single USB port via hubs or “daisy chained” devices. Virtual private network (VPN) A data connection between sites or locations whereby each site or location is independently connected to the Internet and a direct,
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private data connection is obtained using encryption and “tunneling” protocols. Wide area network (WAN) A network that spans an area wider than a single city.
CROSS REFERENCES See Guidelines for a Comprehensive Security System; Local Area Networks; Multiplexing; Public Networks; Virtual Private Networks: Internet Protocol (IP) Based; Web Quality of Service; Wide Area and Metropolitan Area Networks.
REFERENCES Atkins, J., & Norris, M. (1998). Total area networking: ATM, IP frame relay and SMDS explained. New York: Wiley. Brown, B. (2002). Dual-mode wireless: Beating 802.11g to the punch. PC Magazine, 21, 46. Harris, S. (2002). IP VPNs—An overview for network executives. Retrieved June 7, 2002, from http://www. nwfusion.com HomePlug 1.0 protocol description (2002). Retrieved November 5, 2002, from http://www.homeplug.org Johnson, H. W. (1995). Fast Ethernet: Dawn of a new network. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall International. Kadambu, J., Kalkunte, M., & Grayford, I. (1998). Gigabit Ethernet: Migration to high bandwidth LANs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall International. Kallum, C. (1995). Everything you wanted to know about TCP/IP—Tutorial. Santa Clara, CA: 3 COM Corporation. Karagiannis, K. (1999). The importance of USB. Electronics Now, 70, 8–9. Kay, R. (2000). Authentication. Retrieved June 6, 2002, from http://www.computerworld.com
Lais, S. (2000). Directories. Retrieved June 6, 2002, http://www.computerworld.com Latchman, H. (1997). Computer communication networks and the Internet. New York: McGraw–Hill. Latchman, H. A., and Yonge, L. (2003, April). Power line local area networking. IEEE Communications Magazine, 41(4), 32–33. Lin, Y., Latchman, H. A., Lee, M. K., & Katar, S. (2002). A power line communication network infrastructure for the smart home. Wireless Communications, 9(6), 104– 111. McKenzie, M. (2001). Wireless networks find a home at work. PC World, 19, 150. McLeod, R. G. (2002). Gigabit nets for small business. PC World, 20, 36. Morrison, G. (2002). Circuit-switched network lives on. Electronic News, 48, 26. Newsome, T. (2002). Test industry responding to signs of the times. Electronics News, 48, 20. Schuyler, M. (2001). Measuring network traffic. Computers in Libraries, 21, 55–57. Spanbauer, S. (1999). Windows NT. PC World, 17, 273. Stallings, W. (2002). High speed networks and Internets— Performance and quality of service (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall International. Wisniewski, S. (2001). Network administration. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall International. Wolf, M. (1999). From fast to faster: Ethernet IC vendors get Gig-E with it. Electronic News, 45, 12.
FURTHER READING Flannigan, W. (1990). Guide to T1 networking. New York: Telecom Library.
Managing the Flow of Materials Across Across
the Supply Chain Chain
Matthias Holweg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nick Rich, Cardiff Business School, United Kingdom
Introduction The Supply Chain Current Business Trends Effective Supply Chain Management The Material Flow Basics Basic Features Physical Inventory in the Supply Chain Production Processes Logistics and Distribution Information Flow Basics
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INTRODUCTION The Supply Chain The supply chain as concept has been widely discussed and was first promoted as a source of competitive advantage by Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School in the 1980s (Porter, 1985). The logic that underpinned the rise of supply chain management and competitive advantage was born from the notion that “supply chains compete, not individual companies” (Christopher, 1992). Traditional management thought did not promote the benefits of integration and collaboration with suppliers and distributors, preferring instead to promote “mistrust” of such companies and the use of “power” to bargain down the costs of products and services in a “zero sum” approach. In addition, traditional management thought has always focused on the staking out of a competitive position by the firm—but, as only one node in a total flow process that provides materials to customers, it is difficult to compete effectively with a poorly integrated supply and distribution network. Improvements to the supply chain (upstream with suppliers and downstream with distribution partners) represented a logical means of translating business efficiency into a much broader “intercompany” and supply chain approach to competitive advantage. In addition, supply chain management and the integration of trading partners brought with it access to new knowledge and a communication channel that could improve chain performance by mutual development, strategy sharing, targeted operations improvement, and the ability to bring new products to market quickly. Supply chains, not individual companies, actually compete, and the success of the supply chain in providing materials, products, and services profitably determines the viability of all members of the chain. The management literature from the late 1980s promoted competitive advantage based on a supply chain approach grounded in mutuality, collaboration, and the commercial benefits of “working together.” To be “world class” and to design an effective supply chain therefore
Information Flow—the Pacemaker What Constitutes Information? The P:D Ratio The Key Problems in the Supply Chain Key Challenges in Managing the Supply Chain Conclusion Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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meant going beyond simple price negotiations and instead examining all potential partners to test whether they had the necessary capabilities and processes to support the company in its pursuit of customer satisfaction and market growth. At the heart of these deliberations concerning the selection of the “right type” of suppliers and distributors is the ability to flow products and information between companies and to ensure that inventory never stood still. The objective was therefore to design new systems that used the minimal amount of time to satisfy customers at the lowest overall costs and to make a profit in doing so. Within the supply chain, two main flows are distinguished: (a) the information flow conveying demand information from the customer back upstream to the manufacturers and their supplier tiers (b) and the physical or material flows delivering and converting the material into products, until it reaches the final customer (see Figure 1). These two flows are integral, and interlinked, and can only be improved by treating information and physical products as a single system within which information “triggers and paces” the release of materials to flow through production and delivery functions (orders, schedules, etc.) to the customer. The details of these flows, and how they interact are discussed in detail in the following two sections.
Current Business Trends New technologies and new business models are affecting the design and management of the supply chain, and it is important to understand how these issues influence the performance of any given supply chain. First, there is a general trend toward compressing the time involved in designing, manufacturing, and delivering products. This notion has been popularly termed time-based management, and the concentration on eliminating delays in the supply chain has been promoted widely as a source of competitive advantage (Stalk & Hout, 1990). This advantage 551
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Material (Physical) Flow
Raw Material Supplier
Component Supplier
Original Equipment Manufacturer
Final Customer
Information Flow
Figure 1: Basic supply chain.
is therefore based on “speed-to-market” and on getting material flow and product ideas from the design concept to the customer “just in time” (JIT; Ohno, 1988). A JIT approach to the physical flows of existing product therefore increases competitive advantage by lowering the costs of inventory buffers, reducing obsolescence, and increasing flexibility by making better use of factory capacity. Second, the concept of partnering with suppliers and customer relationship management (CRM) has challenged the traditional adversarial approach favored by many Western producers (Dowling, 2002). The “partnering approach” acknowledges that there is a dependency between supplier and customer organizations throughout the chain, and therefore rather than “fighting” between companies it is more important to work together to improve customer service performance (and profits) by collaborating (MacBeth & Ferguson, 1994). Such an approach is common to the manner in which the worldclass companies work with their supply chains and is an approach that has supported the competitive advantage enjoyed by many Japanese manufacturers in markets such as electronics and vehicle production. The objective of such collaboration is therefore to improve faster than competitors and to switch from short-term, price-driven negotiations to a long-term approach to collaboration and a steady profit stream for all members of the supply chain. The stability that a partnership brings therefore allows investment decisions to be taken with a greater level of certainty that the company will continue to trade with the supplier and vice versa. In effect, the restriction of information by traditional adversarial purchasing is replaced with greater transparency of information to encourage the right decisions and behavior throughout the chain. Third, interest in the concept of world-class manufacturing and supply chain management has been greatly accelerated by benchmarking studies of comparative performance (conducted during the 1990s). These studies confirmed that in sectors such as vehicle production, Japanese producers (often termed “lean” producers) operated at vastly superior performance levels than Western firms (Womack, Jones, & Roos, 1990). The competitive disadvantage of the West therefore resulted in a “productivity challenge” to catch up with the performance of Japanese firms in order to remain competitive. The
process of learning about how world-class companies operate helped identify a number of best practices concerning production system design, human resource management, and a collaborative approach to the supply chain. The practices of these world-class companies were termed “best practice” and, even today, companies still benchmark themselves against these world-class competitor companies, and even world-class companies from completely different industry sectors. Benchmarking against the best helps a firm find out which practices support high-performance supply chain management and how best to emulate them. Fourth, the outsourcing of manufacturing tasks to suppliers or low-labor countries implies that businesses must develop a supply chain management capability to control the manufacturing operations that were once “in house” and “made.” The outsourcing of such manufacturing, to allow the company to concentrate on its core competencies, needs careful management to ensure that material continues to flow properly. In some cases, outsourcing included only the retention of brand ownership with the entire product being subcontracted. The risks of affecting the “value of the brand” by poor supplier performance prompted a greater involvement in the development of the supply chain and a strategic dependency between firms. In the automotive industry, outsourcing has also included a restructuring of the supply chain and an increasing amount of modularity in product designs (Ulrich, 1995). Employing a “modularity strategy” involves the supplier being given the task of manufacturing a much larger and specific module for the vehicle, such as a dashboard or the vehicle interior, which previously would have been built by a number of smaller manufacturers. The vehicle assembler thus has fewer suppliers of much larger modules that can be simply installed into the vehicle at the assembly track. In this manner, modules arrive and are simply “slotted into” the vehicle, which again helps to eliminate “build time” at the assembly track. In other sectors, such as consumer electronics, modularity is also been used as a means of offering increased product variety. This is often coupled to the assemble-to-order strategy, which is discussed later. Fifth, new computer innovations and e-business have a major impact on the current state of supply chain management and the business model employed by manufacturing companies. Three main areas of e-business can be identified. First is B2C (business-to-customer) using online ordering and product configuration tools. Examples include online retailers such as Amazon.com or online configuration Web site such as that operated by Dell Computers. Second is B2B (business-to-business) e-commerce between companies, which allows for communication of point-of-sales data throughout the supply chain, as well as real-time inventory and order data. Examples include the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) movement in the grocery sector and the Quick Response initiative (often also referred as Quick Response Manufacturing, QRM) in the textile sector. Such communication in the supply chain can be enabled through the Internet but commonly uses dedicated extranets or other forms of electronic data interchange (EDI). Finally, the E2E (engineer-to-engineer)
THE MATERIAL FLOW BASICS
component of e-commerce facilitates collaboration between the various companies in the product design stage. Most important for supply chain management is the B2C aspect, because it enables the link between the customer online to the manufacturing and distribution process, as well as the B2B aspect, because it enables communication of demand and planning information without delay in the supply chain. It is important to note that although electronic communication has great potential in streamlining the information flow in the supply chain, the challenge of effectively managing the physical flow remains and is critical for the success of any organization—whether it is a “dot-com” or a traditional company (Lee & Whang, 2001). For customers, e-business allows products to be “lastminute configured” exactly to their requirements and satisfies the need for a “portfolio” of products to offer the new e-market for manufactured goods. Also, online auctions can be conducted, as in the case of some automotive trade exchanges, such as the recently established Covisint.com Web site. The application of e-business for the supply chain therefore increases competition amongst suppliers of commodity or “nonstrategic” supplies and ensures that the best prices, on a global scale, can be negotiated. For strategic suppliers, on whom the buying company is dependent, e-business offers a new communication channel and the ability to access important information databases (such as design and engineering) and to synchronize efforts across the supply chain wherever that activity is conducted.
Effective Supply Chain Management Managing the physical flow is the most basic form of supply chain management that adds value for the supplier and buying organizations regardless of online or conventional operation. The ability to control the physical flow of products is, however, highly dependent on an accurate flow of information between companies and across the entire supply chain to enable synchronization. Therefore, the design of the supply chain and the careful selection of companies with whom to partner is just one side of a bigger design puzzle. The key to solving the puzzle and raising performance is to apply the same level of effort to the design of communication channels between companies. If such attention is not provided, suppliers will act on bad information, resulting in frequent interruptions to material flow and thus inefficiency. Efficient online order processing is undoubtedly a major enabler to improved information exchanges and an indirect form of competitive advantage, yet if it is not coupled with a reliable and rapid physical order fulfillment process (i.e., the manufacture and distribution of the product), then little is gained. Instead, the fast processing of data will not have raised customer service and will not attract loyalty from the customer base. The art of an effective supply chain and information system design is in the sharing of data and the filtering of misleading information that could cause products to be produced either too soon or too late to meet the delivery requirements of customers. Either way, the costs of the supply chain will rise, and excess inventory will result, adding costs but no value to the customer.
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We now outline the basics of both material and information flows, their interactions, and discuss the key challenges that must be met to design efficient material flows for sustainable and competitive supply chains in the Internet age.
THE MATERIAL FLOW BASICS Basic Features The material flow in supply chains comprises physical inventory, production processes, and logistics or distribution processes. Each material flow or value stream (the combined processes that make a product) must be combined to optimize the customer service level provided at the minimum cost. The key challenge is to minimize the inventory, while utilizing the production capacity to the maximum extent (Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky, & Simchi-Levi, 1999).
Physical Inventory in the Supply Chain There are various forms of inventory that exist in any given supply chain. The obvious ones are the raw materials and subcomponent stock needed to produce parts that ultimately make a finished product. While being processed, the material is referred to as “work-in-progress” (WIP) inventory, which is of particular interest because it is a good indicator of the quality of production control. The higher the inventory, the more interrupted the flow of goods and therefore the longer the production cycle time. In addition, work in progress carries substantial risks, and if orders are canceled or the business is closed, this inventory cannot be sold (unlike that of finished goods and raw materials). As such, it is the management of WIP that determines the effectiveness of the overall production system. The final form of materials is converted finished goods inventory (FGI), and this is an indicator of how close the production process is aligned to customer demand. Highly efficient manufacturers with reliable processes therefore have much lower FGI and instead use the effectiveness of the production system to be responsive to customer demand. There are several reasons inventory is held. First of all, cycle stock refers to the inventory needed to cover the time period between two material deliveries and thus is nonstationary, or continuously turning over. As such, this inventory is essential for sustaining the manufacturing operations. The longer the time period that has to be covered, the more cycle stock that must be held. A range of replenishment techniques can be used, which will not be discussed here (see Silver, Pyke, Peterson, & Miltenberg, 1998). Second, there is safety stock, which is inventory held in addition to the cycle stock to cover for eventualities such as machine breakdowns or unreliable supply. Third, pipeline stock refers to the inventory in the distribution and retail channel (i.e., in the warehouses and shelves in the shops). This inventory comprises both cycle and safety stock elements. For traditional operations planning and production control, large amounts of WIP resulted from large batches of production, resulting from a hypothesis that large batches were more economical. Such a system has many
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weaknesses when attempting to compete in the modern market for manufactured products. Large batches increase costs (inventory), and because asset capacity is consumed in making large lots of standard products, the responsiveness of the factory is reduced. Instead, the modern JIT approach is to design a physical production process that is better able to respond to demand than to try and push large batches of production (against a schedule) to meet what the planners think that the customer will buy. Working to demand using small inventory buffers is a characteristic of the “lean production” Japanese manufacturing approach to material flow. This production system is operated by world-class companies such as the Toyota Motor Corporation (the subject of the benchmarking activities of the 1990s mentioned earlier). Within the three classifications of raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods forms of inventory there is another classification of product. This classification concerns the value and volume of all materials and products and allows insights into designing the most effective form of conversion process. This form of inventory analysis is often called an ABC classification or the “runners, repeater, strangers” of factory volume. Parts are classified according to their volume in the production system and multiplied by their monetary value to determine their overall impact on the production system. The ABC classification distinguishes A-parts, or runners, as the highest impact products manufactured at the factory. These products are produced continuously or very frequently and as such form the basic loading of the factory. In addition, if these products are not available “on demand,” then customer service will diminish. For B-parts, or repeaters, the product is made on a regular basis but less frequently than A parts. Here, managers must decide how often and in what batch size to make these products and often decide to hold slightly higher amounts of finished product and to manufacture in slightly larger batches every planning time period. For example, running products may be manufactured every week (to replenish at least a week’s worth of finished goods inventory), whereas repeaters may be made every 2 weeks (to replenish a finished goods inventory of at least 2 weeks worth of sales volume). Customers infrequently order the strangers, or Cproducts, and therefore managers often decide to hold finished products to allow customers instant satisfaction of their order requirements. The production of these C products is likely to be in a large batch, however, and the batch will be launched only when the available finished product has reached a minimum level. This form of classification is useful and helps to maintain an appropriate factory loading and ensures products are available (but not in excessive quantity) to meet demand. In any inventory analysis, it is important to consider the volume, value, and frequency of the product to determine the right approach for creating the appropriate supply chain for the product. The more frequent and valuable, the more the product should be linked to customer demand and actual orders. For low-value, low-volume parts, however, it is likely that holding stock is the more economical option (such as for nuts, bolts, etc.). Each production system must be designed to meet the unique market
characteristics of the firm. Where inventory is deployed to raw, work in progress, or finished goods, it is there by design to allow maximum customer service, to protect manufacturing lead time, and to cover for catastrophes in the supply chain. By stabilizing the levels of inventory and operating to these conditions, the pace and frequency of production and supply can be synchronized (each ABC product within the firm will be an ABC for the supplier). In this manner, inventory is used to stabilize and regulate the production and supply systems and when an unplanned event occurs, it should be obvious that something in the total system has failed. Under the traditional system of large batches and no knowledge of demand patterns, inventory simply materializes and this “stability” is not achieved, therefore it is difficult to determine when things have gone wrong.
Production Processes The production process is the actual conversion of the materials and subcomponents into finished products. Examples include metal pressing, welding, painting, subassembly, and final assembly operations. The actual material conversion process is generally dictated by technological factors in terms of “how” products are converted, and it is the manner in which the production system is planned that is of most concern. This feature of a production system includes how processes are scheduled (the information trigger that determines how manufacturing operations are instructed when and what products to make). The “correct” way to schedule a process is subject to a number of schools of thought, but basically there are two extremes and many hybrids between them. The most common distinction between the two extremes is whether a “push” or a “pull” approach is taken. Push systems use production forecasts, not actual orders, to determine the factory and supplier schedules. Products are made on predicted usage, not on actual orders, and “batched” into large lot sizes before being pushed from raw materials all the way into the warehouse. At the warehouse, the product will wait until an order is received from a customer. Advocates of push systems argue that this is beneficial because production is more efficient when large batch sizes can be operated. The main risk is that if the forecast is too high, inventory of products that are not selling will increase; if the forecast is too low, there will be no inventory buffer of products in demand, and therefore orders cannot be fulfilled. Push systems are commonly used in conjunction with MRP systems (material requirements planning), which have evolved into MRP II system (manufacturing resource planning) and later into ERP systems (enterprise resource planning), yet essentially push systems still apply the same logic (Wight, 1995). MRP systems are a common approach to manufacturing scheduling and use a master production schedule (which is an amalgamation of sales forecast and customer orders) to generate time-phased production orders for each work centre on the shop floor. These systems also calculate the quantity and timing of order to be released to material and component suppliers (Schonberger & Knod, 1997). In effect, the schedule takes each order and deducts
THE MATERIAL FLOW BASICS
the amount of time needed at each stage in the production process to determine the time that it must be available for processing. To illustrate this point, if assembly takes 2 days and the customer expects the product on the 10th of the month, then, because assembly is the final operation, the materials must be at assembly by the 8th of the month at the latest to meet the order. Such MRP systems can therefore calculate complex requirements for products at different due dates, going through all the factory work centers in a fraction of time that it would take a human being. Although the MRP approach seems logical, in practice the uncertainties of production processes and capacity issues require additional buffers in the systems, hence MRP systems tend to result in longer lead times and higher inventories than the next approach. The alternative is the pull system, in which the customer, who pulls the product through the supply chain, drives the schedule. This approach is based on the just-intime philosophy derived from Toyota in Japan (Monden, 1983), and was subsequently known as “lean manufacturing” in the West (Womack & Jones, 1994; Womack et al., 1990). Under this approach, rather than pushing products to the finished goods warehouse, the business allows products to be taken from the warehouse to meet customer orders. When a certain point is reached, a request for resupply is placed on the final operation, which takes materials and converts them to replenish the stock holding. Each subsequent process takes the relevant material from their in-bound buffer (known as a “kanban”) and replenishes the buffer of their customer work center. This trigger to make products goes all the way to the supplier and allows instant customer satisfaction with a minimal amount of finished inventory. The lean approach therefore aims to produce products at the same rate as the customer needs them, which is called “Takt time,” and frequent small-lot manufacturing enables a flexible means of resupplying what has been sold. Lean manufacturing has since migrated into many sectors beyond automotive manufacturing and offers a wide tool set for the analysis and improvement of value streams and manufacturing operations (Hines, Lamming, Jones, Cousins, & Rich, 2000; Rother & Shook, 1998). The hybrid approaches to production scheduling include elements of the push and pull systems that are combined in a logical manner to support the stability of material flow in the factory. An illustration of this approach is the situation in which the beginning work centers at a factory require large batches but the finishing operations are fast and can process in small lots. Under these conditions, the two parts of the factory could be separated such that the initial stages work to a schedule and fill the buffer that separates the work centers from the finishing processes. The finishing processes work to the replenishments needed by the warehouse, however, and therefore will treat the inbound buffer as a large kanban. The finishing processes therefore convert more frequently much smaller lots of production from the beginning processes. The objective of the primary and finishing operations is to reduce batch sizes, the ideal batch size for both being a single product (also referred to as single piece flow), such that a single order from a customer triggers a single product being made by the factory operations.
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Logistics and Distribution Logistics and distribution is the counterpart to the manufacturing processes in the material flow process, with the main difference being that the product itself is not altered during the transportation process with the possible exception of finished goods packaging. The main goal of the distribution function is to ship, at minimal cost and with minimal lead time, products to the next tier or to the customer in the supply chain. To achieve this goal, managers often have to trade off between load efficiency and delivery frequency, similar to the batch-size–inventory trade-off in the manufacturing process. Distribution and logistics have been widely explored (e.g., Bowersox & Closs, 1996) and the design considerations for managers include the location of warehouses and decision on the mode of transport (truck, rail, ship) and the size of the transport. Recent developments in this area include the use of “milk-rounds” for distribution in which finished products are delivered frequently to many destinations (and materials for the factory could be picked up). Another development is “cross-docking” of transport to allow bulk movements of common products to a destination from which another transporter will take its requirements for delivery. Cross-docks are therefore facilities used to reassemble truck or rail loads, so that both the collection and delivery runs are efficiently loaded. Cross-docks may also be combined with a milkround system to support frequent deliveries to customers, which is typical of the systems used by supermarkets and vehicle assembly factories. Best-performing logistics systems in the automotive sector, such as Nissan Europe, for example, can achieve delivery windows of “every 2 hours” into the assembly plants, thus reducing the effective inventory between supplier and manufacturer to less than 1 day. Interestingly, the common perception of Nissan is that no further financial benefit can be gained from reducing the pipeline inventory below 1 day. Yet the quality benefit of tightly integrating the suppliers into the JIT production and delivery schemes is the main driver behind this concept. Often, logistics schemes are run by external or “thirdparty” service providers. These are independent and specialized logistics companies that work as subcontractors to the manufacturers and suppliers. For example, if a customer orders a Dell computer, it is likely that the final delivery will be made by DHL or TNT Express, rather than by a Dell van. In the auto sector, such third parties, such as Exel Logistics or Ryder, are charged with managing entire regional collection schemes from several hundred suppliers. In recent years, these management responsibilities have even been extended into the management of entire supplier parks (whereby the supplier collocates around their customer’s assembly plants). In these cases, the logistics company is in charge of not only managing the site itself, but also with managing the logistics of the park as well as delivery into the assembly plants, which involves coordination of other third-party logistics company. In this case, the “lead logistics partner” is also referred to as a “fourth-party logistics provider” and might not even execute any actual transportation tasks.
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INFORMATION FLOW BASICS P
Information Flow—the Pacemaker The information flow throughout the supply chain is the “pacemaker” that drives the system and triggers questions about products such as what to make, in what quantity, and by when. The problem with scheduling is therefore a complex one, because multiple trade-offs must be considered and because the variety of components and materials needed for every finished part makes the design problem a major task to review. More important, however, is that the difference in lead time between the time needed to make a product and the time the customer is prepared to wait for it must be considered. It is generally the customer’s willingness to wait that is collapsing today, which means that manufacturers must generate high quality and rapid delivery of products in increasingly shorter time frames. An unfortunate consequence of the Internet is that this technology has fuelled the impatience of the consumer and customer to the point that they both expect immediate satisfaction of their needs.
What Constitutes Information? Within the information flow, several types of information are important to the design of an effective supply chain. First, there are the actual orders, which are commercially binding. These orders are sent by the customer either on individual (“one off”) or on a regular basis. For example, every new vehicle buyer will order his or her car individually, yet Ford or General Motors will order the parts needed to build cars on a regular, daily basis from their suppliers. The individual customer order does not provide enough visibility or time to plan production in time to meet the delivery required. Therefore, forecasts are also generated to give further notice of upcoming demand at such manufacturing sites. Forecasts, however, are “best guesses” or interpretations of the future demand for products, and when these forecasts deviate from the actual demand that arises, a forecast error exists. This error has a direct impact on the amount of inventory in the system, so forecasts should be kept to the minimum time horizon possible to increase the relative certainty of actual demand. The longer the forecast time horizon, the greater the risk of error being produced and a mismatch in what has been made against what was wanted. Many techniques exist to help with this form of analysis, of which the P:D ratio analysis is one of the most important in designing effective supply chain systems.
The P:D Ratio A more detailed model of how to cope with the difference between the lead time to produce a product (P = production lead-time) and the time the customer is willing to wait for it (D = demand lead-time) was proposed by Mather (1988). He called this the “P:D ratio,” and it compares product and delivery times to suggest implications for the design of manufacturing operations and the manner in which orders should be fulfilled. This model (shown in Figure 2) is also referred to as the order penetration point or decision point analysis, because it shows how far the customer order penetrates the system
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Figure 2: The P:D ratio. Based on the P:D ratio by Mather (1988). and “pulls” the product. Put simply, the model highlights the differential in production and “expectation” time and therefore identifies where a manufacturing facility should locate its main buffer of inventory to allow customers to be satisfied without having to make to order for each customer. The model shows many points in the manufacturing supply chain where inventory may be held. On the far right-hand side of the diagram is an order penetration point that means all manufacturing is “pushed” and driven by forecasts to replenish a major buffer in the finished goods area. This point marks the interface of “push” and “pull” in the supply chain; in this instance, the customer pull is from the finished goods buffer. At this point, the pull is not truly effective, and customer orders are simply taken from finished goods buffers and dispatched to awaiting customers. In case the customer is not willing to wait until the products are manufactured, the only option is to hold finished goods inventory. This is the case in supply chains such as in the grocery supply chain, in which customers expect milk bottles to be on the supermarket shelf and are not willing to wait until the bottle is filled, shipped, and put onto the shelf while they wait. The challenge in this “make-to-forecast” scenario is to replenish the stock as efficiently and quickly as possible, to minimize production and inventory cost. A good example of this is the recent Efficient Consumer Response initiative in the grocery sector, which uses electronic point of sales data to replenish the stores (Kurt Salmon Associates, 1993; see also http://www.ecr-net.org.) If the customer is willing to wait for the product assembly, yet the overall production of all the components is outside the customer’s tolerance, an “assemble-to-order” approach should be used with a “penetration point” at the work in progress buffer. At this point, the product is assembled to customer order using an inventory buffer at parts level. Every time an order comes in, a customized product is assembled, and the parts buffer is replenished on a forecast basis. The most commonly known assembleto-order system is the Dell approach, in which the computers are assembled to order within a few days, buffering the long replenishment lead-time for components from distant suppliers. If the customer had to wait for all components to be made to order, the overall lead time for a
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computer would be several weeks, as opposed to several days. For certain products such as motor vehicles, however, which require a much greater range of components, holding stock for all of these would be too expensive. Also, customers are generally willing to wait 1–2 weeks for their vehicle to be delivered, and hence a “make-to-order” system can be used. Ideally, a make-to-order system would hold no inventory at the finished product or component level, because production is only initiated on customer request (Holweg & Pil, 2001). For highly specialized products, such as oil rigs, for example, the product is not only made to order, but also designed specifically. This case is also referred to as “engineer-to-order.” Hybrid cases between engineer- and make-to-order are also common, as, for example, in the aerospace industry, in which planes are of an overall standard airframe design but are highly customized in many respects. The P:D analysis is important in determining the right “mode of supply chain” and where best to position inventory to protect the production lead time and the customer’s expectation of service. It should be noted that any of these order fulfillment approaches could be coupled with an Internet-based order entry interface, and Dell, Amazon, and ECR are only few examples. A list of relevant Web pages is provided in the Further Reading section.
THE KEY PROBLEMS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN Supply chain management possesses several key challenges that pose a threat to customer service. These challenges include excess inventory and ultimately cost. Both of these failings relate to structural problems and system effects that have long been known to many business managers yet have not been solved by managers in many
modern supply chains. One of the most commonly found effects is the so-called demand amplification or “bullwhip” effect (Lee, Padmanabhan, & Seungjin, 1997). As shown in the example in Figure 3, the demand pattern is distorted as it is transmitted through the supply chain, and this information distortion amplifies as it is passed from tier to tier down the supply chain. The main reason for such distortion, which leads to excess inventory and cost, is the delay of information before it is transmitted. Another problem is the treatment of data when it is received. Often order information does not match certain requirements, such as batch sizes for manufacturing and other policies, and therefore the information is “rounded up” to the nearest convenient batch size for manufacturing. To illustrate this process, a business may receive an order for 250 fax machines, but because the minimum batch size to make these products is 300, then 300 will be made and new orders will be issued to suppliers. If the policies that are established with suppliers means that orders are placed for a minimum of 1,000 plastic molded machine bodies and keyboards, then the initial order for 250 products has now been amplified to 1,000 units of supplied parts. If these ordering processes are completely automated and rarely investigated by managers, these problems will continue to exist and continue to “trigger” production and movement of products that are not really needed. The result is WIP inventory and FGI inventory, which, if not immediately sold, incurs costs (storage being just one part of a much larger amount of cost incurred). The other problem is that this creates a need for capital, because these products will have been paid for and will wait for a certain period until a customer purchases them, and only then is the company paid. Meanwhile, the stock has to be financed. Further problems are variability and uncertainty of material supply and within the manufacturing process. Any source of uncertainty will drive planners toward “playing it safe” and hence lead to overordering or making
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some “just in case.” Ultimately, uncertainty results in excess inventory, either in the form of materials or finished products. Poor asset maintenance and frequent breakdowns of machines will therefore increase these problems and result in material movements that stop-and-start but do not flow. The quantification and elimination of variances and problems with manufacturing processes is the focus of the Six Sigma approach that has recently increased in popularity as a management technique of companies such as Motorola, Johnson and Johnson, and many other world-class corporations (Bicheno, 2000). To summarize this chapter, it is important that managers understand the concept of the supply chain both in terms of the internal supply chain of machines and processes that convert materials and also the external chain that involves the integration of material and information flows. This chapter also promotes an understanding of the internal and external chain in terms of where best to position inventory (for customer service) as well as the critical integration of information channels to support the flow of products. The next section continues to explore the challenges of supply chain management.
KEY CHALLENGES IN MANAGING THE SUPPLY CHAIN Any supply chain faces the challenge of meeting—or even exceeding—customer expectations. Only if customers’ requirements are met can a supply chain be sustainable for the long term. The key is to manage the supply chain effectively for sustained competitiveness in terms of cost and customer service. Thus, it needs to be understood as a single entity of material and information flows that must be managed and designed holistically. Despite the great variety of supply chains in all economic sectors, there are a number of common challenges or principles for the effective design of material flows. First, delays of information and material need to be eliminated whenever possible. Delays not only reduce responsiveness to customer demand, they also worsen the demand pattern distortion and are a main cause for the bullwhip effect. The identification of delay points is important if the correct countermeasures, policies, and information flows are to be established and managed (or, at the very least, monitored). Second, inventory in any form needs to be questioned as to its purpose. In reality, only a fraction of the stock being held in supply chains is actually necessary for the efficient operation of the system. The reminder results from failures (in understanding customers, in setting minimum production and transport batch quantities, in poor asset maintenance), and this inventory incurs cost and hides quality problems. Even worse, the bulk of inventory hides problems that managers must know about if these problems are to be solved and material flow throughout the entire chain is to be improved. Toyota refers to this inventory as “dead material,” and it is this inventory, waste, and costs that are the focus of lean production. Third, uncertainty of any kind needs to be identified because uncertainty leads to poor decision making and a suboptimal flow of materials. Whether through Six Sigma programs or through joint improvement projects with
suppliers, information and knowledge about the negative impacts of uncertainty are valuable and assist the design of robust supply chains. Uncertainty about customer demand, the basic information that drives any supply chain, should be understood and any areas of uncertainty investigated to perfect performance. Fourth, companies at the top of the supply chain (closest to the customer) should try to promote the customer demand signal to the maximum extent possible. Many companies settle for the easy make-to-stock approach, yet pull systems require far less inventory and are much less likely to show the bullwhip effect that is evident when customer demand is not understood and communicated with all businesses in the supply chain. These demanddriven supply chains, as characterized by Dell Computers, outperform their competitors if these rival firms push materials to forecast. For a JIT movement of materials throughout a supply chain, customer information must be packaged into a common format for all suppliers. This information packaging should be such that any distortion is “filtered out” by the company at the head of the supply chain to allow all other businesses to achieve a “flat” and “level” demand. In this way, a stable demand pattern allows materials to flow without generating the chaos and uncertainty of information that is erratic, infrequent, or constantly amended. Fifth, other decisions, such as whether to source locally or from an international low-cost supplier, need to be made with the supply chain in mind. In many cases, the latter option seems at first glance to be the better cost option. Long-haul or global sourcing has serious disadvantages in terms of lower flexibility and responsiveness, however, and can incur premium airfreight needed to cope with schedule fluctuations and expediting. These charges (for problems associated with information flow) often outweigh the benefits of the lower labor cost. Further policy decisions include the control of the manufacturing system and investments in technology that allow the “delayed differentiation” of products and postponement of the order penetration point. In this scenario, the product is customized at the last possible moment in the production process in order to meet customer specifications. This system represents the scheduling of materials to a given point at which the product is then pulled to the exact specification of the customer. The “customization” approach may require additional capacity or technology to eliminate unnecessary finished goods and allow a responsive finishing operation to supply a highly integrated logistics distribution system. These features may also need to be considered at the product design stage. Other policies within this approach include the designed “modularity” of the product and other considerations concerning design for manufacture (Pine, 1993). Finally, most supply chains actually do not end with the sales to the final customer, because in many cases a recycling chain exists in which the original equipment is dismantled and reused is some form. Again, a management design of this element of the chain must be considered and thus environmental considerations are also challenges that managers of modern supply chains face.
GLOSSARY
CONCLUSION Managing the physical flow in the supply chain is key to a successful supply chain strategy. Physical products needed to meet customer orders must be kept moving and should be interrupted as little as possible. To ensure products are kept moving, the information that triggers manufacturing must be reliable and timely. A rapid information flow, as over an extranet or the Internet, will not provide any competitive advantage if the physical manufacture and delivery is slow, unreliable, or not cost-competitive. The Internet will also inhibit the flow of products if the data transmission contains errors or is sent so quickly that the supply chain cannot respond in time. The latter scenario creates a “permanent sense of crisis” for suppliers, and this is undesirable because decisions will be made simultaneously at different companies, increasing the probability that a vital input will not arrive when all others do. An effective material flow is therefore based on certainty, predictability, and a reliable standardized process of information exchange that is known to every supplier, distributor, and work station. Therefore, an integration of the physical good and information chain is essential, and this system should be shared within (internal supply chain) and beyond the factory (external supply chain). In reality, it is difficult to analyze, manage or optimize any supply chain by treating these design issues in isolation. The results of poor analyses and an incorrect design of the supply chain can therefore be catastrophic and, far from improving customer service and generating competitive advantage, will serve to reduce the reputation of the firm. An integrated approach to the design of the physical and information supply systems is important and can be achieved by a systematic understanding and analysis of how the current supply system performs. All too often, these failings result from poor information and delays and are manifest in terms of long lead times and excess inventories, both of which add to cost but have no value for the customer. In this section a number of design features have been highlighted, together with the key concepts behind the material and information flow processes that support an effective “order fulfillment strategy.” These design issues and the analyses presented in this chapter serve to identify the manner in which the supply chain should be configured to meet the unique constraints of the individual business (its market, technology, and material requirements). For most businesses, this process of design involves an existing system for which information is readily available. Typically, this information about the supply chain and its performance has not been analyzed as a single entity. Instead, functional managers will know elements of the overall system and its problems. Only when these managers are brought together to redesign the supply chain will these information bases be combined and a true picture of performance achieved. As such, supply chain management requires cross-functional management problem solving such that the sales department explains the process of recruiting orders, the production control department explains how this information triggers material conversion, and the purchasing
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department explains how these two activities generate supplier schedules. When this integrated design approach is undertaken, it is possible to optimize the flow of materials and information and to create a robust system within which all managers understand how best to keep material moving. This combination of management-level staff is also important if the external suppliers to the firm are to become integrated with the new material flow design and to benefit from it. Many challenges exist in this process of redesign, and each design is specific to a given company. This process must be undertaken, however, if managers are to fulfill their role as business planners and exercise control of the manufacturing process. At the heart of the design process is the need to integrate the physical and the “triggers” stimulated by information exchange. In an era of compressed manufacturing times, it would be nonsense for delays in information exchange to ransom the material flow. The Internet may well eliminate this problem, but it will also add to the challenges of managing the supply chain if it is not integrated by design. Communicating bad information quickly is a recipe for chaos. Overall, the future will see more electronic information sharing between companies in the supply chain and the Internet, when used to transmit information that has been validated, will offer great possibilities for competitive advantage to those businesses that can translate quality information into the highest levels of customer service. To achieve this, without excess inventory, means sharing data across all tiers in the supply chain and harnessing, by synchronization, the material flow activities at each manufacturer. The Internet, as an enabler for “high-performance” data flow is a reality, as many of the world’s leading companies have demonstrated.
GLOSSARY Bill of material (BOM) A listing of all the subassemblies, intermediates, parts, and raw materials that go into a parent assembly, showing the quantity of each required to make an assembly. A BOM is used in conjunction with the master production schedule to determine the items for which purchase requisitions and production orders must be released. Finished goods inventory (FGI) Completed products that are not sold or allocated to immediate shipment to the customer. Forecast Estimation based on extrapolation of historic data and further assumptions about future events. The deviation of the forecast from the actual demand is known as the ‘forecast error’. Just-in-time (JIT) A philosophy of manufacturing based on planned elimination of all waste and continuous improvement of productivity. JIT encompasses the successful execution of all manufacturing activities required to produce a final product, from design engineering to delivery and including all stages of conversion from raw material onward. The primary elements of JIT are to have only what is required when needed; to improve quality to zero defects; to reduce lead-times by reducing setup times, queue lengths, and lot sizes;
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to revise incrementally the operations themselves; and to accomplish this at minimum cost. Kanban A method of just-in-time production that uses standard containers or lot sizes with a single card attached to each. It is a pull system in which work centers signal with a card that they wish to withdraw parts from feeding operations or suppliers. The Japanese word kanban loosely translates as “card,” “billboard,” or “sign.” The term is often used synonymously for the specific scheduling system developed and used by the Toyota Corporation in Japan. Level scheduling In traditional management, a production schedule or master production schedule that generates material and labor requirements that are as evenly spread over time as possible, a core concept of lean production. Also referred to as ‘production smoothing’. In some cases, finished goods inventories are used to buffer the production system against seasonal demand. Logistics The management of the storage, transportation and delivery of goods along the supply chain. Often distinguishes ‘inbound logistics’, i.e., the movement of components, parts, and materials from suppliers to the original equipment manufacturers, and ‘outbound logistics’, which relates to the movement of finished (or near finished) products from the manufacturing plant to the customer. Material requirements planning (MRP) A set of computer-based techniques that uses bill of material data, inventory data, and the master production schedule to calculate requirements for materials. It makes recommendations to release replenishment orders for material. Milk-round A logistics concept in which parts are collected from several suppliers before being delivered to the point of use. In comparison to direct deliveries from all suppliers, smaller and more frequent shipments can be made. Milk-round delivery is an integral part of the just-in-time concept. Order fulfillment process The process from order entry to delivery of a product, including order processing, manufacturing, and distribution. (also called the product delivery process). Pull (system) In production, a pull system is the production of items only as demanded for use or to replace those taken for use. In material control, a pull system is the withdrawal of inventory as demanded by the using operations. Material is not issued until a signal comes from the user. In distribution, a pull system is a system for replenishing field warehouse inventories in which replenishment decisions are made at the field warehouse not at the central warehouse or plant. Push (system) In production, a push system is the production of items at times required by a given schedule planned in advance. In material control, a push system is the issuing of material according to a given schedule or issuing material to a job order at its start time. In distribution, a push system is a system for replenishing field warehouse inventories in which decision making is centralized, usually at the manufacturing site or central supply facility.
Quick response manufacturing A system of linking final retail sales with production and shipping schedules back through the chain of supply; employs pointof-sale scanning and electronic data interchange and may use direct shipment from a factory. Scheduling The general process of assigning orders to available production resources. In the automotive context, for example, the compilation of orders from the order bank into weekly and daily production instructions for the particular assembly plants. Supply chain The process from the initial raw materials to the ultimate consumption of the finished product linking across supplier-user companies or the functions within and outside a company that enable the value chain to make products and provide services to the customer (synonyms: value chain, value stream). Third-party logistics The use of external companies to perform logistics functions that have traditionally been performed within an organization. The functions performed by the third party can encompass the entire logistics process or selected activities within that process. Value stream The specific activities required to design, order, and provide a specific product, from concept to launch, order to delivery, and raw materials into the hands of the customer. ‘Value stream mapping’ refers to the identification of all the specific activities occurring along a value stream for a product or product family. Waste Any activity that consumes resources but creates no value. The seven wastes are Taiichi Ohno’s original enumeration of the wastes commonly found in physical production. These are overproduction ahead of demand, waiting for the next processing step, unnecessary transport of materials, overprocessing of parts because of poor tool and product design, inventories greater than the absolute minimum, unnecessary movement by employees during the course of their work, and production of defective parts. Work in progress (WIP) A product or products in various stages of completion throughout the plant, including all material from raw material that has been released for initial processing up to completely processed material awaiting final inspection and acceptance as finished product. Many accounting systems also include the value of semifinished stock and components in this category.
CROSS REFERENCES See Developing and Maintaining Supply Chain Relationships; Electronic Procurement; International Supply Chain Management; Inventory Management; Strategic Alliances; Supply Chain Management; Supply Chain Management and the Internet; Supply Chain Management Technologies.
REFERENCES Bicheno, J. (2000). The lean toolbox (2nd ed.). Buckingham, England: Picsie Books.
FURTHER READING
Bowersox, D., & Closs, D. (1996). Logistical management: The integrated supply chain process. New York: McGraw-Hill. Christopher, M. (1992). Logistics and supply chain management: Strategies for reducing cost and improving services. London: Pitman. Dowling, G. (2002). Customer relationship management: In B2C markets, often less is more. California Management Review, 44 (3), 87–104 Hines, P., Lamming, R., Jones, D. T., Cousins, P., & Rich, N. (2000). Value stream management—strategy and excellence in the supply chain. London: Financial Times/Prentice-Hall. Holweg, M., & Pil, F. (2001). Successful build-to-order strategies start with the customer. Sloan Management Review, 43 (1), 74–83. Kurt Salmon Associates. (1993). Efficient Consumer Response: Enhancing customer value in the grocery industry. Washington, DC: Food Marketing Institute. Lee, H. L., Padmanabhan, V., & Seungjin, W. (1997). The bullwhip effect in supply chains. Sloan Management Review 38 (3), 93–102. Lee, H. L., & Whang, S. (2001). Winning the last mile of e-commerce. Sloan Management Review, 42 (4), 54– 62. MacBeth, D., & Ferguson, N. (1994). Partnership sourcing, an integrated supply chain approach. London: Pitman. Mather, H. (1988). Competitive manufacturing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Monden, Y. (1983). The Toyota production system. Portland, OR: Productivity Press. Ohno, T. (1988). The Toyota production system: Beyond large-scale production. Portland, OR: Productivity Press. Pine, J. B. (1993). Mass customization: The new frontier in business competition. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New York: Free Press/Macmillan. Rother, M., & Shook, J. (1998). Learning to see: Value
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stream mapping to add value and eliminate muda. Brookline, MA: Lean Enterprise Institute. Schonberger, R., & Knod, E. (1997). Operations management: Customer-focused principles. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Silver, E., Pyke, D., Peterson, R., & Miltenburg, G. (1998). Inventory management and production planning and scheduling (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. Simchi-Levi, D., Kaminsky, P., & Simch-Levi, E. (1999). Designing and managing the supply chain. New York: McGraw-Hill. Stalk, G., & Hout, T. (1990). Competing against time: How time-based competition is reshaping global markets. New York: Free Press. Ulrich, K. (1995). The role of product architecture in the manufacturing firm. Research Policy, 24, 419–440. Wight, O. (1995). Manufacturing resource planning: MRP II. New York: Wiley. Womack, J., & Jones, D. T. (1994). From lean production to the lean enterprise. Harvard Business Review, 72 (2), 93–104. Womack, J., Jones, D. T., & Roos, D. (1990). The machine that changed the world. New York: Rawson Associates.
FURTHER READING Homepage of the Efficient Consumer Response movement in the grocery industry: http://www.ecr-net.org Homepage of the Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) concept, which allows for online co-ordination of production forecasting and scheduling: http://www.cpfr.org For more information on lean thinking and value stream mapping: http://www.lean.org For general information on manufacturing and supply chain management: http://www.ame.org For general information on MRP systems, production and inventory control: http://www. apics.org For more information about lean thinking and the latest research into the management of lean manufacturing and supply chain systems: http://www.leanenterprise. org.uk
Marketing Communication Strategies Strategies
Judy Strauss, University of Nevada, Reno
Introduction Current User Context Current Marketing Context Advertising Advertising Spending for Various Media Online Advertising Formats and Vehicles Advertising Pricing Models Advertising Effectiveness on the Internet Medium Performance Metrics E-mail Direct Marketing Outbound E-mail Managing Privacy Inbound E-mail Viral Marketing Short Message Services (SMS) Sales Promotion Offers
562 562 563 564 564 565 566 566 566 567 567 568 568 568 569 569
INTRODUCTION Would you click on the banner ad in Figure 1? Probably not, but it ran for 12 weeks on HotWired.com, and 30% of all viewers did click on it. The AT&T ad was among the first 13 Web banners in history, all debuting on October 27, 1994. The first Web pages emerged in 1993, even before Netscape and Internet Explorer arrived, providing companies a way to communicate with target audiences. The early pages were dubbed brochureware because they closely paralleled material in company brochures. Among the sites to begin in 1994 was Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web—later named Yahoo! From that point, the gold rush was on. Sites such as ESPN SportsZone sold more than $1 million in advertising in 1995, shocking the advertising world into believing that consumers were actually looking at Web pages and that the Internet was well suited for advertising. Next to arrive on the scene were the eyeball counters. Firms such as the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), auditors of print media circulation, joined Internet Profiles and others to measure Web site traffic for firms and advertisers. Next, professional organizations such as the Coalition for Advertising Supported Information and Entertainment (CASIE) formed to help the advertising industry create standards for banner ad sizes, ad cost models, and audience measurement. Finally, the government came on the scene with policies to protect customers while preserving free speech online. Online marketing communication has changed quite quickly in less than 10 years, but its evolution is far from over.
Current User Context The Internet is ideal for marketing communication because companies can reach 530 million consumers 562
Coupons Sampling Contests and Sweepstakes Marketing Public Relations (MPR) Web Site Brand Publicity Community Building Online Events Into the Future Convergence Mobile and Wireless Marketing Communication Information on Demand Micromarketing and Privacy Rules Customer Disappearing Act Glossary Cross References References
569 569 570 570 570 570 570 571 571 571 571 571 571 571 572 572 572
worldwide in the B2C market (“Internet Users Will Top 1 Billion,” 2002). Although this represents only 8.5% of the world’s population, there is much greater penetration in industrialized nations and among particular demographic and psychographic market segments. For example, nearly 60% of the U.S. population uses the Internet. Beyond that, most businesses in industrialized nations have Internet access to facilitate business-to-business marketing communication. As noted in other articles in this encyclopedia, customers are demanding when it comes to online communication. A few of the more relevant trends affecting online marketing communication follow. The balance of control has moved from marketers to consumers. Consumers will not wait more than 5–7 seconds for Web pages to download, and they won’t spend much time looking for information on a Web site. Furthermore, if the price is not right, they will click away to the competition. Consumers do tend to return to familiar sites, but they are not as brand loyal online as in the brickand-mortar world. Unless they are extremely motivated to find a particular item, consumers want it easy, fast, and convenient. They also want self-service access to product, account, and other information from any device at any location—24 hours a day, seven days a week—via computers, handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) such as the PalmPilot, cell phones, or televisions (iTV). The Internet also created a space for consumers to disseminate their brand experiences and perceptions widely. Many Web sites, such as Amazon.com, provide space for customers to post book reviews, thus playing a role in the success of a new book. Whether consumers post complaints on Internet bulletin boards such as the Usenet (accessed at GoogleGroups) or ePinions.com or send e-mail to their friends on distribution lists, they have a greater influence on brand images than ever before. The result is that marketers must monitor consumer online chat
INTRODUCTION
Figure 1: 1994 AT&T Banner Ad on HotWired.com. Source: Original art reproduction; published with permission from AT&T. and be accurate in their marketing communication brand promises or be found out under the bright light of the Internet. Information overload is another important trend. In what some call the attention economy, “information is essentially infinite, but the demand for it is limited by the waking hours in a human day (“Encyclopedia of the New Economy,” 2002). E-mail in-boxes overflow, Web sites proliferate, and the traditional media and direct mail add to the pile of messages. In this context, marketers must be clever to help consumers find relevant information quickly. For example, Travelocity.com allows users to log onto the wireless Web via a PalmPilot, enter a flight number, and receive instant update on the flight departure time and gate.
Current Marketing Context Marketers must cut through the haze of online and offline information and persuasive messages to grab the attention of relevant targets at the right time and place. They accomplish this by understanding many basic marketing communication principles and then by using technology to create efficient and effective messages.
A Few Important Basic Principles Marketers must first have a thorough understanding of their prospect and customer needs and media habits, both in general and as individuals. For example, a return visitor to Amazon.com gets a special page displaying book recommendations based on previous purchases. Second, marketers understand that customers form brand images through many brand contact points. A Sharper Image customer might buy and use a product purchased on the Web site, then e-mail or call the toll-free number to complain about a problem, and finally return the product to the brick-and-mortar retail store. Every contact with an employee, a Web site, a magazine ad, a catalog, the store physical facilities, and the product itself helps the customer form an image of the firm. Successful marketers build and manage a consistent brand image at all these contact points by integrating online and offline strategies. For example, Dell Computer uses a combination of Web site, personal selling, telephone sales, traditional advertising, online advertising, e-mail, and more, to build its brand and product sales. Third, marketers attempt to build long-term relationships with valuable customers. It is 5 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain a current one, so firms direct much of their marketing communication efforts to the process of ensuring customer satisfaction and repeat patronage. Brand loyal customers are much more receptive to a firm’s marketing communication than are noncustomers. For more information on how this is done, see the article on customer relationship management in this book.
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Finally, marketers use integrated marketing communication (IMC) to create a single-minded focus on the brand promise by delivering consistent messages in all customer communication. Controllable marketing communication tactics in the IMC toolbox include online and offline advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, marketing public relations (MPR), and personal selling. By definition, personal selling is not possible on the Internet, although the Internet can be used to generate sales leads. Also, a few firms, such as Lands’ End, use live chat between a customer service representative and online user—closely simulating the personal selling environment. Although this chapter focuses on online marketing communication, in practice it is part of a larger marketing context.
Technology Enhanced Marketing Communication Innovative technologies boosted marketing communication effectiveness and efficiency in many interesting ways as discussed in this chapter. Important technologies include the Internet and its multimedia display tool, the Web; databases to hold information; new Web development, browsing, and e-mail software to facilitate Internet communication; and a plethora of digital receiving devices for viewing multimedia messages. From a marketer’s perspective, the Internet is similar in some ways to other media. Like print media, it carries advertising messages along with editorial content from media publishers such as People magazine. Also, many corporate Web sites can be compared to catalogs and product brochures except that they are less expensive to print and the messages can constantly be revised. E-mail is similar to postal mail, but faster and less expensive. The Internet can send multimedia communication messages, just like television and radio, but only about 20% of home users have the broadband capability to download video as fast as television does. The Internet is unique among media in several ways. First is its interactive ability: live chat, e-mail, and response forms on Web sites allow consumers to communicate with firms. Also, Web servers interact automatically with user computers for the purpose of pushing customized Web pages and ads. Second, the Internet can reach global markets in a way not possible without using a multitude of traditional international media. Third, the Internet is a time moderator. This means that companies and customers can communicate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at their convenience. This feature opened a wide range of possibilities including entertainment and information on demand and customer account and transaction self-service. These consumer conveniences make marketing communication a lot more challenging because of customers’ control of the mouse, and the difficulty of gaining customer attention in a sea of information. Finally, computer and Internet technologies allow marketers to measure customer behavior in ways that were previously impossible. Marketers can follow customers as they surf Web sites, view ads, and purchase. When added to customer purchase data from brick-andmortar retailers and telephone calls to the company, marketers can learn how to retain satisfied customers and sell them more products. In addition to individual customer data, marketers review aggregate data to find marketing
MARKETING COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
opportunities and refine current strategies. These technologies are neither cheap nor perfect, however. Some firms have failed because of the huge costs, and Web site audience measurement numbers are still plagued by technology barriers such as Web site caches, a procedure that stores recently viewed Web pages on a company server to be sent to the next viewer instead of requesting a new page from the Web site. This saves on Internet load but undercounts actual visits to the site. Although the Internet is widely used for transmitting communication, databases are the information storehouses used to prompt marketing communication messages. Firms build extensive customer, prospect, and product databases for creating personalized e-mail and customized Web pages. Thus, Amazon.com can present an individualized Web page at a moment’s notice by reading a previously placed cookie file on the user computer, accessing the customer record in the database, and sending appropriate product and customer account information to create the Web page—all in a nanosecond. The following sections present four important forms of online marketing communication: advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, and marketing public relations.
ADVERTISING eDietShop manufactures a variety of gourmet diet foods, including sugar-free products for diabetics. The founder, Steven Bernard, estimates that there are 15 million diabetics in his market and devised an online advertising plan to draw them to his Web site (Rosen, 2001). He arranged banner ad exchanges and sponsored e-mail newsletters for groups such as DiabeticGourmet.com. As well, he used key-word advertising on search engines such as GoTo.com, so that users saw his banner ad when searching using the terms “sugar free” and “low fat.” Bernard negotiated a pay-for-performance pricing model so that he only paid for visitors who clicked on the search engine ad, visiting eDietShop.com. In late 2001, he spent $10,000 a month on online advertising to generate $150,000 in sales. Bernard’s recent advertising buy on the cable TV Food Channel drove traffic and site transactions such that the company now enjoys revenues 10 times those experienced 2 years earlier. This example demonstrates how carefully targeted online advertising, when combined with traditional media, can build awareness, drive traffic, and increase sales for an online retailer. These and many other online advertising tactics are discussed in the following sections.
Advertising Spending for Various Media Online advertising in the U.S. grew quickly from its humble beginnings in 1994 to an estimated $7.5 billion in revenues during 2001 (Figure 2). Expenditures dropped nearly 7% from 2000 to 2001, reflecting the U.S. economic recession. Compared with the 9.8% drop in all U.S. advertising expenditures, online advertising fared well and continues to do so (“No surprise,” 2002). It is notable that most online advertising concentrates on a dozen top portal and news sites; for example, the top three, Yahoo!,
$8,225
$9,000
$7,450
$8,000 $7,000 $6,000 $ millions
564
$4,621
$5,000 $4,000 $1,920
$3,000 $907
$2,000 $1,000
$267
$0 1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
Figure 2: Annual Internet advertising spending: 1996–2001. Sources: Data are from PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2002). IAB Internet advertising revenue report: Third quarter 2001 results. New York: PricewaterhouseCoopers New Media Group; and “eMarketer designates Interactive Advertising Bureau/PricewaterhouseCoopers quarterly Internet ad revenue report as its benchmark source for online ad revenues (2002). AOL, and Excite, sold $791 million (10.5%) of the online space (Saunders, 2002). Similarly, in April 2002 three industry sectors placed 62% of all online advertising: Web media (25%), retail goods and services (24%), and financial services (13%) (“Leading industry advertisers,” 2002). On average, an advertiser only spends 7.5% of his or her media budget on the Internet ($7.5 billion total Internet of an estimated $99.8 for all advertising spending). There are few average firms when it comes to Internet advertising, however. A small number of advertisers, especially niche firms, spend nearly all of their budgets online, whereas others rarely use the Internet (such as large packaged goods firms). As shown in Figure 3, online advertising has surpassed outdoor expenditures (e.g., billboards, bus cards), but traditional media still receive the lion’s share of advertiser budgets. Why is this? First of all, although the Internet reaches 30–60% of the residents in the world’s industrialized nations, it does not yet enjoy the nearly 100% penetration of television. Second, although advertisers can easily track user behavior online, Web site audience measures as a whole are still imperfect. Without good measures, advertisers and agencies do not know how
SyndicationNational 3%
Outdoor 2%
Radio 3%
Internet 7%
Newspapers 23%
Cable TV 10% Network TV 20%
Spot TV 15% Magazines 17%
Figure 3: Proportion of spending for various media of $99.8 billion in 2001. Source: Data are from “A Classic Scenario: Bad News, Good News,” (2002, June 18), eMarketer.
ADVERTISING
565
Table 1 Strengths and Weaknesses of Various Media CRITERION Involvement Media richness Geographic coverage CPM Reach Targeting Message flexibility
TV
RADIO
MAGAZINE
NEWSPAPER
DIRECT MAIL
WEB
Passive Multimedia Global Low High Good Poor
Passive Audio Local Lowest Medium Good Good
Active Text and graphic Global High Low Excellent Poor
Active Text and graphic Local Medium Medium Good Good
Active Text and graphic Varies High Varies Excellent Excellent
Interactive Multimedia Global Low Medium Excellent Excellent
Source: adapted from Strauss and Frost (2000). CPM = cost per thousand.
many of their target can be reached at a Web site. Some of the problems include inability to measure Internet usage from work (i.e., behind corporate security systems); inflated measures due to search engine robots and other automated software hitting Web pages 24 hours a day; and problems identifying unique users from Internet service providers such as America Online. The Interactive Advertising Bureau and others are working to solve these problems, and when coupled with measurement companies such as Jupiter Media Metrix, audience figures presented by Web companies continue to improve. Finally, firms select from a variety of media because each medium has unique properties to reach particular markets and achieve specific communication objectives (Table 1). Notably, television is best for creating broad awareness and building brands with the masses, radio and newspapers are best for local advertising, and the Internet, cable TV, and direct mail are good for narrow targeting. Of these, the Internet is best at reaching individuals with personalized two-way communication for a low price per thousand impressions.
represented in the eDietShop example. E-mail advertising is usually a text message an advertiser pays to include in someone else’s e-mail newsletter or other communication. Yahoo! offers free e-mail because of the inclusion of text ads in the e-mail exchanged by customers. Keyword advertising is a brilliant strategy because it presents banner ads or links on a search query return page that are relevant to the topic the user is researching. Google.com takes it a step further by ordering the search query return page key-word banners by popularity. Thus, the most relevant ad tops the list of four or eight on the page. New online advertising formats emerge continuously, showing that evolving technology creates many new opportunities. Some of these include a variety of banner shapes, sizes, and interactive options, text sponsorship of news to wireless devices, branded games, and Shoshkeles. The latter are screen interrupts—floating images that run through the Web page to grab user attention. The first floating ad featured the Energizer Bunny, hopping though the page text and graphics. A recent floater appeared at Speedvision.com. After arriving at the page, the screen slowly darkened to the point of making the text
Online Advertising Formats and Vehicles Most people think of banner ads as the only type of Internet advertising, yet they were only 36% of online expenditures for the first 9 months of 2001 (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2002). Banner use has declined in favor of online sponsorships (27%), classified ads (16%), and a number of new types of online advertising (Figure 4). The standard banner size is 468 wide by 60 pixels tall (as depicted in Figure 1), but recently advertisers have been using larger formats, such as skyscraper (160 by 600 pixels) and large rectangles (360 by 300 pixels). (A pixel is one dot of light on a computer screen.) Sponsorships are particularly interesting online because advertisers create content for Web pages that is context relevant. For example, Kraft provides recipes using its brands, paying to insert them onto sites for women. This technique blurs the line between editorial and advertising content, something most traditional media will not do. On one hand, it is better for customers because they get more relevant content, but conversely, sponsored content can undermine the perception of content credibility, especially if used at media Web sites. On corporate sites, consumers perceive it all as advertising anyway, so probably little harm is done. Key-word advertising at search sites and e-mail are two important ways to advertise on the Internet, as
Keyword search 4%
Other 12%
E-mail 2%
Banners 36%
Interstitials 3% Classifieds
16%
Sponsorships 27%
Figure 4: Proportion of online advertising spending by format for first nine months of 2001. Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers (2002). IAB Internet advertising revenue report: Third quarter 2001 results. New York: PricewaterhouseCoopers New Media Group.
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unreadable, and then a hand emerged at the lower left corner and sparked up a Zippo lighter to illuminate the page again before disappearing. These Shoshkeles are novelties that have big impact, but when the novelty diminishes, consumers may perceive them as annoying interruptions to their online tasks. Finally, a new gimmick involves contextual advertising. This employs highlighted words on a Web page that are linked to either a pop-up window ad or the advertiser’s site. Originally thought a perfect example of relevant advertising, contextual ads are now discussed as the next generation of spam because of the way they interfere with the text and lure innocent users into unknowingly clicking on something unwanted. It should be noted that each new advertising format creates an initial surge of user excitement and attention; as the cutting edge becomes mainstream its ability to capture eyeballs diminishes.
Advertising Pricing Models Most advertisers and media use a pricing model called cost per thousand (CPM). It is calculated by dividing the advertisement cost by the number of viewers, and multiplying by 1,000. It is particularly powerful because advertisers can use it to compare advertising efficiency across a multitude of media vehicles to find the best buy. Unlike traditional media, only 50% of online advertising is purchased using the CPM model (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2002). When applied online, CPM becomes cost per thousand impressions; an impression is one rendering of an ad on the user’s computer screen, either in text or graphics. Departing from most traditional media, 13% of online advertisers pay based on performance, and the remainder use some combination of the two models. Performancebased payment includes schemes such as payment for each click on the ad, payment for each conversion (sale), or payment for each sales lead. Obviously, this type of pricing is attractive to advertisers because they only pay for effective ad placements; Web publishers take a bigger risk with performance pricing because their revenue depends partially on the strength of the advertiser’s banner and product itself. How much does it cost to advertise online? Typical prices are $7 to $15 CPM (Hallerman, 2002). Google charges $8 to $15 per thousand impressions for placement on its key word search (called AdWords). The number of dollars an advertiser can spend at Google will widely vary depending how popular the key words are, ranging from $10,000 a month to half a million dollars. Compared with typical prices for traditional media ads, Web advertising costs about the same to reach a thousand viewers as on national television, more than on radio, and less than in newspapers and magazines. Obviously this varies widely based on a number of factors and tends to rise with more narrowly defined and hard to reach targets. More important than cost, however, is advertising effectiveness.
Advertising Effectiveness on the Internet Medium There is much debate about the effectiveness of online advertising compared with other media, and this keeps some
advertisers at bay. The answer to whether online advertising works depends on the specific question, starting with the most basic: whether the advertiser wants to employ advertising for a direct response or for brand building. The Internet started as a direct marketing medium, and when viewed from this perspective, banners are virtually ineffective with their average 0.5% response click through. There are lots of exceptions, however (e.g., the Mexican Fiesta Americana Hotels got a 10.2% click through by narrow targeting of Americans living in seven eastern states who had just purchased an airline ticket to Cancun and were online between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; Strauss & Frost, 2000). Also, using Nielsen/NetRating statistics, AdRelevance studied lag time between viewing an ad and purchasing at the advertised site—a metric known as conversion (Saunders, 2000). The study found that although 61% of those who did click purchased within 30 minutes, 38% purchased within 8 to 30 days after viewing an ad but without clicking on it. Thus, when people click, they do buy. The Internet is now viewed by many as an effective branding medium; banners have been found in many research studies to increase brand awareness and message association and to build brand favorability and purchase intent (see http://www.iab.net). In three studies, online ads that were bigger, that contained rich multimedia, or that were placed as interstitials delivered an even greater impact. Interstitials are ads that display before a page loads—during the transition from page to page. For instance, skyscrapers and large rectangles were found to be 3 to 6 times more effective than standard size banners in increasing brand awareness (Pastore, 2001). There is increasing evidence that online advertising works well with traditional advertising, thus helping to validate the concept of integrated marketing communication. Unilever advertised its Dove Nutrium Bar in print, television, and online. Using an outside research firm, it found that increasing the number of online impressions from 6 to 12 over a 6-week period increased branding effectiveness by 42% (“Internet Is Powerful,” 2002). It further found that each of the three media were effective at building brand awareness and purchase intent, but that online was the most cost-efficient.
Performance Metrics The only way to tell whether online initiatives are effective is to measure the results. The decision about what to measure arises from the marketing communication goals. If the firm wants to build brand awareness or position the brand, a survey will measure whether the numerical goals were met. Conversely, the Internet is particularly well suited to behavioral measures. A few common metrics are displayed in Table 2. As an example, the catalog and online retailer iGo purchased more than $3 million in advertising from a number of sites in 2000 (Strauss & Frost, 2000). Their budget estimated 647 million impressions with an average $4.64 CPM. Before the purchase, iGo estimated an average 0.54% click through for 3.49 million visitors to the iGo site. If they could get a 1.27% conversion, this would result in 44,255 orders. At an average order value
E-MAIL DIRECT MARKETING
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Table 2 Commonly Used Performance Metrics for Advertising Effectiveness METRIC Response Time
Cost per Action (CPA) 1
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Conversion Rate
Cost Per Order Equation (CPO)
Customer Acquisition Clost (CAC)
Average order value (AOV)
DEFINITION/FORMULA Time between sending e-mail or viewing ad and click-through response CPA = ad cost ÷ number of people taking action, such as registering or purchasing at the site Number of clicks as percent of total impressions CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions Cost for each visitor from ad click CPC = Total Ad Cost ÷ Clicks Percent of people who purchased from total number of visitors Conversion Rate = Orders ÷ Visitors Cost of each order resulting from click-through visit CPO = Total Ad Cost ÷ Orders Total marketing costs to acquire a customer AOV = sales in dollars ÷ number of orders
of $140, they estimated this campaign to create a $67.83 cost per order, $0.86 cost per click, and $566,895 in profits. The big bonus, however, was the additional 3.5 million customers that might be lured to repeat purchase. Advertisers continually use metrics in this manner to fine-tune their online advertising campaigns. Fortunately, technology helps with the counting.
E-MAIL DIRECT MARKETING Using a list of 200,000 fans who opted into a marketing communication list at the ’N Sync Web site, Zomba emailed a message announcing the new No Strings Attached album 1 month ahead of its national release (Weintraub, 2000). The e-mail featured a downloadable video with a brief voice message from band members and a sampling of one song. More than one third of the recipients downloaded the video, nearly 90% clicked on one of the embedded links to get more information, and thousands shared the e-mail with their friends. This e-mail campaign helped build anticipation and demand for the album: In its first week, 2.4 million copies were sold. This example demonstrates the Internet’s power to build databases and use them for marketing communication that builds brands and transactions (when the fans signed up online, their contact information went into a customer database for later use). Marketing databases and their uses are discussed in other chapters in this encyclopedia, so it will suffice here to say that they are extremely important for generating personalized marketing communication, delivered at the right time to the right person over the Internet. This section focuses on e-mail because it is a strong direct marketing communication tool unique from all others (such as interactive banner ads). E-mail allows users to send messages from one computer to another over a network such as the Internet. With 8 billion e-mails a year flying over the Internet, the typical user spends nearly an hour a day managing e-mail—more than one third of all time online. Marketing related e-mail is 22% of a typical Internet user’s in-box (Mardesich,
2001). About half of this is requested, and the other half is unwanted spam. Many marketers use outbound e-mail to send sales announcements, offers, product information, newsletters, and other marketing communication to e-mail addresses—sometimes to one individual (called 1:1 marketing), sometimes to large groups. Inbound e-mail allows customers to interact with marketers by asking questions, placing orders, and complaining about products and services.
Outbound E-mail Although e-mail is often considered the Internet’s “killer app,” e-mail marketing is still in its infancy. As shown in Figure 5, there are approximately 150 million postal mail addresses in the United States that can be associated with specific individuals (“The value of a Corporate,”
@ 22.5 million e-mail addresses
75 million phone numbers
150 million postal addresses Figure 5: Number of outbound direct marketing channels matching database names. Source: Data are from “The value of a corporate e-mail address” (2001).
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Table 3 Metrics for Electronic and Postal Mail
Delivery Cost per Thousand Creative Costs to Develop Click-Through Rate Customer Conversion Rate Execution Time Response Time
they were loyal to particular online retailers because of this e-mail (DoubleClick Inc, 2001).
E-MAIL
POSTAL MAIL
$30 $1,000 10% 5% 3 weeks 48 hours
$500 $17,000 N/A 3% 3 months 3 weeks
Source: Jupiter Communications as cited in “E-mail and the different levels of ROI” (n.d.).
2002) for direct mail purposes. About half of those can be matched with individual phone numbers for telemarketing purposes, but only 15% of postal addresses can be associated with e-mail lists that will identify particular individuals. Although nearly 50% of the U.S. population has one or more e-mail addresses, at this time it is difficult to match a list of these with individual customers and prospects in a firm’s database. Regardless of this difficulty, many marketers include e-mail marketing in their communication campaigns. This is partially because e-mail is faster and cheaper than postal mail (Table 3). Another advantage of outbound e-mail to individuals is the high level of automated personalization. In addition to using a customer’s name, e-mail can be sent based on some event trigger and include details of the customer’s previous purchasing behavior. For example, Amazon sends e-mail to selected customers to announce a new book by a previously purchased author. Newsletters sent to larger groups of customers represent another successful use of e-mail marketing. Eighty percent of U.S. online customers enjoy receiving electronic newsletters (“e-Consumers prefer eMail,” 2001). As with individual e-mail, the content is as important as identifying the right target for an effective campaign. According to the Jupiter Communications study in Table 3, e-mail enjoys a 10% click through to the sponsor’s Web site and a 5% conversion rate. In actuality, email effectiveness varies widely, and some believe that these metrics are declining. Nevertheless, click-through rates as high as 90% have been reported by Ticketmaster for a mailing to Bruce Springsteen fans who had already bought an upcoming concert ticket. Success goes to those who send relevant information on a timely basis to consumers and business customers who want to receive it. Through permission marketing, marketers identify individuals who are interested in the firm’s offerings as well as demonstrate respect and an understanding that recipients can control the information flow. To build good relationships, companies allow users to opt in (ask to be put on the mailing list) as well as to unsubscribe (take themselves off the list). Some marketers use opt out (users uncheck a box on the Web page if they don’t want to receive e-mail). This practice doesn’t always create goodwill because most users scan a page quickly and don’t notice opt out boxes, thus receiving e-mail they did not want. One study conducted by DoubleClick found that 88% of online customers have made a purchase after receiving permission based e-mail, and 40% of the study respondents said
Managing Privacy Privacy is a critical concern when managing customer databases. Savvy firms collect data from customers, use it to provide relevant information and services that make customer lives easier, and build trust by keeping this information private. This means not sharing customer email addresses or personal information with others unless given permission, and many firms have received a huge customer backlash when they violated this principle. It also means guarding credit card information. A good privacy policy is in the marketer’s best interest because a shared e-mail list soon loses its power through overuse, and customers prefer to do businesses with firms they can trust. Many online firms use third-party seals, such as available at Truste.com, to validate their well-thoughtout and communicated privacy policies. In addition to information privacy, firms must honor customer wishes about not intruding on the privacy of their private spaces. Telemarketers who have displayed no regard for customer privacy when they call a person’s home have set the groundwork for customer ire over spam. As previously mentioned, opt-in databases yield higher response rates than non-permission-based lists because of the respect shown for customer privacy desires.
Inbound E-mail There is only one critical thing to say about inbound email: If marketers publish e-mail addresses on a Web site or print materials, they must answer inbound e-mail communication in a timely manner. Otherwise, they are better off not publishing e-mail addresses. Several studies have found that up to half of all companies do not answer their e-mail from consumers, or send inappropriate automated responses. For instance, Jupiter Communications found that 40% of online-only retailers took longer than 3 days or did not answer inbound customer service inquiries (“Value sites win,” 2002). Conversely, 46% responded within 24 hours. Obviously, this form of direct-marketing communication is time intensive, 1:1 marketing that can make a big impact on customer satisfaction. For these reasons, many firms have Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and other procedures for customers to use self-help problem solving before sending e-mail. For example, Dell Computer asks customers to enter a service code into a Web page query; this identifies both their customer record and specific computer model so that automated relevant responses can be sent as a first step to solving the problem.
Viral Marketing Viral marketing is a powerful e-mail variation with an awful name; it refers to e-mail messages specifically designed for recipients to forward to friends, family, and others on their e-mail lists. Viral marketing is an electronic version of traditional word-of-mouth product communication. Like all e-mail campaigns, viral marketing costs little, can include engaging multimedia elements, can be
SALES PROMOTION OFFERS
highly targeted, and the results can be easily tracked. The main advantage, however, is that it works. Hotmail is a viral marketing legend because the free e-mail service had signed up 12 million subscribers within 18 months of introduction, primarily because of a line similar to this on all e-mail messages: “Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. Click Here.” This is the current Hotmail message line because the firm was sold to Microsoft (MSN) for $400 million in stock a few days after the 18-month mark. There are many viral marketing success stories, especially in the entertainment industry—for example, both the Blair Witch Project film’s success and the six-month 0 to 50% MP3 adoption rate have been largely accredited to viral marketing. Viral marketing must be carefully crafted to work, however. To be successful, marketers must give away something useful or fun, make it easy for users to send it to others, and must tap into basic consumer needs or desires. Also, marketers must be ready to handle the wildfire of orders or requests should it be successful. Hotmail, for example, quickly had to upgrade its server capability to handle all the new e-mail accounts. Finally, some marketers emulate viral techniques when they pose as consumers and post favorable product comments on Web sites, such as ePinions.com. Similarly, some firms pay consumers to rave about products online. These practices will reflect poorly on marketers if discovered and demonstrate that the Internet is still a place where buyers must judge information sources carefully.
Short Message Services (SMS) SMS is a way to communicate via the Internet without using e-mail software. Marketers and others send messages up to 160 characters in length that are stored until receivers open their Internet connection, receive, and view them. These are different from instant messaging, in which senders and receivers must be online at the same time in a 1:1 chat type of format. SMS’s big use occurs with mobile phone users, not computer users. For example, any cell phone user can send an SMS to a friend by simply entering the message and phone number, and the friend’s phone might make a ringing sound when it arrives. By one estimate, as many as 200 billion short text messages will appear on mobile phones worldwide on a monthly basis by the end of 2002 (Silk, 2001). The biggest usage occurs in Europe and Asia: In the United Kingdom alone, SMS is the technology of choice for peer-to-peer communication, with users currently sending an estimated 1 billion messages a month. The big question is how to commercialize SMS without spamming users. Companies such as McDonalds, Cadbury, 20th Century Fox, and MTV have already used this new technique and enjoyed conversion rates of up to 10% (Silk, 2001). That is, users can click on an embedded SMS hyperlink to purchase products or perform other requested actions. To be successful, it is important that the messages be permission based, short, personalized, interactive, and fun. One study of 3,300 people in 11 countries discovered four important criteria for consumer acceptance: choice to receive messages (permissionbased), control over viewing or deleting individual
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messages, filter options to bypass selected messages, and mutual benefit such as receiving discounts (Pastore, 2002). An even more powerful approach is to get users to initiate the SMS, as demonstrated in the sales promotion example that follows.
SALES PROMOTION OFFERS Heineken, the global beer brand, used wireless Internet technology to capitalize on the British pub tradition of quiz nights. Typically a quiz night consists of a loyal pub customer shouting out a series of questions to which other customers answer on paper score sheets. Winners receive free pints or meals. Using a combination of online and offline promotion, Heineken placed point-of-purchase signs in pubs inviting customers to call a phone number from their cell or other mobile device and type in the word “play” as a text message (SMS). In response, the customer received a series of three multiple-choice questions to answer. Getting all the questions right scored a food or beverage prize to be redeemed by giving a special and verifiable number to the bartender, which 20% of all players realized. “Feedback was that it was a great promotion . . . consumers found it fun and sellers found it to be a hook,” said Iain Newell, marketing controller at Interbrew, which owns the Heineken brand. Online sales promotion offers can build brands, increase Web site visitors and length of stay at the site, build databases, and support increased online or offline sales, as in the Heineken example. As with other types of marketing communication, most promotional dollars are spent offline; however, a few important online tactics are emerging in the consumer market: coupons, sampling, contests, and sweepstakes (such as Heineken used).
Coupons Web sites such as hotcoupons.com, coolsavings.com, and valupage.com offer searchable and printable coupon databases, organized by type of retailer and zip code. For example, participants in CoolSavings include JC Penney, Toys ‘R’ Us, Domino’s Pizza, and H & R Block. Other firms offer e-mail coupons. J. Crew, the catalog retailer, provides e-mail coupons as an apology to customers who complain via e-mail; the customer simply provides the coupon number to receive a discount on the next purchase. In their survey of nearly 5,000 consumers, Valentine Radford found that 55% of online users prefer to receive e-mail coupons, compared with 30% preference for newspapers and 18% for snail mail (“e-Consumers prefer eMail,” 2001). For some reason, however, the online coupon market has not grown to realize its earlier expectations. Perhaps this is because straight product discounts are easier for e-commerce firms to fulfill than are coupons. The author’s observation is that most Web coupon sites provide this service as an afterthought accompaniment to their print coupon services.
Sampling The Internet is particularly well suited for sampling of digital products. For instance, software firms commonly offer 30-day free trials, betting that potential customers will
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invest time in learning the software and appreciate its value through use. Software trials at Adobe.com, music samples at CDNow.com, daily stories only at NYTimes.com, and press releases with choice tidbits about research findings at Gartner.com are all examples of firms that sample products to entice purchase. Some firms selling tangible products also use the Internet for offering free samples and facilitating fulfillment. For example, when Procter & Gamble decided to relaunch Pert Plus shampoo, it created a Web site to offer the samples. Within 2 months, 170,000 people visited and 83,000 requested samples (Williamson, 1999).
Contests and Sweepstakes These tactics build excitement about a brand and entice users to visit and hang around for awhile at the firm’s Web site. Many sites offer contests—a game of skill or chance and sweepstakes. For example, Orbitz.com drew 1.9 million customers in its first month of operation during June 2001 partly because of its huge sweepstakes and the accompanying radio advertising. Every site visitor that registered was eligible for the free round-trip ticket given away every hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for six weeks (Orbitz, 2001). According to Jupiter MediaMetrix online sweepstakes appear to be growing in popularity: In early 2001, 36% of the most successful new Web sites were sweepstakes sites (McAllister, 2001).
because it serves as electronic brochure, including current product and company information. Web sites can perform retailing functions when they include e-commerce transactions, but every site provides a PR function as well. For example, Butterball’s site (http://www.butterball.com), which features cooking and carving tips, received 550,000 visitors in 1 day during a recent Thanksgiving week. It is not enough to build, maintain, and put a Web site online; an organization must draw traffic to the site to achieve its objectives. There are many ways to do this using online and offline marketing communication techniques; however, one is unique to the online environment: search engine optimization (SEO). Nearly 47% of all Web users claim that the most common way they find products or online stores is through search engines (Jupiter Media Metrix, 2001). When presented with a query result page, consumers do not usually look beyond the 10 links on the first page. Thus, many firms use SEO to ensure that their site will appear on the first results page from relevant searches. To do this, first firms decide what key words describe their Web sites. Then they use these key words in hidden HTML tags sought by search engines (Meta tags). Finally, they carefully craft the text on their pages to reflect this content, including even purposefully using different spellings of key words (e.g., email and e-mail). These and other SEO strategies, when coupled with keyword advertising buys at search engine sites, help build awareness and draw traffic to a firm’s site.
MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS (MPR)
Brand Publicity
During the week of the ninth MTV Music Awards in 2000, MTV.com site traffic increased by 48% to 1.1 million visitors as people logged on to learn more about the stars nominated for awards (Carr, 2000). Capitalizing on the Web’s strength to provide brand information and build community, the 10th MTV Movie Awards invited viewers to cast their votes at MTV.com for award nominees during a 3.5-week period before the 2001 event. After the televised event, the Web audience could log on to the Web site to see digital photos and video clips of event celebrity interviews, to read gossip, to provide opinion about the event, and to vote for the best dressed actors and favorite event moments. Using viral marketing, MTV.com launched the “2001 Movie Award Sweepstakes,” with its VIP trip to the event, complete with makeover and wardrobe. An MTV.com user was entered into the sweepstakes each time he or she sent a friend to the site. The upcoming eleventh annual 2002 MTV Movie Awards will be seen by 382 million households in 165 countries and 18 languages. As previously mentioned, MPR is the brand-related portion of all public relations activities, directed to customers and prospects. A few of the more important online MPR tactics include the Web site content itself, product publicity, online community building, and online events.
A huge part of MPR includes news releases and other product publicity included in the media and on Web sites not owned by the firm. Most media firms accept news releases electronically, thus saving time, printing, and postage. The top-10 general news Web sites attract 42 million annual visitors, and online services charge less than $300 to submit electronically a company’s news release to a carefully targeted listing of news sites (Helperin, 2001). This does not include the millions of wireless users worldwide who receive SMS headlines on their handheld devices. The firm’s own Web site is especially important for disseminating news during a crisis, as when traffic to the Web sites of Firestone and its parent, Bridgestone, increased from a small number to 258,000 the week after Firestone announced a massive tire recall (Carr, 2000). Note that not all product news releases are in print form on a Web site; many firms Webcast a live presentation by a firm’s spokesperson, complete with live questions and answers. Michael Dell, Bill Gates, and many others use this technique.
Web Site Every organization, company, tourist destination, or brand Web site is considered a public relations (PR) vehicle for reaching customers and other stakeholders. This is not advertising, because the company is not paying to place its message on someone else’s site. A Web site is MPR
Community Building Community building involves maintaining good community relations or contributing to a sense of community within the customer base. Community building is more than online chat rooms and e-mail. It involves firms gaining a following of devoted customers, such as the Harley Owners Group (HOG), Napster.com users, and Macintosh computer users. Consider the film industry’s ability to build community with Star Wars, Star Trek, and more recently The Blair Witch Project. The latter is notable
INTO THE FUTURE
because the community was not built by the film’s producer, but a grass-roots movement formed around a film that got mixed reviews. Viewers loved seeing the film and consuming fictional artifacts online ( journals and videotapes). Everyone in the large community talked about it in school, in families, and in e-mail, and these interactions were at least as important as the actual movie-going experience.
Online Events In addition to integrating a Web site with an offline event, such as the MTV Movie Awards, many sites host events directly on their Web sites. The Victoria’s Secret Online Fashion Show made history in 1999 when it drew 1.2 million visitors, thus, increasing Web traffic by 82% after advertising in the New York Times, Super Bowl football game, and other traditional media. After solving many technical glitches, Victoria’s Secret continued the tradition in subsequent years, Webcasting steaming video from places such as Cannes, France. On November 13, 2001, the models performed first in front of a live audience, then the show was telecast on ABC television network 2 days later, and finally highlights and photos were shown online. Site traffic doubled the week of the fashion show (Bailly, 2001). Online events such as these and many others will become even more widespread as broadband connectivity adoption expands.
INTO THE FUTURE Jupiter Media Metrix, Forrester Research, and others predict that by 2006 U.S. companies will spend somewhere between $35 and $60 billion annually on digital marketing campaigns such as the online tools described in this article. Digital campaigns integrate online advertising, promotions, and e-mail strategies. The following are five important trends the author expects to have a huge impact on online marketing communication in the next 10 years.
Convergence The medium is no longer the same as the receiving appliance. For instance, television programming will not always be restricted to viewing on television sets. When broadband Internet access to homes reaches more than 50%, television, radio, and other high bandwidth programming can be received by the masses over the Internet. Coincidental to this is appliance convergence, which is already occurring in the handheld market with PDA and cell phone convergence. This trend will continue with television sets, radios, and personal computers. It is uncertain what the entertainment and information receiving devices will eventually look like, but it is certain that marketing communication must adapt to flow with the content users want.
Mobile and Wireless Marketing Communication Weighing in at only 1% of online advertising (Figure 4) are Interactive TV and wireless ads. Although the former seems dead in the water, wireless ads may well see
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stunning future growth. For example, one study revealed that 88% would be responsive to receiving an electronic coupon on their mobile wireless device when near a retailer that could redeem it (Pastore, 2002). This involves a combination of GPS technology to locate the roaming user and Internet connectivity to a handheld device. Soon a consumer nearing a McDonald’s outlet will receive a message offering a free soft drink with the purchase of a meal, thus reaching the customer when and where the communication can provoke the desired response of stimulating a purchase. If the movie Minority Report is any indication, consumers could someday receive customized messages without GPS and handheld devices. This film depicted computers reading consumer retinas while they walked in the mall and then delivering customized messages: wireless taken to the extreme.
Information on Demand The U.S. passed legislation that all television programming will soon be sent in digital format. When combined with the growth in broadband adoption and increasing customer control over information, this puts the final nail in the coffin for marketing control over consumer attention. Customers will request information and entertainment on their schedules, and marketers will have to be increasingly clever to attract customers with communication messages. In this climate, brand loyalty is translated into relationship capital—it becomes critical to the firm’s success.
Micromarketing and Privacy Rules The trend toward 1:1 marketing made possible by Internet and database technologies will continue. Companies will learn by observing individual customer behavior and use those data to present relevant and timely offers. In this climate, companies that build trusting customer relationships by honoring personal information privacy will ultimately win.
Customer Disappearing Act It has been said that moose instinctively know when hunting season has begun in Alaska because they suddenly disappear from view. Customers, tired of telemarketing, spam, and other unpleasant marketing communication techniques, are beginning to disappear like moose. For example, 37% of Internet users who have been online for 3 years and use the Net daily use fake e-mail addresses when registering at Web sites (Mardesich, 2001). Ad blocking software, such as AdSubtract, already has 2 million customers that use the software to block banner ads from being delivered with Web sites. This parallels TiVo and other television commercial blocking recorders. It probably will not suffice to educate consumers that if they don’t accept advertising, they will pay more for programming and information because they bought that argument for television and now pay anyway for Cable, not recognizing the fine points. Creating new advertising formats that outsmart the blocking software, such as pop-up windows, is a cat-and-mouse game that doesn’t help increase customer satisfaction. Thus, marketers will need
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to develop new models for communicating with prospects and customers. These models will respect customer needs for information and entertainment, A3 —anytime, anywhere, anyway.
GLOSSARY Advertising Nonpersonal communication of information, usually paid for and usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods and services) or ideas by an identified sponsor through various media. Average order value (AOV) The dollar sales divided by the number of orders. Click-through percentage The percentage of clicks from total number of impressions. Conversion rate An equation that tells a firm what percentage of the visitors to the Web site actually purchased, calculated by the number of orders divided by number of visitors. Cookies Small text files that sites put on the user’s hard drive for future access by the Web server. Cost per action (CPA) The cost for an advertisement divided by the number of people taking some action, such as registering or purchasing at the site. Cost per click The total advertisement cost divided by number of clicks on an ad or hyperlink. Cost per order The total ad cost divided by the number of orders. Customer acquisition costs (CAC) Costs for advertising and all other marketing costs divided by number of customers. Cost per thousand (CPM) an equation used to compare the efficiency of competing media space, calculated by dividing the advertisement cost by the number of viewers, then multiplying by 1,000. Floating ads Advertising images that run through a Web page screen, interrupting the content to grab user attention (called Shoshkeles by the firm introducing the concept). Integrated marketing communication (IMC) A crossfunctional process for planning, executing, and monitoring brand communications designed to profitably acquire, retain, and grow customers. Key word advertising A form of Web advertising in which advertisers purchasing particular query words at search engine sites so that banners will appear when those words are queried by users. Marketing public relations (MPR) Brand-related activities and nonpaid, third-party media coverage to influence target markets positively. Opt-in A form of e-mail marketing that offers consumers incentives to accept information in e-mail messages, usually by checking a box on a Web page. Opt-out A form of e-mail marketing that forces users to uncheck a Web page box if they do not want to receive e-mail messages. Permission marketing Presenting marketing communication messages only to people who agree to receive them. SMS (short message services) An inexpensive and convenient short text message sent to any digital receiving device.
Spam Unsolicted and unwanted incoming e-mail that shift the content filtering process from sender to receiver. Viral marketing The electronic version of word of mouth involving e-mail messages specifically designed for recipients to forward to friends, family, and others on their e-mail lists.
CROSS REFERENCES See Data Mining in E-Commerce; Electronic Commerce and Electronic Business; Intelligent Agents; Online Communities; Personalization and Customization Technologies; Web Site Design; Wireless Marketing.
REFERENCES A classic scenario: Bad news, good news (2002, June 18). eMarketer. Retrieved July 5, 2002, from http://www. emarketers.com Bailly, J. (2001). Victoria’s Secret Website doubles traffic. Retrieved April 30, 2002, from www.fashionwindows. com Carr, L. (2000, October 30). Events move millions to the net. The Industry Standard, 190–191. DoubleClick Inc. (2001). E-mail marketing proves effective. Retrieved January 30, 2002, from http://www. doubleclick.com eConsumers prefer e-mail newsletters and coupons (2001). eStatNews. Retrieved December 15, 2001, from http://www.emarketer.com E-mail and the different levels of ROI (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2001. Encyclopedia of the new economy (2002). Hotwired. Retrieved February 20, 2002, http://hotwired.lycos. com eMarketer designates Interactive Advertising Bureau/ PricewaterhouseCoopers quarterly Internet ad revenue report as its benchmark source for online ad revenues (2002). Retrieved April 25, 2002, from http:// www.iab.net Hallerman, D. (2002). Online ad pricing: Count heads or count results. Retrieved April 25, 2002, from http://www.emarketer.com Helperin, J. (2001, May 1). Spinning out of control? Business 2.0, 54–57. Internet is powerful complement to traditional advertising media (2002). Retrieved December 20, 2002, from http://www.advantage.msn.com Internet users will top 1 billion in 2005 (2002). Computer Industry Almanac. Retrieved February 20, 2002, from http://www.c-i-a.com Leading industry advertisers (2002). NetRatings Report. Retrieved April 20, 2002, from http://adrelevance. com Mardesich, J. (2001). Too much of a good thing. The Industry Standard. Retrieved May 15, 2002, from http://thestandard.net McAllister, M. (2001). Online sweepstakes are gaining popularity. Retrieved April 21, 2002, from http://www. digitrends.com
REFERENCES
No surprise: Total ad spending down 9.8% for 2001, compared to results in 2000 (2002). Retrieved April 24, 2002, from http://www.cmr.com/news/2002/030602. html Orbitz (2001). Press release. Retrieved April 26, 2002, from http://212.133.71.16/hsmai/news Jupiter Media Metrix (2001, December 10). As cited in presentation by Lisa Morita, Senior VP and GM, Online Business, Overture, at Internet World. Pastore, M. (2001). Banners can brand, honestly they can, part II. Retrieved December 20, 2002, from http://www. cyberatlas.internet.com Pastore, M. (2002). Incentives still key to mobile advertising. Retrieved December 20, 2002, from www.cyberatlas.internet.com PricewaterhouseCoopers (2002). IAB Internet advertising revenue report: Third quarter 2001 results. New York: PricewaterhouseCoopers New Media Group. Retrieved April 10, 2002, from http://www. iab.net
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Rosen, L. (2001). Web ads that work—really. Fortune Small Business, 11, 95–96. Saunders, C. (2002). CMR: Web ad spending dropped 14.7%. Internet News. Retrieved April 10, 2002, from www.internetnews.com Silk, J. (2001, December 13). SMS marketing finds its voice. Internet World Show Daily, 7, 32. Strauss, J., & Frost, R. D. (2002). E-marketing (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle NJ: Prentice-Hall. The value of a corporate e-mail address (2001). eContacts Media Kit. Retreived June 4, 2002, from http:// www.econtacts.com Value sites win, customer service losses (2002). Cyberatlas. Retrieved April 10, 2002, from http://www. internet.com Weintraub, A. (2000, October 16). When e-mail ads aren’t spam. Business Week, pp. 112, 114. Williamson, D. A. (1999, June 28). P & G’s reformulated Pert Plus builds consumer relationships. Advertising Age, 52.
Marketing Plans for E-commerce Projects Projects
Malu Roldan, San Jose State University
Introduction Know Your Product or Service Bricks-and-Clicks Approaches Embedded Intelligence Identify the Company’s Goals Market Research Target Market Competitors Market Research Methods Marketing Approaches Guerilla Marketing Brand Management
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Viral Marketing Permission Marketing Marketing Channels Web-Based Marketing Traditional Methods of Promotion Promotions on the Mobile Computing Platform Putting It All Together—Writing the Marketing Plan Glossary Cross References References
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INTRODUCTION
KNOW YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE
With the dot-com meltdown in the early 2000s came a renewed emphasis on business fundamentals. No longer was it conceivable to ride the Internet frenzy hype machine and obtain funding on a bright idea sketched out on a dinner napkin. The hunt for profits, as opposed to revenues, underscores the need for extensive analysis, better planning, and solid credentials to buttress the case for the viability of a given e-commerce implementation. The marketing plan is essential to building this case. This chapter provides a primer on the development of a plan for marketing an e-commerce product or service. It provides the rationale behind the marketing plan and provides practical guidelines for producing a document that can serve as a roadmap for bringing your product or service to market and beyond. The guidelines provided here are pertinent to either a business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B) endeavor, and throughout, examples of applications for either type of project are described. A marketing plan encapsulates your current definition of your product or service, an assessment of the competitive nature of your industry and of the market segments that you are targeting, a plan for promoting your product or service to these market segments, a mapping of distribution channels for delivering your product or service, and methods for evaluating how well you are doing on your plans. Since the marketing plan is a document with a straightforward structure, there are many software packages available to help you organize the document. However, as is typical with most plans, the structure of the document is the least problematic part of the endeavor. Writing the plan is only a small piece of the entire process. It is the background research and creative thinking that is essential to building a credible and useful plan. In the final section of this chapter, we will discuss some of the software packages available for supporting your marketing plan development. Most of this chapter will provide guidelines for the background work that will take up most of your effort in developing your plan.
At the very start of your market plan development, it is useful to articulate a working definition of your product or service and some key attributes. Although it is a mistake to aim for a rigid definition of your product/service at this point, it is still quite useful to build a definition to help focus your initial work on a marketing plan. This provides a baseline from which future versions of your product/service and plan will evolve. It will also help to use this initial definition as a basis for building a one- or two-sentence description of your product/service that has some depth and specificity. This can help you maximize your crucial first few minutes of conversation with potential partners, customers, and investors. Your working definition should include a general description of the product/service that answers the following questions:
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What does the product/service look like? What are its key components? What problem or need does the product/service address? What are the unique attributes of the product/service that differentiate it from similar ones available on the market? What are the benefits that this product/service provides to consumers and/or business customers? Prepare a detailed description of your product/service based on your answers to these five questions. Then capture the essence of the description in a one- or twosentence definition that you can use to introduce your product/service to interested parties. Lastly, start working on a phrase that can serve as the slogan for your product. Although this slogan is likely to evolve as you refine the definition of your product or service, developing it early on helps to infuse your efforts with attention to branding and promotions. Once you have an initial definition of your product/ service, it would be useful to consider enhancing it by
KNOW YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE
incorporating some capabilities generally associated with e-commerce endeavors. Two capabilities that can impact marketing activities in particular are bricks-and-clicks approaches and embedded intelligence.
Bricks-and-Clicks Approaches Any e-commerce endeavor would be well served by a consideration of the level to which it will integrate its online and offline operations. E-commerce initiatives have been shown to benefit from such integration, particularly when the organizations involved have been cognizant of the pitfalls and opportunities it presents. Gulati and Garino (2000) identify four areas to consider for integration— brand, management, operations, and equity. On a limited basis, integration can involve promoting an online product/service using bricks-and-mortar channels (e.g., billboards, in-store promotions) or letting customers pick up or return products ordered online at a bricks-and-mortar facility. On a more extensive basis, integration may involve a shared brand, management, and information systems. Office Depot is an example of a company that took on a highly integrated approach, primarily because, thanks to its catalog business, it had the luxury of already having the infrastructure to support extensive product ordering and order fulfillment. For its B2C business, Office Depot made its catalogs available online, benefiting from the ability to update product information and pricing dynamically, and allowing consumers the flexibility of ordering and obtaining delivery of their products in the manner most convenient to them. For its B2B channels, Office Depot provides its largest customers with customized applications that allow employees at these customer companies to order products directly, within the parameters of preset authorization levels (Gulati & Garino, 2000). Other companies have achieved similar arrangements through partnerships with online category managers (Sechler, 2002) and next generation online B2B exchanges (Parmar, 2002; Thomas, 2002). Furthermore, mobile computing technologies are making it possible to allow customers to travel around in bricks-and-mortar spaces while maintaining connections to online resources via wireless connections. As the infrastructure to support mobile computing matures, it will enable new ways of designing and marketing products/services. For example, products that are difficult to describe using online technologies (e.g., how clothes fit, the texture of fabrics for a sofa, how a delivery truck drives) can be tested by customers at a bricks-and-mortar facility such as a store or dealership. With the growing availability of broadband wireless connections for handheld devices (through various versions of the 802.11 standard), information downloaded in real time to handheld devices can augment the rich information gained through this actual contact with the product. Once the customer has made a decision about the product, a customized order can be made using the handheld device. Services that can take advantage of the location of a customer can also benefit from the application of mobile technologies. A common example of this type of service is sending to a customer’s handheld device recommendations regarding products and services available close
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to his/her location. Marketing efforts also benefit from location-based mobile services. For example, B2C retailers can cross-sell products to consumers across an entire shopping area such as a mall. As consumers walk through the mall, allowing their purchases to be logged on the handheld device, they can receive messages promoting special prices and deals on products and services that complement the items that they have just purchased. Another possibility would be consumers logging on to services that provide them with comparison pricing for an item they are planning to buy. As a marketing ploy, retailers may choose to send them incentives for driving a few extra miles to purchase the product at another store. B2B companies can apply the same principle to send to their customers’ handheld devices, information on product upgrades, sales promotions, and maintenance alerts as they come in close proximity to currently installed products. Alternatively, the same information may be beamed to a sales person’s device as he/she makes a routine visit to a customer’s facility. To develop a bricks-and-clicks approach for your product/service, consider a trip to a bricks-and-mortar facility that provides a similar product/service. Observe the processes used to deliver the product/service. This will give you preliminary insight into the expectations that customers have when purchasing these items or services. Consider how you might enhance these processes by introducing portable information technologies. Also, think about how you might allocate some aspects of the process to an online application, a bricks-and-mortar facility, or both in combination.
Embedded Intelligence As microprocessors have gained greater power and miniaturization, we have seen more of them becoming a part of the objects of our daily lives. Everything from cars to printer cartridges to clothing has been enhanced by embedded microchips that provide monitoring information and customizable features. When integrated, embedded microchips increase the information component of every product and every device used in the process of providing a service. As such it opens up the possibility of increasing the flexibility of a product/service to a level that it can be customized practically “on the fly.” These “smart products” (Glazer, 1999) allow companies to postpone the final configuration of a product, enabling greater customization and alleviating issues brought on by uncertainties regarding the preferences of customers (Lee, 2002). For example, a microchip makes it possible to remember the seat settings for different drivers of an automobile. These can be automatically set based on the weight of the driver as he/she slides behind the wheel. High-end microchips such as those manufactured by Xilinx, often installed in B2B applications, feature reconfigurable logic that can be modified via the Internet or other networks, even after installation (Lee, 2002). The ability to tweak a product or service on the fly, if necessary, is a great enabler of one-to-one marketing. Oneto-one marketing (Winer, 2001) is most easily envisioned with a pure information product, such as a Web-based information service. The information that is provided to a
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given customer can be customized to a level that makes it unique to each customer, based on past behavior or settings that the customer opted into at an earlier date. This is made possible through the use of personalization engines and/or plain old databases and scripting languages. When a product and/or bricks-and-mortar service is involved, one-to-one marketing can be achieved by integrating intelligence into the product or service, using embedded microchips, much like the driver’s seat on a car is customized. Additionally, the monitoring capabilities enabled by embedded chips make it possible to collect information that can be used to determine the appropriate time to send reminders (“time to change the battery”) or marketing messages—assuming that the proper permissions have been granted by the customer. These monitoring capabilities assume that the devices in which the chips are embedded also have the capability to patch onto a network and connect with a company server, either continuously or occasionally, via a cradle, infrared, 802.11x, or similar connection to a data communication line (with or without a desktop computer). To determine whether your product/service might benefit from embedded intelligence, first think about how it might be customized to meet customer preferences. Would it be possible to design the product/service in modules so that some of its components can be modified or replaced with other components to create a customized product or service? Would it be possible to provide some information related to a product’s operation or capabilities via a small display? Finally, could customers find benefit in remote monitoring of the product/service?
IDENTIFY THE COMPANY’S GOALS Establishing the goals of the organization upfront will help place boundaries around the range of approaches considered in the marketing plan. The set of approaches can vary widely for different goals. A goal couched in terms of sales and revenue will result in very different strategies from those resulting from a goal that emphasizes profits. The former will emphasize aggressive sales tactics and pricing strategies that undercut the competition (oftentimes selling goods below cost). The latter requires prudent inventory control and pricing, and fiscal responsibility. Goals can take the form of financial results such as revenue targets, profit margin targets, market share, growth in revenue, profits, and market share, or cost reduction. Alternatively, you may choose to take a benchmarking approach. That is, matching the investments that the rest of the companies in the industry are placing on various strategies, technologies, marketing approaches, and research and development. Once your goals have been established and agreed upon by your core development team, develop measures that you will use to track how well you are meeting these goals. Put together an evaluation schedule that identifies measurable achievements over time. An example is setting target sales figures to be compared against actual sales every month. Ideally, this would be part of a larger set of measures that your company will use to track its progress—not only with its marketing plan but also
with establishing the entire business. Beyond tracking stock prices and sales, it is useful to include more traditional measures such as key expense items, profit margins, and cost of goods sold. The advice of a comptroller can go a long way toward lowering the risk of longterm misallocation of investor funds. Fiscal responsibility, when applied prudently, can facilitate effective use of your company’s capital without stifling the creativity and enthusiasm of your core team. In the wake of the dotcom meltdown, this balanced approach is gaining greater cachet.
MARKET RESEARCH While a good product/service definition forms the cornerstone of a strong market plan, solid market research is the foundation on which the market plan builds its credibility and depth. The extent and sophistication of the research that goes into a given market plan will have a strong impact on how the product/service and the company is viewed by potential partners and investors. The research should aim to define and describe both the target market for the product/service and the competitive climate in the company’s industry. The first two parts of this section provide a discussion of various types of information that could be gathered and models used to build descriptions of the target market and the industry’s competitive climate. The third part will discuss methods that may be used to gather the data to build these descriptions.
Target Market Research into the target market should result in a rationale for the selection of the market segment or segments to be targeted, the size of that market in dollars and/or number of customers, and guidelines for how to design and market the product to the targeted segment(s). Information and data pertinent to this analysis include demographics, psychographics, technology life cycle, preferred marketing channels, and the context in which potential customers experience or purchase the product/ service. Demographic data are key to determining the size of a B2B or B2C target market as well as identifying the best way to reach the target market. To start off, determine the profiles of the types of customers most likely to buy your product/service. Typical demographic categories to include in these profiles are age, gender, household income, geographic location, ethnicity, and level of education. Demographic categories can be used to find data to estimate the size of the market. Published sources such as those listed in Table 1 typically provide findings on the sizes of various markets based on these demographic categories. Both offline and online target market estimates are available for most of these categories. Oftentimes, building an estimate of your target market will take a combination of the estimates for several demographic categories. For example, you may have to infer the size of the online population for individuals with a given level of education by first taking the total number of users online and multiplying that by the percentage of the total population that has achieved the target level of education.
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Table 1 Sampling of Online Resources for Market Research Name/URL Business.com http://www.business.com CyberAltlas http://cyberatlas.internet.com LexisNexis http://www.lexisnexis.com/default.asp Ibiblio http://www.ibiblio.org/ Neilsen/Netratings http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/ Nua http://www.nua.com/surveys/ StatMarket http://www.statmarket.com emarketer http://www.emarketer.com/ Securities Exchange Commission http://www.sec.gov/ Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/ U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/
Psychographics are a useful method for developing greater understanding of consumer markets. Psychographics aim to characterize the psychology of target customers. Consumers are often categorized according to their values, motivations, beliefs, attitudes, and lifestyles (Peltier, Schibrowsky, Schultz, & Davis, 2002). Psychographics have had somewhat controversial application due to the difficulty of measuring such categories using traditional methods such as focus groups and survey research. Recently there has been some renewed interest in using psychographics to inform the application of data-mining techniques in analyses of large consumer databases. The life-cycle stage of the core technology of your product or service is important to enriching your understanding of the customers that you are targeting. Moore (1999) proposed a set of strategies to match the life-cycle stage of a given technology—ranging from a niche-focused strategy for technologies just beginning to enter the mainstream, to one focused on building market share if a company’s product happens to be considered—or is vying to be—the de facto standard in the industry. Determining the life-cycle stage of your technology will help you decide whether your customers will be mostly made up of early adopters like technology experts and visionaries or mid- to late adopters like pragmatists and conservatives. The early adopters will be more likely to forgive technical difficulties and appreciate your product/service for its leading edge appeal. Mid- to late adopters will demand reliable products and a close, proven fit with their business needs. Build a realistic assessment of where your product lies in the
Description Business-oriented directory and search engine News and statistics on e-commerce and Internet trends Leading full-text database service for legal, medical, and business records and news Online public library Free summaries of top-level e-commerce and Internet statistics. Online market research services. Internet trends and statistics Global Internet user trends E-business statistics and information Filings of public companies Business-related U.S. government statistics and studies U.S. census data
life cycle, both in terms of reliability and proven practical value. This will be invaluable in developing a marketing plan that provides the right message to your target market. For example, early adopters are likely to appreciate marketing messages that emphasize the product’s technical features while mid- to late adopters are more likely to respond to marketing messages that stress the product’s business applications and proven track record. It will also help you determine how to move from one life-cycle stage to another. Ultimately, success in the mainstream market is the most direct means of garnering superior profits from your endeavor. Determining which marketing channels that members of your target market tune into can be an important resource saver for your company. Market segments can display variations in their profiles of media usage, as has been shown for different ethnic groups (Greenspan, 2002a). It is, therefore, most efficient to focus marketing messages on the channels viewed most frequently by your target segment. Furthermore, if your company decides to take a bricks-and-clicks approach to marketing your product/service, one possibility is that you would aim to move individuals from an offline to an online channel. Such approaches call for marketing campaigns that publicize the online site via traditional offline media channels like billboards and television. A common example of this is the inclusion of a company’s Web site URL in all offline marketing materials. Lastly, determine where, when, and how your target customers will access and purchase your product/service. Understanding this context fully will be important for
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easing adoption of your product/service by your target market segment(s). It is also pertinent to building appropriate bricks-and-clicks products/services and marketing strategies. Intuit provides an excellent case to support this point. The company spent many hours observing its target customers balancing their checkbooks and handling their finances at home on the kitchen table or in the den. Using this information, Intuit was able to build a software package, Quicken, which has displayed amazing endurance—even in the face of challenges from Microsoft! Although this endurance can be attributed to the high switching costs involved in moving from Quicken to another package for managing home finances, it is also the case that Intuit’s attention to context resulted in a product with a highly intuitive interface that was easily integrated into the home finance activities of its customers. A methodology for achieving this close-fit, market validation, will be discussed in the last part of this section.
Competitors Knowledge of your competitors is essential to building a clear statement of the unique benefits provided by your product/service, whether you are marketing to a consumer or business market. Building this knowledge involves an analysis of your industry, your competitors’ products/services, and your competitors’ marketing methods. As with your product definition, it is important to delineate up front the specific industry that your expect your company to impact with the introduction of your product/service. Limiting the scope of your industry analysis in this manner will make it much easier to identify relevant competitors and markets. It would also be beneficial to consider the global reach of the industry you are analyzing. With the global reach of the Internet, most any e-commerce endeavor will have global exposure once it goes online. A useful way to structure this part of your research is with a SWOT analysis. This juxtaposes your
company’s strengths and weaknesses with the opportunities and threats found in your target industry. A SWOT analysis answers the following questions: What are the strengths of our business and products/ services that we can build upon? What are the weaknesses of our business and products/ services that we need to address? What opportunities are available in our target industry? What threats do we currently face or expect to arise in the future in our target industry? A more extensive analysis of the target industry can be achieved by conducting a five-forces analysis (Porter, 1975). With this analysis you will identify the current rivals, potential entrants, suppliers, buyers, and substitute products for your target industry. After identifying these elements in the industry, further analysis is conducted to assess the level of rivalry in the industry, the relative ease or difficulty of entry into the industry, the power wielded by suppliers and buyers relative to target industry participants, and how well substitute products stack up against the target industry’s products. Table 2 provides a sampling of questions that may be used to conduct the latter analysis. Jap and Mohr (2002) underscore the importance of understanding the type of relationship a company has with its suppliers and distributors. The tenor of these existing relationships can influence how well a company can leverage the efficiencies arising from the application of ecommerce technologies to improve information sharing, extend a company’s ability to reach new customers, and enable dynamic pricing. For example, they contend that partners who have long-term, complex, cooperative relationships may benefit greatly from efficiencies brought about by improved information sharing and ability to reach new customers. However, the application of dynamic pricing may undermine the long-standing relationships and trust built by the partners.
Table 2 Sampling of Questions to Be Used in a Five-Forces Analysis Force Barriers to entry
Power of suppliers
Power of buyers
Threat of substitute products
Industry rivalry
Sample Questions Do current industry participants benefit from economies of scale? Do new entrants have to invest large financial resources to compete? Is it difficult to get access to distribution channels? Are there few suppliers? Is the supplied product unique, differentiated, or associated with high switching costs? Could the supplier integrate forward into the industry’s business? Does the buyer group purchase in large volumes? Are the industry’s products standardized? Could the buyer group integrate backward and make the industry’s products? Are there substitutes for the industry’s products? Do the substitute products have lower prices than the industry’s products? Do the substitute products perform better than the industry’s products? Is industry growth slow? Does the industry’s product or service lack differentiation and have low switching costs? Are the industry rivals diverse in strategies, origins, and “personalities”?
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An in-depth understanding of your competitors’ products and marketing methods is an essential complement to the global understanding of the industry that one can gain from both the SWOT and five-forces analyses. Building this understanding involves something akin to informal anthropology. Although it will be possible to collect much information from secondary sources, oftentimes the best information can only be gathered firsthand by visiting both online and offline facilities of competitors, speaking with key management and employees if possible, analyzing the features of their products, following their pricing strategies, and viewing their online and offline marketing programs. Particularly when you are trying to enter a market composed of smaller players, there is often a lack of specificity in the information provided in published sources. As you are gathering your data, organize your information in comparison tables, lining up elements of your products and marketing strategies with those of your competitors. An initial list of comparison points should include key product features, pricing, sales channels, marketing channels, promotions, management structure, description of operations, sales, and revenue numbers. Expect that this list will expand as you learn more about your competitors and their products/services. Review the tables periodically and highlight items where you might be able to build an advantage or where some work needs to be done to strengthen things on your end. Attempt to sum up the key strengths and weaknesses of each competitor, including your own company. Summarize the information further by capturing each competitor’s “personality” in a phrase (e.g., low-cost producer, boutique service, dark horse).
Market Research Methods A wide range of sources is available for your market research efforts. It is possible to get a lot done at little or no monetary cost, although much effort must be expended in sifting through the volume of information available that in general has only tangential significance to the research you are conducting. Often, a small investment in purchasing a well-targeted research report is a large timesaver, if you have the budget to do so. However, these secondary sources may still provide inadequate information, especially when you are building innovative, untested ecommerce products/services. In the latter situation, primary research methods such as surveys or market validation will be invaluable in eliciting information on the viability of your product/services directly from your potential customers. The following discussion will begin with an overview of secondary research sources then discuss primary research methods, particularly surveys and market validation. Secondary research sources have become significantly richer and more accessible with the advent of the Web. Unfortunately, this has also led to the proliferation of unreliable data and hence greater difficulty with finding wellsupported and relevant information. For many people, the first step in any search is the use of a search engine such as Google (http://www.google.com). While this is a convenient and generally fruitful approach, it is also hardly the
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most efficient way to find information, offline or online. Specialized databases, available online or via your local library, often provide results that are more focused and relevant to the research that you are conducting. Table 1 provides a sampling of some useful online resources. It is also worthwhile to ask for advice from a reference librarian in a large public library to find out whether you have legitimate access to specialized databases that cover your topics of interest. If you are conducting the research for a large company, you are likely to have subscriptions that give you access to publications of consulting firms with e-commerce practices. Otherwise, you can purchase the reports if your budget allows it or you can work with limited summaries of the reports available at the consulting firms’ Web sites, via consultant and trade newsletters, or at sites that track e-commerce trends such as Cyberatlas. Other rich sources of information are Web sites of government agencies such as the Securities Exchange Commission, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Census Bureau, and Web sites of industry trade groups. You can find results from a wide range of public opinion polls from the Roper Center’s online poll collection found at http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu. Lastly, consider visiting some complaint sites (e.g., http://www.untied.com for United.com) where disgruntled customers give vent to their frustrations. These sites may be a good source of ideas for how to improve your product/service—based on complaints about a similar offering from another company (Goldwag, 2002). Secondary resources, as listed above, will often fall short of providing the material that you need to build a comprehensive understanding of your market. When this happens, it will be useful to conduct some primary research of your own to collect data of greater relevance. Two avenues for doing this are survey research and market validation. With online services, it is possible to conduct informal and formal surveys at a fraction of the time and expense that they used to require. Newsgroups on your subject of interest are great settings for doing informal surveys, for quickly testing an idea or getting quick clarification on some details of your research—as long as you refrain from communications that are promotional in nature. Formal surveys can be conducted, generally for a nominal fee, on Web services such as Zoomerang (http://www.zoomerang.com) and Netreflector (http://www.netreflector.com/). Other sites like eFocusGroups (http://www.e-focusgroups.com/) will allow you to ask questions and test your ideas in front of virtual focus groups. Market validation is a product development and market research methodology developed by Frank Robinson over decades of consulting with firms bringing new products to market (http://www.ProductDevelopment.com). It is an intensive, structured research strategy designed to result in the rapid evolution of a product/service strongly tied to customer preferences. At the same time the process helps the core project team build a solid understanding of its target markets and appropriate market strategies. Market validation immerses your core project team in several waves of meetings where prototypes of your product/service are presented to potential customers in the context in which they will be
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using the product/service (e.g., at home on the kitchen table, in an office cubicle, at the company warehouse). Managers, analysts, and programmers with the primary responsibility for developing the product/service come to the customer’s site as a team to conduct a demonstration, observe the customer’s use of the prototype, and interview the customer about his/her experiences and preferences. Findings from each visit are documented and analyzed immediately—beginning in the vehicle used to travel to and from customer meetings—using structured templates designed to extract key information for improving the product and marketing strategy. Before the next wave of customer meetings are conducted, the product/service and strategy are tweaked according to customer feedback and the results of these discussions. The team goes through several waves of these customer meetings until it has reached saturation, finding little new information, and getting consistently high marks from the customers interviewed. At this point the findings are summarized into a marketing plan and the first production version of the product is developed.
MARKETING APPROACHES The 1990s Internet boom fueled a proliferation of marketing trends as startups and established companies alike sought to build strategies that fully exploited e-commerce technologies. A small cottage industry grew up around the retooling and repackaging of traditional marketing approaches to take into account the opportunities and pitfalls afforded by the new technologies and the momentum they created. This section will present a sampling of these marketing approaches with the intention of providing readers with a basic toolkit of approaches to use in marketing their products/services. Hopefully, they will help spark some creative new approaches as well. The marketing approaches presented in this section are guerilla marketing, brand management, viral marketing, and permission marketing.
Guerilla Marketing As its name implies, guerilla marketing brings together a set of aggressive, grassroots tactics for marketing a product or service. Generally, the guerilla marketing tactics assume that the marketing effort is being conducted on a shoestring budget. Therefore, the tactics will often take advantage of the free to almost free resources available on the Web and suggest ways of using any type of public forum as a setting for promoting products/ services. Guerilla marketing has engendered an online community (http://www.gmarketing.com) that shares simple, low-cost, yet effective promotional strategies. Examples of such strategies are printing coupons on post-it notes and placing them on the front doors of potential customers, or intelligent participation in discussion groups.
Brand Management About halfway through the Internet boom, many ecommerce startups realized the importance of building a brand and started filling traditional channels like radio and TV with advertisements designed to help
customers build an emotional bond with their brands. Although many of these brands did not last long enough to sustain such bonds, brand management remains an important aspect of any marketing strategy. An established brand enhances the profitability of a company when customers’ emotional ties to the brand keep them coming back to purchase the company’s products or services. Furthermore, a strong brand also affords a company a measure of power over customers’ choices among offerings from a variety of vendors. A strong brand enables a company to not only build products to match customer preferences but also the power to influence those preferences. Once a brand has positive characteristics associated with it, customers look to it as a signal that the products sporting the brand also possess these positive characteristics. For example, Gap, Inc.’s strong brand makes it possible for them to have strong influence over young consumers’ fashion choices (Kirsner, 1999). Every occasion for communication from a company is an opportunity to strengthen and promote the brand. A key part of brand management is making sure that a consistent brand is projected throughout all company materials and communications—from brochures, to advertisements, and the company Web site. A well-run e-mail communications program has also been found to positively impact branding (Saunders, 2002b). For Gap, Inc., entry into the e-commerce arena provided the opportunity to buttress the consistency of its brand globally. The company Web site mimicked the casual, stylish atmosphere of its stores. Pictures of Gap billboards around the world were featured on the Web site, promoting the global reach and consistency of the company’s brand and image.
Viral Marketing Viral marketing gained notoriety with the surprising and phenomenal success of Hotmail. Viral marketing aims to have a company’s customers act as its marketers. As they use the company’s products and services, customers simultaneously spread the word about the company’s offerings. The marketing message then spreads like a “virus” throughout each customer’s social network, bringing news of the product and service to a wide range of potential customers. For example, Hotmail was able to sign up 12 million users in 18 months by inserting the tagline “Get your free e-mail at Hotmail” at the bottom of every e-mail sent out by its customers (Jurvetson, 1998). Recipients of the e-mails were able to click through to the Hotmail Web site to set up their own e-mail accounts.
Permission Marketing As e-commerce adoption grows, both business customers and consumers are getting more and more uncomfortable about the volume of e-mail they receive and possible threats to their privacy. The more information customers share with e-commerce companies, the greater their exposure to being victims of identity theft, fraudulent credit card activity, and rampant spamming by companies and persons seeking to market products and services to them. As technologies for ensuring privacy become easier to use, it is possible to envision a time when customers will have the ability to control access to their private
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information and preferences via a seamless interface. Until then, companies will be using the techniques of permission marketing to make sure that customers get messages that they are really interested in. Customers must opt-in to receive any communications about a company’s products/services. That is, before a company can send materials to a customer, the customer will have to actually choose to receive the materials. This is generally done by having customers fill out a form to select their areas of interest and submit e-mail addresses to indicate their interest in receiving periodic e-mails closely matched to their interests. This is known as single opt-in. Unfortunately, single opt-in creates problems when a customer enters an e-mail address inadvertently or if someone submits an e-mail address without approval from its owner. Double opt-in (also known as safe opt-in) addresses this issue. With double opt-in, the company sends a letter to the submitted e-mail address requesting that the customer confirm interest in joining the mailing list. Only upon confirmation by the customer will the e-mail address be added to the list (Brownlow, 2001). Other permission marketing approaches provide additional incentives such as the opportunity to win attractive prizes in an online game (Taylor, 1998).
MARKETING CHANNELS There is no shortage of channels available to get your message across to your potential customers. The difficulty lies in finding the one that best reaches the customers who will pay attention to the message and then purchase your product/service. As above, knowledge of your customers is key to selecting the best marketing channels and getting the most value for your marketing dollars. When conducting research on your customers, it would be helpful to gather as much information as possible about the marketing channels they pay attention to, what types of messages they respond to, what types of messages turn them off, and what would entice them to make a purchase. It is important to also try and determine the intentions behind customers’ purchases. Are your target customers liable to form a relationship with your brand or product or do other intentions motivate their purchases—e.g., convenience, low price (Dowling, 2002)? Knowing your customers’ intentions will help you place your promotions in the channels that maximize your chances at generating sales. This section provides a sampling of the marketing channels available for an e-commerce endeavor, be it B2C or B2B, on three platforms—Web based, traditional, and mobile computing.
Web-Based Marketing The Web provides one of the least expensive ways of promoting products. Unfortunately, techniques for promoting products over the Web are in their infancy and, thus, do not have the same track record of success as other, more traditional channels. Still, the low cost and relative ease of implementation of Web promotions, and the more that 389 million online users worldwide (Neilsen/Netratings, 2002), recommend the Web as a channel to consider, at the very least in tandem with more
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traditional channels. Furthermore, Web-based channels have the potential to allow more exact targeting of the groups who might receive your marketing messages. Providers of Web-based promotions are getting more sophisticated in their ability to identify groups of individuals to send messages to, based on past online browsing and purchasing behavior of users. With more opt-in and personalization capabilities provided by Web sites, it is possible to target messages customized to the level of each individual receiving the messages. The most common platforms for Web-based promotions are the company Web site, banners and pop-ups, search engine placements, and e-mail promotions. The company Web site is a key part of building a company’s digital image. It is the place where customers will come to after they are enticed by banners, pop-ups, and other methods of promotions. Aside from achieving a look and feel consistent with your company’s brand, it is imperative that the Web site be thoughtfully structured to ease navigation through its pages. Banners have come a long way from their lowly roots as easy to ignore minor annoyances on Web pages. Thanks to rich media technologies such as Flash and DHTML and innovative formats and placements, one can now find banners with attractive animation and messages that are difficult to ignore (Rewick, 2001). Similarly, pop-ups have started to dominate user desktops, much to everyone’s consternation. Top search engines sell placements on their results pages so that company links appear on prominent areas of results pages. It is possible to purchase many of these placements centrally via services such as http://www.registereverywhere.com or http://www.GetTraffic.com. Lastly, e-mail promotions are some of the most effective and best value promotional methods afforded by the Web (Saunders, 2002a). With the advent of HTML-mail, companies have been able to create attractive advertising messages to be sent directly to inboxes of potential customers who have, ideally, optedin to receive them. Alternatively, companies can purchase e-mail lists of individuals identified as potentially interested in receiving such messages. Companies such as Double-Click (http:///www.doubleclick.com) provide comprehensive, hosted, online advertising services that organizations can use to build campaigns that span all or several of the online channels listed here. There is evidence that online advertising is gaining some respect among both B2C and B2B advertisers. Research by Double-Click found that rich media ads (almost a fourth of all ads served up in 3Q 2002) had clickthrough rates (CTR) of 2.7%. Traditional banner ads continued their decline with only a 0.27% CTR (Greenspan, 2002b). Seventy-eight percent of 1000 consumers surveyed by Double-Click stated that they made a purchase after clicking on a direct marketing e-mail message. The trick, however, is to get a consumer to open the e-mail despite the continued overfilling of inboxes and growing use of bulk mail folders. Direct mail marketers are becoming more savvy about placing attractive brands names on the “From” line of their e-mails. A combination of viral and direct marketing techniques is also used to address this issue as marketers are including “mail to a friend” buttons in their marketing pitches so that the e-mail gets sent with a familiar name on the “From” line (Saunders, 2002a).
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Until recently B2B marketers were reluctant to use the online platform for advertising, accounting for only 11% of online ad dollars, according to a GartnerG2 study. However, the same study predicts that this figure could rise to 22% by 2005 as B2B marketers warm up to the possibilities brought on by rich media and improvements in ad targeting and accounting tools (Saunders, 2002c). Additionally, studies such as one done by Nielsen/NetRatings have shown that more than half of business decision makers say that the Web is the best way to reach them. Due to improvements in targeting, B2B marketers are looking to attract potential business buyers with rich media banners in general Web sites like http://www.ESPN.com and http://www.Weather.com. In keeping with business buyers’ high information requirements when making purchases, once buyers click onto a seller’s site, they are often provided information-rich materials such as white papers, editorial pages culling together information on a given vendor’s products, and webcasts of marketing seminars or consultant/researcher analyses (Bialik, 2002). In all Web-based promotions, companies must be cognizant of the risks of negative emotions being attached to their messages because, as of now, many of these ad placements are construed as intrusive. There is a growing industry around the elimination of pop-ups, e-mail spam, and banners, as online users have become inundated with unsolicited, poorly targeted, promotional messages. Eventually, we may get to a point where only messages that individuals opt into will be allowed to impact their desktops. This underscores the importance of considering permission-marketing methods as part of your strategy.
Traditional Methods of Promotion As in the design of your product/service, taking a bricksand-clicks approach to promotions can bring benefits. At the very least, one can use traditional media such as billboards, print media, television, and radio to broadcast the availability of your product/service and promote or create a brand. The techniques for using such media for brand promotion are well established and have proven to be successful for many companies. The audience for such media also dwarfs that available online. These traditional media can point viewers or listeners to the company Web site where more extensive and detailed materials and an online storefront are provided. A bricks-and-clicks approach need not be limited to the use of traditional media. Any bricks-and-mortar setting can be used to complement Web promotions. The most common one used by companies with bricks-andmortar stores, such as Barnes and Noble, is to provide incentives for individuals to provide e-mail addresses to be used by the company to send e-mail promotions. Rite-Aid promotes its partnership with http://www.drugstore.com by printing the Web site’s address on its shopping bags and prescription labels. Recent studies indicate that Internet users often surf the Web and watch TV simultaneously. A significant finding is that for a majority of these individuals, the activities on both channels are unrelated. This presents an opportunity for marketers to introduce
promotions that integrate the capabilities of both platforms (Cyberatlas Staff, 2002). Aside from in-store tie-ins, companies can consider other, less common offline methods. Some companies have used company cars as moving promotions by covering them with the company logo—much the way Southwest Airlines paints its airplanes to resemble some of the attractions (e.g., killer sharks) in its destination cities. Building communities offline to complement those built online would be another approach to bricks and clicks promotion. Companies may consider sponsoring gatherings of customers to share their interests and knowledge of the company’s products. Local user groups can be effective ways of getting the word out about a product/service and its updates, help new users learn about the product/service, and collect additional information to improve the product. They can also be a setting for selling the product or service, effectively, the e-commerce equivalent of the “Tupperware party” where customers get together to learn how to use a product and are able to purchase the product at the same time.
Promotions on the Mobile Computing Platform An emerging platform for promotions is mobile communications—involving portable devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) that are wirelessly connected via the cellular phone network, via some version of the 802.11 networks, or via a short-range networking technology such as Bluetooth or infrared. With the advent of widespread broadband wireless networks, such as T-mobile’s Hotspots, advertisers have the capability to send rich data and build interactivity into their mobile computing promotions. On a mobile computing platform, advertisers can send messages to customers that are not only customized according to their needs but also targeted to be appropriate to their positions in time and space. Marketing messages can be targeted to arrive at users’ devices as they are positioned close to a bricks-andmortar store where they can make purchases. The message can also be timed to arrive when a purchase is most likely to be made. For example, an advertisement for a nearby restaurant and a listing of their prix fixe menu could arrive at a business executive’s device at around noon. At a supermarket, coupons for soft drink discounts may arrive at users’ devices as they are walking along the soft drinks aisle. These examples assume that the mobile computing infrastructure has the ability to identify the location of the customer. This can be achieved in one of two ways. First, the customer could enter his/her location on the device— the zip code of the area he/she is in, or he/she may click on a section of a store map provided on the device, or enter a code for the section of the store. Second, the location of the mobile device itself may be tracked by a central service, such as the customer’s telecommunications provider. The infrastructure for this second method is still being developed, most likely using either of two platforms or a combination of the two—the global positioning system (GPS) and triangulation based on the position of the device relative to the cells in the local cellular network.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER—WRITING THE MARKETING PLAN
An initial application of this is part of the mMode service from AT&T Wireless. The service allows subscribers to locate friends and get directions to nearby restaurants and other services. The service called Find Friends determines a user’s location based on the most recent cellular tower that his/her phone contacted (AT&T Wireless, 2002). Currently, cellular phones are—somewhat controversially—being used to broadcast advertising messages in text. Generally, these messages use the short messaging service (SMS), a text messaging service that is very popular in Asia and Europe and just gaining ground in the United States, where the traditional cellular phone standards are quite different and diverse (Cellular News, 2003). When traveling around the world with a phone that can patch onto all flavors of the most widespread cellular phone standard, Global Standard for Mobile Communications (GSM), one is usually greeted with a host of SMS marketing messages from the local telecommunications provider. As with pop-ups and e-mail advertising, there is the risk that the customer will find these messages intrusive. Thus, any company intending to use this platform must consider this risk and be cognizant of any developments in the regulation of this channel. As cellular phones with large color screens, PDAs, and all manner of handhelds and wearable computing devices enter the mobile computing domain; this marketing channel will gain the ability to provide rich and attractive marketing messages. As of this writing, PDA users receive Web page ads formatted to fit the small screen when they synchronize their devices to information services such as AvantGo. The service then queries the customer to see whether he/she would be interested in opting-in to receive more information messages via e-mail. As the mobile computing platform matures, these messages can provide
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not only promotional messages but also value-added services appropriate to a customer’s location. As described in the bricks-and-clicks section, these services have the potential for transforming the shopping experience and leveraging the strengths of both the online and offline retail settings.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER—WRITING THE MARKETING PLAN With all the research, brainstorming, and experimentation you have done to learn about your customers and develop a viable product and strategy, writing the marketing plan document itself can be a daunting task. Ideally, you will be working on versions and parts of it as you conduct your research—building comparison tables, drawing figures, and writing short notes that allow you to capture and organize your thoughts. Fortunately, there are many software products available on the market today to help with this organizing and document preparation task. Table 3 lists some of these products and their key features. Most of the packages provide versions of the traditional marketing plan outline as templates that you can fill in with your ideas as you go along. You can view marketing plan samples to get some ideas on format, language, and content. Packages provide extensive lists of marketing research resources that you can use for your research. Some of the packages also help with the market research and analyses, providing sets of questions, templates, and spreadsheets to help you develop your marketing plan, schedule, and budget. Lastly, the packages support collaboration among your core team by providing version control capabilities and even Web-based editing—so that everyone on the team can work on the document wherever
Table 3 Sampling of Market Planning Software Packages
Package Name, Vendor, Web Site URL, and Price MplanPro Palo Alto Software http://www.mplans.com/ Price: $99.95 Business Plan Writer Deluxe Nova Development http://www.novadevelopment.com/mainus/products/bqw/index.htm Price: $99.95 Microsoft Business Planner Microsoft Corporation http://www.microsoft.com Available as part of MS Office Small Business and Professional Editions Smart Online Smart Online, Inc. http://www.smartonline.com/servlets/syngen/navigation/hometab c/ Online Subscription: $24.95/month
Plan and Analysis Templates
Links to Market Research Sources
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Sample Plans
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he/she may be located. These packages and their capabilities are well worth the small investment they require not only because they help you to organize and think through your ideas but also because they will allow you to produce a document that has a structure familiar to potential partners and investors. Once you have encapsulated your ideas into a wellresearched manuscript, consider your marketing plan a living document. Every encounter with a potential investor, partner, or customer can provide additional data and ideas to hone your product/service and strategies. Use your evaluation criteria and methods to continually assess your progress toward your goal. Do not be hesitant to change course if your plans do not bring the results you expect. Your marketing plan will go a long way toward establishing your credibility with investors and partners. Going through the process of building the marketing plan ensures that you have studied your market thoroughly and your core development team has had enough occasion to balance its creativity with the realities of your target markets and industry.
GLOSSARY B2B exchanges Online hubs that bring together suppliers and buyers for a given industry segment (e.g., Covisint for the auto industry) and that facilitate online information sharing and auctions of raw materials and/or maintenance, repair, and operating goods. Nextgeneration B2B exchanges have strengthened their offerings with services that facilitate negotiations, product design collaboration, and request for quote processes. Bluetooth A wireless personal access network technology designed to connect devices within a local area spanning up to 100 m at speeds from 1 to 20 Mbit/s. Early applications include connecting an earpiece to a cellphone, and connecting printers to various computing devices. Bricks and clicks An e-commerce strategy that aims to integrate activities from both the digital and bricksand-mortar platforms. Integration can be achieved at various levels—sharing brands, operations, management, and/or equity—across traditional and online organizations. Click-through rate (CTR) The percentage of visitors to a Web site that click on a banner ad displayed on the Web site to view more information on the advertised product or service. Customer relationship management (CRM) A suite of practices and software toolkits that support all or some subset of the procedures associated with managing ongoing contact with customers—generally includes contact management, customer database, personalization, and recommendation engines. E-mail marketing The use of e-mail technologies to conduct online promotions—generally to push advertisements to potential customers and to convert direct mail operations onto the digital platform. Five-forces analysis A well-established model for analyzing an industry’s competitive climate as a guide for building a strategy that puts an organization in a po-
sition of advantage in the industry. The analysis looks at the relative strength of five aspects of industries— power of buyers, power of suppliers, industry rivalry, substitute products, and barriers to entry. Focus groups The primary data collection venue for a research method that asks a small group of individuals for their comments, concerns, and preferences regarding a given product or service. Guerilla marketing A set of grassroots strategies for conducting product/service promotions at low cost. The set of strategies continues to grow via the contributions of an online community of practitioners, found at http://www.gmarketing.com. Market validation An intensive process for developing products/services and marketing strategies closely tied to customer preferences; involves several waves of meetings where the core development team—including business and technical members—present versions of the product/service prototype to customers to get feedback-used as a basis for improving the product/service and market strategy. The team goes through several waves of these meetings until they have developed a product that consistently meets or exceeds customer expectations. M-commerce The porting of e-commerce activities onto a mobile computing platform. Such platforms generally include a form of wireless networking linking all manner of portable devices—from laptops to personal digital assistants (PDAs), to cellular phones. One-to-one marketing Marketing that aims to customize products and services to meet the preferences of every customer. Online category manager A third-party distributor specializing in a product category—video, sporting goods, etc. These distributors enable retailers to broaden their online product mix while avoiding inventory and distribution costs. Permission marketing A marketing technique that requests the approval of potential customers before promotional material is sent to them; designed to increase the attention paid by the customer to marketing messages, presumably because they have expressed an interest in receiving the messages. Customers may also be given incentives to opt-in to a promotional campaign. Personalization engine A component of customer relationship management toolkits that allows a company to customize its marketing messages and, potentially, product/service attributes based on the preferences of its customers. SWOT analysis A strategic analysis technique that involves an assessment of a company’s internal strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats in an industry it is operating in or planning to enter. Viral marketing A marketing technique that essentially has a company’s customers acting as its promoters, whereby customers promote the company’s products/ services in the process of consuming or availing of them. Usually this involves a marketing message tacked onto some method of delivering the company’s products. One of the most popular e-commerce successes for this technique is Hotmail.
REFERENCES
CROSS REFERENCES See Business Plans for E-commerce Projects; Businessto-Business (B2B) Electronic Commerce; Business-toBusiness (B2B) Internet Business Models; Business-toConsumer (B2C) Internet Business Models; Click-andBrick Electronic Commerce; Collaborative Commerce (C-commerce); Consumer Behavior; Consumer-Oriented Electronic Commerce; Customer Relationship Management on the Web; Electronic Commerce and Electronic Business; E-marketplaces; Marketing Communication Strategies; Mobile Commerce.
REFERENCES AT&T Wireless (2002). mMode features—Find friends. Retrieved January 13, 2003 from http://www.attws. com/mmode/features/findit/FindFriends/ Bialik, C. (2002, October 21). Sell first, advertise later. Wall Street Journal, p. R11. Brownlow, M. (2001). Double opt-in. ibizBasics. Retrieved January 13, 2003, from http://www.ibizbasics.com/ online030601.htm Cellular News (2003, January 13). GSM market doubles in size in the USA. Retrieved January 13, 2003, from http://www.cellular-news.com/story/8118.shtml CyberAtlas Staff (2002, September 17). Many surf Net and channels simultaneously. CyberAtlas. Retrieved January 12, 2003, from http://cyberatlas.internet. com/markets/advertising/article/0,,5941 1465021,00. html Dowling, G. (2002). Customer relationship management: in B2C markets, often less is more. California Management Review, 44, 3. Glazer, R. (1999). Winning in smart markets. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 13, 1. Goldwag, W. (2002, September 5). Complaint sites can focus firms on issues to fix. Marketing, p. 16. Greenspan, R. (2002a, October 23). Media mixing for the multicultural market. CyberAtlas. Retrieved October 25, 2002, from http://cyberatlas.internet.com/ big picture/demographics/article/0,,5901 1487151,00. html Greenspan, R. (2002b, December 5). Rich media ads, CTRs up in 3Q. CyberAtlas. Retrieved January 12, 2003, from http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/ advertising/article/0,,5941 1553231,00.html Gulati, R., & Garino, J. (2000, May–June). Getting the right mix of bricks and clicks. Harvard Business Review, 78, 107.
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Jap, S., & Mohr, J. (2002). Leveraging internet technologies in B2B relationships. California Management Review, 44, 4. Jurvetson, S. (1998, November). Turning customers into a sales force. Business 2.0. Retrieved October 29, 2002, from http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,,12761, FF.html Kirsner, S. (1999). Brand matters. Fast Company, Fall, 22. Retrieved October 29, 2002, from http://www. fastcompany.com/nc01/022.html Lee, H. (2002). Aligning supply chain strategies with product uncertainties. California Management Review, 44, 3. Moore, G. (1999). Inside the tornado: Marketing strategies from Silicon Valley’s cutting edge. New York: Harper Collins. Neilsen/Netratings (2002). June 2002 global Internet index. Retrieved October 29, 2002, from http://www.nielsennetratings.com/hot off the net i.jsp Parmar, A. (2002, September 2). Second chances. Marketing News, 36, 18. Peltier, J., Schibrowsky, J., Schultz, D., & Davis, J. (2002). Interactive psychographics: Cross-selling in the banking industry. Journal of Advertising Research, 42, 2. Porter, M. (1975). Note on the structural analysis of industries. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Rewick, J. (2001, April 23). Choices, choices. Wall Street Journal, p. R12. Saunders, C. (2002a, October 25). E-mail works for direct marketing. CyberAtlas. Retrieved October 29, 2002, from http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/ advertising/article/0,,5941 1488681,00.html Saunders, C. (2002b, October 16). E-mail efforts can impact brand. CyberAtlas. Retrieved January 12, 2003, from http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/ advertising/article/0,,5941 1482921,00.html Saunders, C. (2002c, July 29). Major sites missing out on B2B ad dollars. CyberAtlas. Retrieved January 12, 2003, from http://cyberatlas.internet.com/ markets/b2b/article/0,,10091 1430501,00.html Sechler, B. (2002, July 15). Behind the curtain. Wall Street Journal, p. R12. Taylor, W. C. (1998). Permission marketing. FastCompany, 14, 198. Retrieved October 30, 2002, from http:// www.fastcompany.com/online/14/permission.html Thomas, D. (2002, June 6). Online exchanges offer competitive advantage. Computer Weekly, 10. Winer, R. (2001, Summer). A framework for customer relationship management. California Management Review, 43, 4.
Medical Care Delivery Delivery
Steven D. Schwaitzberg, Tufts-New England Medical Center
Introduction The Internet and the Physician Searching the Reference Collections Virtual Meetings Drug Information Clinical Trials E-mail The Internet and the Patient Why Does the Lay Public Search Medical Topics? Where Patients Search for Information Is the Information Self-Serving?
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INTRODUCTION The Internet has inexorably changed the practice of medicine. In the “old days” the doctor–patient relationship was sacred. There was a direct line of communication of medical information from the physician to the patient. Patients were rarely found in medical libraries researching their own health-related issues because of the perception that those “hallowed halls” were places for doctors only. Magazine articles and popular press books were occasional sources of health information; however, these sources of information were of variable utility and were not highly regarded. The Internet has changed the nature of this once sacrosanct relationship. What was once a linear relationship is now a triangular one (Figure 1). The doctor–patient relationship is not all that is changed. The Internet and its predecessors have also changed forever the way physicians seek medical information. This chapter will explore the nature of the content available for medical care. The nature of how physicians utilize the Internet to conduct their daily business and medical education and research will be explored. Finally, how patients find and communicate with their doctors will be reviewed.
THE INTERNET AND THE PHYSICIAN Searching the Reference Collections Although the Internet dates back to origins in the 1970s, it had little impact on the daily life of the clinical physician until the vast expansion of the World Wide Web in the 1990s. Doctors communicated with each other by mail or telephone. They educated themselves by reading books or journal articles. Sifting through the vast array of journal citations in the giant reference collection entitled The Indicus Medicus was a chore that could take hours simply to find even a few references if the topic were obscure. Thus, when the National Library of Medicine (NLM) made MEDLINE available through dial-up interfaces such as Bibliographic Retrieval Service (BRS), Colleague, or Grateful Med to physicians for a monthly fee, it seemed like a godsend. Even at 2400 baud, which is a snail’s pace by today’s standards, the research process was 586
How Do We Evaluate Web-Based Medical Information? Prescription Drugs on the Web Patient to Doctor and Patient to Patient Doctors and Patients Patient to Patient Future Directions Summary Glossary Cross References References
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greatly expedited as long as one did not need a reference that was indexed prior to 1966 (a limitation that still exists today). (There are references available from 1958 to 1965 on OLD MEDLINE, which is also available via the NLM Gateway.) These dial-up services interfaced through CompuServe, telnet connections, or their cousins, accessed front-end programs such as BRS, Grateful Med Ovid, or Paperchase, all of which searched through the same databases such as MEDLINE, Medlars, Cancer Lit, or Toxline. Searching was slow and the key to success was a smart search strategy. Too broad a search might reveal 1,000 articles in a variety of languages and too narrow a search might come up empty. In 1996 Ovid Technologies introduced the Ovid Web gateway that has enjoyed use by tens of thousands of people utilizing institutional subscriptions all over the world (Ovid Technologies, 2002). But the average physician in training could not spend what precious few dollars were available just to search the Web. Enter Physicians Online (POL). First a dial-up service (1992) and thereafter a Web-based service, POL was free to medical students and doctors (only) as long as one was willing to put up with a little advertising from your friendly neighborhood pharmaceutical company. POL provides a variety of services such as diseasebased forums, continuing medical education (CME), and links to sponsors and health care organizations. POL provided to registered users an e-mail address so one did not have to buy into AOL, CompuServe, or Prodigy. Later in 1997, the NLM profoundly changed the nature of medical information and its dissemination when MEDLINE access was rendered free of charge to everyone. Physicians had gotten used to the idea that the medical databases were not for general consumption; after all, it took years of training to make any sense of the information. Clearly the genie is out of the bottle for good! Now anyone with an Internet connection can peruse the vast array of medical knowledge from the comfort of his or her home or office. The abstracts of seemingly limitless journal articles can be provided in seconds when searches are conducted with high-speed access. In 2001, the NLM retired Internet Grateful Med in favor of PubMed as the primary search interface (http://www.
THE INTERNET AND THE PHYSICIAN
Figure 1: The lines of communicating health related information between doctors and patients have been transformed by the advent of the Internet from a linear to a triangular method of communication. ncbi.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi or http://gateway.nlm.nih. gov/gw/cmd). Searches via high-speed Internet access take only seconds providing abstracts of innumerable journal articles (Figure 2). PubMed is managed by the National Cen-
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ter for Biology Information (NCBI), which is a division of the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. In addition to PubMed several other digital archives are available via the Internet such as PubMed Central (http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/), a digital archive of life science journal literature; Bookshelf (http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db = books), a growing collection of biomedical books that has been developed in collaboration with book publishers allowing Internet-based digital retrieval of text information; and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, which is a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders. There is a growing list of databases available free of charge to anyone such as the molecular modeling database that provides three-dimensional data and molecular reconstructions (Figure 3). Of all the offerings from the NLM perhaps the most intriguing is the images from the History of Medicine collection (http://www.ihm.nlm.nih.gov). The History of Medicine Division of the NLM has collected and digitized a large collection of images for ordering or downloading. Some of the material is copyrighted but much of it is not, available for use with a credit line “courtesy of the National Library of Medicine” (Figure 4). Today most hospitals have high-speed access readily available. It is a common sight to see a physician in front of a terminal reviewing a bibliographic reference. But abstracts contain a very limited amount of data. The trip to
Figure 2: A PubMed search can be as broad or as narrow as desired. Abstracts of the articles are often on hand. Links to full-text versions are increasingly available.
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Figure 3: A search through the NCBI Web site will reveal an opportunity to download a free three-dimensional viewer that can display the molecular structure of a wide array of molecules available on the Web site.
the library (with references in hand) continues to be the mainstay of complete information acquisition, but this is changing as well. Full-text versions of journals are now appearing online. Often this requires a subscription to the print version of the journal, but not in all cases, especially after a period of time has passed since publication. If the experience learned from bibliographic citation access is an indicator then perhaps all journals will be free in the future; certainly once a critical mass of journals are available online for free, the remainder will have to follow or be left unread. Freemedicaljounals.com (http://www.freemedicaljournals.com) is leading the way in this regard. A wide number of journals can be searched in full-text format complete with the original illustrations in place. Will this replace the piles of journals in my office? Except for a few favorites I would be happy to maintain my literature collection online. Skeptics argue that the experience of reading print has yet to be reproduced or improved upon electronically, suggesting print journals will persist for some time to come. As high-speed Internet access continues to disseminate, it is only a matter of time before electronic versions of published journals begin to offer a multimedia experience not available in print. This will likely include peer-reviewed video submission or symposia. This will add substantial value to a journal subscription. “Internet only” journals have slowly appeared. ISPUB.com (http://www.ispub.com) has created a collection of 40 journals across the specialties of medicine and surgery that are available only on the Internet. Will
Figure 4: This is an image sample from the History of Medicine Division Web sites of the National Library of Medicine. This image depicts a scene from the operatory of the Massachusetts General Hospital in the 1800s (courtesy of the National Library of Medicine).
THE INTERNET AND THE PHYSICIAN
physicians read these Internet-only journals? In general, medical journals are rated by “impact factor,” a standard that may take years to reach a top quartile ranking. Ease of accessibility and low cost may facilitate the rise of journals such as these. One could argue that there is too much information available to the health care practitioner today. With thousands of articles emerging every month, there is no way for anyone to keep up with the latest information concerning emerging treatments, popular therapies, and the like. The Cochrane Collaboration was established in 1993 to organize and review clinical trial information in order to provide an evidence basis for clinical decision making (Levin, 2001). The Cochrane Library contains over 1,400 reviews and is available on compact disk or via the Internet (http://www.update-software.com/cochrane). Thus the reader is treated to an unbiased distillation of large sections of the literature on a given topic. This is of enormous potential benefit now that we have entered the information (overload) era.
Virtual Meetings Nearly every physician in America belongs to at least one professional society. Physicians in academic practice may belong to 10 or more although it is simply becoming too expensive to attend that many meetings. The Internet has begun to have profound impact on how medical professional societies and their physician (or nurse, therapist, etc.) members interact. Five years ago all of the dissemination of society information was done by mail; meeting notification, call for abstract submissions, and voting is-
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sues were all on paper. Today so much of that has changed with e-mail notification with embedded Web links that direct the reader to the society Web site for meeting registration, hotel reservations, and the like. Deadlines for sending abstract submissions for meeting presentation were a matter of working until the overnight carrier came to make the last pickup. Now these submissions are often worked on online, racing the clock until the Web site will not take any more offerings, alas, allowing for new refinements in procrastination. Web-based submission is maddeningly precise. When the instructions call for a 250word limit—that is truly all you get! On the other hand an immediate receipt is generated providing a measure of relief for those last-minute submitters, who seem to be everywhere in the medical community. Medical society Web sites, when well constructed, provide a number of services to the physician as well as to the patient. Password-protected member databases provide for quick location of an out-of-town colleague and can be a great resource for a patient who is moving and needs his or her doctor to provide a contact in another city (Figure 5). Society guidelines for clinical care are often posted and downloadable. The cost of the Internet integration into the affairs of these organizations is offset by the decrease in postal costs and telephone time spent answering repetitive questions. Society matters can be voted on without expensive conference calls in many cases; meeting minutes are distributed electronically saving time and money. The evolution of the medical society continues with the appearance of the virtual meeting. Web-based meeting attendance in real time or thereafter for free or fee continues to increase. Even physicians who attend
Figure 5: This is the home page of the Society of American Gastrointestinal Surgeons Web site. Options are immediately presented for surgeons, other physicians and patients directing the users to appropriate material.
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Figure 6: This is an example of a virtual lecture. The presentation is recorded on videotape at the actual meeting. The digital file of the Powerpoint presentation used at the time is then synchronized to the video that has been converted to a streaming format in a navigatable fashion. a particular meeting cannot see all of the presentations and may choose to revisit the meeting virtually later. Will this affect meeting attendance numbers? This is unclear since physicians often come to a meeting for more than just the information. This is no small issue since most medical societies need the meeting registration income to survive. Will physicians pay to sit at their desks to watch a meeting even for the much-needed continuing medical education credits required to renew medical licenses in most states? That too has been debated. A recent survey indicated that less than 15% of physicians polled had used the Internet for CME activity (Lacher et al., 2000). Content is key but transmission quality is crucial too. While many physicians have high-speed access at work, attending these virtual meetings is more likely to be a home activity. Broadband access is needed in order to provide a good experience but residential penetration is limited. As of this writing only 15% of Internet users have parted with their dial-up modems. This is expected to increase to 30% by 2005, however (The YankeeGroup, 2002). The American Society of Clinical Oncology was among the first major societies to promote the virtual meeting dating back to 1999. The virtual meetings from 1999 to the present are available to physicians and the public alike with lectures, virtual tours, posters, and a virtual commercial exhibit floor. Lectures have generally appeared in two formats: Web-ready PowerPoint presentation synchronized
to audio, and slide/audio presentations synchronized to a video of the actual lecture in a small window (Figure 6). A stream of 80 kbps produces reasonably smooth motion in a quarter screen window when viewed using a Real Player or Windows Media Player. Free of charge CME programs have been available through commercial sponsorship.
Drug Information There are innumerable drugs that physicians might prescribe. The traditional source of information has been the Physicians Desk Reference (PDR), which usually is distributed free of charge to licensed physicians. As a large book it is quite inconvenient to carry around and must be replaced yearly, with intermittent supplements as needed. Drug information is always changing and the PDR is out of date on some topics even as it arrives. The Internet has changed this process for physicians able to take advantage of the adaptability of the Internet. Since 1996 the PDR has been available online (http://www.PDR.net) to medication prescribing health professionals (doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants). Consumers are directed toward different sites specifically constructed for the layperson, such as http://www.gettingwell.com, which contain drug and disease information in lay terminology. The challenge to the PDR’s leadership in the field
THE INTERNET AND THE PATIENT
of drug information began in 1998 when ePocrates Inc. was founded by Richard Fiedotin, MD, and Jeff Tangney. They created an Internet accessible database designed to be downloaded into a Palm OS-based personal digital assistant (PDA). This made a pocket-sized compendium of drug information not only available, but also updatable as frequently as needed by performing the “hot-synch operation,” which updates the database in the PDA from the Web. Perhaps because it was free to physicians and medical students, it was an overnight sensation. By 2000 there were over 18,000 users with as many as 400 new users being added daily. This is important because medication errors may cause as many as 7,000 fatalities yearly (ePocrates, 2002). Systems such as these can only reduce this error rate. A recent study from the Harvard Medical School indicated that the physicians surveyed felt that one to two medication errors per week (of varying significance) were avoided using this system. Translated across the 200,000 physicians who had downloaded this database into their PDAs by 2002, a lot of mistakes have been avoided (ePocrates, 2002). This Web-based/PDA system has been so successful that PDR.net introduced a downloadable database for Palm OS and Pocket PC handheld devices in 2002. Both of these approaches offer a variety of links to other services, discussions, and information for the end users. Other less well-known (but seemingly unlimited in quantity) Web sites catering to the health care professional and consumers appear on search engines including drug information, Web-based medical consultation, lectures on audio, and the like.
Clinical Trials Among the most discouraging tasks any physician can face is telling a patient that he/she has a cancer or any other serious disease. Patients often hear nothing else after the initial bad news. Later once the shock has worn off there is a thirst for knowledge. How bad is this cancer? What types of therapies are available? What about clinical trials? The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has simplified the task of getting accurate and up-to-date specific information in this regard for physicians (as well as patients.) The cancer.gov Web site provides the doctor with up-todate information concerning clinical trials, research funding, and statistics never so readily available before the explosion of the World Wide Web. Rural physicians especially can find out where a clinical trial for a specific malignancy is being conducted, make contact with the study coordinators, and establish care expeditiously for their patients. Similar information is maintained at the Web sites of cancer cooperative groups such as Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, Children’s Oncology Group, and Gynecologic Oncology Group, as well as others. These cooperative groups conduct a majority of the clinical cancer trials in cooperation with the NCI. Traditionally patients have been entered and randomized to one treatment or another over the phone or by fax. Recently there is a trend toward Web-based registration into cancer trials to facilitate tracking of cancer patients particularly in our mobile society. While there are privacy issues that need to be scrutinized, this trend clearly will grow in the future.
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E-mail Institutionally based physicians in particular have been consumed by e-mail. The author receives 30 or 40 hospital-based e-mail messages a day. The predecessor to e-mail was voicemail, which is a much slower process. Nonetheless time needs to be set aside daily to avoid a tragic e-mail overload, a task that did not exist 10 years ago. Within our institution there is a lot of patient care related e-mail traffic. If necessary the e-mail message can be printed for the paper chart. Replies can be made effortlessly to hard-to-reach physicians or surgeons who spend a lot time in the operating room or similar environs. It is now simply assumed in a hospital such as ours that everyone will read their e-mail daily if not several times a day. This is a vast improvement over the delays imparted by an institutional mailroom. Photos can be attached to e-mail messages within the institution. Medical charts today are still for the most part kept on paper. As we move, albeit slowly, toward electronic medical records (EMRs) the Internet/intranet will be a key component in this effort. The problem is that it is almost too easy now to move information, some of which is sensitive in nature, e.g., a serious disease or complication. It was this incredible ease that spawned the privacy regulations in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. This legislation is quite encompassing and was signed into law in 1996, but the HIPAA Privacy Rule was not due to become operational until April 2003 for large institutions (April 2004 for small ones). It specifies to whom and what types of information can be distributed electronically (and on paper for that matter). Severe penalties are assessed on individuals and institutions that do not take adequate steps to protect the individually identifiable protected health information. As will be discussed later, this will potentially impact the electronic relationship between patients and their doctors.
THE INTERNET AND THE PATIENT Why Does the Lay Public Search Medical Topics? Almost half of the adult population in the U.S. alone has
Internet access, according to a 1999 Harris Poll and three-
quarters of these have looked for health information on line (Taylor, 1999). In 2001, the breakdown of the activi ties of the 60 million users who went online to seek out
health related information (Smart Computing, 2001) is as
follows:
Look for general health care information: 69%
Look for mental health information: 34%
Purchase medicines, nutritional supplements, or other
health care items: 21% Seek advice from a doctor other than your own: 16% Communicate with doctor: 6% Participate in chat room discussions about health care topics: 7% Participate in chat rooms on mental health topics: 6%. A subsequent Harris Poll estimated that nearly 100 million people go online to get health-related information
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(Taylor, 2001).Why don’t people just talk to their doctors? That is a good question that does not need a complex survey to understand. First is the fact the appointments have to be scheduled. An Internet search can provide immediate gratification. Second is the fact that that time always seems to be limited in the office visit. Third is the pressure that physicians feel to see more patients in the short time allotted since reimbursements have been falling in the past few years. Last, doctors are hard to reach by phone. Thus it is not hard to understand why so many people have flocked to the Internet to seek health care information. The Harris Poll has termed these users “cyberchondriacs” surfing the Web for health-related information three times a month on average (Taylor, 2001). There are perhaps as many as 100,000 health related Web sites for them to visit (Eysenbach et al., 1999). Many problems exist with this new paradigm of medical information transmission. The quality/accuracy of the information varies greatly from site to site. The information may not be presented at an appropriate level for the reading audience. The difference between marketing and information services may be hard to discern for many patients. Patients may be asked to divulge personnel health information that possibly could have unintended uses. Despite these limitations, the search for health care information and the purchase of medications and supplies (eHealth is the preferred term) (McLendon, 2000), etc., on the Internet is here to stay.
Where Patients Search for Information Patients approach the Internet searching for health care information in a variety of different ways. The first separator is whether or not the searchers begin with a link on their default portal, a health portal, or a search engine.
Obviously the major Web portals have defined relationships worked out in the background with preferred sites, but so might search engines. The best way to understand the differences is to look at primary “hits” to the same search term at the various entry points. We also find that exactly how a patient searches their health care issue will produce differing results as well. By way of example, suppose you have abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant of your abdomen. You are told that the cause of this pain is due to gallstones that can be removed surgically using some new techniques. You are given an appointment to see a surgeon in a week. How can you find information about your disease, the proposed procedure, or the surgeon recommended? Does it make a difference where or how you start? In April 2002, if one entered the designated “health” link on the AT&T Worldnet home page, you arrived at a site “powered by Health Scout.” The same approach at MSN.com took you to a MSN site with a Web MD overlay. Prodigy took you to Prodigy health site. AOL took you to a different Web MD site but similar to the page you linked to from Netscape’s Netcenter portal. However, Netscape used it own search engine. Yahoo and Alta Vista went to topical directories. For the patient described, the choice of what terms search terms to use is multifold. One could choose by organ, pathology, or surgery, i.e., gallbladder, gallstones, or laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The results of such a search via major Web portals are shown in Table 1. As you can see at the time of this writing, an initial search via the health links on the major portals, the Web MD search engine predominates. Between the health information search engines there is a wide variety of directed Web sites with varying degrees of usefulness and relevance. The direct use of search engines from the main portal sites produces different results. For instance, at the
Table 1 Portal-Based Internet Search Results (Article Title) for Health Information about Gallstones Search Term Portal
Health Service
Gallbladder
Gallstones
Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy Study Faults Laparoscopic Surgery for Colon Cancer Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery for gallstones— Surgery Overview -Surgical Treatment for gallstones (Healthology article) Issue (from Gastonia Surgical Associates)
AT&T Worldnet
Health Scout
Can Vitamin C Shield Gallstones
Can Vitamin C Shield Gallstones?
MSN AOL
Web MD
Gallbladder cancerPatient Information
Prodigy
Healthology
Yahoo
Yahoo search
Netscape.com
WebMD
Laparoscopic gallbladder surgery for gallstones—Surgery Overview Surgical Treatment for gallstones (Healthology article) National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases information site Surgery Needed for Gallstones?
Source: Based on Internet search May 10th, 2002.
Gallbladder Removal: Before and After the Surgery (webcast) Laparoscopic gallbladder removal
Surgery Needed for Gallstones?
Gallstones: Symptoms, Treatments, Prevention
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time of this writing, Web MD was used on the MSN.com health link, but a search could also be performed from the home page of the MSN portal. The search (search date: May 10, 2002) for gallstones (the same result as that for Yahoo, Google, Alta Vista, Lycos, and Excite) directed one to the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases sites about gallstones. There was an interesting twist, however. The very first offering from all of these search engines (that was sometimes split into a “sponsored sites section”) was a malpractice trial lawyer site (Figure 7)! It is doubtful that the medical community would have a warm feeling to the concept that on a vast array of general Internet search engines, the first site a prospective patient is directed to in a search about gall-
Figure 7: This figure depicts the results of a search under the term “gallstones.” The sponsored sites are listed subtly ahead of the actual search results. When this search was performed a medical malpractice law firm owned the first sponsored site.
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stones is a sponsored site about malpractice attorneys. This certainly raises the issue of what the public is “fed” from the Internet via the search process. Since anyone with enough money can afford to be a “sponsor,” his or her site under the right circumstance can consistently be listed first. Understanding the limitations of the current system is central to the maturation of the Internet in this arena. The potential of the Internet to distribute information to patients and interested parties is limitless, but when the medical literature is searched for commentary on the quality and accuracy of medical information available on the Internet in 1999–2002 on any given medical topic, the results are disturbing. Medical information traditionally was transmitted via the doctor– patient relationship—that is no longer universally true as noted in the opening of this chapter. For the millions of Americans searching for health information on the Web, the physician is not a necessary part of the process (Hubbs et al., 1998). The literature is replete with articles that review the available Web-based information on a given topic, and clear trends are observed. Topical information at a given site is incomplete (Chen et al., 2000; Pandolfini et al., 2000; The Quality Letter for Healthcare Leaders, 2001; Gagliardi & Jadad, 2002). Topical information is often inaccurate or misleading (Appleby, 1999; Shon et al., 2000; Cline & Haynes, 2001; Kisely, 2002; McKinley et al., 1999; Soot et al., 1999; Hellawell et al., 2000; Libertiny et al., 2000; Mashiachet al., 2002). There are concerns about readability in the sense that the material is not often presented in a fashion appropriate for the reader (Berland et al., 2001; Murero et al., 2001). There are concerns about commercialism (Forsstrom & Rigby, 1999; Mabrey, 2000; Winker et al., 2000; Smithline & Christenson, 2001; Tatsumi et al., 2001). Finally, minority interests do not seem well served as seen in the paucity of high-quality translations into Spanish (Berland et al., 2001). To highlight this, the search for Web-based information on pediatric cough was reviewed. More than half of the 19 sites identified had more incorrect information than correct information (Pandolfini et al., 2000). There are terrific medical information Web sites (if one searches persistently) currently available; however, the ideal Web site is not ideal for everyone. It is a simple fact that health care providers and the lay public have differing needs and ultimately need to be directed to different types of sites. (This is a major problem that will ultimately be overcome.) For example, it is well established that the information for obtaining consent for medical procedures or medical research trials needs to be promulgated on a fifth- to eighth-grade level in order to be understood even by relatively well-educated people (Davis et al., 1990; Hopper et al., 1998; Hochhauser, 1999). Yet again this is an arena where the Web should excel. Typical medical patient education is text based. Patient satisfaction and comprehension is relatively low with this type of material. Multimedia approaches can improve patient satisfaction (Agre et al., 1997). Especially with the march of the Web toward high-speed access, the Internet should become the penultimate tool in physicians’ education armamentarium. Multimedia educational sites
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Figure 8: Preop.com Web site (retrieved May 13, 2002). This is an example of a educational site that is not affiliated with medical devices, pharmaceutical firms, or health care systems.
have been arriving on the scene for a few years now with (medically) professionally edited content, artwork, and compressed video to educate patients on specific topics. Preop.com (http://www.preop.com) is an example of this concept. The material is prepared by multimedia specialists without a link to a specific health related industry (drug, health care system, device, etc.) in concert with health care professionals with a stated goal of providing balanced preoperative information targeted at the lay population. This approach solves many of the problems that occur when individual physicians or even hospitals provide Web-based material as just noted (Figure 8).
Is the Information Self-Serving? The major health gateways and other sites have recognized the potential for commercialism, conflict of interest, and poor quality information on the Web in general and on their sites in particular. Some organizations have banded together to articulate a code of conduct to prevent or minimize this behavior called HONcode. The principles behind this code are eight-fold and are shown in Table 2. This code of conduct developed by a Swiss
nonprofit organization, Health on the Net Foundation (HON), was introduced in 1996 and revised in April 1997. It has been translated into 19 languages (Boyer et al., 1998; Boyer et al., 1999). The HONcode seal (Figure 9) is an active hyperlink that, when authentic, links the user to the HON site and displays the site’s unique PIN and HONcode status. This is not the only attempt to raise the reliability and credibility of the health information on the Web. Other organizations, such as the American Medical Association (AMA), which has developed Web site guidelines (http://www.ama-assn.org/ ama/pub/category/ 1905.html); the Internet Healthcare Coalition (http://www.ihealthcoalition.org), which sponsors the eHealth Code of Ethics; URAC (http://www. websiteaccreditation.urac.org); and Hi-Ethics Inc. (http:// www.hiethics.com/Principles/index.asp) are working toward similar goals. A logo or seal displaying the accreditation is placed on the Web site when reviewed by these organizations as well. Like the HONcode, included in most of these guidelines are comments about the confidentiality of the personal health information transmitted by the end user. This is critical because when a consumer truly becomes a patient due to a medical problem acute or chronic he/she clearly becomes more vulnerable and may
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Table 2 HONcode Principles Authority
Complementarity Confidentiality
Attribution
Justifiability
Transparency of authorship
Transparency of sponsorship
Honesty in advertising and editorial policy
Any medical or health advice provided and hosted on this site will only be given by medically trained and qualified professionals unless a clear statement is made that a piece of advice offered is from a nonmedically qualified individual or organization. The information provided on this site is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her existing physician. Confidentiality of data relating to individual patients and visitors to a medical/health Web site, including their identity, is respected by this Web site. The Web site owners undertake to honor or exceed the legal requirements of medical/health information privacy that apply in the country and state where the Web site and mirror sites are located. Where appropriate, information contained on this site will be supported by clear references to source data and, where possible, have specific HTML links to that data. The date when a clinical page was last modified will be clearly displayed (e.g., at the bottom of the page). Any claims relating to the benefits/performance of a specific treatment, commercial product, or service will be supported by appropriate, balanced evidence in the manner just described in the attribution principle. The designers of this Web site will seek to provide information in the clearest possible manner and provide contact addresses for visitors that seek further information or support. The webmaster will display his/her e-mail address clearly throughout the Web site. Support for this Web site will be clearly identified, including the identities of commercial and noncommercial organizations that have contributed funding, services, or material for the site. If advertising is a source of funding it will be clearly stated. A brief description of the advertising policy adopted by the Web site owners will be displayed on the site. Advertising and other promotional material will be presented to viewers in a manner and context that facilitates differentiation between it and the original material created by the institution operating the site.
Source: Adapted from Boyer et al. (1998).
be more willing to divulge personal information otherwise unattainable. Protecting the patient is critical in this setting and yet we have no idea how well this is being accomplished.
How Do We Evaluate Web-Based Medical Information? To make matters worse, in sorting out the overabundance of material on the Web, there is almost no consensus as to how to rate health care Web sites for quality. Even
Figure 9: HonCode logo. The seal serves as a hyperlink to the Honesty on the Net Foundation Web site that provides site verification and PINs to assure users that the Web site is a legitimate participant in the HONcode program.
if the webmasters are well intentioned, is the information any good? This is a real problem since it has been said “trying to get information from the internet is like drinking from a fire hose, you don’t even know what the source of the water is” (McLellen, 1998). In 1998, Jadad reviewed the rating systems available to evaluate health related information. He discovered 47 instruments for this purpose. Few provided criteria for the rating or instructions for use. None provided evidence of validity. His conclusion was that these instruments were incompletely developed and not useful in general (Jadad & Gagliardi, 1998). In 2002 the same group revisited the issue, 51 new instruments were available and were generally plagued with the same problems especially the lack of validity of the rating instruments that was seen four years earlier (Gagliardi & Jadad, 2002). What we are left with is information overload. With little to help the user sorts out the wheat from the chaff (Craigie et al., 2002), perhaps health care providers (physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and the like) should identify Web sites themselves that they feel have high quality information and direct patients in that fashion. A recent poll indicated that a vast majority of patients would desire this, but few receive this advice from their physicians (Ullrich & Vaccaro, 2002). Clearly there is a need to strive toward this since rating scales are unreliable at present and the “seals of approval” emerging appear as honest attempts to raise the quality and safety while minimizing the commercialism of the few thousand at best Web sites that display them.
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Figure 10: An example of a Web site that can be used for medication refill.
Prescription Drugs on the Web As noted earlier, the activity that ranks after information retrieval is the acquisition of medical supplies especially drugs or supplements. Online prescribing represents an evolutionary step from mail order businesses in that minutes after an online pharmacy Web site is established, a potential wordwide audience is established as well. Recently, the drug that has received the most attention from Internet users is Sildenafil, otherwise known as Viagra (Pfizer Inc). In theory, at least, men with a history of sexual dysfunction could answer related questions in the privacy of their on homes. In some cases this may result in a more thorough sexual history than what might be obtained in a doctor’s office (Jones, 2001). The advantages of Internet-based prescribing probably stops there. The Internet does not provide a doctor–patient relationship within the context of a state issued licensed. The failure to achieve this and go on to sell these medications to patients is a breach of the ethical considerations (Kahan et al., 2000). Completing an online questionnaire and paying a fee for a medication have been termed the modern equivalent of “diagnosis by mail” and has long been condemned and in fact has resulted in physician disciplinary action in Wisconsin (Thexton, 2002). Other states are following suit (Carnall, 1999). At least in the United States this practice may be risky business (Rice, 2001). The most thorough evaluation of Internet prescription practices concerning Viagra was performed by Gunther Eysenbach in 1999 when he masqueraded as a totally inappropriate patient for the use of the drug and attempted to purchase it. Of the 22 Web sites that were identified at the time (more are online as of this writing): two required a written prescription by a “real” physician, nine dispensed the drug without any prescription at all, and 11 issued an “online prescription” after an alleged
physician reviewed the online order form containing medical questions (Eysenbach, 1999). He went on to attempt to complete the transaction with 10 of the latter group and found three companies who actually mailed the drug (from Europe). Several companies did decline to dispense the drug; nonetheless it was clear that a patient who listed several contraindications to the use of Viagra could easily obtain it from the Web. Minors with Web access could do the same. Other drugs that seem to lend themselves to this same practice include those for weight loss, hair loss, birth control, pain (nonnarcotic), excess hair, skin care, cessation of smoking, and antivirals. The American Medical Association has come out strongly against this practice to the point of singling out Web sites who prescribe in this fashion. However, the AMA does support the use of the Internet to prescribe medications with appropriate safeguards (American Medical Association, 1999). The obvious use for Internet-based prescribing is in the refilling of chronically used drugs with a legitimate prescription on file. This is already an acceptable snail mail and telephonebased practice made simpler on the Web (Figure 10). At least in the U.S. the use of the Internet for drug prescription will continue to evolve with increasing scrutiny with respect to ethical and medical standards of care.
PATIENT TO DOCTOR AND PATIENT TO PATIENT Doctors and Patients Electronic Communication Patients reach physicians via the Internet in three ways: they can e-mail their doctors directly, they can send a “cold call” e-mail to a physician seeking advice, or they can go to chat sites specifically run by physicians to deal with health topics. Should a physician give his/her e-mail
PATIENT TO DOCTOR AND PATIENT TO PATIENT
address to a patient? Clearly this is not a yes or no question, but one that requires a fair amount of thought before a physician does place this information on his/her business card. Currently it seems that less than 10% of physicians communicate with patients in this fashion (Lacher et al., 2000). The physician who places his/her e-mail address on a business/appointment card is saying by implication “you may contact me by using this method” analogous to the telephone or fax number also listed. As such once an inquiry is received in this fashion from an established patient, there is an obligation to respond. Does this imply that physicians are now obligated to routinely check their e-mail messages on a daily basis or more frequently? What about vacations or professional travel? There is certainly incomplete adoption of computer technology in the medical community at this time and it is not to be assumed that all physicians check e-mail on a daily or more frequent basis. Like all medical communications the answers can be short or long. Short answers are simple for the physician to respond to via e-mail and probably more convenient than telephone. Long ones are problematic. The typing can take much longer than a conversation and the clarity of the communication dwindles, as many physicians perceive themselves as overburdened from a time management standpoint, reducing the attractiveness of communicating by e-mail (Kleiner et al., 2002). On the positive side there is a record of the interaction, but on the negative side there is a record of the interaction that travels through a cyberspace environment that is potentially open to prying eyes. E-mail within a major medical institution is generally secure as a major effort to protect patient confidentially is a major thrust of most information technology groups, recognizing that there is a huge interphysician volume of traffic much of which is patient related. On the other hand once e-mail leaves the medical center or a private physician’s account through an ISP, security cannot be guaranteed. This is especially true for unencrypted wireless users. As such communicating in this fashion carries risk, one that should be pointed out to each patient every time a medically related e-mail trans-
mission occurs. While it is possible to establish encryptedonly communication as a basis for e-mail communication with patients, this is not currently a practical solution or common practice. Continuing a dialog by e-mail that may have been recently initiated in the office may prove useful to both patient and physician, but receiving e-mail from a patient not recently treated with a list a symptoms with or without a request for medication is far more problematic. This is more similar to the diagnosis by mail trap that is distinctly frowned upon as mentioned and carries a risk of an inappropriate medical action on the part of the physician. However, is this really so different from the millions of phone calls taken by physicians “on call” each year? (Probably not.) Certainly it is also a matter of degree and situation in so far as the physician who has already been plagued with reimbursement reduction by Medicare and other agencies of late may construe chronic e-mailing for health advice as an attempt to avoid an office visit charge. On the other hand, for the patient who has to wait unpredictable amounts of time in the office for even a short amount of face-to-face time with a physician, e-mail is a godsend. This is even more relevant for the disabled patient who may have real issues just getting to the doctor’s office. In 1998 Kane and Sands summarized the effort of an American Medical Informatics Association task force creating guidelines concerning the use of e-mail between patients and physicians in established relationships (Kane & Sands, 1998). These principles are shown in Tables 3 and 4. The situation gets stickier for the physician who receives an unsolicited e-mail message. In this setting there is no established doctor–patient relationship. Is there a duty of a physician to reply? Would advice rendered in this circumstance be covered under “good samaritan” provisions given that there is no financial relationship? A few studies have shown that about half of the physicians who receive unsolicited e-mail will respond (Eysenbach & Diepgen, 1998; Oyston, 2000; Sing et al., 2001). In many cases the information received from the patient is accurate but incomplete. In most cases the patient is
Table 3 Communication Guidelines for E-mail between Health Care Providers and Patients Establish turnaround time for messages. Do not use e-mail for urgent matters. Inform patients about privacy issues. Patients should know who besides addressee processes messages during addressee’s usual business hours, during addressee’s vacation, or illness and that the message is to be included as part of the medical record. Establish types of transactions (prescription refill, appointment scheduling, etc.) and sensitivity of subject matter (HIV, mental health, etc.) permitted over e-mail. Instruct patients to put category of transaction in subject line of message for filtering: “prescription,” “appointment,” “medical advice,” or “billing question.” Request that patients put their names and identification numbers in the body of the message. Configure automatic reply to acknowledge receipt of messages. Print all messages, with replies and confirmation of receipt, and place in patient’s paper chart. Send a new message to inform patient of completion of request. Request that patients use autoreply feature to acknowledge reading provider’s message. Maintain a mailing list of patients, but do not send group mailings where recipients are visible to each other. Use blind copy feature in software. Avoid anger, sarcasm, harsh criticism, and libelous references to third parties in messages. Source: Adapted from Kane and Sands (1998).
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Table 4 Medico-Legal and Administrative Guidelines for the Use of E-mail in the Health Care Setting Consider obtaining patient’s informed consent for use of e-mail. Written forms should itemize terms in Communication Guidelines, provide instructions for when and how to escalate to phone calls and office visits, describe security mechanisms in place, indemnify the health care institution for information loss due to technical failures, and waive encryption requirement, if any, at patient’s insistence. Use password-protected screen savers for all desktop workstations in the office, hospital, and at home.
Never forward patient-identifiable information to a third party without the patient’s express permission.
Never use patient’s e-mail address in a marketing scheme.
Do not share professional e-mail accounts with family members.
Use encryption for all messages when encryption technology becomes widely available, user-friendly,
and practical. Do not use unencrypted wireless communications with patient-identifiable information. Double-check all “To:” fields prior to sending messages. Perform at least weekly backups of mail onto long-term storage. Define “long-term” as the term applicable to paper records. Commit policy decisions to writing and electronic form. Source: Adapted from Kane and Sands (1998).
advised to see a physician. Clearly not every patient– physician interaction demands an in-person visit and physical examination. General health information in the form of premade e-pamphlets could be distributed in response to unsolicited e-mail messages with minimal risk. Others have suggested using the automatic reply format indicating general instructions of how to obtain care or a simple statement that a response is not forthcoming (Oliver, 1999). Eysenbach has suggested that patients have to be educated that it is unethical to diagnose and treat their medical conditions over the Internet via e-mail alone in the absence of a preexisting patient–physician relationship (Eysenbach, 2000). More advanced telemedical technology may make the virtual house call a reality in the future. Other groups including ours have performed teleconsultation to specialized remote locations including foreign countries using ISDN telecommunication lines. This allows for static x-ray review, cardiac and pulmonary auscultation, and direct patient interview. Current Internet protocol bandwidth for medical purposes will be supplanted by Internet2, ultimately replacing ISDN for this purpose (see later). Although the medical provider cannot quite examine patients in their own homes as yet, Webbased protocols have been used to augment the management of a variety of chronic diseases. Patients can fill out Web-based forms about their current status which trigger case manager responses when criteria are met (Disease Management Advisor, 2000). Telemonitoring equipment for diseases such as diabetes or asthma could be adapted for Internet transmission to providers alerting providers to situations that need attention (Cai et al., 2000). Seniors have been willing to embrace Web-based strategies for follow-up (Disease Management Advisor, 2001a, 2001b). As in any shift away from the traditional office-based medical interaction, there are challenges to overcome (Disease Management Advisor, 2001a, 2001b). How will providers be reimbursed not only for the interaction, but also for the investment into the e-health infrastructure? Also like all electronic medical communications issues of security and liability require solutions before widespread
diffusion. Despite these obstacles there is an undeniable appeal to utilize Web-based interactions in the management of chronic illness. A variation in the unsolicited e-mail is the Web site that offers advice in response to a question. These sites can be general or disease specific. Some are free, but others offer “consultations for as low as. . . .” Each of these “ask the doctor” sites offers a disclaimer of some sort that varies with the site warning patients that emergent needs are best served by seeking acute medical care or that the progress of medical research may render the advice on site obsolete. Whether the advice or information is rendered for free or fee the existence of these sites raises an interesting question concerning the practice of medicine across state lines. What happens when a patient experiences an adverse outcome as a result of the advice from such a Web site? Is this different from a physician’s health column in newspapers or magazines that respond to specific questions? The answer to the latter is probably yes in the fact that the patient is asking a question in an obvious public forum and the free of charge public response is subjected to editorial review that provides a measure of protection against dispensing risky advice. Most Web sites have no oversight in this regard especially when provided as a fee for service. Will we see a new type of malpractice action in the future? Time will tell.
Electronic Medical Records The medical record has grown from skimpy hand and typewritten notes decades ago to a complex repository of medical action, interaction, and outcome. Despite extraordinary theoretical capability, the infiltration of the truly electronic medical record is small. There are compelling reasons to employ EMR (Grimson, 2001). EMR is likely to be more legible, thus more accurate than conventional records. The record would be continuously available (unlike a medical records room). The codification of data would lend itself to research, audit, and review with far greater efficiency than currently possible. Electronically available laboratory data, radiology reports, operative
PATIENT TO DOCTOR AND PATIENT TO PATIENT
notes, and discharge summaries are common, but paper medical records in offices and hospitals chronicling dayto-day actions and patient–practitioner interaction are the norm. Progressive centers exist where the electronic medical records not only thrive, but thrive in a Web-based milieu (Dreyer et al., 2000; Safran & Goldberg, 2000). This is an integration of two potentially separate concepts since the Internet and EMR could coexist in total isolation. A successful EMR needs to become more than just a repository for laboratory data and reports. The inclusion of electrocardiographic, telemetric, photographic, and radiologic (via Picture Archiving and Communications System utilizing the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine standard) data is the future of the EMR. The EMR also must evolve to chronicle all interactions between a wide variety of practitioners (not only physicians) in disparate geographic locations in order to be truly comprehensive and reach the ultimate potential possible. This is the tricky part. It is a relatively straightforward process to build a closed, proprietary hospital network based system. Records, data, and image integrated EMR have been constructed. The INFODOM system prototyped in Italy utilizes an extensible markup language (XML) based medical record. The electronic patient record is delivered over the Web via secure socket layer as an XML document and viewed in a browser. Clinical images within the browser are seen on the JavaBeans image viewer, which can display static and animated sequences (Boyer et al., 2001). However, no one really receives care in a single health care system in the United States. People move, travel, and often seek care from a number of health care systems even within a single city. All of this information sits in isolated pockets, frequently duplicated needlessly. In the author’s clinical experience, many patients do not remember who performed a prior surgery or even which hospital it took place in. The impact of this can be dramatic. As surgical procedures become less invasive; in fact performed through tiny “keyhole” incisions, the ability to predict the nature of a prior surgery (e.g., appendix, gallbladder, or uterus) based on incision location is lost. This can lead to great inefficiencies and misdiagnosis. The ability to access “cradle to grave” information would be a tremendous boon for the care of patients. Consolidated health care systems found in somewhat smaller countries will provide far greater efficiencies than what seems possible in the U.S. at the present time. For instance, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service has outlined a strategy for accomplishing this task (National Health Service, 1998). This system known as NHSnet is not deployed over the Internet (although there is a secure Internet gateway for worldwide SMTP users), rather it is available through service providers. Adoption has been slow as reservations concerning cost and confidentiality over this proprietary network have been raised (Chadwick et al., 2000). The Internet provides an opportunity for global health care information management. The realization of this can only be enacted through the development of health information standards, which would allow for data transmission globally in a secure fashion. In fact, Section 262 of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to adopt standards for health care trans-
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actions to enable electronic exchange of health information (Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). One of the most far-reaching standards is Health Level Seven (HL7). Health Level Seven is one of several ANSIaccredited standards developing organizations operating in the health care arena. It was created in the 1980s to address the need to communicate between disparate and often-proprietary health care information systems. The HL7 domain is clinical and administrative data (Health Level Seven, 2002). The standard corresponds conceptually (does not actually conform) to the highest level defined by the International Standards Organization’s open systems model for application-to-application communication. This standard supports the functions needed to conduct secure health information management. On the other hand it is not clear that everyone wants such an all encompassing, globally accessible, longitudinal health information management system. This is particularly true when it is not clear to the individual patients where the information actually resides. HIPAA legislation has brought privacy issues in health care to the foreground. Should a patient worry about the consequences of an employer finding out about past medical or psychiatric care? As we unravel the mysteries of the genetic sequence, would it be unreasonable for a woman to be concerned about her insurability if she were carrying mutations in the BRCA1 gene that appears to have an association with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer? Of course it is reasonable to be concerned. Already many insurance companies require a medical records review prior to issuing insurance. But this concerns actual medical events. Does a commercial organization have a right to know about a “predisposition” that may never materialize? How safe is this private information? The news has been replete with stories of computer security failure. The public faith in cyberspace security is certainly not resolute as manifested by the unwillingness of many to complete financial transactions online. In the U.S., the public will need to be convinced that their health information is truly secure and that there will be some measure of personal control over access to the information. Until then health care networks will continue to develop proprietary health information management systems accessible internally via intranet or Internet hopefully utilizing established open standards that will someday allow for their interconnection.
Patient to Patient The disease-specific sites for neurologic or hepatic diseases for instance (just to name a few) offer forums where patients with common problems can communicate with one another creating the virtual support group. The ability to communicate long distances cheaply and instantly brings groups of patients together with common problems. They can get recommendations or simply commiserate. This can be a tremendous asset for patients with uncommon problems where insufficient critical mass for local support groups leads to isolation and often depression. There are data to indicate that supervised e-mail chat groups for patients with chronic illnesses can have a positive impact on medical care utilization (Lorig et al.,
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2002). Sadly, like all potentially useful tools, there is potential for abuse. Case reports of intentionally false stories propagated within the Internet support group forums have been demonstrated demonstrating pathology of another kind (Feldman, 2000). Patients with long-standing illnesses are a vulnerable population to abuse, and the aforementioned safeguards should be sought out whenever possible.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS The next phase of growth for medical applications on the Internet will require increased bandwidth for the transmission of video for telemedical applications, real-time radiology, and remote patient examination. This will most likely be accomplished on Internet2, which began in 1996 as a result of interest from corporations, universities, and nonprofits in doing advanced research on a faster electronic network than the one offered by the Internet. The project acts as a laboratory for companies and researchers developing new technologies and also serves as a blueprint of what the Internet could look like in the future. Internet2 is deployed largely over a pair of high-performance backbone networks called Abilene and vBNS+. Signals are transmitted at speeds far greater than what is currently available on the Internet down fiber-optic lines to the (currently 190) universities and other places that are tied to the high-capacity networking centers. This project will bring the kind of multimodal data transmission that will make a whole range of new dreams possible such as Internet based robotically controlled telesurgery.
Summary The Internet’s potential in health care delivery will continue to grow. Unlimited multimedia information can be made available to health care provider and consumers. Our immediate task will be to sort out the wheat from the chaff from this bounty of data thus increasing the viability of eHealth itself. Educating patients about the diagnostic and privacy limitations of the Internet in its current form will also serve to improve overall satisfaction. Will the lack of Internet access for some widen the health care divide? In time we will be able to answer the question as to whether or not the absolute quality of health care has been improved by the advent of the Internet.
GLOSSARY DICOM/PACS The American College of Radiology and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association formed a joint committee in 1983 to develop a standard to promote communication of digital medical image information, regardless of device manufacturer. This has facilitated the development of picture archiving and communication systems that can also interface with other systems of hospital information. Electronic medical record (EMR) The EMR is the digitized representation of the health information for a given patient. Ideally this would be an allencompassing cradle to grave accounting that is universally accessible under the proper circumstances. Realization of this standard will require many years.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 The major provision of this law was to ensure the continued health care coverage for workers when they lose or change jobs. However, there are broad implications concerning the protection of a patient’s personal health information (PHI) in this law as well in 2003. These provisions govern to whom PHI can be disclosed whether electronically or on paper. MEDLINE MEDLINE is compiled by the U.S. National Library of Medicine. It is the world’s most comprehensive source of life sciences and biomedical bibliographic information. It contains nearly 11 million records that are indexed from more than 7,300 different publications dating from 1965–present. There are additional related libraries that index specialized information as well. Virtual meeting In this context the virtual meeting refers to a health care practitioner attending a professional conference and its educational sessions from an Internet connection in real time or at a later date. Continuing medical education credits would be issued for this activity.
CROSS REFERENCES See Distance Learning (Virtual Learning); Electronic Data Interchange (EDI); Health Insurance and Managed Care; Health Issues; Internet Navigation (Basics, Services, and Portals); Legal, Social and Ethical Issues; Web Search Fundamentals.
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Middleware Middleware
Robert Simon, George Mason University
Introduction Middleware Architectures Middleware Technology Overview Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM) Object Request Brokers
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INTRODUCTION Middleware is a software layer that allows multiple processes running on multiple machines to interact across a network (Bernstein, 1996; Vinoski, 2002). Although middleware can run on stand-alone computers that are not connected to a network, the subject of middleware is interesting because it represents an extremely powerful way to develop fully distributed software systems and applications. As distributed systems evolve into essential information utilities with global reach, the role of middleware becomes even more important, because it is the software glue that allows business, government, and personal systems to communicate and interoperate. In the context of this chapter, the word “interoperate” means that two or more computer systems running different software or operating system code can exchange information or applications. The development of large-scale middleware systems was motivated by many technological and economic factors. I identify three here: the growth of client–server computing (Adler, 1995), the need for enterprise-wide integrated computing solutions (Hasselbring, 2000; Nezlek, Jain, & Nazareth, 1999) and the birth of e-commerce (Bolin, 1998; Storey, Straub, Stewart, & Welke, 2000). This chapter describes how these developments motivated the design and introduction of increasingly powerful middleware models and implementations. Although the term client–server computing initially referred to the use of personal computers (PCs) on a local area network (LAN), a more general model emerged during the 1980s. This development was spurred by the migration of mainframe applications to a more flexible and cost-effective client–server environment. A client is a computer or software process that requests services, and a server is a computer or software processes that provides those services. An example of a service is a database server, a file sharing system, or a Web server. The client– server model represented a break from the older mainframe model, where dumb terminals directly connected to intelligent central servers or mainframes. Client–server architectures require the use of heterogeneous hardware, network, and operating system platforms. Application programmers do not want to rewrite their code for each type of platform. A middleware layer hides the complexity of the underlying platform by providing a standard programming interface and abstraction
Transaction-Oriented Middleware Current Trends Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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of platform-dependent system services. Examples of a system service include open a file, close a file, read data from a file, write data into a file, and so on (Stallings, 1998). The ability to access a common set of system services allows programmers to focus more of their attention on application development. These concepts have also led to the development of network operating systems (NOS), which allow users to access remote OS-level resources directly, and distributed operating systems, which provide the same level of functionality in a fully transparent way (Orfali, Harkey, & Edwards, 1998; Stallings, 1998). Another factor that led to the development of middleware systems was the need for integrated, enterprise-wide computing (Nezlek et al., 1999). This is the enterprise integration problem. An example of how this problem came into being is from the history of PC-based file and printer sharing. A company or organization could buy several PCs, connect them together with a LAN, and then allow files and printers to be shared electronically, perhaps through a local file server. As the popularity of these systems grew it became desirable for users to access files, printers, and programs on different servers supported by different LANs. In practice, even within a single organization or department, the servers and the supporting LANs ran different hardware or software. Sometimes the LANs themselves were isolated from a wide area network (WAN) that could be used to provide cross LAN connectivity. This made sharing files and resources difficult to do, complex to program, and expensive to develop. To address these problems of heterogeneity, developers needed software to solve interoperability and portability issues that was scalable and that was independent from specific network and operating system technologies. Specifically, programs running on one type of system must be able to access programs and data on another type of system in a way that maintains reasonably good performance levels, thus providing the illusion of locality. One technical response to the enterprise integration problem is to use application programming interfaces (API). Each API provides a standard set of programming calls that access functions in a library (Stallings, 1998). APIs have associated with them a set of commonly understood rules and procedures for using the calls in meaningful ways. Because the same API can run on different platforms, it is possible to achieve portability. One example of a successful and frequently used API is the socket library 603
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(Stevens, 1999). Socket calls are functions that provide standard interfaces for accessing different transport and network level protocols, including the transmission control protocol (TCP), the user datagram protocol (UDP), and the Internet protocol (IP). The socket API, or one of its descendents, is available on all commonly used operating systems. Notice that protocols and APIs are independent of one another. In other words, the rules for using a protocol like TCP are independent of the specific calls and functions for developing TCP code on a particular machine. APIs are powerful and commonly used tools for achieving interoperability and portability for specific architectural layers. Furthermore, the existence of standard protocols, such as TCP and IP, greatly simplifies the development of distributed computing in general, at scales beyond that of a single enterprise. Despite this, APIs and standard, layer-specific protocols by themselves do not address many of the problems of software development for enterprise and distributed computing systems. This is because current distributed applications require the use and integration of multiple types of programs and services, such as databases, multimedia players, Web servers, message servers, common graphical user interfaces (GUIs), and so on. What is required is the composition of multiple types of services in ways that are semantically meaningful to the application developer. This is evident when considering a third factor in the evolution of middleware: the explosive growth and importance of e-commerce systems. E-commerce is the activity of buying and selling goods and services over a network, typically the Internet. A business-to-consumer (B2C) transaction occurs when a business allows customers to purchase products or services electronically, using a communication platform such as the World Wide Web. Examples of B2C activities include purchasing books, airline tickets, or gourmet food. There are many advantages to this business model. From the consumers’ point of view, B2C offers more choices for product type, product customization, and delivery options and reduces the time and expense for finding products and services. From a business perspective, B2C greatly expands the geographic scope of a target market and eases the difficulty in finding customers. A business-to-business (B2B) transaction occurs when a producer of goods or services communicates electronically with one or more suppliers (Bussler, 2002). Businesses selling to other businesses use the Internet to cut transaction costs and increase efficiency. Examples of B2B activities include electronically managing supply chains for producing items such as computers and automobiles. B2B offers the same potential business advantages as B2C, including more choices for product type, customization, and “just-in-time” delivery, as well as expanded market reach. As e-commerce matures into a more general “ebusiness” model, where entire business processes such as marketing, banking, supply chain management, and knowledge management are performed electronically, there is a growing desire to develop fully customizable and intelligent software (Pinker, Seidmann, & Foster, 2002). This would enable customer demand to be translated and
reacted to instantly in a customizable and cost-effective fashion. For this to occur, distributed systems must be able to share raw data, knowledge and processing capabilities, and business logic know-how. In some sense, this is the holy grail of distributed systems for e-commerce and has given rise to complex and highly interrelated types of middleware that occupy the so-called middle-tier of a distributed system. The middle-tier is sandwiched between the client layer and the server layer. The remainder of this chapter first discusses middleware from a distributed system architectural point of view and amplifies on the description given here. I next turn to specific middleware technologies, focusing more on core technical issues rather than either standards or vendor products. This is appropriate both because products change rapidly and because there are a multitude of standards.
MIDDLEWARE ARCHITECTURES One way to classify and understand middleware technology is to identify the architectural location in which it runs within a distributed system. The push for middleware solutions came about as distributed systems migrated from a mainframe architecture to a file-sharing approach and finally to true client–server systems. From the point of view of supporting a business in a distributed environment, what is required is high-performance, persistent storage, and database functionality (Menasce´ , Barbara, ´ & Dodge, 2001). The response to this need fueled the development of one of the first widely recognized client– server architectures, the two-tier model (Adler, 1995). In this approach, a business could use a commercially available database management system to answer user queries rapidly and directly. The client–server architecture reduced network traffic by providing a query response rather than total file transfer. Some of these earlier systems made the first widespread use of middleware, in the form of remote procedure calls or the structured query language. One drawback to the original client–server architecture is that it was computationally intensive for the clients. One way to address this problem is to offload computational processes to the servers. This led to the development of a two-tier architecture. Two-tier architectures have two layers, the client layer and the server layer. Usually, however, three distinct components exist within this architecture. The first is the user system interface, which runs at the client. The second is database and file management, which runs at the server. The third component consists of program management, including stored procedures to process data before it is sent to the client, resource monitoring routines, and program initialization and control routines. This third component is split between the client and the server. A two-tier architecture is depicted in Figure 1. The two-tier approach has definite performance advantages over a simple, client–server pure file-sharing approach. However, certain drawbacks exist as well. For instance, consider the activities of the third component just described. Many of its activities derive from business decisions, such as what type of processing to present, how to monitor activities, etc. These business logic decisions
MIDDLEWARE TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
Client Tier
Server/Database Tier
Figure 1: Two-tier architecture.
should be independent of the role of the database and should not be tied to specific vendor policies. This realization led to the introduction of a middle-tier architectural approach, which is currently the environment toward which most middleware architectures are geared. The middle tier itself is sometimes split into multiple tiers, so these architectures are also called N-tier systems (Eckerson, 1995; Helal, Hammer, Zhang, & Khushraj, 2001). In theory, business functions and business logic are placed in the middle tier to improve performance by decoupling processing decisions from either the client or the server, to make these functions reusable, and to make them scalable. Furthermore, administration, management, and changes and code enhancements became easier because system function is placed into a single architectural component, rather than scattered throughout the system. Note that these tiers may be virtual, and it is possible to have several different tiers reside on the same machine. A frequently seen N-tier system is a Web-based application, consisting of four tiers, as shown in Figure 2. Notice the separation of the Web server functions from the processing logic that is run on a series of application servers. The Web server is responsible for taking requests
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directly from clients and communicating with the application servers. A typical Web-based processing request is supported by the use of scripting languages such as the common gateway interface (Guelich, 2000). A more recent development is to use one of a number of technologies referred to as dynamic HTML (hypertext markup language), such as PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Java Server Pages (JSP), or Active Server Pages (ASP), the Microsoft version of PHP and JSP (Tanenbaum, 2003). Middle-tier activities are typically highly distributed, occur concurrently, and are highly interrelated. The function of middleware within this environment is to simplify management, ensure interoperability between different platforms and even vendors, and achieve high performance. Several types and generations of middleware have been designed to address these needs, including transactional processing (TP) monitors, application servers, and message brokers.
MIDDLEWARE TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW As already noted, the fundamental purpose of middleware is to reduce the complexity of developing a distributed system by shielding the application developer from differences in operating system services and network platforms. To be useful, a middleware solution must also provide a set of high-level system services to the developer. This statement is true regardless of whether the architecture of the system is two-tier or N-tier or whether the middleware under consideration is a simple remote procedure call or a complex transaction server, which itself controls many other types of middleware layers and software. Programmers use middleware through APIs, so one way of characterizing a middleware system is by its API and the services and protocols that it supports. From this point of view, one considers the application program itself as the application that uses the middleware system, as illustrated in Figure 3. Before exploring specific middleware technologies, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of some of the principles of modern software design for distributed
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Figure 2: N-tier architecture.
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Figure 3: Generic middleware architecture.
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middleware systems (Gamma, Helm, Johnson, & Vlissides, 1995; Sommerville, 1998). Software engineers typically use an object-oriented approach to developing code and increasingly develop large-scale systems using component-based programming (Gomaa, Menasce´ , & Shin, 2001). Because component-based programming is a direct descendent of the object-oriented approach and incorporates many of the same ideas, I first describe object-oriented programming and then present some of the basics of the component-based approach. An object is a software engineering mechanism used to simplify software development through encapsulation and reuse. Encapsulation is the ability to hide and change implementation details without affecting working code. Reuse is achieved through techniques such as inheritance. Inheritance allows other programs and programmers to make rapid use of previously coded objects, and to extend their abilities. A distributed object system is an object running on one or more machines that can be accessed by programs running on entirely different machines. Object-oriented design and object-oriented programming languages have been one of the cornerstones of modern software development, including the development of object request broker middleware. In practice, an object is a piece of a program that contains data and that operates on the data. Programmers who use objects don’t use them directly but rather make use of interfaces. An interface is a programmatic representation of functions (sometimes called methods) that can be performed on the object. For instance, suppose an electronic brokerage house wants to provide a service that allows online traders to buy and sell stock after they register with the firm. The brokerage house specifies a set of interfaces to use with the object, which it names STOCK BROKER. An online trader, or more precisely the application program developer who writes the software to support the online trader, uses the interfaces to access the object. The programmer would add lines of computer code into the program to get access to the object. This code looks like this: SB = STOCK_BROKER.register(Trader_ID)
Here, the value of Trader ID is a parameter that can uniquely identify the trader, or the program operating on behalf of the trader, and SB is a program variable that can be used to access the object. If the trader wants to execute a buy request for a particular stock called Stock name and wants to pay no more than max buy price dollars, the code to do this is SB.buy(Stock_name, max_buy_ price)
Finally, if the trader wants to sell Stock name and wants to get no less than min sell price dollars, the code to do this is SB.sell(Stock_name, min_sell_ price)
By making use of the interface code, the application developer need not worry about how the STOCK BROKER
object is implemented. Furthermore, the software vendor
can change the internal details of the implementation without forcing the online trading software to be modified. A programming approach based on components shifts the emphasis into developing code that can be easily “plugged” into larger software systems. There is also a strong emphasis on the reuse of existing and legacy code. Component pluggability is achieved by encapsulation, although this flavor of encapsulation is potentially much stronger than an object-oriented approach. The implementation of a component is completely hidden, to the point that a component user does not necessarily know in which language the component was programmed. Only the public interface is exposed. Pluggability, reuse, and extreme encapsulation are achieved in a component environment by the use of containers. Components are shielded from a specific runtime environment and are managed within containers. The role of a container is to control the life cycle of a component, to register and deploy the component within an environment, and to provide the component access to other system services such as security. I revisit this technology later, in the context of transaction-oriented middleware. Broadly speaking, there are four important established technological forms of middleware, with several more in the early stages of development, all of which are based on object-oriented or component-based software engineering principles. The four technologies are remote procedure call, message-oriented middleware (MOM), object request brokers (ORBs), and a class of transaction-oriented middleware. I discuss each of these in turn and conclude with some current trends. For each of the following sections, in addition to discussing the core enabling technologies, I also discuss some of the middleware services associated with the particular approach.
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) The concepts underlying the RPC provide the building block for distributed system programming, and hence for modern middleware (Birrell & Nelson, 1984). Dating from the early 1980s, an RPC enables programmers to access functions on remote systems as easily, and in the same manner, as invoking a function on the local system. RPCs can be used to support client–server computing directly and thus have led to the widespread use of a two-tier architecture. In this case, the server, running on a remote machine, provides the function or service that the client needs. A programmer uses an RPC as follows: when the program is compiled, the compiler creates a local stub for the client portion and another stub for the server portion of the application. (Compiling is the process of translating computer-programming code as written by a programmer into binary machine code that can be run directly on the machine.) A stub is a small piece of code that is used to mediate communication between local and remote machines. Stubs have the necessary logic and functionality to manage network communication and to account for differences among the platforms that the client and the server run on. These stubs are invoked when the application or client requires a remote function.
MIDDLEWARE TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
An important distinction is whether the RPC is synchronous or asynchronous. A synchronous call is one in which the caller, in this case the client, must wait until the server replies. In this case, I say that the client is “blocked” and cannot do any useful work until the server sends the reply. An asynchronous call is one in which the caller does not have to wait but can go ahead and perform useful work. One drawback to using asynchronous calls is that they can be more difficult to debug. Most RPCs use synchronous communication. By themselves, RPCs represent an older, more primitive technology, one that is not powerful enough to support modern middleware. The basic idea underlying an RPC—the ability to perform a remote invocation—is the basis for all high-level programming in a distributed computing. A descendent of the RPC is the Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI; http: // developer.java.sun.com / developer / onlineTraining/ rmi/). The Java RMI is used to perform network programming of distributed objects. Object-oriented RPCs such as the RMI are embedded into most middleware systems and form the backbone of distributed object control, even when developers do not use them directly.
Message-Oriented Middleware (MOM) MOM is a second technological class of middleware (Rao, 1995). As with RPCs, MOMs run on all parts of a client– server system. Unlike RPCs, however, MOMs are designed to support completely asynchronous communication calls. Logically, this is done by the use of a separate message queue that provides temporary storage for client or server messages. The message can be the data involved in a specific function call, such as “please multiply these two numbers for me,” or can be a higher level message, such as “sell 300 shares of GlobeWorldCo stock at no less than $45 a share.” One advantage to MOMs is that the queuing nature of the system ensures that messages are not lost. Another advantage is that the client is not blocked, even when the destination program, server, or network is busy or entirely unavailable. Within MOM systems clients and servers do not communicate directly, as in the RPC approach. This means that other styles of distributed computing are possible, including peer-to-peer computing. In a peer-to-peer system, there is no central server. Rather, computers play the role of both clients and servers. MOM systems are capable of supporting the needs of large-scale, enterprise-wide computing in a heterogeneous environment, in which different parts of the enterprise need to communicate information in a fully asynchronous way. For instance, MOMs are often used in large-scale N-tier systems to provide communication support between different system components. MOMs are well suited for general purpose environments. Consider the example of an online stock trader. The trader wants to be able to initiate buy and sell orders at any time of the day or night. The trader also wants to be able to place multiple orders at once. Each message that the trader sends could at a minimum contain the trader’s ID, the name of the stock, whether it is a buy or a sell order, and the target price. The trader puts as many orders in the form of messages as desired into the message queue.
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Notice that the trader cannot predict when the order will be fulfilled, or even if the order can be fulfilled. The MOM style supports this type of transaction. Later, a brokerage house can pull the messages off the queue in an entirely asynchronous fashion and send a response message to the trader. Furthermore, it may be possible to have multiple brokerage houses pull off messages. For building middleware, MOMs provide clear advantages over basic RPCs. There are also several practical drawbacks to using these systems, however. Like RPCs, MOM systems must be run on all computers that participate in the system and therefore consume computing and communicating resources. Furthermore, many MOMs are proprietary, so different vendors messaging systems cannot necessarily interoperate. Vendors sell MOMs with a rich set of middleware services. It is instructive to examine some of these in detail, because they illustrate the type of services that programmers require in order to build robust distributed systems: r Guaranteed
message delivery: Because MOMs operate asynchronously, it may be the case that the sender puts a message in the queue and then disconnects itself from the network before the receiver is even connected. In this case, the message is stored in the message queue. In practice, this means that the message is stored somewhere in the system, in either main memory or persistent storage, such as a disk or a database-like server. When a possible receiver is present then the message is removed from the queue and delivered. Thus, message delivery is guaranteed. r Recoverable message service: Storing messages in persistent storage also means that a MOM can offer a recoverable service, meaning that messages will not be lost in the case of a system failure. r Concurrent execution: Because MOMs are asynchronous, message queues are implemented to allow concurrent execution, meaning that messaging can be processed in parallel. r Prioritization: MOMs also can provide for prioritization. Without a priority service, messages are put in the queue in a “first-in, first-out” order, so when a receiver retrieves the next message, it pulls out the message that was placed in the queue before any of the other messages currently in the queue. By allowing a priority service, messages within the queue are ordered by priority, rather than the time they were placed inside the queue. For instance, the online stock broker may want to place a higher priority on the “sell” orders over the “buy” orders. r Notification: Another useful service is notification. One advantage of a synchronous communication mechanism is that the sender knows when the receiver got the message. A notification service allows the sender to request notification explicitly when the receiver got the message, while maintaining asynchronous calling semantics. r Journaling: This is an auditing service that allows a MOM to keep track of all messages sent, perhaps by making a copy. Journaling helps for different logging and auditing functions.
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Although MOMs are used directly to build complex e-commerce applications, they are increasingly seen as one component within an integrated business processing system.
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register(STOCK_BROKER)
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assign_port_num locate(SB_server)
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Object Request Brokers Object request brokers (ORBs) are a type of middleware that manages communicating distributed object systems (Henning & Vinoski, 1999). The ORBs initial development represents one of the first truly comprehensive attempts to apply software engineering principles to distributed system middleware. They support interoperability and portability because they enable programmers to build distributed systems by putting together objects through the ORB. This connectivity is possible even if the objects run on different platforms or are made by different vendors. When programmers use objects through a well-designed ORB they only need care about the details of the object interface of the objects in question. This form of encapsulation reduces the complexity of system development and greatly increases system maintainability and extensibility, because object implementation and object communication details are hidden from programmers. There are several basic functions that all ORBs provide (Henning & Vinoski, 1999). One is the ability to express, easily and in a standardized fashion, the interface for a particular object. Another is advertising the existence of a new object and to find the object regardless of where it is in the system. This is known as location transparency. A third critical function is to invoke an object remotely by sending it commands, and possibly data, and to have a result returned. Another function of the ORB is to enable communication across and through different network and platform domains. Finally, to be useful, all ORBs should be able to add middleware services. To support this functionality, ORBs have several basic architectural features. Similar to a RPC, one feature is the need to have object proxies or stubs. Objects that are used through an ORB need well-defined interfaces. Specific interface details, such as the type of functions the object can offer, the data types the object expects and can deliver, and the type of network communication that the object can support, are encapsulated in a separate piece of code called a proxy or a stub. There is normally one stub associated with each object, although the terminology is not standardized. For instance, one of the most important standards and technology bodies in the distributed object world is called the Object Management Group (http://www.omg.org). OMG is responsible for the Common Object Oriented Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) standard, one of the best known ORBs. In the CORBA world, the stub associated with a client object is called a stub, and the stub or proxy associated with a server object is called a skeleton. In COM and COM+, which are Microsoft’s ORB products, the client side stub is called a proxy, and the server side stub is called a skeleton (Microsoft COM Homepage, n.d.; Pritchard, 2000). For the purposes of this chapter, I simply refer to these entities as “stubs,” regardless of whether they are on the client or the server side.
Marshall request(SB_server, SB.funds_available()) Unmarshall SB.funds_available() actual_funds_available reply(actual_funds_available)
Marshall
Unmarshall actual_funds_available
Figure 4: Object request brokers interaction diagram. See the text for an explanation.
Stubs also are the system elements response for all communication to the ORB and to the other objects. As such, client and server objects do not communicate directly with each other, but with their local stub. The core of an ORB is a broker object, which functions as a kind of switching device, connecting objects to other objects. Stubs talk to the broker before they talk to each other.
ORB Usage To illustrate an ORBs basic functioning, I describe the steps of a client communicating with a server. Assume that the client object represents an online stock trader, and the server object is an electronic trading company. The program calls are similar to the ones shown for the STOCK BROKER object described earlier in Middleware Technology. The first step is for developers to program the client and server side of the STOCK BROKER object. This entails writing and compiling code for the functions of the object itself, as well as the interface and communication code contained in the respective stubs. Usually most, if not all, of the stub code is automatically generated by a compiler. Next come the steps necessary for the client to invoke remote actions on the server. ORBs require that applications know the location (i.e., the network address) of the broker. Broker addresses can either be statically known to a particular system or dynamically determined. The advantage of this is that by simply knowing where the broker is, it is not necessary to have address information for all objects within the system, because the broker can supply them. The sequence of actions is illustrated in Figure 4. To understand this diagram, note that the flow of time goes from top to bottom. There are five objects shown, the client, the client stub, the broker, the server, and the server stub. Events are labeled by the name of the event and the direction of the event. Furthermore, events can happen concurrently. On the server side, the first action is to start up the server. This can be done in response to a client request, by a system administrator, or through some other mechanism. Continuing on the server side, the next
MIDDLEWARE TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
step is to call register(STOCK BROKER) with the ORB broker. (The ORB broker should not be confused with the STOCK BROKER object). As the name implies, this function registers information about the server and the STOCK BROKER object with the broker. In response, the broker sends a assign port number(pnum)message. The purpose of this message is to tell the server what transport level address to listen to for remote requests from clients to invoke the STOCK BROKER object. The networking software delivers information to a specific program or process on a specific machine by using a transport level address. Once the STOCK BROKER object has been registered, the server can start to satisfy remote requests. Starting at the top side of the client portion of the diagram, we assume that the application program needs to invoke a function or method on the STOCK BROKER object. For simplicity, we’ll also assume that the STOCK BROKER object has been initialized and has some funds available for the trader. Suppose that on the client side the programming variable used to access the object is given by SB and that the name of the function from the STOCK BROKER object that returns the amount of money available for the trader is funds available. Then the client program uses the computer code SB.funds available(). This function call is actually sent to the client stub. The first thing the client stub does is contact the ORB broker to obtain the address of the server. This is shown as the locate(SB server)call. The ORB broker returns to the stub this address, shown in the addr(pnum)call. Following that, the stub takes the contents of the function call SB.funds available() and puts it into a format that can be understood by the server stub. This activity is called marshaling. After this is done the client stub calls request(SB server, SB.funds available()), which sends the function call to the server stub. The server stub unpacks the parameters in the call, and puts the request into a format that the server can understand. This activity is called unmarshaling. The server stub then calls the function SB.funds available() on the server object. After the result is calculated, the server returns the answer actual funds available to the stub. The server stub then produces a reply to the client stub by marshaling the result and then making a reply(actual funds available) call to the client stub. When the client stub gets this, it unmarshals the result and returns the answer actual funds available to the client. The major advantage of the complexity shown in this example is that most of these intermediate steps are hidden from the application developer. Furthermore, using some ORB technologies it is possible to discover and use object interfaces dynamically, thus reducing the need for the programmer of the client side to have complete a priori knowledge of server side capabilities. When a vendor provides an ORB with this type of functionality, it is typically necessary to provide other services as well. For instance, the CORBA standard describes different messaging models to support synchronous and asynchronous communication. Within CORBA, the general inter-orb protocol (GIOP) supports interoperation between ORBs from two vendors (Henning & Vinoski, 1999). By following the GIOP standards, ORBs from different
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manufactures can (at least in principle) have “wire-line” interoperability, meaning that messages sent between ORBs do not required special translation but rather can be sent directly between the systems. It is instructive to examine the GIOP briefly because it demonstrates some of the features necessary to make middleware interoperate on the wire level. The GIOP has three basic elements. The first is the common data representation, which defines a way to go from one lowlevel machine specific interface definition to another. The second element is a set of standard message formats, including request, reply, cancel request, message error, and several others. Finally, there is a message transport standard, to account for different network and transport layer types. GIOPs themselves are often specialized for specific networking environments. For instance, the Internet IOP message transport protocol is a specific instance of a GIOP designed to operate in the TCP/IP environment, one of the most common combinations in the current Internet. The previous discussion on ORBs focused exclusively on remote object invocation and control. To be useful in practice, however, all middleware systems must have additional services. As in the discussion of the services available for MOMs, one can list some of the commonly available ORB services. For concreteness, I describe some of the services in the CORBA standard. r
Naming Service: This is where clients can get object references. In this way, a naming service is like a file system, associating files with filenames. A name binding always associates a name with an object. This is similar to a white pages telephone directory. r Trader Service: This service provides a more dynamic mechanism for obtaining object references then the naming service. In a trader service, rather than storing a name for each object we store a service description. This is similar to a yellow pages telephone directory. r Event Service: This service is similar to the message queue in a MOM. It decouples senders and receivers and allows asynchronous communication and notification to occur.
Component-Based ORBs A successful example of the component approach to ORB development is Microsoft’s Component Object Model (COM), Component Object Model+ (COM+), and Distributed COM (DCOM). COM, COM+, and DCOM (which is designed to support network-based component interaction) are essentially middleware technologies supporting component interaction (Limprecht, 1997; Microsoft COM Homepage, n.d.). The COM environment defines the framework for building programs that are run within the Microsoft Windows environment. Program objects running on Microsoft operating systems can be written as COM objects and can then have their interfaces available to other programs. For instance, the popular spreadsheet program Excel is written as a COM object and can therefore make many of its functions accessible to other programs. One way to make use of this function is through a process called “Automation.” This allows external programs to control application
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functions, by, for instance, performing tasks that are normally controlled by graphical user interface–menu choices to be automatically and externally executed. An example of this is to write a program that would open up an Excel spreadsheet, read in an Excel file, sum a column of numbers, and return the result.
Transaction-Oriented Middleware Transaction-oriented middleware encompasses several generations of middleware that are quite distinct from each other. They can be labeled “transaction-oriented” because they are often used to support the activities of large business enterprises that must integrate multiple software systems (Liebig & Tai, 2001). The word “transaction” arises from the database world (Silberschatz, Korth, & Sudarshan, 2002). An example of a transaction is transferring money between two checking accounts. Success in this case means that the money is subtracted from one account and added into the other account in such a way that no matter what type of temporary system failures occur (e.g., the database crashing, the network going down, etc.) the state of both accounts is consistent. For instance, a system failure in this scenario could be that the system crashed after the money was subtracted from the first account but before it was added to the second account. Transaction-oriented middleware prevents this from happening. Formally, a transaction defines a set of events that are guaranteed to be committed or rolled back as a unit. Here the word “committed” means that all of the events within the transaction are executed, and any system state that needs to be changed is changed. A rollback means that none of the events are in effect executed, and no part of the system state is changed. For transaction-oriented middleware to work, it is necessary to define the beginning of the transaction, all of the events within that transaction and the end of the transaction. This can be done in a number of ways. One common way is for a client to call a transaction coordinator to start the transaction. The client then makes all of the necessary events happen. When this is done, the client tells the transaction coordinator that the transaction is completed. It is then up to the coordinator either to commit the transaction or to rollback the transaction. Transaction-oriented middleware typically provides several services. One is to guarantee the integrity of a particular transaction, that is, to make sure the transaction either completely succeeds or has no effect on the system. This is generally done by keeping backup copies of earlier states of different system elements, such as database files or Web servers, and not releasing them until the transaction has been successfully reflected the system. If the transaction fails, then the appropriate system elements are restored to their original state. For instance, the state of the checking account before money is added to it is simply the amount of money before the transaction began. In effect, transactions define atomic units of work and the boundaries between those units. One type of transaction-oriented middleware is the transaction processing (TP) monitor. The main function of a TP monitor is to coordinate the flow of user requests into the system by managing the applications that
handle those requests in a transactionally secure way and to provide a location for application logic. This involves the coordination of a number of system functions, including database management, distributed communication, system level message queuing mechanisms, user interface management, and so on. Like all other middleware environments, TP monitors provide a single uniform API to access their services. For instance, most TP monitors allow applications to start or finish a transaction. Other types of services available through a TP monitor API include using a system-level message queue for communication in a way that the message is considered part of the transaction. TP monitors are designed to support large numbers of users in a large-scale environment and are capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of users simultaneously. As such, they typically are heavily optimized to perform extremely well, meaning that the average response time for a particular user does not change noticeably even when there are many users. A TP monitor accomplishes this by careful system resource management and allocation. One technique is to perform load balancing, so that multiple processors can run the same application. When a new user request comes in the TP monitor can assign that request to a processor that is lightly loaded. Another technique is to assign different priorities to different user requests. For instance, a request that involves repeated user input receives a higher priority in the system. This means that interactive users have better system response then users that are not expecting an immediate system response. Vendor-offerings of TP monitors include IBM’s CICS (http://www-3.ibm.com/software/ts/cics/), the Microsoft Transaction Server (http://www.microsoft.com/ com/), and BEA Systems TUXEDO (http://www.bea.com/ products/tuxedo/index.shtml; Andrade, Carges, Dwyer, & Felts, 1996). As the importance of middle-tier and Web-based business environments continues to grow, new generations of transaction-oriented middleware called application servers are becoming extremely popular (Leander, 2000). Application server software is typically Web enabled and is designed to operate in a component-container fashion in the middle tier. There is no single complete definition for what encompasses an application server; rather, it is useful to understand this middleware environment in terms of both component-container software engineering and enabling middleware platform services. The idea behind the middleware technology of an application server is that the middle tier can be almost arbitrarily complex, must be flexible enough to respond rapidly to new customer demand, must be able to incorporate new business logic and processing methods rapidly, and must allow true interoperability between different vendor products, legacy code, and platforms. Current software engineering practice suggests that the way to address these needs is through a container-component approach that supports pluggability and simplified integration with a broad set of middleware platform services. There are several vendors and proposed standards that provide this, including Microsoft COM+ and .NET, the OMG CORBA Component Model (CCM), and Sun’s Enterprise Java Beans (EJB; Monson-Haefel, 2000) and Java 2
CURRENT TRENDS
Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE; http://java.sun.com/ j2ee/overview.html). I first revisit and elaborate on the component-container model. To be useful in an application server, a typical component requires several sets of interfaces. The first is the public interface, the set of function calls that clients can use to do useful work. The second set of interfaces defines the components life cycle actions, such as creation, deletion, and a finder service. A component also needs the actual binary machine code that implements the components business methods, as expressed by the public interface. Finally, most components have an associated index or primary key, so that they can be stored in a central name server or component broker. This description is actually the bare minimum of what components require, and some models provide for a much richer set of publicly available interfaces to allow environmental interaction, such as generic event interfaces. Containers are used in application servers to plug components into larger systems and to add middleware services such as transaction management, event management, security, and persistence management. For the component model to work, it must be possible for a programmer to develop component code without any knowledge of the actual environment that the component will be used. The way that this can be achieved is through the use of containers, and special configuration files that specify the execution needs of a particular component. When a client wants to execute some of the functions of the component, the container intercepts the client call. The container then does some preprocessing by reading the component configuration file. This approach enables vendors to “package” containers for use within application servers. Each package consists of a set of resources that the container needs, the runtime binary code, and the configuration file. The component-container approach provides the technological core for Application Server middleware platforms. Like the other middleware platforms I have described, application server middleware platforms provide a multitude of necessary middleware services to offer client and middle-tier business logic. For concreteness, I briefly examine the services provided by J2EE. J2EE defines a platform for developing Java applications on components. It is actually a specification along with a reference implementation. The key technology within J2EE is the Java version of the componentcontainer model, the EJB. J2EE defines a large variety of interfaces for linking and accessing other middleware services. These include the Java Transaction Service (JTS) and Java Transaction API (JTA) for transaction management, Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) for databases, the Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) for directory and naming services, and the Java Messaging Service (JMS) for message management. It should be pointed out that other vendor application server products offer similar, if not identical, sets of middleware services.
CURRENT TRENDS I conclude this chapter with a brief discussion of several open issues and current trends in middleware design
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for distributed systems and e-commerce. One important area is the development of a standard approach for the exchange of business information. Notice that this is a semantic question as much as a technology question; in other words, what type of information is important, and how should we interpret the meaning of that information? One possible approach to exchange business information is to use the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standard (Bussler, 2002). EDI is a set of protocols for conducting highly structured interorganization exchanges, such as describing or buying products. EDI defines a set of messages types, which contain a string of data elements, each of which represents a specific item of business data, such as the price of a product. Although the need for a set of EDI-like functions is clear, it is not certain whether this standard will survive intact. Another type of middleware in the early stages of development is the message broker (Sommer, Gulledge, & Bailey, 2002). Messages brokers are essentially asynchronous, store-and-forward messaging systems, somewhat like MOMs. The major difference is that a message broker is in effect independent of the messaging system and the middleware system used for communication control and remote object invocation. In this way, a message broker functions as “middleware for middleware.” Message brokers typically provide message translation engines, which allow the message broker to adapt to differences in the ways that applications represent data. Message brokers also generally provide for intelligent routing. This type of routing has nothing to do with network level routing. Rather, the message broker has the ability to figure out—intelligently, by using a set of dynamically configurable rules—the correct destination to send a message to. Similar to some of the features in current MOMs, message broker systems also provides message warehousing and message repositories. The repository contains information about message sources and destinations, include owner information, security, and processing rules. In a message broker system, adapters are used to connect applications and middleware elements to the message broker environment. There are currently two styles of adapters. A thin adapter uses a simple API to map the interface of the application or component to the services supported by the message broker. A thick adapter is more sophisticated; it uses information available in the repository about the targeted system and is capable of providing a significant level of functionality. An evolving trend in middleware implementation is the idea of reflective middleware (Leander, 2000). A system is “reflective” when it is able to manipulate and reason about itself the same way it does about its application domain. Reflective middleware has the ability to reason about its environment and function and then change itself during the course of its lifetime. The advantage of this type of design is that it is possible to load customizable and individualized components dynamically, including application-specific task schedulers, file managers, and so on. Finally, in a fully distributed and Web-oriented business environment, the role of middleware will continue to provide, as much as possible, seamless integration and support for business functions and interoperability
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between software and hardware components (World Wide Web Consortium). To provide this level of support, a new set of middleware services, called Web services, is being proposed. Following is a very brief overview of this interesting development; see the chapter by Akhil Sahai, Sven Graupner, and Wooyoung Kim in this encyclopedia for additional information. Web service middleware should be able to support the construction of highly agile and composable networked services. Supporting this goal requires several types of technology. One is traditional middleware that can connect applications with services, allow for pluggable components and support legacy systems. Another type of technology is a simple and effective way to encode information and business knowledge. Currently it appears that an attractive way to do this is to use an XML-like structure. Because the new economy and supporting infrastructure is Web driven, it appears desirable to base middleware communication on Web protocols. There are several efforts underway in this regard, including the simple object access protocol (SOAP; Chester, 2001). SOAP is essentially a type of RPC over the Web. It uses the Web transport protocol HTTP, and the messages that it sends are XML (extensible markup language) based. The advantage of this is that most distributed systems, regardless of platform, use HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol). Because XML is completely self-defining and extensible, it should be able to accommodate future standards and technologies.
GLOSSARY Application programming interface (API) A standard set of programming calls for use in developing applications and protocols. Application server Transaction-oriented middleware that exists in the middle of an N-tier system. Business to business (B2B) E-commerce between two businesses. Business to consumer (B2C) E-commerce between a business and a consumer. Client-server model A model of distributed computing where local host computers (clients) requests services, programs, or data from remote computers (servers). COM+ A component-based object request broker made by the Microsoft Corporation. Common object-oriented request broker architecture (CORBA) One of the most popular and successful object request broker standards. Component-based programming A software engineering technique placing emphasis on developing programming modules that can be rapidly “plugged” into different larger applications. Distributed object computing A style of computing that supports programs and application development by using objects that are distributed on computers throughout a network. E-commerce Buying and selling goods and services over the Internet. Electronic data interchange (EDI) A set of electronic protocols used for business transactions.
Message-oriented middleware (MOM) A type of middleware that stores data and information in a distributed queue. Middleware A software layer present in distributed systems designed to simplify application development, provide a common set of services to software engineers, and provide a single programming abstraction for a set of heterogeneous computer and communication platforms. N-tier A distributed computing model containing a client layer with a user interface, a server layer with data management services, and one or more middle layers, consisting of multiple components required for e-commerce, such as Web servers, business logic functions, and network management functions. The middle layers are also called the middle tier. Object-oriented programming A software engineering technique that uses abstraction and reuse, via objects, to simplify the development of new programs. Object request brokers (ORBs) A type of middleware that manages and supports distributed object computing over heterogeneous systems. Remote procedure call (RPC) A distributed programming technique enabling functions invoked on a local machine to be executed on a remote machine, with the results sent back to the local machine. Transaction processing (TP) A type of transactionoriented middleware that monitors the flow of users requests and coordinates a set of system functions, such as database access. Transaction-oriented middleware A collection of middleware services designed to support complex business applications reliably. Two-tier model A distributed client-server consisting of a client layer with a user interface, a server layer with database and file services, and a program management layer split between the client and the server.
CROSS REFERENCES See Business-to-Business (B2B) Electronic Commerce; Client/Server Computing; Consumer-Oriented Electronic Commerce; Web Services.
REFERENCES Adler, R. M. (1995). Distributed coordination models for client/sever computing. Computer, 28, 14–22. Andrade, J., Carges, M., Dwyer, T., & Felts, S. (1996). The Tuexdo sysem. Boston: Addison Wesley. BEA Tuxedo Web site (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2003, from http://www.bea.com/products/tuxedo/index.shtml Bernstein, P. A. (1996). Middleware: A model for distributed services. Communications of the ACM, 39, 86–97. Birrell, A. D., & Nelson, B. J. (1984). Implementing remote procedure calls. ACM Transactions on Computer Systems, 39–59. Bolin, S. (1998). E-commerce a market analysis and prognostication. StandardView, 6, 97–105. Bussler, C. (2002). Data management issues in electronic commerce: The role of B2B engines in B2B integration architectures. ACM SIGMOD Record, 31, 67–72.
FURTHER READING
Chester, T. M. (2001). Cross-platform integration with XML and SOAP. IT Professional, 3, 26–34. Eckerson, W. W. (1995). Three tier client/server architecture: Achieving scalability, performance, and efficiency in client server applications. Open Information Systems, 3(20), 1–12. Gamma, E., Helm, R., Johnson, R., & Vlissides, J. (1995). Design patterns: Elements of reusable object-oriented software. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley. Gomaa, H., Menasce´ , D. A., & Shin, M. E. (2001). Reusable component interconnection patterns for distributed software architectures. ACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes. In Proceedings of the 2001 Symposium on Software Reusability: Putting software reuse in context (pp. 69–77). New York: ACM. Guelich, S., Gundavaram, S., & Birznieks, G. (2000). CGI Programming with Perl (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: O’Reilly. Hasselbring, W. (2000). Information systems integration. Communications of the ACM, 43(6), 32–38. Helal, S., Hammer, J., Zhang, J., & Khushraj, A. (2001). A three-tier architecture for ubiquitous data access. In ACS/IEEE International Conference on Computer Systems and Applications (pp. 177–180). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society. Henning, M., & Vinoski, S. (1999). Advanced CORBA programming with C++. Boston: Addision-Wesley. Leander, R. (2000). Building application servers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Liebig, C., & Tai, S. (2001). Middleware mediated transactions. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Distributed Objects and Applications (pp. 340– 350). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society. Limprecht, R. (1997). Microsoft transaction server. In Proceedings of IEEE Compcon ’97 (pp. 14–18). Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society. Microsoft COM Homepage (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2003, from http://www.microsoft.com/com/ Monson-Haefel, R. (2000). Enterprise JavaBeans. Cambridge, MA: O’Reilly. Nezlek, G. S., Jain, H. K., & Nazareth, D. L. (1999). An integrated approach to enterprise computing architectures. Communications of the ACM, 42(11), 82–90. Orfali, R., Harkey, D., & Edwards, J. (1999). Client/server survival guide (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. Pinker, E. J., Seidmann, A., & Foster, R. C. (2002). Strategies for transitioning “old economy” firms to ebusiness. Communications of the ACM, 45(5), 76–83. Pritchard, J. (2000). COM and CORBA side by side. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley. Rao, B. R. (1995). Making the most of middleware. Data Communications International 24, 89–96. Silberschatz, A., Korth. H., & Sudarshan, S. (2002). Database system concepts (4th ed.). Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill. Sommer, R., Gulledge, T., & Bailey, D. (2002, March). The n-tier rub technology. ACM SIGMOD Record, 31(1), 18–23. Sommerville, I. (2001). Software engineering (6th ed.) Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.
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Stallings, W. (1998). Operating systems: Internals and design principles (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Stevens, R. (1999). UNIX network programming, Volume 2: Interprocess Communications (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Storey, Veda C., Straub, D. W., Stewart, K. A., & Welke, R. J. (2000). A conceptual investigation of the e-commerce industry. Communications of the ACM, 43(7), 117–123. Tanenbaum, A. (2003). Computer networks (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Vinoski, S. (2002). Where is middleware? IEEE Internet Computing, 6, 83–85. World Wide Web Consortium. Retrieved April 11, 2003, from http://www.w3.org
FURTHER READING Altendorf, E., Hohman, M., & Zabcki, R. (2002). Using J2EE on a large, Web-based project. IEEE Software, 19, 81–89. Ball, M. O., Meng, M., Louiqa, R., & Zhao, Z. (2002). Data management issues in electronic commerce: Supply chain infrastructures. ACM SIGMOD Record 3(1), 61–66. Bernstein, P., & Newcomer, E. (1997). Principles of transaction processing. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufman. Briot, J.-P., Guerraoui, R., & Lohr, K.-P. (1998). Concurrency and distribution in object-oriented programming. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 30(3), 291– 329. Gang, X., Gang-Yu, X., Litokorpi, A., & Nyberg, T. R. (2001). Middleware-based solution for enterprise information integration. Proceedings of the 8th IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, 2, 687–690. Kon, F., Costa, F., Blair, G., & Campbell, R. H. (2002). The case for reflective middleware. Communications of the ACM, 45(6), 33–38. Lewandowski, S. M. (1998). Frameworks for componentbased client/server computing. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 30(1), 3–27. Menasce´ , D. A., Barbara, ´ D., & Dodge, R. (2001). Preserving QoS of e-commerce sites through self-tuning. In Proceedings of the 3rd ACM conference on Electronic Commerce (pp. 224–234). New York: ACM. Slama, D., Garbis, J., & Russell, P. (1999). Enterprise CORBA. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Tai, S., & Rouvellou, I. (2000, April). Strategies for integrating messaging and distributed object transactions. Paper presented at IFIP/ACM International Conference on Distributed Systems Platforms, Hudson River Valley, New York. Ullman, J., & Widom, J. (1997). A first course in database systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Wang, N., Parameswaran, K., Schmidt, D., & Othman, O. (2001). Evaluating meta-programming mechanisms for ORB middleware. IEEE Communications Magazine, 39, 102–113.
Mobile Commerce Commerce
Mary J. Cronin, Boston College
Introduction Topics in Mobile Commerce Defining Mobile Commerce Comparison to Electronic Commerce Mobile Value Proposition Typology of Mobile Commerce Applications Technology Foundations Wireless Networks Mobile Equipment (ME) Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Standards and Interoperability
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INTRODUCTION By the end of 2003, over a billion people around the world will own a mobile phone or wireless personal digital assistant (PDA). In many countries, mobile devices outnumber traditional wired telephones, and the growth rate of new wireless users far outpaces that of landline customers. Projections for wireless device ownership by 2005 dwarf the projected growth of personal computer users during the same period according to the International Telecommunications Union. Daily life and work in any metropolitan area anywhere on the globe already reflect the ubiquitous availability of mobile communication. On busy city streets, in crowded commuter trains, coffee shops, business conferences, and college campuses, millions of mobile users are talking, messaging, accessing data, making payments, and educating and entertaining themselves without missing a beat. It is not surprising that projections about the growth and value of mobile commerce have risen along with the rapid worldwide adoption of wireless communications. Many analysts, including Jupiter, Merrill Lynch, and Ovum, forecast that by 2004 worldwide mobile commerce will generate more than $20 billion in revenues annually. A report published in 2001 by Deutsche Bank Alex, Brown projects that by 2004 the wireless data industry in the United States alone will generate more than $33 billion in revenue. However, these projections are based on the assumption that wireless subscribers will embrace mobile commerce applications on their phones as eagerly as Internet users flocked to the World Wide Web. In fact, this assumption is still very much open to debate. In most parts of the world, mobile customers still use their phones primarily for talking, not for transactions or data-driven applications. Even the most optimistic surveys report that fewer than half of today’s wireless subscribers plan to use their phones for mobile commerce in the coming year. There is even some evidence that subscribers who were early adopters of mobile commerce using WAP (wireless application protocol) consider themselves unlikely to continue doing business on the phone. AT Kearney and the Judge Institute of Management, 614
Mobile Commerce Landscape Regional Variations Security Issues and Solutions Success Factors for the Future of Mobile Commerce Conclusion Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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Cambridge University, conduct an annual survey of mobile users in Asia, Europe, and the United States about their current and planned use of mobile devices. The 2001 survey revealed that the percentage of mobile subscribers who intend to use their WAP-enabled phones for any type of transaction has dropped from 32% in 1999 to only 13% in 2001. On the other hand, some simple mobile capabilities are generating significant revenue and attracting millions of new users every month. One of these, the very basic ability to generate and transmit plain text messages using mobile devices, has created a boom in SMS (short message service) applications. The number of SMS messages rose from an impressive 4 billion per month at the beginning of 2000 to a massive 25 billion per month by the end of 2001. In Europe, the typical mobile subscriber sends about 40 SMS messages each month according to the GSM Association. The ability to personalize the sound of a mobile phone’s ring by downloading a customized ring tone onto the device is another early application with strong subscriber appeal, generating approximately $7 billion in revenue during 2002. While the surge in SMS and ring tone popularity argue for the most widely available formats as a platform for mobile commerce applications, the profitability of NTT DoCoMo’s iMode applications makes a case for highly graphic, content-rich services as a driver for mobile commerce adoption. According to the Telecommunications Carriers Association of Japan, more than 60% of Japan’s 70 million wireless subscribers to one or more of these content services, making iMode an attractive model for wireless carriers and content providers in other regions. The world of mobile commerce today encompasses a largely unmapped landscape between the poles of basic of SMS text messaging and multimedia content applications. Its brief history includes rapid technical advances and some frustrating delays in functionality, optimistic revenue projections and expensive failures. This chapter presents an overview of mobile commerce today, including its technical foundations, its major players and issues,
DEFINING MOBILE COMMERCE
and its still emerging value proposition for consumer and enterprise customers.
Topics in Mobile Commerce Even the definition of what comprises mobile commerce is still in flux, so the first section of this chapter considers the relationship of mobile commerce to electronic commerce and how best to draw the line between these two modes of doing business. The section concludes with a review of the most common definitions of mobile commerce and a summary of the unique value proposition that mobile commerce offers to individual and enterprise users along with a typology of mobile commerce applications for consumers and enterprise users. With a clear definition in hand, the next section addresses the technical foundations of mobile commerce and the evolution of wireless networks, including the core international wireless standards and the challenges of moving from second- to third-generation mobile networking speeds and infrastructure. The third section analyzes regional differences in mobile commerce adoption rates and discusses the drivers and barriers to adoption in different countries, including a detailed comparison of Japan and the United States. Because concern about the security of wireless transactions is one of the major barriers to adoption, the section concludes with a brief review of wireless security issues and solutions including encryption, mobile public key infrastructure (PKI) and biometrics. The chapter concludes with a review of the core success factors for mobile commerce growth, a preview of the next stage of wireless technology and mobile commerce, and suggestions for further reading.
DEFINING MOBILE COMMERCE Before discussing the technical and commercial context of mobile commerce, it is important to be clear about its definition. Some analysts regard mobile commerce as a form of electronic commerce, whereas others see it as a distinct and potentially even larger marketplace. A sampling of the definitions that analysts have proposed highlights this difference of opinion. A MobileInfo.com article titled “What Is M-Commerce?” reports the following frequently used definitions (Abbott, n.d.): “Business-to-consumer transactions conducted from a mobile device.” (J. P. Morgan) “E-Commerce over mobile devices.” (RobinsonHumphreys) “The use of mobile handheld devices to communicate, interact via an always-on high-speed connection to the Internet.” (Forrester) “The use of wireless technologies to provide convenient personalized and location-based services to your customers, employees and partners.” (Mobilocity) Taking a broader view, an Ernst & Young white paper published in 2001 places m-commerce within the framework of m-business and defines it as a subset of the this
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larger universe of wireless interactions in the consumer and enterprise markets: M-business is defined as the use of mobile technology in the exchange of goods, services, information and knowledge. M-commerce is a subset of m-business and defined as the mobile exchange of transactions. Therefore, m-business includes not only consumer applications but also enterprise solutions that allow companies to operate more efficiently, serve customers better, and expand enterprise connectivity. (Ernst & Young, n.d.) To synthesize these varied views of mobile commerce into a useful working definition, this chapter recommends a focused and inclusive description for mobile commerce that does not assume a framework of e-commerce: Mobile commerce refers to all data-driven business transactions and exchanges of value by users of mobile devices via wireless telecommunications networks.
Comparison to Electronic Commerce There are certainly a number of similarities and overlapping characteristics of e-commerce and m-commerce. Both support transactions using a digital connection between remote servers and personal devices to bridge time and distance and both offer different types of applications and value for consumer and enterprise users. In addition, just as e-commerce had to overcome concerns about the security and privacy protection of the Internet before it could achieve a critical mass of adopters, mobile commerce is now faced with questions about the end-to-end security of wireless networks and the potential risks of transmitting sensitive information through unknown intermediaries. Finally, just as e-commerce business models evolved at different speeds and with unique characteristics in different parts of the world despite the global penetration of the Internet, the adoption rate and leading applications of mobile commerce have been influenced by technology environments, network access speeds, mobile device capabilities, and subscriber expectations that vary widely from region to region. It can be argued that the attempts of early wireless application stakeholders to characterize the mobile commerce environment as a wireless extension of the World Wide Web actually delayed consumer acceptance of mobile commerce. Certainly the hype that preceded the launch of WAP applications in Europe in the late 1990s was followed by widespread criticism of WAP shortcomings, early adopter disillusionment, and numerous failures of WAP-based startups. The design and implementation of WAP, including its core model of “wireless browsing” of online content using a hierarchical menu structure did not match the reality of 9.6-Kbps data transmission speeds, dial-in data connection, and small screen, monochrome, text-only handsets. Although a number of companies undertook to translate the contents of their graphics-rich Web sites into bits of text that could be fed to WAP-enabled phones or to create dedicated mobile portals designed specifically to offer WAP content, mobile
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subscribers who tried WAP services were not motivated to become regular customers. The consensus of the market was that WAP suffered from the obvious comparison to the higher speed and graphics capabilities of Web content on the Internet and that mass adoption of mobile commerce applications would require both higher data transmission speeds and more sophisticated, graphicscapable mobile devices. Wireless operators lowered their revenue expectations for WAP and set their sights on the launch of high-speed third-generation (3G) networks worldwide. (Issues that have delayed the transition from second-generation [2G] to 3G networks are discussed in detail in the Technology Foundations section.) Meanwhile, the legacy of the WAP model has had a significant impact on the design of early m-commerce applications. Despite widespread acknowledgment that “wireless browsing” of online content is not the best model for mobile commerce, many of the applications that subscribers can access on their mobile phones today are like miniaturized versions of the services and transactions available on the Internet. Among the applications common to both e-commerce and m-commerce are the following: r
Financial activities such as banking, bill paying, and stock trading; r Accessing pay-per-view information; r Subscription services such as stock quotes, news, horoscopes, and weather reports; r Managing customer information, taking orders, checking inventory, and other sales and customer relationship management functions; r Accessing pay-per-play games and entertainment; r Making reservations and purchasing tickets in advance of an event; and r Participating in an online dating service and searching a database for a compatible personality profile. Nevertheless, it is an oversimplification to define mcommerce as just a wireless form of electronic commerce. At this early stage of mobile commerce implementation, some application overlap is inevitable. It is easier (and perceived as less risky) for carriers and developers to adopt ideas that have worked on the Internet instead of experimenting with completely new types of services designed specifically for a mobile environment. Assuming that m-commerce will follow the same adoption trajectory and business models as e-commerce, however, is likely to lead to overestimates of short-term mcommerce revenue potential and misguided attempts to port Internet content and applications directly to mobile devices. There are a number of key differences between the Internet as a development and distribution platform and the wireless world: r Mobile
commerce creates a very different user experience because it takes place on smaller and less capable devices that typically do not display graphics and rich content adequately.
r Conversely,
mobile commerce can be more easily personalized to match individual situations, leveraging the ability to track the location of subscribers as they move around and being always available to transmit urgent information or support transactions. r Instead of the global, open standards that underpin the Internet and Web, mobile commerce standards are fragmented by region and platform. r Mobile content providers and application developers have less ability than their e-commerce counterparts to distribute products and services directly to customers. Since wireless carriers own the mobile networks and control access to subscribers and billing services, application developers must work within a complex multiplayer distribution system to roll out applications and collect revenues from customers. r Internet high-speed bandwidth and access became less costly as applications and users increased, but establishing high-speed wireless network infrastructure has required billions of dollars in investment by wireless carriers, creating a strong barrier to unmetered or free access to mobile commerce applications. r E-commerce growth was driven by the rapid adoption of the Web as a killer app, but the killer app for mobile commerce has yet to emerge. These differences mean that the distribution and business models that resulted in rapid global adoption of Web applications are not likely to be successful in the more constrained wireless environment. On the other hand, the widespread expectations that Web content should always be free have not yet taken hold on the mobile device. According to Jupiter, revenues in 2001 from European customers downloading mobile content such as ring tones, sports scores, and stock prices to phones was 590 million EUR compared with only 252 EUR for online content purchased using a personal computer. And by 2006, Jupiter estimates that Europeans will spend more than 3 billion EUR for mobile content compared with 1.7 billion for online content. This willingness to pay for mobile content and services is a significant advantage for mobile application providers, because it means that a relatively small number of mobile commerce customers can potentially generate revenues earlier in the adoption process than has been possible with Web-based content and services.
Mobile Value Proposition Even more important than defining mobile commerce is understanding what differentiates it from other modes of doing business. The more applications that take advantage of the unique value provided by mobile transactions, the more motivation there will be for users to integrate mobile commerce into their daily lives. The most fundamental benefit mobile commerce has to offer is freedom. Freed from the wires and the weight of other computing devices, a mobile subscriber can do business anywhere and everywhere. The device he or she carries is not just portable, it also knows a great deal about his or her whereabouts and habits. It has the potential
DEFINING MOBILE COMMERCE
for using this information to make the user’s life more efficient, safer, more entertaining, and even more profitable. Every mobile exchange of data can be sensitive to the user’s current location. This location awareness has value for both enterprise and consumer users. It enables an enterprise mobile commerce application to direct urgent sales or support queries to the field representative who is closest to that particular customer and prompts a travel alert application to notify a long-distance truck driver immediately about the dangerous blizzard bearing down on his route. A location-based mobile dating service can notify subscribers when an attractive prospect with a compatible personality profile is in the vicinity or help locate a nearby romantic restaurant when the first meeting goes well and the two parties decide on impulse to extend their date over dinner. A mobile device that is always available and always connected is the perfect platform for urgent notifications and impulse purchases. A mobile purse application takes the place of coins at vending machines and parking meters; a pocket-size screen displays and redeems the discount coupons at the grocery store. Using biometrics or mobile PKI, the mobile user has an identity token that can admit him to secure locations on the spot or legally sign contract agreements from afar.
Typology of Mobile Commerce Applications A billion plus mobile subscribers provide strong evidence that even the most basic wireless communication features are powerful market drivers, but most of those subscribers are not regular mobile commerce users. As network speed increases and mobile devices become capable of more sophisticated services, there is general agreement that the missing ingredient in mobile commerce mass adoption is applications that create a unique mobile value proposition for the customer. To understand the current and future prospects for mobile commerce, it is helpful to have a framework for considering the mobile value proposition different types of applications have to offer. In creating a useful typology for mobile applications, it is also important to clarify the different objectives and expectations that consumer users and enterprise users will apply to that value proposition. For example, consumers may value a mobile game or location-based service designed to keep them entertained during a long commute on the train. Consumers are also more likely to try out new mobile applications just to see if they are worthwhile. In contrast, enterprise users will typically look for applications that add value to the corporation by improving efficiency or reducing the cost of doing business. Unless there is a strong case for the return on investment of implementing the mobile application, an enterprise user is unlikely to make the effort to try it out. Table 1 identifies five major categories of consumeroriented mobile commerce applications. The first, Secure Transactions, includes mobile banking and using the mobile device for credit card purchases as well as using a mobile wallet on the device that serves as a debit cash card. These mobile payment applications were originally expected to account for a large percentage of overall mobile
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commerce transactions but in fact mobile shopping and banking have not been popular with many consumers. Rather than use the mobile phone as a credit card, subscribers express more interest in the convenience of mobile micropayments when purchasing from vending machines or making other very small expenditures. Mobile gambling, with secure transactions to validate bets and winnings has gained momentum and is now expected to become one of the leading drivers of secure mobile transactions. A number of consumers experimented with mobile content and signed up with mobile portals during the launch of WAP services, but as noted earlier, this experimentation frequently ended in frustration about slow access speeds and unrewarding content choices, thus motivating subscribers to “pull” content by connecting to mobile portals remains a challenge. There are, however, a number of success stories based on subscribers signing up for content push in the “Infotainment” categories of horoscopes, jokes, and other items that can be pushed to the phone via SMS on a regular basis. To drive SMS traffic and generate messaging revenues, wireless operators often provide such content free of charge to their subscribers. In the entertainment category, downloading customized ring tones remains one of the most popular and profitable mobile applications, accompanied more recently by downloading mobile screen savers and personalized graphics. Advances in mobile phone graphic and display capabilities have also encouraged an explosion of gaming applications, including mobile versions of games that have won an online and personal computer following and original mobile-only games that are designed to work well within the still constrained mobile phone environment. Like mobile gambling, subscriber adoption of mobile games and entertainment are projected to account for a significant increase in mobile commerce revenue over the next several years. Location-based services that leverage the tracking capability of the wireless network infrastructure to pinpoint a subscriber’s location at any moment provide an opportunity to create unique mobile value. To date, as with mobile shopping, the offer of location-based marketing and discounts from nearby stores has not met with widespread consumer adoption. Nevertheless, as with all the categories on the following table, the numbers of applications and adopters continue to grow worldwide. Instead of waiting for a single “killer application” to drive mobile commerce revenues, operators and developers alike have embraced the model of a value-added portfolio of applications and services that consumers can mix and match to meet their own personal objectives. With an emerging consensus about how to design and build mobile commerce applications that will meet the differing expectations and goals of consumer and enterprise users, the pervasive adoption and revenue growth of mobile commerce should be assured. There are other barriers that impede the distribution and adoption of value-added applications for mobile users, however. It is important to understand that the implementation of applications and services in the wireless world takes place in a far more constrained technology, standards, and
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Table 1 Typology of Consumer-Oriented Mobile-Commerce Applications MOBILE APPLICATION FEATURE Secure Transactions
Content Push and Pull
Entertainment and Personalization on the Mobile Device
Interactive Services
Location-Based Services
EXAMPLE APPLICATIONS Banking Coupon and discount redemption Gambling Micropayments Mobile shopping Mobile ticketing Stock trading, auction bidding Mobile portals News, weather, sports, etc Financial information Horoscopes, jokes “Infotainment” content Mobile learning Guides, directories, maps Personalized alerts based on preset profiles Permission marketing Games Rich media (audio, graphics) Ring tones Screensavers and personalized screen graphics Instant messaging Multiplayer games Mobile self-service or help desk interactions Weather, maps, etc. based on current location of subscriber Traffic alerts Proximity of known or profiled subscribers to a matching service for dating Discount, coupon offers from nearby stores
development environment than the fixed Internet. The next several sections examine each of these factors in more depth.
TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATIONS To complete a mobile commerce transaction, or even to place a wireless voice call, requires that a complex combination of technologies work together seamlessly. The wireless network infrastructure of cell towers, servers, and subscriber and roaming agreements must closely track the movements of each individual subscriber (or at least his mobile device). It must be prepared to transmit immediately, to receive, to encrypt, and to manage a massive stream of data traffic to and from hundreds of millions of such devices as users move from place to place or even from country to country. To make this task even more complicated, unlike the Internet there is no unified wireless standard that defines the connectivity protocols for every connected device regardless of geographic location. Because the complexity of this wireless infrastructure has a major impact on the adoption of mobile commerce, this section provides an overview of the most important technical foundations for mobile commerce. These components include the wireless networks themselves, the mo-
bile equipment (ME) used by the subscriber, and the subscriber identity module (SIM), a tamper-proof chip inside the ME that connects the equipment to the network by authenticating the subscriber’s identity and encrypts the traffic between the device and the network cells.
Wireless Networks First generation mobile communication depended on analog wireless networks called AMPS (advanced mobile phone system). There are still some millions of subscribers to analog wireless services, particularly in the United States, but this first-generation of networks does not fit the scope of this discussion because it cannot be upgraded to handle digital transactions and therefore does not provide a basis for mobile commerce The second generation of wireless networks, commonly called 2G, marked a major breakthrough in mobile communications. For the first time, data as well as voice could be accessed via a wireless device. Early devices were large and expensive, and transmission speeds were (and still are) frustratingly slow, but the diffusion of 2G networks worldwide paved the way for mass adoption of mobile devices and introduced the possibility of true mobile commerce.
TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATIONS
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Table 2 Summary of the Generations of Wireless Networks 1G
2G
2.5 G
Standards
AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone Service)
GPRS (general packet radio service) EDGE (enhanced data rates for gsm evolution)
W-CDMA (wide-band cdma) (Migration path for GSM and TDMA) CDMA2000 (Migration path for CDMA)
Characteristics
Analog Voice transmission only
CDMA (code division multiple access) GSM (global system for mobile communications) PDC (personal digital cellular) TDMA (time division multiple access) Digital, Circuitswitched, dial in connection to data (except for PDC) Voice or data transmission Speeds from 9.6 Kpbs to 14.4 Kpbs
Digital, packet switched, always on connection Speeds up to 384 Kpbs Simultaneous voice and data
Enhanced voice and data quality Packet-switched, Simultaneous voice and data Speeds from 384 K to 2 M per sec Support for multimedia and video applications
The slow data transmission speeds and other limitations intrinsic to 2G, along with the anticipation of billions in revenue from mobile commerce deployment, fueled a drive for faster and more capable wireless networks over the past several years. Just as various wireless carriers and geographic regions selected different paths for the migration from analog to digital transmissions, there is no universally accepted strategy or technology for the next step in wireless evolution, the launch of higher speed 3G networks. In fact, some analysts now question whether full 3G implementation is even necessary for mobile commerce adoption. A technology called general packet radio services (GPRS) provides an evolutionary step based on the more efficient model of packet switching rather than the dedicated circuits used in 2G networks. GPRS and the other technologies that increase the speed of 2G network throughput are often referred to as 2.5-generation networks. Because of speed and throughput limitations even the 2.5 enhancements will not support true wireless multimedia and content rich applications, however. These highbandwidth applications require an entirely new infrastructure for wireless transmissions that will only become available with the rollout of 3G infrastructure. Rollout of 3G was expected to coincide with the beginning of the new millennium and to be almost completed by 2003, but the launch of 3G networks has been delayed by a combination of technology and business issues. The cost of the wireless spectrum for 3G skyrocketed when many national governments decided to issue 3G licenses on the basis of competitive bidding among large carriers. At the same time that they took on heavy debt loads to buy up licenses, carriers were faced with unexpectedly expensive network infrastructure and equipment costs for new towers and gateways. As the world economy struggles, the revenue projections that had justified all this expenditure were called into question, forcing many carriers to delay implementation and reduce their debt. Even those carriers who did move ahead with the launch of 3G networks faced frequent problems with the availability and
3G
performance of essential components such as 3G capable handsets. As a result, 3G networks are still in early stages of implementation in most regions. The adoption of mobile commerce around the world is closely related to wireless network performance and speed, so the next section presents a brief technical overview of the largest 2G networks worldwide and discusses the path that each network is taking to 3G. Table 2 summarizes the generations of wireless technology.
2G Networks GSM and TDMA. With more than 750 million subscribers, GSM (the global system for mobile communication) is the world’s largest wireless network infrastructure. GSM carriers have a worldwide agreement that supports roaming among all GSM networks and billing calls from any other GSM carrier. GSM compatible handsets operate on the 900- or 1800-MHz frequency band in most of the world, and at 1900 MHz in the United States. Triband handsets that handle all frequencies are available for customers who travel between regions. The GSM infrastructure includes the SIM, a smart chip that contains the carrier’s encryption algorithms and other core network information. A separate section provides more detail about SIM features and functionality. All European countries adopted the GSM standard to facilitate roaming across national boarders and create economies of scale in the design and manufacturer of wireless infrastructure and equipment in the early 1990s. As a result, European customers were early adopters of wireless technology and mobile commerce applications. GSM coverage and usage is also strong in Asia Pacific. It has been least popular in North and South America, but GSM coverage is increasing in the Americas as TDMA (time division multiple access) operators migrate to higher speed networks such as GPRS that are based on GSM/TDMA technology. Standard circuit-switched TDMA technology underlies 2G GSM networks. This technology digitizes and
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compresses data, then sends it down a channel with two other streams of user data, each in its own time slot. TDMA networks are popular in their own right, with more than 100 million TDMA subscribers as of June 2002. TDMA has proven itself in the 2G environment, but it does not ramp up to the higher speed and capacity demands of 3G transmissions. The common basis for 3G networks will be CDMA (code division multiple access), as described in the next section, but CDMA itself is branching into two variants of 3G. The first, known as WCDMA is the migration path selected by most GSM carriers. The second, CDMA2000, is the choice of current 2G CDMA carriers.
CDMA. Code division multiple access is the second most prevalent wireless network standard, with more than 120 million subscribers worldwide. CDMA operates in radio-frequency bands at either 800 MHz or 1.9 GHz and supports data speeds of up to 14.4 Kbps. CDMA was developed by Qualcomm, which still holds many of the underlying patents for this technology. It is a “spread spectrum” technology, which means that it spreads the information contained in a particular signal across a greater bandwidth than the original signal. Because the CDMA technology does not assign wireless data traffic to a specific frequency, every channel uses the complete available spectrum to move data as efficiently as possible. North and South America have the largest concentration of CDMA subscribers, accounting for more than half of the worldwide subscriber base for 2G CDMA. The United States alone has more than 50 million CDMA users. The Asia Pacific region has also adopted CDMA technology, with Korea and China providing rapid subscriber growth. Although CDMA is currently far behind GSM in the total number of subscribers worldwide, CDMA2000 technology is leading in the race to 3G network implementation because planned WCDMA rollouts have suffered from numerous setbacks in the past two years. According to January 2003 statistics from the CDMA Web site, the 35 million CDMA2000 subscribers account for more than 98% of the total number of 3G subscribers worldwide.
PDC. With more than 70 million wireless subscribers and a population that has eagerly embraced mobile data applications, Japan is a center of advanced wireless technology and a bright spot in demonstrating the profit potential for mobile commerce. Japan has developed and deployed its own wireless network standards called PDC (personal digital cellular), which are based on TDMA technology. At 9.6 Kbps, the data transmission speeds supported by PDC are no better than 2G GSM and CDMA networks. However, PDC has the advantage of using packet-switched transmission instead of the less dataefficient circuit-switching design of the other 2G networks. Packet-switching is the basis of the familiar Internet protocol (IP) and in the case of PDC, it supports an always-on wireless connection to Web- and Internet-based services and content. This eliminates the need to dial in and wait for a connection, one of the major complaints of 2G customers in other parts of the world who are interested in accessing mobile content and applications.
Japanese carriers such as NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, and J-Phone have taken a proactive role in the deployment of application-friendly mobile handsets and in the distribution of mobile content. The typical Japanese mobile phone is lighter but has a larger display screen than 2G counterparts in other countries. Color screens and support for animated displays are common. According to NTT DoCoMo, more than 75% of subscribers have a phone with built-in browser software to facilitate Internet access. DoCoMo also supports independent content and application developers by providing billing services that cover thousands of third-party applications. All of these factors have contributed to a high adoption rate for mobile commerce in Japan.
2.5G Networks GPRS and EDGE. Positioned in between full 3G deployment and standard 2G networks are upgrades and enhancements to 2G networks referred to collectively as 2.5G. The most popular of these, GPRS (general packet radio services), is a packet-switched wireless protocol that supports data transmission speeds up to 115 Kbps compared to the 14.4- or 9.6-Kbps connections of 2G. In addition to higher speeds of transmissions, GPRS can handle simultaneous voice and data transmission. It conserves network resources because the higher speeds are only invoked when data is actually transmitted. With delays and cost considerations plaguing the launch of full 3G networks in many regions, some analysts speculated that GPRS may emerge as more than a transition technology and become a longer term solution for many carriers. More than 100 GSM and TDMA operators in 46 countries have implemented GPRS networks since June 2000 and made them available to subscribers as a higher speed, data-capable alternative. The adoption rate of GPRS in its first two years of commercial availability has been relatively limited, however, with just over 2 million subscribers actively using GPRS networks by June 2002 according to the EMC World Cellular Database. EDGE (enhanced data rates for GSM evolution) is another half step toward 3G network speed and performance that builds on GPRS and GSM technology. EDGE upgrades key components of the hardware and software of current TDMA infrastructure, including the encoding algorithm used to encrypt data traffic, to achieve speeds of up to 384 kbps with EDGE-compatible handsets. As with GPRS, the 2.5 EDGE solution is attractive to GSM and TDMA carriers who are looking for a way to launch enhanced applications and services without taking on the full cost of a 3G network launch. It remains to be seen whether these 2.5G networks will become a longer term option or will be superseded once full 3G services become more widely available.
3G Networks W-CDMA and CDMA2000. When the specifications for high-speed, third-generation wireless networks were still on the drawing board, carriers, mobile equipment makers, standards bodies, and other stakeholders talked optimistically about the goal of a single, global standard for third-generation wireless communication. As stakeholders aligned themselves behind competitive technical options, however, and different paths to 3G implementation
TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATIONS
emerged, it became more and more difficult to develop a uniform migration strategy that all the players were willing to adopt. Although the CDMA spread spectrum technology won out over other alternatives, the GSM and TDMA network carriers were reluctant to start from scratch with a completely new infrastructure. So CDMA itself split into two approaches to 3G implementation, with WCDMA tailored for the needs of GSM and TDMA network upgrades and CDMA2000 tuned to the needs of current CDMA carriers. Phase One of the implementation of CDMA2000, already underway in a number of countries, supports packet-switched data speeds of up to 144kbps. Phase 2 of CDMA2000, also known as 3XRTT (Radio Transmission Technology) will achieve the long-awaited speeds of 384kbps for a user who is in motion and a top speed of 2Mbps for a stationary user. These Phase 2 speeds will be matched by the WCDMA implementations. The technical differences between these approaches to 3G relate to the process of dividing the wireless spectrum and sending signals through different radio frequencies, a topic that is not within the scope of this article. From the perspective of mobile commerce adoption, the important question is whether the two standards can somehow be unified to allow wireless subscribers to take advantage of mobile applications anywhere in the world. The section titled Wireless Standards describes the attempts that international standards bodies are making to address this issue.
Drivers and Barriers to 3G Implementation G networks promise some important benefits to both wireless carriers and mobile customers. For carriers, 3G offers more efficient use of the limited radio spectrum, allowing carriers to process more simultaneous calls and transmit more data at higher speeds while improving voice quality and reducing or eliminating dropped calls. For mobile customers, 3G will support more data intensive and graphic applications as well as multimedia-enabled handsets and, eventually, streaming video transmission. These improvements, however, come with an extremely high price tag for the carriers. The sheer cost of implementation has become a major barrier to upgrading networks in many regions of the world. In Europe where the 3G radio spectrum was auctioned off in competitive bidding, wireless carriers collectively bid up the licenses to more than $95 billion. Few carriers have had the resources to justify the additional expense of build out, estimated to be more than $125 billion for carriers worldwide, especially in the absence of business models that demonstrate a strong return on their investment. A related barrier to rapid deployment of 3G is networks is doubt about customer demand and willingness to pay for enhanced speeds in the absence of compelling applications. As the success of mobile commerce on 2G networks in Japan and the worldwide popularity of SMS-based transactions demonstrates, many applications do not require full 3G capacity.
Mobile Equipment (ME) Mobile equipment (ME) features and capabilities have improved in parallel with the advance of wireless network generations. In the AMPS era wireless handsets were
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large, heavy, expensive and limited in range. 2G digital data transmission and application capability stimulated the development of smaller digital handsets with display screens, caller ID, customizable ring tones, and other features. As handset makers competed for the rapidly growing wireless subscriber market, mobile phones appeared in designer colors and shapes, some with color screens. In many markets, the choice of a wireless phone model became a personal fashion statement and many users upgraded their phones to keep up with the latest fads. The rapid global expansion of wireless subscriptions fueled high demand for all types of mobile equipment. This growth wave transformed Nokia from a small Scandinavian mobile phone manufacturer to become one of the largest multinational suppliers of handsets and network infrastructure. Nokia’s strategy of aggressive innovation and introduction of many new models each year won market share compared with competitors such as Motorola and Ericsson. Some handset technology gambles, however, have not paid off. Customer demand for Internet and WAP-enabled handsets, for example, has been far below the ME manufacturers’ optimistic projections. Asia, on the other hand, has established a well-deserved reputation as the most advanced markets for ME innovation and widespread subscriber adoption of high-tech features. Japanese and Korean manufacturers launched the first widely adopted phones with color screen and graphics capabilities, the first popular phone with integrated digital camera, and, more recently, a full-motion video camera phone. These devices support Internet connections, multimedia applications, and may also run Java applications. As noted earlier, the early availability of fullfeatured devices in Japan and Korea provides an ideal platform for mobile commerce and has stimulated a faster adoption rate of mobile applications than in other parts of the world, as I discuss in more detail in the section Mobile Commerce Landscape. The introduction of equally advanced devices into the European and American markets may prove to be an important catalyst for mobile commerce adoption there as well. One area of ME innovation in which the United States has a leading role in the convergence of PDAs and cell phones. Leading PDA manufacturers such as Palm, Compaq, and Handspring have introduced integrated wireless devices in an attempt to expand the market demand for PDAs and to reach new customers. These devices have much larger display screens than typical mobile phones and provide considerably more computing power to handle calendars, contact lists, games, and other applications. Although sales of these converged devices are still tiny compared with the dedicated wireless phone, they may become the device of choice for business-to-business mobile commerce applications. Microsoft’s entry into this market, with a reference design for a phone–PDA combination that runs Windows and a series of announcements by carriers and manufacturers planning to build devices on the Microsoft platform indicate that this could become an important growth area. As ME becomes more capable and wins more brand recognition and customer mind share, wireless carriers are looking for ways to maintain a strong presence in the mind and in front of the eyes of the subscriber. One
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carrier-owned and controlled component of the ME is a smart chip inside the phone or wireless PDA called the subscriber identity module. Although this component is not highly visible to the customer, it does control the network capabilities of the device and has some important features that support transaction security and mobile commerce applications.
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) The SIM was designed as a tiny computing platform to store securely the cryptographic keys that GSM carriers use to authenticate the individual subscriber to the network connection and track subscribers activity once they are on the air. The SIM identifies a particular mobile user to the network in a secure and consistent manner, through a private digital key that is unique to each subscriber and is known only to the wireless carrier. The key is used to encrypt the traffic to and from the handset. Because smart cards were designed to be highly tamper resistant, the smart card’s core electronics and design architecture were adopted as the base of the SIM. The SIM maintains a constant connection to the network as long as the ME remains on. This location-aware, authenticated connection is what allows subscribers to “roam” from network to network around the world. The SIM also provides support for location-based services. In addition, the SIM keeps track of and reports back on the subscriber’s network usage and roaming activity so that the carrier can bill customers accurately. The only way to ensure that the SIM can accomplish its handoff of subscribers from one network to another without interrupting communication is to base all of its functions on detailed international standards. Every GSM carrier adheres to these standards, which cover everything from the physical size and characteristics of the chip to the way it handles and stores incoming information. As carriers move to higher speed 2.5G and 3G networks, the role of the SIM becomes even more important. Because these networks will not all roll out at the same time around the world or even within a particular region, the SIM will manage the roaming of traffic between generations of networks as well as between geographic locations. The features of the SIM are of value to carriers beyond the GSM networks, so the SIM has been adopted in the standards of the CDMA, TDMA, and PDC networks to support 3G implementations and to provide added security for mobile commerce transactions.
Standards and Interoperability There is no shortage of standards and standard-setting bodies in the wireless world. In fact, it can be argued that problems with network and ME interoperability stem from having too many competing interests claiming a role in establishing different types of wireless standards. As this chapter describes, the 2G network carriers have not managed to agree on a unified global approach to 3G network design and operation. Similarly, ME manufacturers do not embrace a single standard that will ensure that applications and user interfaces behave the same on all handsets. Among other drawbacks of this division of network and ME standards is the need for equipment man-
ufacturers to provide different devices and infrastructure equipment for each network, adding to the expense and creating barriers to interoperability among different parts of the world. Rather than review the long and complicated history of all the standards related to wireless equipment and transmissions, the following section focuses on the 3G standards development process and the steps that have been taken to improve 3G network interoperability. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) started the process of defining the standards for third-generation systems by forming the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) in 1998. As it became clear that the CDMA networks would not follow the same path toward 3G as GSM and TDMA carriers, the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) was formed to carry out a parallel process to the GSM 3G standard setting. 3GPP2 has focused on developing standards and specifications for the technical development of CDMA2000. The top-level working groups within 3GPP and 3GPP2 are charged with communicating with each other and working to coordinate the efforts of both groups to minimize interoperability problems in the various 3G network implementations. Nonetheless, the complexity and proliferation of details in the specifications almost ensures that there will be discrepancies between the two types of 3G implementation strategies and the standards that underpin the implementations. Unfortunately, this will cause ongoing problems in moving mobile commerce applications between networks and regions.
MOBILE COMMERCE LANDSCAPE Regional Variations Access to wireless voice services spans the globe, but when it comes to mobile commerce, geography clearly matters. Whereas mobile transactions generate significant revenue in Japan and the majority of wireless subscribers regularly access mobile content and services, the average wireless customers in the United States have barely registered that their phone offers more than basic voice services. In fact, with just 40% wireless penetration rate as of June 2002, mobile phone ownership in the United States lags behind that in Europe and Asia where a large number of countries have penetration rates well over 70%. According to the ITU, the top 10 countries ranked in order of wireless penetration range from Luxembourg at number one, with a 96.7% penetration of wireless, to Portugal at number ten with 77.4% of its population using a wireless phone (International Telecommunications Union, 2002). These numbers put the U.S. wireless market significantly behind Europe and Asia in terms of market penetration and adoption curve for mobile commerce. Many analysts predict that it will take as long as 5 years for the United States to catch up. How did the country that led in Internet connectivity and e-commerce implementation fall so far behind in the wireless arena? There are a number of factors that contribute to the striking difference in adoption of wireless and mobile commerce in the United States and the rest of the world, including availability of advanced handsets, always-on wireless connections, and a large selection of interesting
MOBILE COMMERCE LANDSCAPE
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Table 3 Mobile Commerce Environment Comparison: Japan and United States FACTOR
JAPAN
UNITED STATES
Network
PDC with packet-switched, always-on connectivity at 9.6 Kbps
Mobile Equipment
Features: Advanced, with high-resolution color screens, graphics, and animation capabilities in a small and very light package Cost: Moderate to expensive
Wireless Penetration Fixed Internet Penetration Mobile Commerce Business Model
Range of Applications Available
Barriers to Application Development
Incentives for Application Development
Market: Open, with a large number of independent vendors and multiple models available High Low Subscriber billed by carriers for downloaded content and value-added services as well as transactions; carrier retains small commission while content and application developers receive bulk of the revenue generated Extensive, with tens of thousands of wireless content and service providers of all sizes Low: Technical difficulty is similar to developing Web applications; standardization around cHTML and iMode ensure interoperability among platforms High: Large subscriber base with advanced phones and interest in new services provides critical mass of potential users while revenue sharing business model by carriers provides significant returns for the most popular applications
CDMA, TDMA, GSM, and others, all with circuit-switched, dial-in requirement for data access Features: Limited, with poor display quality, text only, variable size and weight Cost: Free or low cost with calling plan (subsidized by carriers); otherwise high Market: Limited, with majority of phones bundled with calling plans and preselected by carrier Moderate High Varies from carrier to carrier; billing for third-party applications not typically supported
Limited, with a handful of applications provided by carriers and other large institutions High: Requires understanding of device or SIM application interfaces. Multiple networks and protocols make it difficult to move application from one platform to another Low: Few subscribers with appropriate devices or interest in wireless application and no clear model for revenue sharing with independent content and application providers
Note. CDMA = code division multiple access; cHTML = compact hypertext markup language; GSM = global system for mobile communications; PDC = personal digital cellular network; SIM = subscriber identity module; TDMA = Time division multiple access.
mobile applications. It is instructive to compare the wireless environment in Japan to that in the United States on these and other factors. Table 3 summarizes the results. One positive indicator for the future expansion of U.S. mobile commerce penetration is a survey of the interest of various age groups in using mobile applications such as downloading music, accessing maps and directions, and making purchases at 3G speeds. Although interest levels were 25% or less across all the U.S. age groups surveyed, in the “Under 25” category, 45% of users said they were interested in mobile commerce applications (Taylor Nelson Sofres, 2001). Customer interest is just one driver for mobile applications and mobile commerce, however. Until the U.S. addresses some of the other factors outlined in Table 3, other regions of the world will continue to have the edge in wireless applications and mobile commerce adoption.
In Europe, for example, mobile phones are becoming the primary phone for many subscribers, especially in the important “Under 25” market segment. European countries accounted for 7 out of the top 10 wireless penetration rates in 2001, and despite a lukewarm consumer response to the launch of WAP applications in Europe, mobile commerce activities such as banking, paid mobile content and entertainment, and location-based services are generating increasing customer interest and expenditure. In Asia, the largest numbers of mobile commerce users and applications are currently in Japan and Korea, whereas the highest wireless penetration rates are in Taiwan at 96.6% and Hong Kong at 84.4% (ITU, 2002). Most eyes are focused on China as an emerging wireless giant with a population large enough to fuel a mobile commerce growth spurt. At the end of June 2002, China had more than 175 million wireless subscribers, making it the largest single mobile market in the world with many more
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millions of potential customers ready to go wireless over the next several years. Rapid growth in wireless subscribers is not just a phenomenon of the industrialized countries. Delays and deficiencies in landline availability and traditional telecommunications infrastructure have stimulated high growth in developing economies as well. According to the ITU, 22 of 49 developing countries had more mobile than fixed phone customers by the end of 2001. Wireless customers in these countries are typically interested in the availability of mobile content and mobile commerce, because access to in-person banking and other services is often problematic. Recognizing the advantages that wireless communications can provide to individuals and to entire economies, the ITU’s 2002 World Telecommunication Development Report recommends that most low-income economies strive to achieve 90% wireless coverage by 2006.
Security Issues and Solutions A perception that mobile commerce harbors even more security risks than business on the Internet is a major factor inhibiting the adoption of mobile commerce adoption around the world. Consumers who are accustomed to entrusting their credit card numbers and personal information to online merchants via the Internet still express trepidation about completing a similar purchase transaction on their mobile phone. Corporate network managers who have come to terms with providing desktop Internet connectivity and Web-enabled remote e-mail services draw the line at enabling wireless devices to access internal enterprise data. Some of these concerns are based simply on resistance to unfamiliar technology and reluctance to risk being an early adopter. Others stem from the memory of successful attacks on first-generation wireless networks and devices, when traffic traveled in the clear and a lack of familiarity with the encryption of all 2G transmissions. Notwithstanding these somewhat misguided perceptions, there are a number of real security issues that mobile commerce programs need to address. Mobile devices are by definition small, frequently in motion, and a tempting target for thieves because of their intrinsic value as well as the sensitive information they may contain. Such devices are not designed to resist professional attacks, and it takes a professional only a few minutes to extract all the data that has been stored in them. Theft of corporate mobile equipment that has been used to store passwords and access authorization codes can be a security nightmare for information technology managers. If consumer-initiated mobile commerce transactions move off the carrier network to a less secure messaging center or server, there may be vulnerability for eavesdropping, credit card fraud, or identity theft. Third-party applications that are downloaded onto the mobile device could open up a potential path for malicious viruses and rogue applications that could spread from user to user. Fortunately, the basic principles of online security apply equally well to the wireless environment. These include the following:
r
End-to-end encryption to protect against eavesdropping; r Secure digital identity and authentication of users; r Storage of private keys, financial, and other confidential information in the most secure region of the mobile device; and r Testing and certification of all applications before downloading via an authorized application management infrastructure. The tamper resistant properties of the SIM and the encryption of all network traffic provide a first line of security defense. The SIM is also the ideal location for storing private keys and other sensitive data. Mobile commerce users and content and service providers using mobile PKI can obtain digital certificates that authenticate their identity and create a nonrepudiation trail for wireless transactions. The GlobalPlatform infrastructure for secure application loading and unloading, originally designed for managing applications on financial services smart cards, has developed specifications for mobile application downloading and management. These solutions have been tested and proven to protect effectively against the most common mobile commerce security risks, but a mobile PKI solution is expensive to implement and complicated to maintain. Biometrics provides another solution to authenticating the identity of mobile users and protecting the integrity of transactions. Mobile devices with integrated fingerprint sensors can securely identify the owner of the device, prevent any unauthorized users from accessing data or imitating the owner, and also generate a valid digital signature for binding mobile transactions. Planning for any mobile commerce program should include evaluating, electing, and applying the most costeffective solution that is appropriate for the risk involved in a particular type of transaction and then educating the target market for that program about the protection that comes with the every mobile interaction.
SUCCESS FACTORS FOR THE FUTURE OF MOBILE COMMERCE Nothing stays still for long in the wireless world. Technology advances in mobile equipment already make the “futuristic” phones featured in 2000 seem quaintly oldfashioned. Today’s phones support full-color multimedia, incorporate digital cameras and biometric sensors, and provide high-quality audio for downloaded music. Tomorrow’s phones will no doubt offer characteristics that will redefine the limits of wireless communications. Prototypes of miniature phones that can be implanted in a tooth, flexible phones that we can wear, and phones with the computing power of fairly recent desktop PC generations are already rolling out of research laboratories. Some of them will become mere curiosities, and others will be embraced by millions of users. The transition to 3G networks that is just underway will be followed by even faster fourth-generation (4G) network implementations within the decade. 4G cellular
GLOSSARY
phones will deliver high-resolution movies and television programs to mobile subscribers, allow them to play highresolution games with multiple players, and support applications that have yet to be invented. The next generation of networks will aim maximum data transmission speeds of more than 20 megabits per second. That is almost 2,000 times faster than the typical 2G network and 10 times faster than the much-anticipated 3G. Wireless innovation in general is inexorable, but the success of any specific mobile commerce application is dependent on a number of factors. Although it is difficult to ensure that a specific mobile commerce application will be a winner, the early adopters of mobile commerce have provided a roadmap to the core requirements for mobile commerce success in a region or vertical market. The key success factors are the following: r r
r r r
r
r
A critical mass of wireless subscribers; Availability of a variety of mobile applications that are easy to use and cost-effective and that provide a visible value for the customer; Mobile devices that provide an enjoyable user interface for the applications; Interoperability of applications, devices, and networks around the world; Seamless roaming between wireless telecommunications networks, the Internet, and wireless local area networks such as WiFi; A business model that provides appropriate incentives for all participants needed to create a mobile value chain from application design to distribution, support, and billing; and Assurance that the mobile transaction and the identity and confidentiality of the customer are secure.
There are signs that the stakeholders of the wireless industry recognize that this foundation for mobile commerce success can only be built on truly open standards and cooperation among competitors to increase the market opportunity for all. In June 2002 more than 200 of the world’s largest wireless carriers, mobile device and network infrastructure suppliers, and information technology vendors and content providers established a cooperative, global organization called the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). According to its charter statement, The Open Mobile Alliance will collect market requirements and define specifications designed to remove barriers to interoperability and accelerate the development and adoption of a variety of new, enhanced mobile information, communication and entertainment services and applications, while ensuring the interoperability of mobile services across markets, terminals and operators, throughout the entire value chain. This type of industrywide cooperation, if actually implemented, will go a long way toward addressing the remaining barriers to interoperability and adoption of mobile commerce applications.
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CONCLUSION The flurry of media coverage and optimistic revenue projections that accompanied the debut of mobile commerce several years ago echoed the overheated enthusiasm of early e-commerce development, and like e-commerce, the implementation of truly value-added applications lagged behind the initial growth projections. It is important to remember that many of the key ingredients for mass mobile commerce adoption are already in place and others are evolving quickly to stimulate the interest of a new generation of wireless customers. As long as developers, handset makers, infrastructure providers, and wireless operators work together to create mobile applications that deliver visible value to consumer and enterprise users, customers will try and ultimately buy the most relevant of these applications and services. It is still difficult to predict the exact timing of mass adoption of mobile commerce in different parts of the world, but it is certain that mobile commerce will continue to grow and expand in scope over the next decade.
GLOSSARY 2G Second generation digital cellular phone networks. 3G Third generation digital cellular phone networks. 3GPP The 3rd Generation Partnership Project, responsible for managing the standards that underpin the transition from GSM 2G to 3G networks worldwide. Code Division Multiple Access (CMDA) A spread spectrum network technology for 2G digital cellular networks. CDMA2000 The third generation upgrade of CDMA, providing faster data transmission speeds and better performance. Cryptography The practice and study of encryption and decryption—encoding data so that the result can only be decoded by specific individuals. Global system for mobile communications (GMS) A digital cellular phone technology based on TDMA that is the predominant system in Europe, but is also used around the world. Mobile equipment (ME) A cellular handset, personal digital assistant, or other mobile device used by the wireless subscriber Multimedia messaging service (MME) Enhanced messaging for digital cellular networks that provides graphics, animation and sound in addition to plain text. Personal digital cellular network (PDC) The wireless network standards adopted in Japan for 2G wireless. PDC runs on the TDMA interface. Subscriber identity module (SIM) A module that is inserted into a mobile device for subscriber identification and other security related information. GSM phones use a SIM smart card that contains user account information. SIM cards can be programmed to display custom menus for personalized services. Short message service (SMS) A message service offered by digital cellular networks. Time division multiple access (TMDA) A type of multiplexing in which two or more channels of information
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are transmitted over the same link by allocating a different time interval (“slot” or “slice”) for the transmission of each channel. Wireless application protocol (WAP) An open, international standard for applications that use wireless communication. WAP provides a complete environment for wireless applications that includes a wireless counterpart of transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) and a framework for telephony integration such as call control and phone book access. WAP features the wireless markup language (WML), a streamlined version of hypertext markup language for small screen displays. It also uses WMLScript, a compact JavaScript-like language that runs in limited memory.
CROSS REFERENCES See BluetoothT M —A Wireless Personal-Area Network; Mobile Devices and Protocols; Mobile Operating Systems and Applications; Propagation Characteristics of Wireless Channels; Radio Frequency and Wireless Communications; Wireless Application Protocol (WAP); Wireless Communications Applications; Wireless Internet.
REFERENCES Abbott, L. (n.d.). What is m-commerce? MobileInfo.com. Retrieved June 15, 2002, from http://www.mobileinfo. com/Mcommerce/ CDG, CDMA Development Group (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2003, from http://www.cdg.org/worldwide/cdma world subscriber.asp Ernst & Young (n.d.). Beyond e-commerce: Wireless and mobile business and the search for value. The Ernst & Young Thought Center. Retrieved June 15, 2002,
from http://www.ey.com/global/Content.nsf/US/Issues Perspectives - Index - Alphabetical International Telecommunications Union (ITU) (2002, March). World Telecommunication Development report, executive summary. Retrieved June 15, 2002, from http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/wtdr 02/material/WTDR02-Sum E.pdf Taylor Nelson Sofres (May 2002). Wireless and Internet technology adoption by consumers around the world. Retrieved April 1, 2003, from www.tnsofres.com/ IndustryExpertise/IT/WirelessandInternetAdoptionby ConsumersAroundtheWorldA4.pdf
FURTHER READING Dornan, A. (2000). The essential guide to wireless communications applications (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall PTR. Guthery, S., & Cronin, M. J. (2002). Mobile application development for SMS and the SIM toolkit. New York: McGraw-Hill. Kalikota, R., & Robinson, M. (2001). M-business: The race to mobility. New York: McGraw-Hill. May, P. (2001). Mobile commerce: Opportunities, applications, and technologies of wireless business. New York: Cambridge University Press. Paavilainen, J. (2002). Mobile business strategies: Understanding the technologies and opportunities. Boston: Addison Wesley Professional. Raina, K., & Harsh, A. (2002). mCommerce security: A beginner’s guide. Berkeley, CA: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media. Sadeh, N. M. (2002). M commerce: Technologies, services, and business models. New York: Wiley. Strader, T., & Mennecke, B. (Eds.). (2003). Mobile commerce: Technology, theory and applications. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Publishing.
Mobile Devices and Protocols Protocols
Julie R. Mariga, Purdue University Benjamin R. Pobanz, Purdue University
Introduction Mobile Device History Mobile Computing Mobile Computing The Differences Between Mobile and Nonmobile Different Styles of Mobile Devices The Differences Between a PDA and a PocketPC Components and Data Input Functions and Features Mobile Devices in E-commerce Mobile Devices Palm Models Handspring Models Sony Models Casio Models HandERA Model NEC Models PC-EPhone Model
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INTRODUCTION Mobile Device History In 1993, Apple Computer introduced the world’s first personal digitial assistant (PDA), the Newton Message Pad. Concurrently, Sharp Electronics introduced their version, the ExpertPad. Other than the screen cover and internal pen cradle, the ExpertPad was identical to Apple’s Newton. The Sharp ExpertPad combined Newton’s intelligence technology with some sophisticated communication capabilities, however. For example, Sharp was able to synchronize the information from the ExpertPad with a personal computer. The synchronizing of information was exchanged through built-in infrared technology. Newton’s hardware architecture had an ARM 610 processor and ran at 20 MHz with a resolution of 336 × 240 pixels, all operating on Apple’s 1.3 operating system (OS). Soon after the ExpertPad, Sharp developed the Zaurus to compete head to head with the Newton. The Zaurus predominantly relied on handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard, which was added in 1995. In 1996, Palm Inc. introduced the Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000 organizer models, adding another player in the mobile device arena. After its initial product release, Palm captured a significant market share, which reached 73.6% in 1999. However, by 2001 its market share declined to 35% (“Palm stays atop,” 2002), because of the rise in popularity of Compaq’s iPAQ and Microsoft’s PocketPC (Allnetdevices, 2000).
MOBILE COMPUTING Mobile Computing Mobile computing merges cell phones and computer technology. Resulting from this merge are mobile devices that
Research In Motion BlackBerry Models Sharp Symbol Technologies Toshiba Smart Phones Nokia Ericsson Wireless Protocols Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Radio Frequency Identification Global Positioning System (GPS) Bluetooth: The Bluetooth Protocol Stack Conclusion Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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unite the mobile communications of the cell phone and the expanded functionality of a computer. One company specializing in this field is Symbol Technology, which designs products that use radio frequency identification (RFID), infrared, and wireless data transmissions. This chapter previews several devices and highlights the standard wireless communication protocols, so-called smart phones, which are beginning resemble PDAs and PocketPCs. Some of the IEEE wireless communication protocols that will be highlighted are the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standards 802.11, 802.11b (Wi-Fi), 802.11a, and 802.11g. A brief background on Bluetooth (a short range wireless connectivity standard) and wireless application protocol (WAP), as well as RFID and global positioning system (GPS), are also addressed in limited form.
The Differences Between Mobile and Nonmobile It is important to distinguish the differences between mobile and nonmobile devices. The distinction is dictated by the use of a physical connection in the form of a cable, in which the device is connected to a network. Devices using a network cable are categorized as nonmobile. Conversely, devices that use wireless connectivity via a wireless modem are mobile.
Different Styles of Mobile Devices The IEEE essentially defines a mobile device as a small portable electronic organizer, PDA, smart phone, clamshell, cell phone, laptop, or a PDA and phone combination that allows a user to enter and manage data without 627
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a physical connection to a network. In addition, levels of information processing and data functionality are also used to classify mobile devices. Some high-end PDAs, like the Palm i705, have a color display. (The majority of PDAs have a monochrome or gray-scale display.) The current color range of the PDA and PocketPC models are anywhere from 256 to 64,000 colors. PDA screen displays are either active matrix or passive matrix. Active matrix (AM) liquid crystal display (LCD) uses transistors to control each pixel. AMLCDs are more responsive, faster, and can be viewed at larger angles than passive matrix displays, making them easier to read. Passive matrix displays use fine lines that intersect. The point of intersection is called an LCD element, which presumably either blocks or passes light through for viewing (IEEE, 2001). PDAs perform an information exchange or synchronization with a desktop computer by placing the PDA in a cradle, or docking station. The docking station connects directly to the desktop computer with a cable, and, using synchronization software, the data exchange is performed. Some models have infrared technology that can synchronize without the use of wires or a docking station. For infrared synchronization to occur, both devices must have the capability from a hardware and software standpoint. In general, the higher the central processing unit (CPU) speed, the faster the unit will execute tasks and the more expensive the unit. Nevertheless, higher speed processors require more battery power and may deplete batteries quickly. Some larger models use AAA alkaline batteries, and others use lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Models typically have 2–32 MB of random access memory (RAM), and some models may have an expansion slot built into the device, allowing for a memory upgrade. In general, for PDAs, the degree of Web accessibility is not yet equal to what you gain from a full-fledged computer or PocketPC.
StrongARM 206-MHz CPU and run a Windows OS. The amount of memory will vary with the make and model of the device. Optional are springboards and memory sticks. The average PDA screen size is 3.6 inches, with resolution ranging from 160 × 160 to 240 × 320 pixels. On PocketPC devices, the viewable screen averages 3.5 inches with resolution of 240 × 320–pixels. PDAs typically have between 2–32 MB of built-in memory. Often 2-MB memory is generally sufficient for maintaining address books, an active calendar, taking notes, and loading useful programs. More memory may be necessary for storing larger files, such as digital photos or audio recordings. Increasing the amount of memory can be accomplished with small flash-memory storage cards. These cards are inserted into slots in the PDA. The memory in most PocketPC models typically ranges from 32–64 MB. Adding smart memory cards in either PDAs or PocketPCs is advantageous when applications or files call for increased memory. There are essentially three data-entry options available to both PDA and PocketPC users: the mini portable foldout keyboard, requiring a flat surface and thus limiting where the keypad can be used; the numeric keypad, which is identical to those on cell phones; and the stylus, which has similar functions to that of a mouse and is used for navigation.
Functions and Features
Although both PDAs and PocketPCs are mobile, the pinnacle distinction can be found in the device’s ability to engage software applications and manipulate data. Mobile computing devices allow you to store, organize, send, and receive messages as well as access information without a physical hard-wire connection. Mobile computing devices have a CPU, which allows them to receive data, perform a specific process with the data, and produce output. A PDA lacks general-purpose application software needed to perform data manipulation functions like that of a mobile computer. Although the early PDAs paved the way for mobile computing to reach its current level of utility, today’s PDAs are less functionally dynamic compared with PocketPCs.
Most PDAs operate on a Palm OS. Data input can be screen based, keyboard based, or both. More sophisticated devices, such as the PocketPC, use the Windowsbased OS (PocketPC). What distinguishes the PDA from the handheld or PocketPC is the lack of window’s application software that is available and compatible for these devices. PocketPC is capable of running word-processing, spreadsheet, and money management applications and provides Internet and e-mail access. The Palm OS has some office management software, but it is not well-suited to Microsoft office applications. PDA devices are typically less expensive than mobile computing models, because most lack advanced software applications. To increase the functionality of some devices, manufactures add certain features. For example, Handspring’s eyemodule2 transforms the PDA into a digital camera by inserting the cartridge into the back. A GPS module can be inserted when needed. Some of the more advanced PDA models allow e-mail and Internet access that is done through a conventional or wireless modem hook up. Some Internet features common on most desktop computer may not be available to users on a mobile device, however. For instance, viewing information in certain file formats such as pictures, Adobe files, or various multimedia programs such as Shockwave or Real Player may be limited.
Components and Data Input
Mobile Devices in E-commerce
Entering data is done either through a scaled-down keyboard or through a penlike stylus. The stylus is primarily used in the writing area called the graffiti pad. Either rechargeable or disposable batteries power all devices, as dictated by the manufacture. PDAs primarily use a variation of the Palm OS, and a Motorola 33-MHz DragonBall CPU, whereas the PocketPCs use a
In the early 1990s, industry and organizations began to dispatch hardware and software applications to streamline workflow and improve communications. These early and primitive wireless applications where leveraged as a means of increasing worker and business productivity, particularly among field service personnel, who were able to reduce the use of paper printouts listing daily service
The Differences Between a PDA and a PocketPC
MOBILE DEVICES
orders by simply calling a dispatcher for information on the next service call. (Today service calls are sent to the field professionals’ mobile device as a text or voice message, thus eliminating a call to dispatchers.) The early applications improved the communication process yet lacked any transaction process that generated revenue. For example, before mobile communication, service workers contacted a dispatcher for work orders. Now, using wireless devices, technicians are tracked via GPS, and work orders are automatically sent to the closest technician. In today’s e-commerce arena, business has evolved into mobile commerce (m-commerce) by leveraging the popularity of mobile devices. Revenue is no longer dictated by set business hours. In other words, just because the front door to the business is locked doesn’t mean that the business is not generating revenue. A new brand of shopper has emerged from advances in technology and
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the Internet. According to McGuire (2001), mobile commerce is defined as the transaction of goods and services made by a buyer or seller using a data-enabled wireless device over a wireless data connection. Soon cell phones will be used to purchase snacks and drinks from vending machines. The use of Web-enabled smart phones, PDAs, and PocketPCs are transforming the way people do business, both in the business-to-business and business-toconsumer arenas.
MOBILE DEVICES Palm Models Palm i705 The main strength of the Palm i705 device is its built-in wireless modem that allows users to be connected to the Internet at all times. Its weaknesses lie in usability. For
Table 1 Mobile Device Manufacturer Casio Compaq Computer Handspring
Hewlett Packard NEC Palm
PC-EPhone Blackberry
Model
OS
Cassiopeia BE-300 Cassiopeia E-200 IPAQ pocket PC H3835 H3850 Visor neo Visor pro Visor edge Visor prism Jornada 565 Jornada 568 MobilePro P-300 MobilePro 790 Pilot 1000 Pilot 5000 Palm IIIxe Palm IIIc Palm V Palm VII Palm M 100 Palm M500 Palm M505 Palm i705 EPhone
Windows CE Pocket PC 2002 Pocket PC 2002
Symbol
857 957 5810 Zaurus SL-5500 CLIE’ PEG T-615C CLIE’ PEG T-760C PPT 2800
Toshiba
570
Sharp Sony
Screen
Weight
206 MHz StrongARM
3.5 in 240 × 320 3.7 in 240 × 320
5.9 ounces 5.9 ounces 6.7 ounces
PALM OS 3.5.2
33 MHz Motorola DragonBall
3.0 in 160 × 160
Pocket PC 2002
206 MHz StrongARM 206 MHz StrongARM 33 MHz Motorola DragonBall
3.5 in 240 × 320 3.8 in 240 × 320 3.6–3.8 in 160 × 160
206 MHz StrongARM 32bit 386
6.0 in 240 × 320 3.0 in 160× 160
5.4 ounces 5.7 ounces 4.8 ounces 5.4 ounces 5.9 ounces 6.1 ounces 7.9 ounces 2 lb 5.7 ounces 5.8 ounces 5.6 ounces 6.8 ounces 5.4 ounces 4.4 ounces 6.4 ounces 4.0 ounces 4.9 ounces 5.9 ounces 10.5 ounces
206 MHz StrongARM 33 MHz Motorola DragonBall
3.5 in 240 × 320 320 × 480
206 MHz StrongARM 400 MHz
320 × 240
11.8 ounces
240 × 320
6.7 ounces
Pocket PC 2002 Palm OS 3.5 Uses fasterseeming DragonBall EZ processor and Palm OS 3.1+ Palm OS 4.0 Palm OS 4.1
Pocket PC Proprietary
Linux 2.4 QT Personal Java PALM OS 4.1 PALM OS 4.1 Pocket PC 2002 Pocket PC 2002
CPU 166 MHz /
4.7 ounces 4.8 ounces 4.7 ounces 7.3 ounces 4.9 ounces 5.7 ounces
Sources: Blackberry (2003), Casio (2002), Compaq (2003), Handspring (2002), Hewlett Packard (2002), NEC (n.d.), Nokia (2003), Palm (2002), PC-EPhone (2003), Sharp (2003), Sony (2003), Symbol (2003), and Toshiba (2003).
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MOBILE DEVICES AND PROTOCOLS
example, it does not have a built-in keyboard and only has 4 MB of read-only memory (ROM) and 8 MB of RAM. (See Table 1.)
information with any infrared equipped Palm OS. The main issues challenging Handspring are primarily related to the business’s production.
Palm m515, m505, and m500
Sony Models
The Palm m515 offers a color display and an adjustable backlighting feature, as well as 16 MB of internal memory. The internal memory can be used for working with application files such as Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and Word documents or viewing presentations and video clips. The m505 and m500 models extend PDA functionality with a secure digital and multimedia card expansion slot and a universal connector for memory. Additional features can be added that help with information backup, wireless modems, and camera options. The visible differences are found in the screen background; the Palm m500 handheld uses a high-contrast monochrome display on a white background and is limited to 8 MB of memory. The Palm m505 handheld has a 16-bit color display. The PalmVII is the first wireless Web-enabled device produced by Palm. This unit requires the user to uplink to receive e-mail, rather than synchronizing periodically throughout day.
Sony Cli´e PEG-T 615C This device uses a 33-MHz Motorola DragonBall processor and runs the Palm desktop and Palm OS applications. This Clie´ has 16 MB of RAM and a 320 × 320–pixel highresolution color screen. It weighs 4.9 oz and has a memory slot expansion slot.
Sony Cli´e 760C This model has 16 MB of memory and an additional slot for a memory stick, which is needed to view videos and listen to MP3s. The Sony Clie´ has a 320 × 320–pixel, high-resolution color screen and a center toggle switch, which is used to navigate through applications. A weakness with the 760C is that additional software is needed work with Microsoft Word and Excel files. Also, the screen is reduced in size to accommodate the graffiti pad.
Palm m100
Casio Models
In addition to the standard software applications, the m100 model has a the date book, address book, to-do list, memo pad, note pad, and calculator. It has a monochrome display, requiring two AAA batteries and has 2 MB of memory.
Cassiopeia E-200
Handspring Models Handspring Treo The Treo is the latest mobile device from Handspring. The Treo combines the dynamics of data organization in a PDA with the communication features of a cell phone. This mobile computing device can send and receive e-mail and text messaging, has wireless Internet access, and can place phone calls. The Treo is a dual-band phone, thus allowing three-way calling. It uses the 3.5 Palm OS and 33-MHz Motorola DragonBall processor. The device has 16 MB of memory and a 160 × 160–pixel monochrome touchscreen. One advantage of this Handspring device is that it comes with a switch that enables easy toggling between the standard ringing tones or vibrate mode. It also has a dedicated message button allowing quick access to manage e-mail and short text messages.
Handspring Visor Pro This PDA has 16 MB of ROM and 0 RAM. The Visor Pro runs on the Palm OS and weighs 5.4 oz. A weakness of this model is that it as a side-mounted infrared port, which can be a challenge when lining up infrared technology. The Visor Pro uses a 33-MHz DragonBall processor and has a 160 × 160-pixel touchscreen. The expansion slots can integrate a digital camera, GPS, and Visor-phone, which use Handspring’s Internet browser, Blazer Browser.
Handspring Visor Neo The Visor Neo uses the Palm OS and software applications. Using Motorola DragonBall VZ 33 MHz processor and 16 MB of memory, this unit can send and receive
This device is a PocketPC running windows CE OS. With its 64 MB of RAM and a color-screen resolution of 240 × 320 pixels, the E-200 offers desirable functionality to the user. The only limitation is the lack of software applications.
Cassiopeia BE-300 This device is a PocketPC that runs 166-MHz processor and has 16 MB of RAM, a 320 × 240–pixel color screen, and weighs 5.9 oz. The E-200 has a Type II expansion slot available to a CF card. Data entry is done with a touchscreen and stylus. The lack of available software is the main drawback of this device.
HandERA Model HandERA Model 300 The HandERA 330 weighs 5.9 oz and has 8 MB of RAM. It runs on the Palm OS. The gray-scale screen resolution is 240 × 320 pixels. The advantage of this device is that the entire screen can be used to work with data, and the graffiti window can be hidden or brought back on command. Minimal memory and the use of a slower and more cumbersome serial cable (compared with a USB or infrared port) to synchronize data are its limitations.
Hewlett Packard Jornada and Compaq iPAQ Models iPAQ Models The iPAQ H3870 Pocket PC includes Microsoft’s Pocket PC 2002 OS, 32 MB of ROM, 64 MB of RAM, Intel’s 206-MHz StrongARM SA-110, and a USB cradle. There are three models to choose from. The latest version is the H3870 PocketPC. It has embedded Bluetooth technology. This 3870 weighs 6.6 ounces and has a 3.7-inch color screen with a resolution of 248 × 320 pixels. It also has an Secure Digital (SD) card option. The iPAQ H3760 has 64 MB of RAM and is identical to H3870 with one exception: it
SMART PHONES
does not have Bluetooth. The iPAQ H3850 also has 64 MB of RAM and uses a dual USB or serial cradle. It also incorporates a card slot and the use of voice-command and voice-control software. It also does not have Bluetooth.
The Jornada Model The Jornada 564 PocketPC features a robust 206-MHz, 32-bit StrongARM processor and 32-MB synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM). Its 240 × 320–pixel display supports up to 65,536 colors and features a 3.5-inch color LCD touchscreen. Jornada’s 565 Pocket PC also has a Type I memory slot. The Jornada 564 is capable of wireless and Internet functionality. A weakness of the Jornada is its small keypad, which makes data entry difficult. The Jornada 568 weighs 6.1 oz has a 206-MHz, 32-bit StrongARM processor; it has 64 MB of SDRAM and 32 MB of Flash ROM. The screen has a resolution of 240 × 320 pixels.
NEC Models NEC MobilePro P300 This device weighs 7.9 oz, making it heavier than the 5.7-oz average. It has a screen resolution of 240 × 320 pixels. The P300 also supports wireless connections and secure remote access capabilities. The P300 has two expansion slots supporting a 32-MB Compact Flash (CF) card and a 32-Mb SD card. A weakness of this device is the magnetic cover used to hold the device shut; magnetic fields can damage data. The 2002 model will phase out the magnetic cover and reduce the weight to 6.7 oz.
MobilePro 790 This is a clamshell-style device that weighs 2 pounds and uses a 168-MIPS (million instructions per second) processor. It operates using Microsoft Windows for Handheld PC 2000 and features 24 MB ROM, 32 MB RAM, and internal 16-MB Flash Memory that allocates 14 MB available for storage. The 790, like Hewlett Packard’s Jornada, is weak in keypad functionality for data entry.
PC-EPhone Model PC-EPhone The PC-EPhone claims to be a Palm-sized PC that integrates cell phone functionality. It uses the 206 MHz StrongARM processor and has a 4.0-inch display with 640 × 480–pixel resolution. It has 32 MB of RAM and 32 MB of ROM. Little is known about its durability and compatibility.
Research In Motion BlackBerry Models The RIM 857, RIM 957 and RIM 5810 The RIM models of the BlackBerry line of mobile devices are at the cutting edge of wireless technology and business connectivity. Once turned on, BlackBerry mobile devices remain connected to a wireless network. It does not require synchronizing of applications; e-mail messages find the device. The models differ in their 8 or 20 line graphical display. Currently, only the 5810 provides service that integrates customers’ Internet service provider e-mail account to the device. Depending on the user, the device can be a distraction because of its high level of connectability.
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Sharp Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 This device incorporates a 206-MHz StrongARM processor and a 3.5-inch thin film transistor (TFT) front-lit screen with 65,536 colors and a resolution of 240 × 320 pixels. The SL-5500 weighs 7.3 oz and has 16 MB of ROM and 64 MB of RAM. The two expansion slots house the Compact Flash and SD cards and can be handled simultaneously. The Zaurus has a built-in cursor key for simple navigation and runs Linux OS. One weakness is that this unit caters to more technical users with its customizable command line prompt option. Also, there is no technical support for Macintosh users, and because it uses the Linux OS, application functionality may be an issue.
Symbol Technologies Symbol PPT 2800 The PPT 2800 is the “industrial strength” PocketPC, with 64 MB of RAM and 32 MB of ROM all enclosed in an outer casing that can withstand a 4-foot drop onto concrete. Its fundamental application environment is in large retail chains and in manufacturing industries. It weighs 10.3 oz and has 320 × 240–pixel resolution and an optional 16level gray scale or 64-k color background. The PPT 2800 has the functional expandability to meet most applications. A definite benefit is the removable backup battery pack, eliminating the need to cradle the device to charge the battery. Also, the wireless Internal (WLAN), External (WWAN) antenna is built in, securing the modem from unexpected impact. The cost of the PPT 2280 is the main drawback. For the average user in the market for a PocketPC, the PPT 2880 may be cost prohibitive.
Toshiba Toshiba 570 PocketPC The 570 weighs 6.7 oz and is equipped with a 400-MHz Intel PXA250 processor. It also has a 3.5-inch TFT color display with 240 × 320–pixel resolution and 65,536 colors. The 570 has 64 MB of SDRAM and a slot for both the SD and CF card. Along with integrated Wi-Fi (IEEE Standard 802.11b), the 400-MHz processor and dual expansion slots offer several noteworthy benefits.
SMART PHONES Nokia Nokia 7650 The Nokia 7650 weighs 5 oz and uses multimedia messaging, accomplished by merging image, audio, and traditional voice calls. The 7650 also uses the Symbian OS, has an integrated WAP browser, and is outfitted with Bluetooth. A limitation is the sliding keypad, which may make it challenging to use with one hand.
The Nokia 9000i Communicator The Nokia 9000× Communicator series has been around since 1996 and has evolved into a sophisticated palmtop computer, built in the form of a global systems for mobile communication (GSM) cellular phone. The Nokia 9000i has a clamshell design; when closed the 9000i operates as
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MOBILE DEVICES AND PROTOCOLS
a normal cellular phone but with text messaging. When opened, the phone is transformed into wireless PDA, the top half delivering a 640 × 200–pixel LCD screen and the bottom half offering a keyboard. The Communicator uses the GEOS 3.0 OS and has a 24-MHz Intel 386 processor with 8 MB of memory. The memory is divided into three individual partitions, 4 MB allocated to the OS and application software, 2 MB for program execution, and 2 MB for data storage. The pitfalls are the small keyboard and the fact that users must navigate through screens using buttons.
Nokia 9290 The Nokia 9290 addressed several of the challenging issues with the 9000i and increased the amount of memory to 56 MB and talk time to 10 from 3 hours. The memory is divided with 16 MB committed to user needs, 8 MB to execution, 16 MB to application, and 16 MB to the memory card. The 9290 uses a 32-bit ARM RISC CPU on the Symbian OS.
Ericsson Ericsson T86 tri-mode GPRS The Ericsson T86 weighs less than 3 oz and runs on a Symbian OS. This phone has a color screen and builtin Bluetooth capability. It also has optional modules for wireless earplugs, a video camera, and a four-way navigational joystick. A weakness is that the screen size is tiny and the buttons are small.
Ericsson T61d This device features voice-activated dialing and supports Bluetooth technology. With a calendar, calculator, and stopwatch, the T61d is blurring the line between cell phones and PDAs. As with most smart phones, the main challenge is screen size. The seven-line graphic display limits the amount of information that the user can view.
WIRELESS PROTOCOLS Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) The IEEE 802.11 standard is the foundation on which PDAs and PocketPCs operate. Products that employ this technology support a broad range of enterprises and individual users. With such explosive growth in wireless infrastructure and applications, understanding some basics about mobile computing technology and its limitations and variations can be helpful. This section touches on the protocols used for mobile communications and highlights some of the differences. This section of the chapter is a general overview, not a comprehensive analysis. (See Table 2.) Over the past 15 years, the use of mobile computing devices has increased rapidly as cellular and digital services have become more affordable. Businesses are incorporating cell phones and PDAs as a way for employees to manage their work. This equipment also provides more efficient customer service. Unfortunately, as the popularity of mobile units increased, compatibility issues have
Table 2 Smart Phones Manufacturer Nokia Ericcson
Model 9000i 9290 T86 tri-mode T61d
Screen
Weight
Gray Scale 13.9 ounces Color 8.6 ounces Color 3.0 ounces Color 3.1 ounces
Sources: Nokia (2002) and Mobileinfo (2003).
become problematic. To remedy this, the IEEE partitioned the 2.4-GHz microwave band into two separate sections, frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) and direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS). The standards that emerged are 802.11 (FHSS), 802.11b (DSSS), 802.11a (DSSS), 802.11g (DSSS), and 802.11e (DSSS). Their characteristics are as follows: 802.11 uses the 79 distinct FHSS channels for transmission of data; 802.11b uses a more exotic encoding technique and 14 fixed frequency channels up to 11 Mbps transmission in the license-free 2.4 GHz band. Because of current market share, 802.11b is the current wireless standard supporting all Ethernet network protocols. Data transmissions via 802.11a can reach up to 54 Mbps in the 5-GHz band using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) encoding scheme. Standard 802.11g addresses QoS side of wireless networking and is currently in the development stages. Currently IEEE is investigating how best to standardize 802.11e as a wireless security protocol (IEEE, 2002). The frequencies of 802.11b and 802.11g share wavelength space with microwave ovens and cordless telephones, causing signal collision and interference.
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) In 1997, Ericsson, Motorola, and Nokia formed the wireless application protocol forum (WAP Forum, n.d.). This forum was established to provide a worldwide open standard, enabling the delivery of Internet service to cell phones. WAP technology is aiming to be the global standard for mobile phones and wireless devices. The wireless application protocol supports standard data formatting and transmission for wireless devices. An important issue for WAP is that applications can be developed on any OS, thus providing interoperability among device families (WAP Forum, 2001). This could cause an unnecessary increase in the number of interfaces that Web developers will need to design and maintain. We are in the earliest stages of wireless application development, and many changes will occur in the future. It will be important to reassess strategic goals before taking action on cutting-edge and nonstandardized wireless protocols. See Figure 1 for WAP infrastructure overview.
Radio Frequency Identification A basic RFID system consists of three components: the antenna, the transponder (tag), and the transceiver (tag reader). The antenna can be incorporated with the transceiver and decoder, becoming a reader. Readers can be handheld devices, such as the Symbol PPT 2280. RFID
GLOSSARY
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“Location independent” or ad hoc networks will benefit most from Bluetooth. Another feature is that Bluetooth performs authentication, payload encryption, and key handling. Because Bluetooth continuously hops between channels and switches between synchronous connectionoriented and asynchronous connection-less links, packet interference is primarily eliminated. With the multitude of compatibility options associated with Bluetooth, and with the increase of devices being manufactured with Bluetooth capabilities, it will likely surpass 802.11b in the arena of wireless communication within the next 2 years (Egan, 2001). (See Table 3.)
CONCLUSION
works as follows: the antenna emits radio signals to activate the tag; once the tag is activated, the reader either reads the tag or writes information to it (Table 2). The type of tag dictates the functionality. Tags are either active (read and write) or passive (read only). The range of data transmission can reach more than 90 feet, subject to ideal working environments.
The pace of emerging technology requires both developers and end users to continually revisit trends and business practices. With new technologies in development, today’s methods and processes will be replaced at a moment’s notice, and mobile computing and mobile networking are no exception. Over the next decade, mobile computing will evolve rapidly, surpassing the original desktop explosion. The IEEE standards briefly mentioned in this chapter are the catalysts through which mobile computing will continue to grow. These standards, too, will change over the next 2 to 5 years, driven by a market demanding faster transmission speeds and more dynamic functionality from the numerous mobile devices.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
GLOSSARY
GPS is a method using satellites and radio frequencies to determine a specific position without making observations of one’s surroundings. The GPS satellites orbit at about 12,000 miles above the Earth (Table 3). GPS devices can process signals received from four or more satellites’ transmissions simultaneously to calculate the receiver’s location within 6 feet (Punaridge, 2002).
Ad hoc A networking mode used for establishing a network where wireless infrastructure does not exist or where services are not required. Direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) A redundant radio frequency that operates between the 5.5 and 11 Mbps data transmission ranges. Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) The transmission technology used in a wireless local area network in which the data hops in a random but predictable sequence from frequencies; data rate is between 1 and 2 Mbps. Flash memory A special type of memory that is electrically erasable and read-only programmable; Flash Memory can be erased and reprogrammed in blocks instead of a single byte at a time. Global positioning system (GPS) A system that incorporates the use of satellites for navigational and location identification purposes. General packet radio service (GPRS) A standard for wireless communications that runs at speeds up to 115 kbps; GPRS standard supports a wide range of bandwidths and is suited for sending and receiving small amounts of data. IEEE Standard 802.11 A wireless standard that applies to wireless local area networks and provides 1 or 2 Mbps transmission in the 2.4-GHz band using either the frequency hopping or direct sequence spread spectrum. IEEE Standard 802.11a An extension of 802.11 that uses the direct sequence spread spectrum scheme to provide up to 54 Mbps in the 5-GHz band with less overlapping channels.
Figure 1: WAP infrastructure overview.
Bluetooth: The Bluetooth Protocol Stack Originally created by the Ericsson Company, Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology similar to the 802.11 family. The use of Bluetooth in mobile computing is designed to link devices within a range of 30–35 feet. Table 3 Wireless Application Protocol Infrastructure Overview Applications Layer Transport Protocol Layer TCP/IP HID RF COMM Logical Link Control Layer Connections linking to devices are established and released Link Manager Layer Link Manager Protocol maintains connections Baseband Layer Coding/Decoding, packet handling and frequency hopping Radio Frequency Layer Frequency combination, convert bits to symbols
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IEEE Standard 802.11b A wireless standard that operates in 11 channels and has the ability to move 11 Mbps in the 2.4-GHz band. IEEE Standard 802.11g A faster and more secure wireless standard that operates on only three channels compared with 13 channels for 802.11a. Radio frequency identification (RFID) A wireless technology that operates between 850 and 950 MHz and 2.4 and 2.5 GHz. Secure Digital (SD) A nonvolatile memory device that identifies objects and act as a permission gatekeeper. Synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) is tied to the system clock and is designed to be able to read or write from memory at the speed of the processor. Wi-Fi Wireless fidelity, or IEEE Standard 802.11b.
CROSS REFERENCES See BluetoothT M —A Wireless Personal-Area Network; Mobile Commerce; Mobile Operating Systems and Applications; Wireless Application Protocol (WAP); Wireless Communications Applications; Wireless Internet.
REFERENCES Blackberry (2003). Retrieved April 23, 2003, http://www. blackberry.net/products/handhelds/ Casio (2002). Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http://www. casio.com/index.cfm Compaq (2003). Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http:// h18000.www1.hp.com/ Egan, B. (2001, October). Mobile and wireless computing: The next user revolution. Paper presented at the Lake Beuna Vista, FL October 8-12, 2001 Gartner Group Symposium. Forrester Research (2001). Retrieved June 6, 2002, from http://www.forrester.com/home/0,6092,1–2,FF.html Handspring (2002). Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http://www.handspring.com/ Hewlett Packard (2002). Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http://www.hp.com/ IEEE (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2002, from http://www. ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?pageID = home Jones, N. (2001, October). Mobile commerce business scenario. Paper presented at the Gartner Group Symposium. Juptner, ¨ O. (2001). 36 million emails per day. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2002, http://www.e-gateway.net/ infoarea/news/news.cfm?nid=1876 McGuire, M. (2001, October). Mobile business markets: What can’t users live without. Paper presented at the Gartner Group Symposium, Lake Beuna Vista, FL, October 8–12, 2001. Mobileinfo (2003). Retrieved September 2, 2002, from http://www.mobileinfo.com/
NEC (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2003, http://www. necsolutions-am.com/products/psgateway.cfm Nokia (2002). Retrieved August 3, 2002, from http://www. nokiausa.com Nokia (2003). Retrieved August 3, 2002, from http://www. nokiausa.com/ (Date of access: 8/3/2002). Palm (2002). Retrieved June 10, 2002, from http://www. palm.com/ Palm stays atop handheld market. Retrieved January 26, 2002, from http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269s2103166,00.html PC-EPhone (2003). Retrieved April 23, 2003, http://www. pc-ephone.com/tech.html Punaridge (n.d.). Retrieved from August 20, 2002, from http: //www.punaridge.org/doc/factoids/GPS/Default. htm Sharp (2003). Retrieved April 23, 2003, http://www.sharp. com Sony (2003). Retrieved April 23, 2003, http://www.sony. com Symbol (2003). Retrieved April 23, 2003, http://www. symbol.com/products/ Toshiba (2003). Retrieved April 23, 2003, http://www. toshiba.com WAP Forum (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2002, from http://www.wapforum.org/ xAllnetdevices. Retrieved March 16, 2002, from http:// www.allnetdevices.com/
FURTHER READING Anatomy of IEEE 802.11b wireless. Retrieved October 17, 2001, from http://www.networkcomputing.com/1115/ 1115ws2.html Comdex wireless technology. Retrieved November 20, 2001, from http://www.key3media.com/comdex Compaq product page. Retrieved November 2002 from http://www.compaq.com Goldman, J., & Rawles, P. (2000). Local area networks: A business-oriented approach. New York: Wiley. Pulling the Internet’s plug. Retrieved September 10, 2001, from http://www.networkmagazine.com/article/ NMG20000710S0007 The Wireless age: Theories of connectivity. Retrieved April 22, 2002, from http://nytimes.com/search/abstract Understanding 802.11b and Bluetooth. Retrieved November 4, 2001, from http://www.mightywords.com/ browse/details bc05 Webopedia. Retrieved December 6, 2001, from http:// www.webopedia.com/ Wireless local area network IEEE 802.11. Retrieved October 12, 2001, from http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/ 802/11/main Wireless revolutionizing campuses: Retrieved September 19, 2001, from http://thesource.micronpc.com/ articles/050201.html
Mobile Operating Systems and Applications Applications
Julie R. Mariga, Purdue University
Introduction Computing Architectures Mobile Computing Operating Systems Palm Operating System Windows CE Operating System Symbian Operating System J2ME Operating System
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INTRODUCTION Mobile computing, defined as a generalization of all mobile computing devices including personal digital assistants (PDAs, e.g., Palm Pilots, Pocket PCs), smart phones, and other wireless communication devices, will to change dramatically in the next 2 to 5 years. There are a number of reasons for these changes, but two primary factors are the convergence of next-generation handhelds and highspeed wireless technology. The operating systems (OSs) found in today’s handhelds will provide the foundation for future devices and applications. The world of technology is changing in many ways. Important considerations for companies are the challenges, trends, and opportunities of deploying mobile computing technologies. Companies need to ensure they have a mobile strategy in place to stay competitive and capitalize on new developments in the mobile computing area. Many factors drive companies to grow their mobile computing infrastructure, including decentralized workforces, telecommuting, travel, device capabilities and proliferation, mobile infrastructure focus, networking choices, cost of ownership issues, mobile business to employee transactions, and companies’ control of handheld devices. Which OS should companies or individuals implement? It depends on a number of factors. One important issue to consider is which application(s) need to be used on the device. Answering this question may help to eliminate certain operating systems and devices. Another important factor to consider is portability of applications, which is important because devices change rapidly. Portable applications can be used on new devices without having to be rewritten or upgraded. If applications are developed in a language that allows for portability, such as Java, then these can be deployed to a wide range of devices, including handhelds that support various operating systems, embedded Linux devices, and pure Java devices. Another important issue to consider in selecting an OS is what type of development tools are available as well as the number and strength of the programmers available to create and maintain applications. Currently, the Palm OS supports the largest number of packaged applications. Many of these, however, are better suited for individual rather than business use. According to Jones (2001a), there are four main factors driving the mobile business phenomenon: (a) economics,
Forecast of Mobile Computing Mobile Applications Conclusion Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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(b) business needs, (c) social trends, and (d) technology. Economics includes the falling prices of mobile airtime and the inexpensive cost of devices. Jones stated that over the next 5 years, costs will continue to decrease, which will allow for new mobile applications to be developed and Bluetooth chip sets to cost under $5. This will enable electronic devices to be networked. Business needs include organizations requiring new types of mobile applications to increase customer service and allow for better supply chain management. With regard to social trends, in many countries, mobile devices have become a lifestyle accessory, mainly among younger adults. As young adults continue to want more functionality from their devices and applications, there will be a mix between the mobile technology and entertainment and fashion. Finally, new core technologies such as WAP, i-mode, Bluetooth, and 3G networks are enabling a new generation of mobile applications. As these four factors evolve, they will continue to push the growth of the mobile business arena.
COMPUTING ARCHITECTURES It is important to understand the overall computing architecture when using mobile devices and developing mobile applications. There are two general architectures, the occasionally connected application model and the tiered computing architecture. This occasionally connected model would be used when the client is not permanently connected to the rest of the system. An important consideration with this model is that the developer should not make assumptions about data accessibility. The majority of business logic, processing, and will be done on the backend or server. The tiered computing architecture generally includes three types of architecture that fall into the tiered architecture model. The first is the one-tiered approach, in which the mobile device is used only as a display device, and the software, data validation, and business rule enforcement take place on the backend or server. In a two-tiered architecture, the business rules are divided, with some performed on the client-end application running on a dedicated device and the remainder on the server. An advantage to this type of architecture is that the network traffic can be reduced and overall performance improved. The disadvantage is that maintenance can be difficult. When a business rule changes, modifications need to be made to both the client device 635
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and the server. The three-tiered architecture model places a middle layer between the client device and the server. The middle layer implements a majority of the business processing, and the client device handles the display functions; the server provides data storage. The biggest advantage to this architecture is that scalability is extremely high. Any changes to business rules can be made on the middle layer. This type of architecture is also called n-tier architecture.
r
The number of partners working with Palm is extremely large. r A large number of applications are available to run on the Palm OS. r Palm has a healthy percentage of the market share. Weaknesses with Palm and Palm OS are the following: r The
MOBILE COMPUTING OPERATING SYSTEMS There are a number of choices available for both individuals and companies when selecting handheld devices. Before purchasing a device, a few important decisions need to be made about what OS will run the device and what type of applications will run on the selected OS. There are three primary operating systems to choose from for handheld devices: the Palm, Pocket PC, and Symbian operating systems. The following sections look at each of these operating systems. For the next 5 years, information system managers will be forced to confront the various mobile platform and OS dependencies. A key for building success in the mobile computing arena will be for organizations to have a strategic plan in place for how mobile computing fits with the overall business plans.
Palm Operating System The Palm OS has been the most popular platform for handheld devices since 1997 when the first Palm Pilot was launched. Some advantages include its ease of use, market share, synchronization with many calendaring and scheduling applications, and its contact management systems. The Palm OS uses a simple handwriting recognition system called graffiti instead of a keyboard. A user can plug in a keyboard if desired. Since first introduced, the Palm OS has lost market share to devices running the Pocket PC OS and the Windows CE OS. Palm has created PalmSource as a Palm subsidiary, which will allow PalmSource the ability to concentrate on developing and enhancing the operating system. The Palm OS runs on the following devices: Palm, Acer, Handspring, HandEra, Kyocera, Samsung, Sony, and Symbol. As of this writing, the latest version is Palm OS 5, which has created new opportunities for end users and developers. It will continue to support the ARM-compliant processors from Intel, Motorola, and Texas Instruments, but it enhances the multimedia capabilities and incorporates more security options. It also provides for more wireless connections. The Palm OS currently maintains a market share in the handheld device market even though it has lost market share in 2000 and 2001. With the Palm OS, software developers can build data applications to use with Palm devices, which can be implemented via wireless or synchronized data access to corporate data. According to Dulaney (2001), Palm OS devices will have the broadest appeal and application support for most organizations, setting the standard for handheld devices. The Palm OS has the following strengths:
core OS functionality is limited (compared with Windows CE/Pocket PC). r Palm as a company is undergoing major changes, and some question its leadership and future business directions There is an ongoing debate in the industry about the future of Palm. Palm supporters are becoming concerned that the Palm market share is stagnating while Microsoft’s Pocket PC is increasing. “The conventional wisdom is that Microsoft is gaining a lot of momentum. But Palm is still the market leader,” said Alexander Hinds, the president and CEO of Blue Nomad, makers of the Wordsmith word-processing application for the Palm OS (Costello, 2001). One of the reasons for the sense of impending doom surrounding Palm is Microsoft’s push into the enterprise market, an area it has traditionally dominated (Costello, 2001). Many industry experts believe that the Pocket PC will post large gains in the market in 2002 and that Palm will need to work more closely with third-party developers who are already strong in the enterprise to counter that move. Nonetheless, many of the vendors supporting the Palm OS are still confident in the future and believe that the release of Palm 5.0 will be a key in sustaining its market share. Many observers tout the functionality of the Windows CE platform, noting its native support for full-motion video, digital music, and high-resolution color screens as selling points for corporate customers. This situation hasn’t been helped by the length of time Palm has let pass between major upgrades to its operating system. Palm OS 5.0, a major upgrade that will mark the platform’s transition to the more powerful StrongARM processor, was released in July, 2002. Some of the key benefits to the new version of the Palm OS include the following: r Enhanced
security—To keep sensitive data private, Palm OS 5 offers 128-bit data-encryption services based on the de facto standard RC4 encryption algorithm from RSA Security. It also includes end-to-end security that is provided through Secure Socket Layer (SSL) services for e-mail, Web browsing, and online transactions. r Multimedia—The new OS will have the ability to record sound and play CD-quality digital audio. Support for high-density screens (up to 320×320 pixels) doubles the Palm OS screen resolution, and new selectable color themes will let users customize devices. r Wireless—In addition to current support for wide area network (WAN) and Bluetooth, Palm OS 5 supports 802.11b for connections to wireless local area networks.
MOBILE COMPUTING OPERATING SYSTEMS
Device Applications Mail, Personal Information Management Applications
Third party and custom applications
Application Toolbox Third Party Libraries
System Libraries
Java communication
System Services Event, serial, sound, graffiti, resource, feature, event and modem manager
Kernel
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Windows CE should be used for any industry or business applications. Improved kernel services allow the OS to respond more quickly to various processing needs. The improved services make the OS ideally suited for industrial applications such as robotics, test and measurement devices, and programmable logic controllers. The OS interoperates easily with desktop environments that are based on Microsoft Windows NT operating system and Microsoft Windows 2000. This makes it the easier for overall enterprise system integration that combines small mobile systems with high-performance desktops servers and workstations. There are several applications that come with the Pocket PC including Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, and Pocket Internet Explorer, Microsoft money, active sync, note taker, and file explorer. Some of the features found in the OS include the following: r Increased
1. Palm OS software 2. Reference hardware design 3. Data synchronization technology for one-button synchronization 4. Platform component tools including an application programming interface (API) that enables developers to write applications 5. Software interface capabilities to support hardware add-ons
Device Security—enhancements include encrypted passwords and programming interfaces that allow third-party developers to extend anti-virus software. r Windows Media Player—This enhancement delivers the ultimate digital media playback for mobile device users. With Media Player, a user can listen to digital music or watch a short video. The media player supports Windows media content, MP3 audio files, Windows media audio, and Windows media video. r Pocket Internet Explorer—This feature allows users to surf the Web online or download Web pages to read while offline. It supports HTML and WAP sites. r eReader—This feature allows users to read their favorite books on their mobile devices. r Pocket Outlook—This is the mobile companion to Microsoft Outlook. Users can schedule appointments, manage contacts, read, write, and send e-mail. r Industry Standard Expansion Slot—This feature allows users to expand the use of their device as their needs grow. Some users might use an expansion slot to add more memory or to add a modem, digital camera, or scanner.
Figure 1 shows the overall architecture of the Palm OS.
Symbian Operating System
Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) Device Hardware Processor, Memory, Video
Third party hardware
Figure 1: Palm operating system architecture.
Primary Components The Palm OS consists of five main components:
Windows CE Operating System Windows CE is an operating system developed by Microsoft for different types of mobile devices made by several leading consumer electronics manufacturers including Casio, Compaq, Hewlett Packard, and Symbol. Windows CE is a modular operating system that provides many building blocks for developers to choose from. It can be large or small, depending on the size and strength needed for a device. It provides users with the familiar look and feel of Microsoft Windows. Windows CE is a 32-bit OS designed to meet the needs of a broad range of devices, from enterprise tools (such as industrial controllers, communications hubs, and point-of-sale terminals) to consumer products (such as cameras, telephones, and handheld and home entertainment devices). A typical Windows CE-based embedded system is targeted for a specific use, and many analysts think that
The Symbian OS is an advanced, open, standard system licensed by the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers. It is designed for the specific requirements of open and data-enabled 2G, 2.5G, and 3G mobile phones. The Symbian OS includes a multitasking kernel, integrated telephony support, communications protocols, advanced graphics support, data management, a low-level graphical user interface infrastructure, and a variety of application engines. Some of the key features of the operating system include the following: r Full
suite of application engines—Applications include a contact database, an alarm, an agenda, charts, a word processor, a database, and a help application. r Browsing—This operating system includes the Opera Web browser, which has the ability to browse over global system for mobile communications, general packet radio service, code-division multiple access,
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Application engines Contacts, office, SyncML, data management, browsing, agenda
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, email, fax
MIDP
JavaPhone
Java, PersonalJava Application Framework Graphical user interface framework, text and graphicals utilities Multimedia Images, sounds, graphics
Security Software installation, Cert ificate management, Cryptography
Personal area networking Infrared, USB, Bluetooth
Communications Infrastructure TCP, IPv4, IPv6, HTTP, WAP
Telephony GSM, GPRS, HSCSD, EDGE, CMDA
Base User library, file server, device driver, kernel
Figure 2: Overview of the Symbian operating system.
and transmission control protocol/Internet protocol connections and to browse local files. r Messaging—This allows users to create, send, and receive text, enhanced, and multimedia messages, as well as e-mail and faxes. r Multimedia—The Symbian OS includes a graphics subsystem that allows shared access to the screen, keyboard, and pointing devices. It also includes an interface that allows for drawing to any graphics device. In addition, it provides audio recording and playback. r Communication protocols—The Symbian OS supports numerous protocols used for communication such as transmission control protocol, user datagram protocol, Internet protocol v4, Internet protocl v6, point-topoint protocol, domain name system, secure sockets layer, transport layer security, file transfer protocol, hypertext transport protocol, wireless application protocol, and Bluetooth. r Mobile telephony—The telephony subsystem provides multiple APIs to its clients,which offers integration with the rest of the OS to accomplish advanced data services. Some of the functionality included is phone and network information, access to the network names detected by the phone, information about the current network, and retrieval of signal and battery strengths and network registration changes. r Data synchronization—The SyncML client is used for data synchronization. It includes a contact and an agenda database adapter so that the two databases can be synchronized. It also includes a database adapter that allows the Symbian client to synchronize its data with the backend database. r Security—The Symbian OS security subsystem enables data integrity and authentication by supporting underlying secure communications protocols such as secure sockets layer and IP security. The security subsystem includes a cryptography module and certificate management module.
r Software
development—The Symbian OS is delivered to its licensees and development partners in two products, the Symbian OS customization kit and the Symbian OS development kit. This allows other companies to develop software to be compatible with the Symbian OS. r Support for multiple user interfaces. The features are shown in Figure 2.
J2ME Operating System Java was introduced in 1995 with the idea of developing a language that would allow developers to write their code once and then run it on any platform supporting a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). In 1997, a new edition was released, Java 2 Enterprise Edition, to provide support for large-scale enterprisewide applications. The most recent addition to the family is the Micro Edition, which targets “information appliances” ranging from Internet ready television to cellular phones. Following is a summary of the available Java platforms: r Standard
Edition (J2SE)—This edition is designed to run on desktop and workstation computers. r Enterprise Edition (J2EE)—This edition provides built in support for servlets, Java server pages, and XML. J2EE is aimed at server-based applications. r Micro Edition (J2ME)—This edition is designed for devices with limited memory, display, and processing power. J2ME is aimed at consumer devices with limited hardware capabilities. By introducing J2ME, devices no longer need to be static in nature. It allows users the option to browse, download, and install Java applications and content; devices running J2ME can access features inherent to the Java language and platform. J2ME capabilities vary greatly. Products may include cellular phones, PDAs, pagers, entertainment devices, and automotive
FORECAST OF MOBILE COMPUTING
navigation as well as others. An understanding of configurations and profiles is necessary to understand how J2ME can accommodate a broad range of electronics and devices.
Configurations A configuration defines a Java platform for a broad range of devices and is closely linked to a JVM. It defines the Java language features and the core Java libraries of the JVM for that particular configuration. What a configuration applies to is primarily based on the memory, display, network connectivity, and processing power available on the device. On the Sun Microsystems Web site, the J2ME Frequently Asked Questions states, “The J2ME technology has two design centers, things you hold in your hand and things you plug into the wall.” Two currently defined configurations are the connected device configuration (CDC) and the connected, limited device configuration (CLDC) (http://java.sun.com/j2me/docs/). The CDC configuration has the following specifications: r
512 kilobytes memory for running Java 256 kilobytes for runtime memory allocation r Network connectivity, possibly persistent and high bandwidth r
The CLDC configuration has the following specifications:
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MID Profile
Configuration
CLDC Core Libraries
Java Virtual Machine
K Virtual Machine
Host Operating System
Host Operating System
CDC Architecture
CLDC Architecture
Figure 3: Overview of connected device configuration and the connected, limited device configuration architectures.
J2ME Architectures The overall architecture starts with the host operating system followed by the virtual machine. The virtual machine can take one of two forms: For systems complying with the CDC configuration, it will be the traditional virtual machine. For systems complying with the CLDC configuration, it will be the K virtual machine (KVM) that meets the specifications as required by the configuration. See Figure 3 for an overview of the CDC and CLDC architecture.
FORECAST OF MOBILE COMPUTING The future of mobile computing looks promising. Each of the operating systems described in this chapter has its strengths and weaknesses (Table 1).
r
Mobile Applications
r
According to Graff (2001), “By the year 2005, 65 percent of Fortune 2000 enterprises will be supporting mobile wireless applications, such as e-mail, Internet/intranet access or customer relationship management.” There are a variety of mobile applications, some aimed at the consumer and others at enterprises. Business needs new mobile applications to reduce costs; improve or increase customer service; satisfy the need for anytime, anywhere; and bridge business partners. For mobile applications to be successful, they first must meet some predefined business need. Once this is defined, the applications and solutions need to be location and device aware to be the most effective. According to Egan (2001a), there are three applications architectures offline, on demand, and online. With offline applications, the client is able to perform functions. With
128 kilobytes memory for running Java 32 kilobytes memory for runtime memory allocation r Restricted user interface r Low power and typically battery powered r Network connectivity, typically wireless, with low bandwidth
Profiles A profile is an extension to a configuration. A profile provides the libraries for a developer to write applications for a particular type of device. The mobile information device profile (MIDP) defines APIs for user interface components, input and event handling, persistent storage, networking and timers, taking into account the screen and memory limitations of mobile devices. Table 1 Mobile Platforms Strengths and Weaknesses Platform Palm Symbian
Microsoft Linux
Keys Strengths: Market share, number of partners, and number of available applications Weaknesses: Somewhat hardware dependent and core operating system functionality is limited Strengths: Telephony area, number of partners, Eurocentric Weaknesses: Lack of marketing compared with Palm and Microsoft and many companies involved in development Strengths: Integration with existing infrastructure and applications and performance Weaknesses: Anti-Microsoft sentiment among the public and no true Java support Strengths: Open source code, inexpensive, and popular in Asian markets Weaknesses: No wide base of applications available, many variations of the core language, no owner
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on demand applications, the client is intermittently connected, and some processing can take place on the client. With online applications, the mobile device is always connected, and much of the processing is done on the server. So which application architecture should be used? It depends on the defined business needs and goals, as well as the type of applications that will be implemented and used. Organizations will face various challenges when deciding which mobile technology to use. One challenge will be the human factor, which includes various social characteristics, fashion, and internal perceptions; in addition, many mobile applications will imply changes in human behavior. Another challenge is the business and economics of developing mobile applications. The challenge is to find the right business model because there are so many ideas about mobile applications. A successful application involves working with other business partners that may not have the same goals. As for economics, an operating system must be cost justified and needs the support of management. The final challenge will be with the technology itself. Mobile technology is evolving quickly, and few experts understand everything related to it. Two key areas are overall performance of mobile applications and security.
Generations of Mobile Applications As mobile technology continues to evolve, so do mobile applications. The first generation of mobile applications was primarily focused on the organizer, which consists of contact and appointment features. These applications are still used heavily in handheld devices. The second generation of applications began to expand their application needs beyond the embedded applications. Many users want access to office and PC-based applications, such as Microsoft Office and e-mail. The third generation of applications will involve the requirement for continuous wireless connectivity to various applications. During this generation, data synchronization will become much more common. The fourth generation of mobile applications will be built based on the assumption that handheld devices are mainstream. This is estimated to occur in 2004–2005. The fifth generation will include applications developed for managing numerous devices and is estimated to become mainstream in 2006. Currently, messaging is the main application that end users require.
Concepts for Working With Mobile Applications Some important concepts need to be considered when developing mobile applications. Among these is the obvious fact that the user is mobile, which has an impact on the application and content delivered. Mobile applications will more than likely run on a Web phone, a handheld device, a pager, a Web PC, or an information appliance. The four main applications pushing the wireless Internet include messaging, conversing, interacting, and browsing. The way these applications are accessed could be over a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or a personal area network (PAN). These networks differ in power, bandwidth, and data rates and are important to define in the development of applications that will be accessed via mobile devices. Users will access or browse sites that keep their content current and easy to navigate.
Wireless Development Method To develop software applications for wireless devices, a number of different methodologies are followed. Because wireless applications are different from traditional software applications, there are certain factors on which a developer should focus. Before writing the application, one should identify and study the intended audience. The three basic steps in studying the user are (a) developing a persona, (b) describing scenarios, and (c) creating storyboards. A persona is a single, concrete characterization of someone who uses an application. There can be more than one persona for each application, but developers should establish at least one. The creation of a persona involves the identification of the typical personality, writing a background for that personality, and describing characteristics and actions that define it and its typical activities. A persona should have a realistic personality and, at a minimum, should include a name, a title, a picture, biographical information, personality traits, and goals. The first paragraph of the persona’s written information should introduce the user without reference to a specific technology. A scenario is a concise description of a persona using technology components to achieve a goal. The scenario considers how the user handles the hardware, how the application is operated, and how the content is used. A storyboard diagrams the entire story of application use, one screen at a time, and shows the display, navigation, and interaction for the wireless device. There are numerous programming languages available to develop applications, but the most popular wireless programming languages are Java, C, and C++. A developer should also create a mobile database (with content) and design a logical application. The developer lays out a working model, builds wireless screens, and codes business logic to attach to real content. A mobile application should include back office administrative functions, keeping in mind that someone will have to manage the mobile user content on the server. Developing useful tools with good interfaces can help to simplify administrative tasks. Developers should also design a Web start page, which allows a user to set up an account and personalize the mobile application. A key to developing successful mobile applications is to allow users to personalize them to fit particular needs.
CONCLUSION Wireless technology is an exciting area of study that will evolve considerably in the years to come. Companies seeking to develop such technology should have a business model in place before settling on a given platform; they should also have a strong understanding of the kind of customers they will serve. What type of device will these customers use? What type of content will they want to access with those devices? Developers should focus on simple applications, and, working in small teams, use rapid application development to create prototypes of their products. Because the technology is still evolving, companies in the wireless arena should expect both business and technical challenges. Selecting mature technologies while building flexible, adaptable infrastructures
FURTHER READING
so that new protocols, operating systems, and applications can be added to the existing infrastructure will help developers of mobile technology meet the challenges of the market.
GLOSSARY Configuration A Java platform for a broad range of devices that defines the Java language features and core Java libraries of the Java Virtual Machine of the particular configuration. Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) An operating system designed for devices with limited memory, display, and processing power. Mobile information device profile (MIDP) A profile that defines application programming interfaces for user-interface components, input and event handling, persistent storage, networking, and timers, taking into account the screen and memory limitations of mobile devices. Mobile computing A generalization of all mobile computing devices including personal digital assistants, smart phones, and other wireless communication devices. Palm OS The most popular platform for handheld mobile devices since 1997 when the first Palm Pilot was launched. Profile An extension to a configuration that provides the libraries for a developer to write applications for a particular type of device. Symbian OS An advanced, open, standard operating system that is licensed by the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers. Windows CE An operating system developed by Microsoft that runs on various Pocket PC devices.
CROSS REFERENCES See Mobile Commerce; Mobile Devices and Protocols; Wireless Application Protocol (WAP); Wireless Communications Applications; Wireless Internet.
REFERENCES Dulaney, K. (2001, October). Outfitting the frontline: Phones, PDAs, and strategies for use. Paper presented at the Gartner Group Symposium, Orlando, Florida. Egan, B. (2001a, October). Mobile and wireless computing: The next user revolution. Paper presented at the Gartner Group Symposium, Orlando, Florida. Graff, J. (2001). Wireless e-mail and messaging: You can take it with you. Paper presented at the Gartner Group Symposium, Orlando, Florida. Jones, N. (2001a, October). Mobile commerce business scenario. Paper presented at the Gartner Group Symposium, Orlando, Florida.
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FURTHER READING Air2Web. (2001). A roadmap to wireless: The state of the technology. Retrieved March 15, 2002, from http://www.air2web.com Beaulieu, M. (2002). Concepts for working with wireless applications. Retrieved July 14, 2002, from http:// www.informit.com Broadbeam Corporation. (1999). Introduction to wireless data. Retrieved March 28, 2002, from http:// www.broadbeam.com Costello, S. (2001). Comdex—despite Microsoft, developers stick with Palm—for now. Retrieved November 16, 2001, from http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2001/ 1116palmms.html Deitel, H. M., Deitel, P. J., Nieto, T. R., & Steinbuhler, K. (2002). Wireless internet & mobile business: How to program. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Donston, D. (2002). Making a place for IM at work. Retrieved July 14, 2002, from http://www.eweek.com Egan, B. (2001b, October). Wireless WANs and LANs: Even superman may be caught by this bullet. Paper presented at the Gartner Group Symposium, Orlando, Florida. Evans, N. (2002). The m-business evolution. Retrieved July 14, 2002, from http://www.informit.com iConverse. (2001). The impact of mobile application technology on today’s workforce. Retrieved March 14, 2002, from http://www.iconverse.com Jones, N. (2001b). Mobile e-business case studies. Paper presented at the Gartner Group Symposium, Orlando, Florida. Microsoft. (n.d.). Microsoft Windows powered Pocket PC. Retrieved March 28, 2002, from http://www.microsoft. com/catalog Microsoft. (n.d.). Product overview. Retrieved March 28, 2002, from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ embedded/ce.net Muchow, J. (2002). The basics of J2ME. Retrieved July 14, 2002, from http://www.informit.com Nobel, C. (2001). MIS 2002 only accesses Microsoft apps. Retrieved July 14, 2002, from http://www.informit.com Nobel, C. (2002). Can new Palm OS take on the enterprise? Retrieved July 14, 2002, from http://www.informit.com Palm. (2002). Palm OS 5 preview. Retrieved March 28, 2002, from http://www.palmos.com Simons, S. (2002). SMS: Is it happenin’ yet? Retrieved July 14, 2002, from http://www.informit.com Symbian. (n.d.). Symbian OS version 7 functional description. Retrieved April 2, 2002, from http://www. symbian.com Synchrologic. (2000). The handheld applications guide. Retrieved April 2, 2002, from http://www. synchrologic.com Synchrologic. (2001). The CIO wireless resource book. Retrieved April 2, 2002, from http://www. synchrologic.com Synchrologic. (2001). The future of enterprise mobile computing. Retrieved April 2, 2002, from http://www. synchrologic.com
Multimedia Multimedia
Joey Bargsten, University of Oregon
The Convergence of Aesthetics and Technologies Interactive Multimedia The Authoring Process Role of Design
Role of Testing
Understanding Digital Data
Process Overview
The Specifics of Multimedia Data, Its Representation, and Its Key Editing Applications Text
Still Images
Motion Images
3D in Multimedia
3D Production Process
Audio
Integration of Media Types: Authoring Applications Desktop Publishing Applications HTML Editors
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THE CONVERGENCE OF AESTHETICS AND TECHNOLOGIES Interactive multimedia: any computer-delivered electronic system that allows the user to control, combine, and manipulate different types of media, such as text, sound, video, computer graphics, and animation. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2002)
Interactive Multimedia In line with the above definition, this chapter discusses multimedia in its more recent digital, interactive connotations—limiting the discussion to work that is r mediated by microprocessors or any technology that al-
lows the display and interaction of various combinations of image, text, and sound; r represented in whole or in part in digital form; r often nonlinear and user-determined (interactive) in its form; and r capable of transmission via networks, or published to disk. In the larger context, however, multimedia refers to an integration of multiple art forms, as in “intermedia,” a term first proposed by writer and experimental artist Dick Higgins of the Fluxus movement (fl. 1960–1973). Throughout the 20th century, intermedia artists created 642
Motion Image Environments Bitmap Animations/Motion Graphics Audio Interactivity Applications HyperCard Director Flash DVD Studio Pro Future Integration and Delivery Conclusion Appendix A: Audio Inputs for Multimedia Production Appendix B: Hardware for Sound Production Appendix C: Sound Design Terminology Levels of Organization of Sound Acknowledgment Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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an aesthetic and conceptual framework, which integrated image, sound, text, theatrical performance, space, movement, traditional media such as painting and sculpture, and projected/transmitted media (still projection or slides, motion projection or film, video, television, radio). Intermedia included various combinations of media, performance, and concept, but was not necessarily built on a digital foundation. However, it is within this setting that interactive multimedia, and indeed digital culture at large, emerged. Although many communicative forms since the printing press proposed new combinations of art and technology, it is distinctly digital, interactive multimedia that blurs the line between author and user. Reinvigorated by the technologies of computation, telecommunications, and audiovisual representation during the latter part of the 20th century, multimedia is now commonly regarded as a communicative form that realizes the possibilities of user-determined, computer-mediated, nonlinear, digital content, and its potential delivery across networks. In the minds of many, multimedia evolved to a digital art/design form as well—with even the once avant-garde notions of chance operations, nonlinear narrative design, nonsequitur of words and phrases, image collage, and all manner of digital synthesis (from sounds and voices to 3D virtual worlds and computer-generated actors) finding comfortable—if not always mainstream—acceptance. Multimedia now suggests a “digital commons” or vast community of multimedia authors and users—in business, the arts, communications, education, government— all interconnected via the Internet or other electronic
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means. Users are accustomed to increasingly complex interfaces with fusional, user-friendly designs, whether the multimedia is a digital art installation, a video game, or a Web site delivered via computer or a wireless device. The continual development of multimedia authoring tools such as Illustrator, Flash, Director, and ProTools, as well as digital media technologies like Quicktime and Real Media, is an integral part of meeting both user and author expectations.
THE AUTHORING PROCESS Multimedia authoring places new demands on everyone involved in this integrative process. Multimedia project managers would do well to possess a broad knowledge, not only of design principles and trends, but also the tools and techniques to implement them. Moreover, in projects utilizing such accessible applications as Macromedia Director, the team of designers/artists is often expected to double as programmers. Even in environments insistent upon dividing up the functions of the multimedia staff, the designers should nevertheless grasp the subtle transformation of media elements through simple, and not so simple, use of code, whereas the programmers should learn to discriminate between the various design styles that result from their code manipulation.
Role of Design In terms of design principles, the multimedia author(s) should be highly sensitive to the users’ experience of the project. In particular, the author focuses on the project’s intended visual style, the balance of its various media elements, and its information design.
Visual Style The “look” of a project contributes greatly to its overall tone and effectiveness. Visual design can be examined along the polarities of r
approach to imagery, from photorealism to abstraction; density of visual elements, from sparse to cluttered; and r overall organization of visual elements, from orderly and balanced to spontaneous, even chaotic. (See Figure 1.) r
Balance of Media Elements In cohesive multimedia projects, the visual design “echoes” throughout the project’s writing, organization, programming, and sound. The individual media elements—although each is given equal attention—should ultimately create an entirety. Any afterthought will be evident to the discriminating viewer. Many artists achieve this cohesion with widely disparate elements, such as Dziga Vertov’s film Man with a Movie Camera (1928), an early example of montage in cinema—or the editing together of contrasting shots. This approach translates to the world of multimedia in such animations as Mumbleboy (http://www.mumbleboy.com), with its beautifully oblique, non-sequitur imagery.
Figure 1: Design polarities.
Information Design The audience’s experience of the project is greatly enhanced by r the consistency of actions and interactivity, such as but-
tons that always do what users expect; logical sequence of events, such as the user logs in and arrives at the main interface page or the homepage—the deeper the user goes into the project, the more clicks it takes to get back out; r the visually consistent navigation, always in the same location on the page—the visual look of the navigation reinforces the hierarchy of the information; r the unambiguous directions, including dialogue boxes that avoid confusing language; and r the project’s adaptability to individual users— prompting them, for instance, to enter their own demographics or adjust control panels. r the
Information design is “the art and science of preparing information so that it can be used by human beings with efficiency and effectiveness” (Horn, 1999). Like many aspects of multimedia, information design draws upon multiple disciplines: psychology, library science, cartography, marketing, information science, visual design, etc. However, as a good starting point in the creation of a multimedia project, authors often ask themselves the following questions: r r r r r
Who will most likely benefit from, enjoy, or respond to my information/project? What am I trying to convey with this information? What led me to create this project? What do I hope to accomplish? Given a likely audience, what is the best delivery of the information (printed publication, Web, DVD, etc.)?
By answering these questions, the multimedia author clarifies the audience, tone, background, purpose, scope, and depth of the project.
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Role of Testing In testing or auditioning the multimedia project, the designer uncovers shortcomings in the interface’s design and functionality, as well as determines the portability of the project across various networks, hardware configurations, and operating systems. In presenting the project to representative audiences, as well as complete novices to the subject at hand, the designer answers such questions as r
Does everything function as the designer expects? Does any aspect of the design get in the way of the user’s expectations? r Were assumptions made in the design of the project that are not understood by the intended user? r
Understanding Digital Data File Size and Compression Digital data is stored in files characterized by file type (text, image, sound, etc.) and file size. The file size is affected by the amount of data, the data’s quality (resolution and bit-depth, for example) and the data’s compression (if any). The technology that compresses and decompresses data is generally referred to by the acronym “codec.” After data are compressed then transmitted, it is decompressed for its intended use. Usually, a higher level of compression yields data of a smaller file size, but lower quality. Far-reaching changes in digital culture followed the development of better codecs, capable of delivering a highquality audio or visual experience while maintaining a small or reasonable file size. For example, the .mpeg-1, layer 3 audio codec—popularly known as MP3—involves compressing CD-quality music data to file sizes small enough for easy transmission via the Internet, making music-sharing sites like Napster.com an enormous success. After the dismantling of the Napster site following litigation brought against it by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), other file-sharing sites emerged such as Gnutella.com and Kazaa.com.
QuickTime, Windows Media, .mpeg, and Real Systems are key technologies that develop or incorporate multiple codecs for different types of media. Each of these platforms offers various specialized codecs—for example, photo .jpeg for still images; MP3 or Qdesign for audio; Sorenson, QuickTime OfflineRT, or Indeo for video; and .mpeg-4 for video streaming. While most codecs are software-based, some—like certain versions of the Indeo video codec—require specific hardware. A complete listing of currently available codecs and their application to multimedia data can be found at http://www.discreet.com/ support/codec/ (Discreet, n.d.).
Color Models The proper use of color models, or color spaces, is crucial in maintaining color consistency in a multimedia project. In most digital media, either the additive (RGB) or the subtractive (CMYK) model is used as the basis for the project’s color. In the additive model—used for screen projects such as Web or video—its basic color components of red, green, and blue light create pure white light when the three colors are combined in equal amounts. The subtractive color model (cyan, magenta, yellow, black [K]) is best suited for print technology and is based on inks or pigments rather than light. Thus, in creating a Web site, an author must adjust high-quality photo scans, .gif and .jpeg graphics, and Flash elements so that they occupy the same RGB color space. If images made in Flash for Web animation are later included in a print publication, the author must convert the Flash material from RGB to CMYK. See Figure 2.
Process Overview Input To take advantage of digital technologies such as reproduction, editing, transmission, and networking, the multimedia author must convert the project data to digital form. Various technologies exist for the conversion of analog data into digital form: scanning and digital photography for images; optical character recognition (OCR) for
CYAN
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Additive (RGB) Color Model for Screen
Subtractive (CMYK) Color Model for Print
Figure 2: Color models.
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Figure 3: Digital multimedia—process overview. text; recording, sampling, a-to-d (analog to digital) conversion for sound; and telecine and video capture for motion media (see Figure 3). Once “digitized,” the data can be manipulated within a multimedia application (for example, scanning a photo of the Mona Lisa into Adobe Photoshop and using Photoshop’s pencil tool to add a mustache). Although dedicated applications emerged during the early 1990s for the processes of digitizing and editing media, many recent applications include both processes.
Editing and Authoring Applications In multimedia, various media elements such as text, images, sounds, animations, and video are first created in an editing application suited to a particular media type; then the elements are combined and arranged in an authoring application that incorporates the various media elements with interactivity, usually in the form of a scripting language. (Note that while this chapter approaches editing and authoring as distinctly different environments, some multimedia applications that comprehensively integrate both functions have evolved.)
Linking/Embedding/Nesting The media elements—text, images, sounds, animations, video—relate to the project file through linking, embedding, and/or nesting:
Linking. Linked elements are not incorporated within the project file, but links to these elements are established within the project file. The project file and all of its linked elements must be present for the project to play, display, or print properly.
Embedding/Nesting. An embedded media element is one copied in its entirety into the project file, usually making the project file size much larger. Once embedded, multiple references to the same media element in the project file can be made, usually at little or no increase in file size. Elements embedded within other elements, which are embedded in yet other elements, results in nesting. Nesting could involve, for example, animations of a circle graphic—getting larger and smaller—referenced respectively within the “over” and “up” functions (or states) of a button; multiple copies of this button are then referenced on a navigation strip, and multiple copies of the navigation strip are referenced on an interface (see Figure 4). In the prior example, in which all of the animations are vector-based—created within a single authoring tool that is vector-oriented—the file size and download time is minimized, contributing to greater economy of visual design. If the multimedia author uses an application with scripting capabilities, the resultant programming has a nested structure as well. In the project file, the author starts with simple independent commands, which are called (referenced or gathered up in a larger action) by higher-level commands. In Figure 5 below, “handlers,” or a series of commands in Macromedia Director’s scripting language, are called within other handlers. Output The authoring application creates a project file that incorporates, and in some cases further edits, the media elements. The project file also provides the technology, or “engine,” necessary to publish or play the project as a single, self-running, or standalone application from a disk or hard drive. Otherwise, the author publishes the project file without the engine, making the project smaller in file size and easier to transmit over the Web or other networks.
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I. Vector Animations Vector Animation 1
keyframe in-between or Tween frames keyframe
Vector Animation 2
II. Button with Animations Button
UP OVER DOWN HIT
III. Navigation Strip with Multiple Buttons
IV. Interface with Multiple Navigation Strips Welcome to eTransInfo Inc!
Figure 4: Nesting. In this case, the project is played on a Web browser that has the engine technology built into it in the form of a browser plug-in. The project file can also be published or exported as a file format that can be further imported into other authoring applications. (See Figure 6.)
THE SPECIFICS OF MULTIMEDIA DATA, ITS REPRESENTATION, AND ITS KEY EDITING APPLICATIONS Text Indicative of the power and pervasiveness of text in multimedia production is the slogan of Voyager, the hypertext and CD-ROM publishing company founded by Bob Stein: “Text: the final frontier.” Text is perhaps the most supported of all media types; it can be edited in virtually all the major editing and authoring tools and is commonly cut and pasted between applications (see Figure 7). A central component in most multimedia projects, text is unique in its ability to engage the senses of readers, creating characters, events, and entire sensorial worlds in their imaginations. In multimedia production, text is generally presented as
r body text—a means of conveying information or instruc-
tions, in a continuous or linear form, or arranged discontinuously; r display text—a visual design element—as is usually the case with titles; display text can also be the visual foundation of a work, as in the Juxt Interactive Web site (http://www.juxtinteractive.com) or in the Shredder Web site (http://www.potatoland.org), an example of digital art in the tradition of Dada and Lettrisme text experimentation; r dynamic text—an element of user input or interactivity; for example, users enter departure time and destination on a travel Web site to immediately elicit/display information on airlines and hotel accommodations; and r hypertext—a link to any other page or part of a page on the Internet or in an interactive project. Although text-based works tend to be read linearly or from start to end, there were early literary experiments in nonlinear text, anticipating the user-determined presentations of the digital era. William Burroughs engaged in such an experiment, in the late 1940s, when he developed the process of the cut-up: he cut pages of his stories into four equal sections, then reassembled the sections
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Figure 5: Nested scripting. into new pages, subverting his control over the order and outcome of events (ArtMuseum.net, n.d.b). Likewise, digital multimedia users are accustomed to creating their own path through text, clicking on links and moving from one interface to another (somewhat unpredictably from the designer’s standpoint). This nonlinearity is just one of text’s adaptations to a digital setting. E-mail, for example, revived written correspondence, making it ubiquitous, and making its transmittal ever faster with newer forms such as instant messaging. E-mail, Web chatrooms, Web diaries or logs (“blogs”), and other text-based digital communicative forms are changing how we communicate— shaping language into more compressed, fragmented, and nonlinear form.
Still Images In visual communication, the image provides a symbol or reference for more abstract words or concepts. Thus, the image is perhaps the most volatile and potentially ambiguous of media forms—owing to the tremendous influence of visual information from fine arts, advertising, communication design, and other cultural sources. In the hands of the digital artist, the image is yet more endlessly transfigurable. In multimedia, bitmaps and vectors are the two major types of still images (see Figures 8a and 8b). Whereas bitmap files represent the photos manipulated, or material drawn, in bitmap applications, vector files represent imagery drawn in vector applications. In bitmap editing, Adobe Photoshop is the standard editor, as it has dominated the market since its release in 1990. “Photoshop”
is often used as a verb, meaning to alter a photographic image through digital means—although Photoshop performs other functions besides bitmap editing (see Figure 9). In vector image editing, Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand are currently the dominant tools (see Figure 10).
Bitmap Editing The bitmap editing tools of Photoshop and similar applications include the following.
Painting and Drawing. Tools to add pixels to a digitalized image or a blank digital canvas typically employ a drawing or painting metaphor. A pressure-sensitive pad and handheld stylus (pen) often replace the mouse pad/mouse as the preferred method of input, attempting to make the creation of visual images more accessible. For example, Corel Painter was used in an interactive art installation in San Francisco’s Zeum Children’s Museum. The exhibit encouraged children to draw on electronic easels and view their artwork projected on large screens.
Image Selection Methods. Using a digitized image as a starting point, certain tools select the area of the image to be manipulated. Common among these tools are Photoshop’s select-all command, the lasso tool (drawing around a selection), the marquee tool (dragging a rectangle or oval around a selection), and the pen tool (to draw a Bezier curve). The alpha channel is a more advanced approach to selection. This tool creates a grayscale version of an image, in which the black pixels constitute the selected area, the
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Figure 6: Digital multimedia—detail. white pixels are unselected, and all shades of gray are partially selected. Selections can be imported from other programs, as well. This tool allows for complicated image selection and manipulation, such as accurately masking the outline of a person’s hair against a visually “busy” background.
Cut, Copy, and Paste Operations. Once selected, the selection can be cut, copied, and pasted onto other parts of the image. Variations on these elementary operations are included in most bitmap editors—such as the rubber stamp or custom brush tools that are a hybrid of painting and copy/paste tools. Any selected area can be copied and
Figure 7: Text/data.
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Figure 8: Design with (a) bitmaps and (b) vectors. made into a custom brush or rubber stamp in order to paint parts of the image onto other parts of the image or canvas.
Image Adjustment. Many aspects of an image can be altered or adjusted, such as brightness, contrast, color saturation, color balance, or color palette. Colors can be matched to a standard system of colors, such as the Pantone system, used throughout print and electronic industries.
Layers. Layering is another basic technique/feature common to most digital image programs. It involves placing one image on top of another, while controlling the amount of transparency or opacity of each image—providing for the building of multiple layers, each with its own imagery, graphics, or text. A subgroup of layers known as adjustment layers incorporates image adjustments like brightness/contrast, color saturation, balance, and visual definitions of shadow and highlight. The user can produce multiple versions of an image, with subtle differences in color balance, for example, so that each version suits a specific printer or screen.
ized, partly abstracted visuals, using the extreme sharpen, posterize, motion blurs, and displacement map features of Photoshop and similar programs.
Vector Editing In contrast to the textured photorealism of bitmap graphics, vector art is the basis for the clean, sharp lines of graphic design, logos, packaging, signs, or vectorized images. Vector editing is dominated by such applications as Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand, unless the intent is animation; in which case, Macromedia Flash is the tool of choice. (See Vector Animation below.) Vector editing toolsets are similar to those in bitmap applications. However, because vector editors describe space, line, point, and color in mathematical terms—rather than in individual picture elements—vector images are displayed with equal crispness and acuity at any magnification or size. Vector shapes retain their clarity and scalability, while being pulled, twisted, and altered, because a vector image is made up of endpoints and the curves connecting them (Bezier curves).
Bitmap to Vector Converters Filters and Effects. The filters and effects tools offer a vast range of visual possibility. Bitmap images are altered, sharpened, blurred, pointillized, shattered, smoothed— taking on the characteristics of physical material (glass, plastic, wood, canvas, water)—or transformed into styl-
These tools—referred to as trace bitmap functions in such programs as Flash and Corel Draw—involve the conversion of bitmap images to vector-based graphics. A stylized, less realistic image results from this changeover, a process reminiscent of “posterization”—breaking an image
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Figure 9: Bitmap still images.
Figure 10: Vector still images.
THE SPECIFICS OF MULTIMEDIA DATA, ITS REPRESENTATION, AND ITS KEY EDITING APPLICATIONS
into irregular shapes according to the image’s color content. This technique is only effective when using a limited color palette; otherwise, it produces a large number of complex vector curves and, thus, high-bandwidth file size—not recommended for slower computer processors.
Vector to Bitmap Converters To manipulate vector art in a bitmap editing program, it is converted or rasterized into bitmap form. It can be cut, pasted, edited, and filtered like a bitmap, but it cannot be reconverted to the original vector art. Corel Draw and Flash are often used in this conversion.
Motion Images Certain ambiguities surround the terms motion images, motion graphics, and animation. For this chapter, motion images refer to any image that moves, and motion images include motion graphics, animation, and video. Common to both motion graphics and animation is the process of setting a drawn figure into motion. The difference between the two is the figures: in motion graphics, they are typically text or geometric shapes, forms, or designs, and, in animation, they are generally drawings of characters (animals, humans, etc). Motion images in multimedia are difficult to discuss outside the context of their creation in animation environments (see below). However, still image bitmaps and vector art—starting points for motion images—are often first manipulated outside the animation environment. For example, bitmap images saved as individual layers in Photoshop are imported into motion image environments like Adobe After Effects in order to activate them. Similarly, vector images created in Illustrator or Freehand are easily imported into Flash as the foundation for Web animations. Video—although primarily edited in digital video environments—is often included under the umbrella of motion images, because individual clips of video are sometimes considered motion images to be painted on, filtered, and layered in some stylistic, painterly manner. After Effects or Pinnacle System’s Commotion are well suited for this. It is equally challenging to discuss motion images without speaking of the influences of the film and television industries, which have so informed the look of contemporary motion images. A key example are the titles for the film Se7en, designed by Kyle Cooper, immediately adopted as the “look” of the mid-1990s—disrupted, blurry, and shaking frenetically—appropriated by a generation of multimedia students. From the earliest animated cartoons, such as Windsor McKay’s Gertie the Dinosaur, animated figures entered our cultural consciousness, only to emerge en masse when animation applications became available for the desktop.
3D in Multimedia If the fine arts are an archetype for the abstracted look of an interactive Web site or motion graphics piece, then the entertainment industry provides the model for the specialized area of 3D design, inciting multimedia authors to create realistic representations of object, character, and place. Some companies that ultimately
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informed multimedia production are George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic (the Star Wars series, Terminator, etc.), Pixar (Toy Story, Antz, A Bug’s Life), and Sony Pictures Imageworks (Stuart Little, Spider-Man 2). The proliferation of feature-length 3D animations and motion picture special effects—as well as the explosion of commercial 3D video games—inspires independent multimedia authors to create this type of experience. This is not limited to the visual world: the 3D listening experience of 5.1 Surround Sound, originally introduced in full-length films, is now accessible in more generally used cost-effective 3D authoring environments. Some specific examples of 3D in multimedia are the following: r 3D elements incorporated into 2D graphics—such as re-
alistically rendered buttons or design elements on a Web site (i.e., buttons that look like actual buttons or a doorknob with three dimensions); r 3D data representation such as informational charts and graphics—often inserted into business presentations created in another authoring environment (i.e., Microsoft PowerPoint); r walk-through interfaces or “virtual reality” tours of buildings, including interactive links on panoramic photos of locations; r interactive in-the-round product demonstrations, including proof-of-concept virtual models (a premanufactured prototype of a product); r animated figures—whether in a motion graphic, interactive game, or TV commercial; r wireframe art—using only the outline, or wireframe, of a 3D figure or object; r 3D animated figures in conjunction with more high-end applications like the motion-capture systems of Vicon (retrieved 20.iv.03 from http://www.vicon.com/); for example, a motion capture system scans people performing various actions, tracking the 3D motion of their joints with specialized sensors; the data for these actions are transferred to a 3D authoring environment, such as Alias/Wavefront’s Maya, for figure animation; and r high-end interactivity created with higher-level authoring platforms; for example, the user’s or “active immersant’s” experience—though primarily created in Maya or similar programs—is extended with 3D head sets, goggles, or joysticks linked to specialized controllers created in higher-level authoring platforms like C++, or in proprietary software developer kits (SDKs) for specific game platforms (PlayStation, Nintendo).
3D Production Process In 3D programs such as Maya or 3D Studio Max, the process for creating 3D objects, characters, or settings is summarized as follows. r Generally,
3D objects or settings are “sketched” as a series of basic geometric shapes, or “primitives,” such as spheres, cubes, cylinders, cones, and polyhedrons. Since they are vector shapes, the author edits them in terms of their Bezier curves; however, with 3D, the curves extend into three dimensions. Simultaneous views of an
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object—front, side, top—are available in most 3D programs. r To assemble the edited primitives, the author determines the motion of their various parts. If building a human figure, for instance, the author approximates the rotation of an elbow or knee. r The author creates “texture maps,” which are detailed 2D bitmap images of a particular physical texture (such as fur or corrugated aluminum) applied to figures, objects, and scenes to provide life-like effects. r The author designs/programs the lighting and camera movements (panning, tracking, dolly, crane, zoom). In a 3D animation, the author employs Bezier curves to map the path of the camera through space (see Vector Editing). r At the end of this process, the author can export 3D material to an interactive application like Macromedia Director or, for interactive Web delivery, Macromedia Flash. The 3D material can also be imported into proprietary or high-end programming environments to create interactive games, kiosks, or other products. Software such as 3D Studio Max, Maya, and SoftImage—while creating rich and complex 3D worlds— place high demands on computer hardware. Processor power and speed are considerations, as are disk space, memory, and rendering time—the time needed to create, process, and output each frame of an animation or effect. Often, even modest 3D projects require powerful video or graphics cards for a high-quality render in a reasonable period of time. Beyond hardware and software considerations, 3D authors face a somewhat steep learning curve. Using software like Softimage or Maya, the author is involved in every aspect of 3D design. Authors with less experience, or limited resources, have the option of using 3D tools such as Corel Bryce (landscapes, settings, weather, and modeling), Corel Poser (human figures), and Swift 3D (geometric elements for inclusion in Flash-based Web design). These programs, while not as full-featured as Maya or 3D Studio Max, are still useful in creating 3D elements for integration with 2D design in a motion graphic, interface, or short animation.
Audio The use of recordings as a means of experimenting with sound began with the composer Edgard Varese, who created collages of music and sound in the 1920s and 1930s, recording on multiple disks and, later, tape recorders. The exploration of music and sound—through the cutting, splicing, and layering of tape—was called “musique concrete,” with echoes now in contemporary techno and hip-hop. Still another turning point in the manipulation of electronic sound was the first commercially produced electronic synthesizers, created by Robert Moog and others in the 1960s. The Moog analog synthesizer ultimately led to the digital instruments of the 1980s—specifically the establishment of MIDI (musical instrument digital interface), the standard protocol for connecting digital music hardware and software. Various digital audio editing software soon followed, as well as the development of
multitrack recording/editing environments, which allow the designer to layer multiple audio tracks, much as graphic designers layer images.
Functional Categories of Sound Music, background sound, and effects, as well as spoken text and dialogue, all have an enormous impact on the overall success of a multimedia project. Regardless of the level of the multimedia production, its sound elements contribute greatly to the user’s overall immersion. The most common functions of sound in the multimedia environment are listed below, followed by the tools— both software and hardware—needed to produce and manipulate sound elements. See Appendix C for further examination of textures and sound design organization.
Cue Effects. These sounds correspond to a particular visual element or action in a Web interface or interactive application, cuing the user, for instance, to the location of buttons or rollovers. The user receives a signal that is clear and immediate, yet unobtrusive. More sophisticated interactive work builds subtle variation into each instance of a button sound, often providing the user with a more sonically organic experience.
Background Sounds and Effects. Background sound or “room tone”—like the clinking of silverware and plates in a diner—is perhaps most effective when strongly suggested at the beginning of a scene, then reduced in dynamic or absent as other functional elements move to the foreground (like the actors’ voices or music). Background effects are usually linked to specific events or actions. In a linear work (an animation, a motion graphic build, a digital movie clip), an effect accompanies and amplifies a particular action or event in the unfolding of the narrative or imagery. Background sounds and effects are more cohesive if placed within the same “sonic space.” In a scene that takes place in a cavernous cathedral, for example, all of the sound effects need varying adjustments of reverberation to give them all an equally spacious quality. Sonic space also refers to characteristics of ambience, echo, delay, and equalization, applied uniformly to each sound, achieved by applying digital signal processing (see DSP below). Narration and Dialogue. Narration and dialogue include live-action, voice-over, over-dubbing, or ADR (automatic dialogue replacement). For best results in voice recording, an actor is recorded in a controlled sonic environment— ideally, a sound studio where various applications optimize the voice’s sonic elements. Often a high-quality, voice-optimized microphone such as a cardioid is used. Compression–expansion hardware reduces the level of ambient noise while boosting the signal of the voice. Musical Score. When incorporating music into a multimedia project, the major considerations are likely the relative density, complexity, or texture type of the musical elements (acoustic, instrumental, vocal, or electronic). A rock song, for example, is often composed of slowly changing electronic harmonies (ambient), driving acoustic drum and bass tracks (rhythmic), and a solo sung by the vocalist or played by the lead guitar (solo/foreground).
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Figure 11: Digital audio.
Sound Production Tools
Multitracking. Multitracking is a basic approach to com-
After sounds are recorded live, or created electronically (digital audio editors, MIDI sequencing, synthesis or sampling, etc.), they are further processed in digital audio editors and/or combined in a multitrack environment, optimizing them for a multimedia project.
bining multiple sound files—digital audio files, as well as MIDI data synchronized to the multitrack software. Multitracking creates a musical score, or combines dialogue, background sounds, and cue or Foley effects into a soundtrack, all in a postproduction environment. The process assigns tracks to the sound input and adjusts such parameters as the equalization of the sound’s output as well as its position (i.e., left and right for stereo; left, right, front, and center for Surround Sound). These tracks are layered, and/or digital signal processing is added to them individually or in groups (see DSP below). The ProTools systems by Digidesign are widely used multitrack tools (see Figure 12).
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). MIDI is the standard file format or language for digital electronic instruments. To use the MIDI protocol, the author must have MIDI equipment—previously marketed only as dedicated hardware, but now incorporated into other authoring applications like QuickTime. The music performance data—played on a MIDI controller such as keyboards, drum pads, or MIDI wind instruments—is transcribed in terms of which notes are played, at what time, by which instrument, as well as many other nuances of performance. In contrast to sound files like MP3, MIDI data files do not contain actual recorded sounds, and, thus, are extremely small. These data are stored and edited by means of the MIDI software editor known as the sequencer, and then ultimately played back through the MIDI hardware or software modules that convert the MIDI data into actual sound. Digital Audio Editors. These editors manipulate sound files, recorded by way of microphones, and digitized via sound-capture technology. These editors are well suited to a number of basic tasks, including cut/copy/paste functions in time scales down to the millisecond. Most applications offer a batching option, allowing the user to perform the same operation on multiple files—a great convenience when, for instance, the media artist is downsampling, normalizing, and applying digital signal processing to numerous files. Some examples of digital audio editors are Sonic Foundry Sound Forge and Bias Peak VST (see Figure 11).
Digital Signal Processing (DSP). DSP is an additional functionality available to some digital editing, multitracking, and MIDI sequencing applications. Although the filtering of images (as discussed above in Bitmap Editing) involves digital signal processing, this process is generally only referred to as DSP when working with audio. Using formats such as Microsoft DirectX, VST (Virtual Studio Technology), AudioSuite, and Digidesign TDM (Time Division Multiplexing), the DSP plug-ins emulate sound processing—including reverb, chorus, delay, gate, compression, normalize, fade in/out, and others— previously only available through dedicated audio studio hardware. Loop Generators/Editors. Loop generator software produces rhythmic and ambient textures, often employing a screen metaphor—visually and functionally—of a rack of sound gear (sampler, drum machine, mixer, synthesizer, sequencer, and bass). Popular with dance clubs DJs who operate the loop generators on laptops, this software also exports music mixes in common digital audio formats such as .aif, MP3, or .wav for use in other multitrackers
Figure 12: Multitrack digital audio.
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Figure 13: Page layout. and multimedia authoring applications. Examples of loop generators/editors are Propellerheads’ Reason and Sonic Foundry Acid.
Image-to-Sound Generators or Vice Versa. Applications such as U&I Software’s MetaSynth take a PICT image file and treat it as a “score,” playing the visual elements in sonic terms. The author can draw or paint lines, shapes, or other visual elements in the image window, and MetaSynth renders and plays the result in stereo. The author saves the score as a .pct file for further visual editing, or as an .aif audio file for playing, which as might be expected from a program that inhabits the dual worlds of image and sound. Alternatively, sound can be visually represented by applications such iTunes on the MacOS and WinAmp Media Player. These graphic generators provide a kaleidoscopic wash of colors and visual textures in synch with the music.
Video Jam Software. Video jam software is equal parts music application and video controller. It manipulates and plays multiple clips of digital and live video in real time, accompanying the music played at dance clubs or concerts. Principal software includes Vjamm, developed for members of the media ensemble Cold Cut, as well as U&I Software’s Videodelic. Computer keyboard commands, mouse motion, and MIDI data trigger such effects as video color cycling and rotation, kaleidoscope, and superimposition. The software reads MIDI data for the parameters of the video playback, as well as plays the various MIDI sound modules.
Desktop Publishing Applications These applications perform page layout and formatting to create a final printed product—typically integrating text with numerical charts and graphic images imported from other applications (see Figure 13). Examples of desktop publishing software are Adobe PageMaker, Adobe InDesign, and QuarkXPress. With their relative ease of use, these digital applications, indeed, brought document production to the desktop, while creating a heightened enthusiasm for typography and print design, ultimately fueling electronic design.
HTML Editors Some basic HTML editors are Notepad (PC) or BBEdit (Mac). Users of these editors employ HTML code—the basic programming language in the creation of Web sites— and Web browsers such as Internet Explorer decode the HTML code and display the Web site. HTML editors, thus, facilitate the insertion of text or other media elements into Web pages. Using appropriate plug-ins, the code also links to other media elements such as Adobe Acrobat .pdf files. Interactivity is coded into the Web site with the use of compatible coding languages such as JavaScript, Java, and XML—provided the viewing browser has plugins for these. For less-experienced Web designers, Web content editors such as Macromedia’s Dreamweaver and Microsoft’s FrontPage allow the designer to create, edit, and incorporate Web content, working entirely from the screen (what you see is what you get), while manipulating minimal, if any, HTML code.
Hardware for Sound Production See Appendix B for a list of hardware in setting up a small sound production studio.
INTEGRATION OF MEDIA TYPES: AUTHORING APPLICATIONS Some well-known integrative applications are discussed below. They are listed in ascending order from authoring applications that combine the fewest media elements— desktop publishing applications, HTML editors, music interactivity software—to applications that combine virtually all media elements, ranging from HyperCard to Director to DVD Studio Pro.
Motion Image Environments Motion (or moving) images in multimedia began with repetitive bitmap animations, a succession of still images. Motion image authoring, now seamlessly built into interactive applications, exploits the possibilities of combining motion graphics, animation, and video.
Bitmap Animations/Motion Graphics Animated .gifs (Animations or Motion Graphics) In the early days of the World Wide Web, motion was generally limited to the animated .gif format. Typically, these motion images are first manipulated in a bitmap
INTEGRATION OF MEDIA TYPES: AUTHORING APPLICATIONS
editing programs, then exported as .gif files to applications with animating capabilities like Director or Flash, and exported as an animated .gif. Usually no more than a series of bitmap images, animated .gifs tend to loop incessantly, which give many Web pages, ironically, a static quality. Primarily used in banner advertising and as “eye candy,” they’ve become a source of irritation to Internet audiences, but were, however, put to ingenious use by Web artists like Joan Heemsker and Dirk Paesmans, the experimenters behind Jodi.org (ArtMuseum.net, n.d.a). Animated .gifs are a declining media due to Macromedia Flash’s advances in vector motion images and interactivity. However, bitmaps are central to such industrialstrength animation software as Animo by Cambridge Systems, which incorporates aspects of both bitmap and vector editing. The Animo system scans and arranges individual drawings, creating bitmaps that make up the frames of an animation. The animator then applies vectorbased outlining and paint to each image.
Compositing and Effects The highly effective layering and compositing tools in motion graphics and animation applications are often used to combine live-motion video with more stylized or special effects; thus video is included in the discussion of motion image applications. The following techniques and their applications are common in the editing and compositing of motion images.
General Purpose Compositing. With applications like Adobe After Effects, the user changes any aspect of the image (size, perspective, color, location in frame, filtering, etc.) using the application’s timeline to determine the rates of change. Specifically, while using a system of keyframes, the user sets a beginning and end state, and the application fills in all states in-between. (See Figure 4.) Many layers of multiple “effects” can be incorporated in this manner. Whether starting from a still or motion image or video, After Effects produces a composite project file or “comp” that previews the project. The comp is then rendered into a series of bitmap images and exported to a motion format such as QuickTime, in order to play in real time, or to include in other projects.
High-End Compositing. Apple Computers’ Shake software leads the next generation of compositing/special effects applications for bitmap motion images, as evidenced by numerous Academy Awards for special effects in major motion pictures that used Shake. Rather than a timeline/keyframe approach, Shake is an icon-driven, objectoriented effects generator with a more extensive tool set. In this process, the author determines effects for each icon. The author then scripts the variability of the effects within each icon, so every instance of the icon has a random range of effects. This results in a sophisticated yet more organic experience. Go to http://www.apple.com/shake/ to view Shakeenhanced films winning Academy Awards for Special Effects. Bitmap Rotoscoping. Rotoscoping entered the digital world with a number of applications such as Pinnacle
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Systems’ Commotion Pro and Synthetik Software’s Studio Artist. In rotoscoping, the designer draws or paints on each bitmap or live motion frame, giving the realistic images a more stylized, painterly, or cartoon-like look, but retaining the life-like motion. To be played as a sequence, these files are exported to common motion formats like QuickTime.
Vector Animations/Motion Graphics Vector animations revived the cartoon and short animated film genre, realizing them anew in digital terms, while making the production of animation and motion graphics more accessible to all. While several vector animation and motion graphics programs now exist (Live Motion by Adobe and ToonBoom by Toon Boom Technologies), the market still belongs to Flash, with an installed base of over one million authors. See http://www.wired.com/animation for examples of short Flash animations (retrieved 20.iv.03). In Flash, the user explores the full range of vector-art in motion. The user can create frame-by-frame animations or motion graphics, or nest them within other animations/motion graphics. All are small in file size and easy to deliver over the Web, or easily exported to digital video or other motion media. Flash creates, for instance, streaming animations, so that part of the animation plays while the remainder of it loads into the user’s random access memory. Interactivity is attached to any visual element— an unavailable feature, at least to this extent, with other motion image applications. With Flash’s vector rotoscoping capability, a series of bitmaps or a video clip is first imported, and then “handpainted” with vector art. The bitmap series or video is then deleted, leaving the vector art layer behind, with extremely life-like motion. (See http://www.sfdt.com/xiao-xiao/.) Alternatively, the “trace bitmap feature” in Flash or other software automatically converts bitmap to vector. Richard Linklater’s animated film Waking Life (2001) is an exceptional example of using both rotoscoping and trace-bitmap techniques. He shot the film using the Sony TRV-900 camera (a low-end professional camera), with the film then digitally stylized into Flash-like animation through software developed by Bob Sabiston, and digitally rotoscoped by over 30 artists.
Digital Video Editing Digital video is popular with students and small businesses as well as large companies and production houses for television and film. Many film and TV editors—as well as independent digital film directors such as Steven Soderberg (Full Frontal, 2002) and Mike Figgis (Timecode, 2000)—opted to shoot and edit on desktop video systems. For the full-length feature, Cold Mountain, the director Anthony Minghella used a suite of three desktop video editing systems at one third the cost of a comparable dedicated system (Crabtree, 2002).
Capabilities As of this writing, many digital video editing applications are able to r capture
or digitize video footage into easy-to-handle units or clips for editing;
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Figure 14: Digital video.
r r r r r r r
log, document, and label footage for automated capturing; specify in and out points of edits (beginnings/ends of shots); generate transitions between scenes, such as fades; layer multiple clips, often incorporating compositing and other motion image tools; further composite motion graphics and animations and combine them with live motion; mix soundtracks and perform other sound editing; and export to a variety of formats with various compression schemes—from low-bit-rate streaming video for the Web, to medium-bit-rate video for interactive applications (CD-ROM), to high-bit-rate video for DVD (see Figure 14).
Technologies Some notable digital video technologies are as follows:
QuickTime. In 1991, Apple Computer’s QuickTime media platform was one of the first technologies to pave the way for video production on the desktop. Although the image produced was not much larger than a postage stamp, QuickTime was a breakthrough technology, the first to attempt playing many types of digital media. Its current version, QuickTime 6—built around the .mpeg-4 international standard—supports over 50 types of digital media.
Digital Video on the Web. In the mid 1990s much research centered on the development of codecs, reflecting the emergence of the World Wide Web and the desire to transmit video via the Internet. Better codecs—like Sorenson and Cinepak—facilitated the transmission of video data at more acceptable rates. Even while transmission speeds and codecs improve, the visual quality of compressed video—for the Web for instance—still does not surpass video on a standard DVD disk. Media 100. In 1995, the Media 100 system presented an integrated hardware/software solution for desktop video editing, a viable alternative to dedicated digital editing systems. Media 100 produced full-frame, full-motion digital video with affordable video capture hardware, suitable for high production environments. The current industry
standard for high-production, Avid Media Composer, is similar in design to the Media 100.
The DV Chain. A portable and cost-effective solution for digital video editing was introduced in 1999 with the miniDV tape format. The DV chain or process begins with video digitized via a camera, rather than through an additional capture board in a computer. Then a tool like Adobe’s Premiere or Apple Computer’s Final Cut Pro edits the footage, which is then printed back to tape via the miniDV camera. This approach was possible with the development of a high-speed transmission protocol known as IEEE 1394 (iLink [Sony] or Firewire [Apple]).
Digital Video Editing for Film and HDTV. In conjunction with software like Cinema Tools, current digital video editors like Final Cut Pro edit HDTV and 16 and 35 mm film, as well as digital video. After the HDTV or 16/35 mm film is digitized in a lab via telecine, Final Cut Pro edits it and generates a cut list or edit decision list (EDL). An EDL is a list of cuts, transitions, motion effects, and titles, which is then printed back to film or HDTV.
Audio Interactivity Applications Max (Cycling ’74 Software) may be the ultimate in integrative audio applications. Not only does it combine multiple sounds, music tracks, and visual elements, it incorporates interactivity, possibly to a larger degree than any other music application. Originally developed at IRCAM—the venerable electronic music research center in Paris—its inventors used light, heat, and motion sensors to trigger sound production from Max-built sound generators and MIDI devices. The composer has seemingly endless choices in interactive sound sources (light and heat sensors, toasters, live animals). Max uses traditional analog synthesis modules, emulating them digitally, and allowing the user to engineer sound via a flow-chart. Although not for the novice sound designer, Max promises a rich and immersive sound experience.
HyperCard HyperCard is one of the first integrative multimedia authoring applications for authors with little or no programming experience. Created in 1986 by Bill
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Figure 15: Director. Atkinson, HyperCard effectively integrates image, motion, sound, text, and programming codes—creating standalone multimedia. Using the card-stack metaphor, the author assigns a card to each media element and its associated links to other media elements or scripts. The eventual stacks of cards are all contained within the application. Although still in use today as a rapid-development and prototyping tool for application design, HyperCard’s feature set falls behind SuperCard and MetaCard, two other authoring programs sharing its card-stack approach.
Director Marc Canter created Video Director in 1987—later renamed MacroMind Director, and now Macromedia Director. Its metaphor is a movie production, with casts (media elements), scripts (using the scripting language Lingo), actors (later called sprites), and a stage (the application’s
window)—upon which all action eventually takes place in a standalone project. With developments in desktop video (QuickTime technology), Director supported video by 1993. In early 1996, Macromedia released Shockwave, a browser plug-in allowing Director projects to be played over the Internet. Although still not ideal for video on the Web, Shockwave laid the foundation for highly interactive Web experiences, supporting bitmap animation, sound, text, and graphics (see Figure 15). Shockwave brought the complexity of Director-based projects to the Web, such as those with multiple streams of music, narrative, and interactivity (see http://www.badmindtime.com). Macromedia Flash quickly appropriated Director’s spotlight on the Web, but Director is still the preferred authoring environment for disk delivery (CD-ROM and DVD-ROM) and for kiosks. The current version of Director supports 3D interactive objects as well as multiuser interactive Web environments ranging from chats to multiplayer online games. With its solid support of video
Figure 16: Flash.
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Figure 17: DVD authoring. on disk, and its accommodation of a wealth of file types, Director maintains its user base.
Flash In 1996, Macromedia acquired a small vector-based animation program called Future Splash as a lowerbandwidth complement to the often weightier and primarily bitmap based Director. Future Splash became Flash and—while initially limited in its scripting capabilities— it has supplanted Director as the dominant tool for authoring animation, motion graphics, and interactivity for the Web, with an estimated 96% of current Web browsers with the Flash plug-in (Cantrell et al., 2002) (see Figure 16). With Versions 4 and 5 of Flash, a more robust scripting language—ActionScript—was incorporated. ActionScript—a relative to the HTML-friendly language JavaScript—became a quick favorite with both Web designers and programmers, producing the fabled first generation of Flash artists such as Yugo Nakamura (see http://www.yugop.com) and Joshua Davis (see http://www. praystation.com). With the current version of Flash (MX, 2002), video support was added, which had long been a Director advantage. Flash’s partnership with the video codec developer, Sorenson, coinciding with the rapid growth of broadband users, set the stage for Flash’s Web-based video streaming system, without the licensing fees or server enhancements associated with the major video streaming platforms. This feature, however, has yet to penetrate the market perhaps because Flash is most effective with short two to three minute Web videos. (See http://www.madonna.com.)
DVD Studio Pro The DVD, which stands for Digital Video Disk, is perhaps the most integrative delivery option for multimedia users. Apple Computer’s DVD Studio Pro’s icon-driven approach to DVD authoring guides the author through importing and linking media elements, attaching scripts and interactive buttons for each, and/or alternate soundtracks, camera angles, subtitles, etc. Among other media elements, DVDs incorporate audio and video of the highest quality. Because of the versatility of DVD Studio Pro and other DVD authoring environments, DVDs play on both commercial DVD players (DVD-Video) and personal computers (DVD-ROM) (see Figure 17).
DVD-Video DVD-Video is for play on commercial DVD players. Disks made through such applications as DVD Studio Pro conform to the DVD-1.0 universal standard, supporting high-quality .mpeg-2 encoded digital video, multiple AC3 Surround-Sound audio tracks, and up to 32 language subtitle tracks.
Although the user control of DVD-Video is limited to the buttons on a remote control, the DVD can support slide shows, motion menus, multiple camera angles, alternative versions, and Web links and other user-determined paths through the content. The slide show feature, poised to replace more conventional methods, projects highquality images, while providing page forward/reverse options for still images or video clips.
DVD-ROM As alternatives to the CD-ROM’s computer-mediated interactivity, DVD-ROMs are intended for use on a desktop or laptop—holding at least seven times the data of a standard 650-Mbytes CD-ROM. With no restrictions on the type of data DVD-ROMs hold, they store offline Web sites, multiple interactive projects, or even DVD-Video material, all interconnected.
Future Integration and Delivery As multimedia moves from personal computers to smaller handheld devices and wireless communications, authors, designers, and engineers face challenges of infrastructure, design, and usability. As opposed to the material on innovative large plasma screens, Internet content, scaled to fit hand-held screens, will undoubtedly be limited in scope. Likewise, voice-activated commands will present challenges to multimedia authors as they design its functionality into interfaces. New aesthetics and styles will invariably evolve, despite multimedia’s preoccupation with designing access to information and communicating and displaying it effectively. Even as such wireless interconnectivity between small mobile devices and global networks has been accomplished, at least in part, by such software as BlueTooth, the visual design of the communication has yet to adapt.
CONCLUSION The integration of a wireless future with the visual and sonic richness of multimedia is one of the major initiatives of the media, telecommunications, and design industries. Multimedia, however, is not merely limited to the concerns of commerce; it occupies a larger realm of digital culture and must cultivate experimentation and constant re-examining of what it means to communicate through images, text, sound, and motion. From time to time, it relentlessly hangs on to its roots in intermedia, incorporating live actors and installation, and continuing to push boundaries. Multimedia, thus, maintains its own negotiation of aesthetics and technology. As seen in its central role in creating cultural forums like the Internet, multimedia will no doubt maintain an impact on how we work and play, how we communicate, and how we experience the world.
APPENDIX C: SOUND DESIGN TERMINOLOGY
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APPENDIX A: AUDIO INPUTS FOR MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION Source
Channels
Sample rates
Bit depth
Compression
Audio CD
Stereo
44.1 kHz
16-bit
None
Mini disk recorder
Stereo
44.1 kHz
16-bit
MP3 audio from Web
Stereo
44.1 kHz
16-bit
Contains transcoding; slightly better in quality than MP3 files MPEG Layer 3 audio compression (MP3)
DAT (digital audio tape)
Stereo
Audio from mini DV camera
Stereo
48 kHz (standard); also 32-, 44.1-, and up to 96-kHz rates) 48 kHz (standard); also 32 and 44.1 kHz
16-bit (standard); also 24 and up to 32 bit 16-bit
None
None
Comments Standard CD-quality sound Suitable for field recording
Standard for audio files exchanged on the Internet; good perceptual compression throughout audio range Standard professional quality master recording Also suitable for field recording. Be sure capture settings on your DV editor match your sample rates, or sound will not sych to image.
APPENDIX B: HARDWARE FOR SOUND PRODUCTION r
r r r r r r r r r
Microphones: r Stereo dynamic (for live recording via MiniDisc) r Lavalier r Large diaphragm vocal studio mic r Shotgun mic (optional) MiniDisc Recorder (can substitute mini DV camera, which gives you higher quality sound, but can also be more cumbersome) DAT (digital audio tape) Recorder (studio deck) Appropriate cables and connectors MIDI keyboard (or other input device) MIDI sound module MIDI interface Sound card capable of digitizing analog sound (can also use capture audio only from mini DV camera, but not as elegant) Mixer—at least 2 mic inputs and 4 stereo line inputs Reference monitors—powered monitors do not require an amplifier
APPENDIX C: SOUND DESIGN TERMINOLOGY Levels of Organization of Sound Organizational level Sound parameters Gestures Textures Form
Definitions Pitch, dynamic, duration, timbre. All sonic events have these parameters. Change of sound parameter(s) over time. The combinations of a single or multiple voices (sound sources) engaged in similar or contrasting activity. The mix of successive and/or simultaneous textures and the change of these textures over time.
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Sound Parameters Sound parameter Pitch Dynamic Duration Timbre Location
Definitions Frequency of a sound, expressed in cycles per second (Hz). Range: 20 to 20,000 Hz, usual limits of human hearing. Amplitude or loudness of a sound, expressed in decibels (dB). Range: 0 (nearly inaudible) to 140 dB (threshold of pain). Length of time a sound lasts, expressed in units of time (milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours). Unique characteristic tone color or signature of a sound, most often expressed verbally (bright, dark, hollow, etc.). Spatial position of the source of sound, determined by placement on stage or within a given sonic environment (such as left-right placement in stereo audio or 3D placement in surround-sound audio).
Gestures Changing any sound parameter results in a gesture. The change can range from subtle and gradual to dramatic and immediate.
Sound parameter Pitch Dynamic Duration Timbre Location
Gestures resulting from subtle, gradual change
Gestures resulting from dramatic, immediate change
Pitch vibrato, slides (glissandi) Melodic statements Crescendo, diminuendo Dynamic accents (The relative change of density of activity over time) Timbre modulation Hocket, or note-to-note instrumentation or sound source change Gradual or variable shift in a Marked or dramatic vectors of sound across or through the sound’s apparent source sonic environment
Textures Textures are the combinations of a single or multiple voices (sound sources) engaged in similar or contrasting activity. Although there are many possible textures representing these various combinations, many styles and genres of musical (and sonic) activity can be examined according to the three following texture types: r Ambient
textures are slowly evolving sound “landscapes” that have discernible pitch content (as in the Western notion of harmony), or they may not (as in a live recording of a rain forest). Their organization over time is characterized by a relatively slow rate of change. Ambient textures can seem so static, because change takes place so gradually that listeners are sometimes unaware of a specific change. r Rhythmic textures are characterized by regular, predictable, and symmetric patterns of sounds that may or may not be of discernible pitch. With any sound repeated at regular intervals creating a rhythmic layer, multiple rhythmic layers then can be combined, with the result sometimes perceived as a single (although dense or complicated) rhythmic texture. Sometimes rhythmic textures that become highly predictable seem static to listeners, receding into the background of their attention. r Solo or foreground textures are any sounds in a musical work that become so prominent that all other
musical elements recede to the background (such as instrumental or vocal solo). Solo elements typically have a clearly discernible pitch content (melody for example).
Form Form is the mix of successive and/or simultaneous textures, along with gestures and individual sound events often articulating change in the mix of textures (i.e., beginning, key sections, end). Although your approach to form can be very spontaneous or very structured, you need to be able to communicate your formal desires if your work involves more than one person. You can do this best by creating a score, which is a timeline with verbal or graphic descriptions of the kind of activity you want to create.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT I thank my wife Deborah Jones for her help, patience, guidance, and expertise in crafting this chapter into its finished form. No words can express my gratitude to her; she has a gift for language that has shaped this entire work.
GLOSSARY See Appendix C for additional audio terms and information.
GLOSSARY
AC3 A digital audio file format that supports Surround Sound audio. ADR (automatic dialogue replacement) The process of recording the voice of an actor after the film or video of the action has been shot, and synchronizing the recording with the film or video; also known as postsynch. ActionScript Macromedia Flash’s object-oriented scripting or programming language. .aif (audio interchange format) A digital audio file format that supports mono or stereo (2-channel) audio. Analog Any media element (sound, image, text, etc.) in its native state that has not been converted to digital form. Bandwidth See bit-rate. Bezier curve A curve generated between any two points in the creation of a computer graphic, while using vector-art applications. (See vector art/vector-based graphics.) .bmp (bit-map photo) File format that supports bitmap graphics, used primarily on the PC platform. Bit-depth The measurement of data or information contained in the smallest unit of a digital media type. A pixel, for instance, is the smallest unit of an image; its bit-depth measures the number of bits in a pixel. For sound, the smallest digital unit is a “sample”; its bit-depth measures the number of bits per sample. Bit-rate Amount of data transmitted over a network or between electronic devices, expressed in kilobits or megabits per second. Also known as data rate, data transfer rate, and throughput. Bitmap graphic A digital image made of a grid or matrix of individual pixels. Cardioid A microphone type, also known as unidirectional, with greatest sensitivity to sound in front and to the sides of the microphone. This sensitivity to sound, or pickup pattern, resembles a heart shape, which gives this microphone its name. Chorus Audio effect of generating multiple versions of a sound, usually at slightly different pitch levels than the sound, and playing them with the original sound, resulting in a “thicker” or more dense sound. Codec (compression–decompression) The process of compressing and decompressing digital motion data— scaling the data to meet the bandwidth capacity of various networks. Compression–expansion Contracting (compression) or augmenting (expansion) the total dynamic or amplitude range of an audio recording. Data through-put See bandwidth. Delay Audio effect of generating a copy of a sound, played with the original sound file, but at a slightly later time (usually measured in milliseconds) than the original. Equalization Any process of increasing or decreasing the intensity of an audio signal (or sound) within a particular pitch range. Foley The process of creating sound effects for pre-existing motion media (film, video, or motion graphics). Gate Audio effect of adding reverb or other effects to a sound while that sound is at a specific dynamic level or threshold.
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.gif (graphic interchange format) A file format that supports a color palette of 216 standard colors used on the Web. HTML (hypertext markup language) The standard language or code used in Web design, using a system of tags to describe the layout of image and text on a page; e.g., <TITLE>My Web Page . Hypertext Text supporting a system of links through which viewers can select their own path through the information. Java The object-oriented multimedia programming language used in the creation of Web-based projects so they can run on any Java-enabled platform or browser. Java was developed by Sun Microsystems. JavaScript A programming language for Web interactivity developed by Netscape. Although similar to Java in many features, it is not the same as Java. .jpeg (joint professionals electronic graphic) The bitmap file format that supports 24-bit color, supporting variable image quality—thus, often used with photos. Keyframes The frames in which the main actions change in an animation or motion graphic. Lingo The scripting or programming language of Macromedia Director. Live motion Action or images captured in real time with a video or motion picture camera. Live synch sound Sound recorded during the process of filming or videotaping, usually refers to the synchronization of live sound to the corresponding action filmed or recorded. Motion menus An interface that incorporates video or other motion imagery. .mov A digital video file format of QuickTime. MP3 Audio compression process that creates quality sound recordings with small file sizes. Refers to a coding scheme that handles audio compression (Layer 3) in the MPEG-1 video codec. .mpeg (motion picture expert group) A series (.mpeg1, 2, 4, 7, 21) of file formats developed by Motion Picture Expert Group, primarily for the delivery of digital video or audio across various platforms. Normalization Digital signal processing effect that locates the loudest point of a sound file, raises that point to a specific audio level, and proportionally scales the remainder of the sound file to that level. Object oriented Programming procedure that uses higher-level rules (parent or subroutine) to create multiple, interactive lower-level environments (child or object). First developed in the programs Simula 1 and Simula 67. .pct or .pic (i.e., PICT file) A file format developed by Apple Computers supporting 16- or 32-bit-depth bitmap graphics. .pdf (portable document format) File format that displays text and layout design in a Web browser, retaining such features as specific typefaces, letter spacing, and other typographical features. Pixels (picture elements) The smallest unit of a digital bitmap image; these squared-shaped units come together in a grid to form a bitmap image.
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Plug-ins An application added to an existing program, providing additional/specialized functionality. .psd (Photoshop document) The file format for files created in Photoshop. QuickTime Technology by Apple Computers to support multiple media types in digital imagery, audio, and video, and its delivery across various platforms. Rasterize Process of converting vector-based art or graphics into bitmaps. Reverberation Audio effect of adding the ambience or sound reflection of a particular room (large room, small hall, concert hall, auditorium, etc) to a sound. Subwoofer A loudspeaker that reproduces sounds at the lowest pitch range (bass) of the audio spectrum— generally at a frequency between 20 and 150 cycles per second. .swf (Shockwave Flash) The standard file format for displaying vector-based animation and interactivity on the Web; these files are created in Macromedia Flash or in other applications. Surround sound The use of multiple loudspeakers to simulate a 360˚ sound environment. Telecine The process of digitizing motion picture film footage for use in digital video editing applications. Vector-art/vector-based graphics Digital imagery created by applications that use mathematical formulas to describe points, lines, curves, and areas in an image. Video streaming Digital video incrementally downloaded to a Web page. The video file plays while it is being downloaded. .wav File format that supports digital audio, used primarily on the PC platform.
CROSS REFERENCES See Downloading from the Internet; File Types; Interactive Multimedia on the Web; Virtual Reality on the Internet: Collaborative Virtual Reality.
REFERENCES ArtMuseum.net (n.d.a). Pioneers: Jodi, beyond interface. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://www.artmuseum. net/w2vr/timeline/Jodi.html ArtMuseum.net (n.d.b). Pioneers: William Burroughs, cut-ups. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://www. artmuseum.net/w2vr/timeline/Burroughs.html Cantrell, C., et al. (2002). Macromedia Flash enabled: Flash design and development for devices. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders. Crabtree, S. (2002, December 4). Cut to the chase. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://www. hollywoodreporter.com / hollywoodreporter / emmys / article display.jsp?vnu content id=1772771 Davis, J. (2003). Flash to the core: An interactive sketchbook. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders. Discreet (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http:// www.discreet.com/support/codec/. Encyclopedia Britannica (2002). Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://www.britannica.com Horn, R. (1999). In Jacobson, R. (Ed.), Information design (pp. 15–30). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Nakamura, Y., et al. (2000). New masters of Flash. Birmingham, UK: Friends of ED.
FURTHER READING General Multimedia Cotton, B., & Oliver, R. (1997). Understanding hypermedia 2000. London: Phaidon Press. Packer, R., & Jordan, K. (Eds.). Multimedia from Wagner to virtual reality. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://www.artmuseum.net/w2vr/ Purgason, T., Blake, B., Scott, P., & Drake, B. (2001). Flash deConstruction: The process, design, and actionscript of juxt interactive. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders. Tan, M., et al. (2002). Flash math creativity. Birmingham, UK: Friends of ED. Veen, J. (2001). The art and science of Web design. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders.
New Media and Digital Culture Druckrey, T., with Ars Electronica (Eds.). (1999). Ars Electronica—Facing the future. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Gelernter, D. (1998). Machine beauty. New York: Basic Books/Perseus Book Group. Lunenfeld, P. (Ed.). (1999). The digital dialectic: New essays on new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Manovich, L. (2001). The language of new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Riccardo, F. (1998, October). Field notes on the secret war between value and meaning in digital culture. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://callmoo.uib.no/dac98/ papers/ricardo.html
Design and Still Imagery Adobe Creative Team (1995). Adobe Print Publishing Guide. Mountain View, CA: Adobe Systems. Bergsland, D. (2002). Introduction to digital publishing. Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Learning. Carter, R., Day, B., & Meggs, P. (2002). Typographic design: Form and communication (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. Dillon, G. (2000). Dada photomontage and net.art sitemaps. Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http:// faculty.washington.edu/dillon/rhethtml/dadamaps/dad amaps2b.html Holtzschue, L., & Noriega, E. (1997). Design fundamentals for the digital age. New York: Wiley. Meggs, P. B. (1998). A history of graphic design (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley.
Digital Film and Motion Images Katz, S. D. (1991). Film directing shot by shot: Visualizing from concept to screen. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions. Long, B., & Schenk, S. (2000). The digital filmmaking handbook. Rockland, MA: Charles River Media. Newton, D., & Gaspard, J. (2001). Digital filmmaking 101: An essential guide to producing low-budget movies. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions. Rees, A. L., (1999). A history of experimental film and video. London: British Film Institute Publishing.
FURTHER READING
Rodriguez,. R. (1995). Rebel without a crew, or how a 23-year-old filmmaker with $7,000 became a Hollywood player. New York: Penguin. Wright, S. (2002). Digital compositing for film and video. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Music and Sound Chadabe, J. (1997). Electric sound: The past and promise of electronic music. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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Prendergast, M. (2000). The ambient century: From Mahler to Trance—The evolution of sound in the electronic age. New York: Bloomsbury. Roads, C. (2001). Microsound. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Rockwell, J. (1983). All American music: Composition in the late twentieth century. New York: Knopf. Weis, E., & Belton, J. (Eds.) (1985). Film sound— Theory and practice. New York: Columbia University Press.
Multiplexing Multiplexing
Dave Whitmore, Champlain College
Introduction Definition Rationale Historical Antecedents Frequency Division Multiplexing FDM Concepts FDM Technology FDM and Telecommunications FDM Today Time Division Multiplexing TDM Concepts The T-1 Carrier T-1 Configuration and Data Rate Derivation Channel Usage and Configuration North American Digital Hierarchy Overhead International Standards Synchronous Optical Network
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INTRODUCTION In recent years, there has been phenomenal growth in both the number of Internet users and in the ways in which the Internet is used. Today’s applications are much more than just Web page access. They include musicquality wide-band audio, video, voice, and multimedia applications. This growth in applications and in the bandwidth that is required to support them has put enormous pressure on the Internet infrastructure. There are three types of key players on the Internet today that are concerned with bandwidth availability: businesses that offer services through the Internet, consumers who acquire these services, and service providers that provide the connections between businesses and consumers. Each of these constituencies has a stake in access bandwidth. Many businesses now depend on the Internet for all or for a significant part of their revenue. If customers can’t access a Web site, the company will lose money. Depending on the company, these losses could be significant and business threatened. Internet businesses not only require bandwidth for routine operations but also for backup applications. Failures due to network congestion or outages due to physical damage to circuits are no longer tolerable. Companies are seeking redundant network paths and backup bandwidth strategies that will guarantee a high degree of system reliability. Consumer expectations have changed, too. The old joke about WWW meaning “world wide wait” is no longer funny, and consumers are demanding faster response times. The growth of the cable modem and digital subscriber line (DSL) markets is clear evidence of this fact. Service providers include Internet service providers (ISPs) that furnish the consumer’s portal to the Internet. Other service providers 664
SONET Architecture Synchronous Digital Hierarchy Cascading Multiplexers Wavelength Division Multiplexing Wavelength Division Multiplexing Concepts Light and FDM WDM Technology in Practice Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) Statistical Time Division Multiplexing STDM: Dumb Terminals Conclusion Glossary Cross References Further Reading
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are telecommunications companies that furnish connections between consumers and ISPs and between ISPs and the Internet backbone. Fast and reliable access to adequate bandwidth depends on making the best possible use of the existing infrastructure. Building and maintaining outside plant equipment such as fiber-optic networks and submarine cables are expensive, and it is to everyone’s advantage to use this infrastructure as efficiently as possible. Multiplexing provides a way to make the best use of existing equipment to promote high bandwidth, high-reliability connections. Consumers and businesses alike benefit from fast and reliable access. All three groups benefit from reduced costs.
Definition A simple working definition of multiplexing is the transmission and reception of two or more electronic signals over the same medium. In this definition a signal may be voice, data, video, facsimile, wide-band audio, or a combination of these. The medium may be copper wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, or a radio frequency. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the process. On the left side of the figure is the multiplexer. Its function is to collect the different input signals and organize them for transmission over the single shared medium. On the right side is the demultiplexer. Its function is to break up the composite signal and recover the individual components. In between is a shared medium over which all of the individual signals travel. All multiplexing schemes use this basic concept but differ in the ways in which the signals are combined for transmission over the medium. Most multiplexing systems operate at the physical layer (Layer 1) of the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) model.
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The cost of installing, operating, and maintaining transmission media is high. Multiplexing makes it possible to make the maximum use of expensive media through high utilization of an expensive resource. Here is an example. Think of the cost to provide transatlantic fiber-optic cable service. The initial capital outlay is significant. Thousands of miles of fiber-optic cable must be manufactured, the services of a special ship must be acquired and repeaters must be installed along the route. There is a significant labor cost as well. The subsequent maintenance cost to keep the cable functioning is also high. The operator of such a cable facility must maximize its use if the rather significant initial and continuing costs are to be recouped and a profit made. Clearly it would not be reasonable for such a cable to carry only one telephone conversation or one stream of data. In this example, multiplexing can be used to put hundreds or thousands of voice, data, and video signals over this single physical medium. Clearly this is an efficient use of the resource. Multiplexing methods today center on digital techniques. There is no distinction in today’s world between voice, data, or video. The ability to handle any arbitrary bit stream makes it possible to support these different types of payloads; and, inside today’s global digital networks, all traffic is digital.
capable of multiplexing simple “on” and “off” telegraphic signals were unable to handle the bandwidth required for voice. It wasn’t until about 1914 that a viable multiplexing system was invented for voice circuits. This system used the newly invented vacuum tube. The first of these systems was capable of carrying four simultaneous telephone conversations over one circuit using frequency division multiplexing. The Bell System continued to develop vacuum tube analog systems for voice multiplexing throughout the first half of the 20th century. The analog approach to multiplexing limited the number of voice channels that could be carried, however. In addition, analog technology was prone to failure and required frequent maintenance. By 1960, Bell Labs had invented a digital multiplexing system called the T-1. The T-1 carrier was first used in 1962 to link telephone central offices, and it was later offered to individual customers. Later the Bell System deployed faster carriers capable of handling many more telephone calls. The next major step in digital multiplexing came when fiber-optic facilities were deployed beginning in 1977. This technology vastly expanded the number of signals that could be carried over a single medium. It can be seen from this brief history that multiplexing was developed and refined in the context of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) for voice applications. On the surface it appears that voice applications have nothing to do with data applications or Internet access and that voice and data represent two different worlds. This is not the case. The work on multiplexing for the PSTN that was originally done for digital voice applications has been extended to data and Internet access as well. Therefore, I discuss multiplexing in both the voice and data contexts. The similarities will become readily apparent.
Historical Antecedents
FREQUENCY DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
The problems associated with multiplexing today are very similar to those encountered by telecommunications pioneers in the 19th century. Then, as today, the problems of providing capacity at low cost are critical. The cost to install telegraph poles and wires in the American west in the mid-19th century was high. The terrain is difficult and the distances long. As use of the telegraph increased so did the pressure to make the best use of these limited physical circuits. By the 1870s, there were several schemes for multiplexing up to four telegraph signals on the same wire. (It must be remembered that in that era electricity was a new science, and the discipline of “electronics” was several decades away.) Achieving even this limited degree of multiplexing required a considerable degree of inventiveness and ingenuity. During the latter part of the 19th century, the explosive growth of the telephone system mirrored the growth of the telegraph system. The Bell System was faced with the same problem the telegraph operators had: how to make the best use of limited wire circuits. The problem for the Bell System was more complicated, however, because of the higher bandwidth requirements for voice. In that era it was thought that voice signals required a bandwidth of about 2 KHz. The available telegraphic systems that were
Frequency division multiplexing (FDM) was the first technology used to multiplex voice signals. It was adapted later to handle special data communications problems such as the support of multiple “dumb terminal” connections to a mainframe. FDM was used before the invention of time division multiplexing (TDM), and after their deployment FDM systems were largely abandoned. The basic concepts of FDM have been resurrected in wavelength division multiplexing, however, a technique used to enhance the capacity of fiber-optic systems.
Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the basic multiplexing process.
Rationale
FDM Concepts In FDM, a separate carrier frequency is allocated to each of the signals to be multiplexed. The spacing of each carrier frequency exceeds the bandwidth of its payload, a practice that provides a guard band that keeps adjacent carrier frequencies from interfering with each other. (This interference is called crosstalk.) The individual carrier frequencies are modulated by the input signals. Modulation may be amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), phase modulation (PM), or some combination of these. All of the input signals appear at the same time on the shared medium. The signals are separated only
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Table 1 Standard Carrier Frequencies for G.232 Voice Multiplexing
by the different carrier frequencies. This is an important contrast to TDM. The following example illustrates the basic concepts of FDM. Commercial FM broadcasting in the United States uses frequency division multiplexing. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has defined carrier frequencies from 88.1 MHz to 107.9 MHz for commercial FM broadcasting. Stations are assigned to one of the carrier frequencies in this range, and each carrier frequency is separated from its nearest neighbor by 200 KHz. For example, permitted carrier frequencies are 88.1 MHz, 88.3 MHz, 88.5 MHz, and so on. According to FCC rules, a station operating on one of these frequencies is allowed to use no more than 75 KHz of bandwidth. This bandwidth is centered on the carrier frequency. Because there is 200 KHz separating each carrier frequency, there is 125 KHz left for guard bands.
Input Signal Channel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Carrier Frequency Band 60 KHz to 64 KHz 64 KHz to 68 KHz 68 KHz to 72 KHz 72 KHz to 76 KHz 76 KHz to 80 KHz 80 KHz to 84 KHz 84 KHz to 88 KHz 88 KHz to 92 KHz 92 KHz to 96 KHz 96 KHz to 100 KHz 100 KHz to 104 KHz 104 KHz to 108 KHz
FDM Technology FDM is based on analog technology. In the early days of telecommunications, digital technology was not available, so engineers designed multiplexing systems using oscillators and filters with analog devices such as vacuum tubes, inductors, capacitors, and resistors. These components must be tuned to specific carrier frequencies, and the successful operation of a multiplexing system depends on frequency stability. If the frequency drifts on either the transmitting or receiving ends, the performance of the multiplexing system is degraded. For example, think about a commercial FM receiver with a frequency that changes over time. The station will appear to “drift,” and the listener must retune the receiver at regular intervals. In an analog multiplexing system, component values will change because of age, exposure to heat, and other environmental factors. As a result, the frequency characteristics of the system will change. These changes lead to “drift,” which degrades the quality of the multiplexed signals.
FDM and Telecommunications Here is an example of an FDM multiplexing system used in voice communications. This configuration was used by the Bell System for many years and is defined in the G.232 standard now maintained by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Designed to multiplex 12 telephone signals onto a single medium, it supports a frequency range of 200 Hz to 3400 Hz for each input channel, a range that is adequate for voice grade signals. The bandwidth is therefore 3200 Hz. Each of the signals occupies a 4-KHz range, and therefore the guard bands are 800 Hz. Table 1 shows the carrier frequencies for each of the 12 signals defined in the ITU G.232 standard. The shared medium must be capable of handling a range of frequencies from 60 KHz to 108 KHz. Total bandwidth in this modest system is 48 KHz. Wide bandwidth of the shared medium is the price to be paid for using FDM. Figure 2 is a simplified example illustrating multiplexing using three of the voice channels just described. Note that the three signals are transmitted at the same time on the shared medium and are separated from each other only by different carrier frequencies. An actual voice
FDM system would use two of these configurations, one for transmitted voice and one for received voice. Figure 3 shows a 12-channel FDM equipment bank used in an analog microwave system.
FDM Today The data and telephony applications of FDM have, for the most part, been phased out in favor of time division multiplexing, which, as with other digital techniques, is much more stable and reliable than FDM. There are, however, several important applications of FDM that are used today for Internet applications. These include conventional 56-Kbps dial-up modems, asymmetric digital subscriber lines (ADSL), and wavelength division multiplexing, which is used to enhance the capacity of fiber-optic carriers.
TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING TDM is a digital technique used in wide-area networks such as the PSTN, T-carriers, and optical carriers. It is the dominant multiplexing technology today for voice and data applications. TDM-based technologies are widely used to connect users to Internet service providers and to connect Internet services providers to the Internet backbone. TDM is based on digital technology, and it is more reliable and stable than FDM. It is also capable of handling much higher bit rates.
Channel 1 60 KHz to 64 KHz
1 2 3 Multiplexer
Channel 2 64 KHz to 68 KHz Channel 3 68 KHz to 72 KHz
1 2 3
Output Signals
Demultiplexer
Figure 2: Example of simplifed voice frequency division multiplexing (FDM).
TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING
Figure 3: A 12-channel frequency division multiplexing (FDM) equipment bank used in an analog microwave system c 2002 Dave for telephony. Copyright Whitmore. Reprinted by permission.
TDM Concepts In contrast to FDM, TDM allocates a slice of time known as a time slot on a single aggregate channel to each individual signal. Each signal, in turn, is transmitted on the shared carrier, and only one signal at a time is allowed to use the shared carrier. When all of the signals have been given their turn, the first signal to have been sampled is given another turn. This concept is in contrast to FDM in which each signal occupies the shared carrier at the same time. It may be helpful to think of it this way: With FDM, a user is assigned “some” portion of the aggregate channel “all” of the time. With TDM, a user is assigned “all” of the aggregate channel “some” of the time. Because there is no guarantee that each signal will arrive at precisely the time it needs to enter the shared medium, there is usually some buffering in the multiplexer. Data may have to be held for a short time until its time slot becomes available. A rough analogy can be found in a highway. Cars enter a highway from a ramp. One car at a time goes on to the highway, and once on the cars stay in line. (No passing or lane changing is allowed.) The individual cars are analo-
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gous to the individual input signals, and the highway is analogous to the shared medium. There’s one other important point about the highway analogy. In a two-lane highway, cars travel in one lane to go in one direction and in the other lane to go in the opposite direction. In other words, there are two separate lanes, one for each direction of travel. In a TDM system, there are two paths as well—one path for transmitted data and another for received data. A T- or a fiber-optic carrier will have two network connections, one for transmitted data and another for received data. Figure 4 illustrates the TDM concept for a data application. In this illustration, there are three input signals A, B, and C. Each of the signals is sent over the shared medium one at a time: A is first, followed by B, followed by C, and then the cycle repeats. Note that at any one time, only one of the signals is present on the shared medium. Time separates the signals from each other. This is in contrast to FDM in which all signals are present at the same time on the medium, and separation is achieved through different carrier frequencies. Synchronization is vital to this process. Both the multiplexer and the demultiplexer must be closely synchronized to ensure that each of the individual multiplexed signals is properly recovered at the far end of the circuit. Without synchronization, this process will quickly fall apart. Note that Figure 4 shows a system for carrying data in one direction only. A mirror image of this configuration would be required to transmit data in the opposite direction.
The T-1 Carrier The T-1 carrier is a basic building block for voice and data systems. It was developed at Bell Laboratories and was first deployed in the Bell System in 1962. Initially, the T-1 carrier was used to connect telephone central offices together, and it provided two major advantages. First, like FDM, it reduced the number of physical wires required to connect central offices together. Second, and unlike FDM, the T-1 carrier was digital and was easy to install and maintain. For example, there were no analog components to cause filters and oscillators to change their electrical characteristics, a problem that plagued the earlier FDM systems. Eventually, T-1 circuits were made available to individual customers. Initial applications were for pointto-point connections between customer-owned data or voice system end points. Later, the telephone companies introduced T-1 offerings for connecting Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems to the PSTN. Customers could purchase a T-1 for their own use starting in the early 1970s when the T-1 circuit was first introduced to the market.
Figure 4: An example of time divison multiplexing.
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T-1 Configuration and Data Rate Derivation
c 2002 Figure 5: T-1 terminating equipment. Copyright Shepard Communications Group, LLC. Reprinted by permission. As the Bell System operating companies became more familiar with T-1 technology, the costs to customers eventually went down. At the same time, the original voice applications of the T-1 were extended to include data. This was a relatively easy transition because of the digital nature of the T-1. Today T-1 circuits are routinely used to connect ISPs to the Internet backbone and to connect individual businesses and organizations to ISPs. The T-1 is the simplest form of TDM multiplexing for voice and data circuits, and understanding a T-1 is essential to understanding more advanced forms of time division multiplexing. T-1 refers to a detailed and precise physical and electrical set of specifications. (See http://www.ansi.org/rooms/room 9/public/1998feb/atis 6. html for a copy of these standards.) A T-1 carrier is a two-pair (four-wire) circuit that supplies 24 voice-grade channels or 1.544-Mbps aggregate capacity. This data rate may seem arbitrary to data users, but the origin of this rate goes back to voice multiplexing requirements. Figures 5 and 6 show T-1 terminating equipment located at a large telecommunications service provider.
A major part of the development of the T-1 centered on the representation of an analog voice signal in digital format. Bell Laboratories determined that an 8-bit sample of an analog voice signal provided enough resolution and dynamic range to represent voice conversations adequately. A T-1 is designed to carry 24 voice conversations. Each voice conversation is sampled in a round-robin fashion. In other words, channel 1 is sampled, followed by channel 2, and so on until channel 24 is sampled. The next sample is channel 1 and so on. Once each 8-bit sample is made, it is placed on the shared carrier in this round robin fashion. The carrier must support 24 channels times 8 bits per channel for a total of 192 bits for one full cycle of all 24 channels. A framing bit is added to preserve synchronization, and this additional bit creates a frame of 193 bits. In the digital world, we don’t have a continuous analog signal but have instead a signal that is a series of discrete digital samples. How fast do we need to sample to preserve voice intelligibility and recognizability? Harry Nyquist, a Bell Labs scientist, determined that it is necessary to sample at least twice as fast as the highest frequency that you wish to reproduce. If we assume a very generous bandwidth of 4000 Hz for a voice signal we need to sample twice as fast or 8,000 times per second. This is called the Nyquist sampling frequency. Therefore, for the T-1 carrier, we need to complete our “round-robin” of samples 8,000 times per second. This gives us an aggregate bit rate of 193 bits per frame times 8,000 frames per second for a total of 1.544 Mbps. This is the origin of the oft-quoted T-1 data rate. The bandwidth of a single channel is of interest as well. Each channel has 8 bits and is sampled 8,000 times per second. This means that each individual channel can support 64,000 bps, the bandwidth required to reproduce a digitized voice signal optimally.
Channel Usage and Configuration A T-1 circuit can be configured as 24 discrete 64-Kbps channels or as a single 1.5-Mbps channel. This latter configuration is useful for point-to-point data exchange or Internet access to an ISP. There is a middle ground between these two configurations, however. It is possible to take the total aggregate bandwidth and divide a portion into voice channels and another portion into one or more data channels. This is the function of hardware called a channel bank. The channel bank provides terminations at both ends of the T-1 circuit for whatever configuration of voice and data is required. Channel banks provide high flexibility and low cost.
North American Digital Hierarchy c 2002 Figure 6: T-1 terminating equipment. Copyright Shepard Communications Group, LLC. Reprinted by permission.
The T-1 carrier is the beginning of a family of T-carrier products. Increased experience with the T-1 and improvements in digital technology have allowed the development of even faster T-carrier multiplexing products. T-carriers were realized in both copper wire and in microwave
SYNCHRONOUS OPTICAL NETWORK
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Table 2 Basic T-Carrier and DS-n Characteristics
SIGNAL
TRANSMISSION FACILITY
RATE (MBPS)
DS-0 CHANNELS
DS-0 DS-1 DS-1C DS-2
— T1 T1C T2
0.064 1.544 3.152 6.312
1 24 48 96
DS-3 DS-3C DS-4
T3 T3C T4
44.736 90.524 274.176
672 1,344 4,032
circuits but the major increase in carrier speed was achieved when fiber-optic cable was introduced. These circuits were called optical carriers (OC). It soon became apparent that a system was needed for classifying multiplexed data that was independent of the T-carrier designations. The North American Digital Hierarchy is such a classification system. It is based on the single 64-Kbps channel, and this bit rate is called a DS-0 signal. Table 2 contains a summary of the T-carrier hierarchy.
TRANSMISSION MEDIUM Copper wire Copper wire Copper wire Copper wire, microwave Microwave, fiber Microwave, fiber Microwave, fiber
munications switches have the ability to translate between these formats. Table 3 is a comparison of the digital transmission technologies of North America, Japan and Europe. It is important to note that E-carrier is the global standard, and T-carrier is a variation on it. Because the United States (and a few other countries) chose to use T-carrier, it is incumbent on U.S. carriers to perform all T-1 to E-1 conversions.
SYNCHRONOUS OPTICAL NETWORK Overhead Multiplying the number of DS-0 channels by 64 Kbps will always yield a number less than the aggregate bandwidth. For example, 24 × 64,000 bps = 1,536,000 bps, whereas the T-1 is rated at 1,544,000 bps. This gap of 8,000 bps is attributable to overhead for synchronization and control. The disparity between the bandwidth allocated to the user and the total aggregate bandwidth is present in other multiplexed carriers as well. This can be verified by choosing an aggregate data rate from Table 2, multiplying the number of DS-0 channels by 64 Kbps and subtracting the two rates. The difference is attributable to overhead.
International Standards European carrier standards are different from North American standards. For example, the E-1 standard roughly corresponds to the T-1 but has a different aggregate data rate and DS-0 channel capacity. The E-1 has a rate of 2.048 Mbps and supports 32 DS-0 channels. The good news is that the DS-0 standard of 64 Kbps is shared between North American and Europe, and most telecom-
Standards exist for multiplexed data rates up to DS-3. All manufacturers of equipment accept these standards, which ensure interoperability of equipment. There are some problems with these standards, however. First, the North American Digital Hierarchy is, well, North American. International standards differ from the North American rates. The incompatibility can be managed, but it is cumbersome for international operations. A second problem is that the data rates that go beyond DS-3 involve proprietary transmission protocols and naturally this creates more compatibility problems. The synchronous optical network (SONET) was first deployed in the 1980s as a response to the need for multiplexing standardization and for increased speed requirements. SONET is the dominant protocol found in optical networks today and is based on international standards. Connections between systems in different countries using equipment from various manufacturers are much easier to thanks to these standards. SONET provides high multiplexed data rates that support bandwidth-hungry applications. The Internet uses SONET technology for the backbone, connections between ISPs and between ISPs
Table 3 T-Carrier and DS-n Characteristics for North America, Japan and Europe NORTH AMERICA
JAPAN
EUROPE
Level
Circuits
Speed
Circuits
Speed
Circuits
Speed
DS-0 DS-1 DS-2 DS-3 DS-4
1 24 96 672 4,032
64 Kbps 1.544 Mbps 6.312 Mbps 44.7 Mbps 274.17 Mbps
1 24 96 480 5,760
64 Kbps 1.544 Mbps 6.312 Mbps 32.06 Mbps 400.4 Mbps
1 30 120 480 1,920
64 Kbps 2.048 Mbps 8.448 Mbps 34.368 Mbps 139.3 Mbps
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Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
Figure 7: Example of a synchronous optical network (SONET) ring.
The synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) provides a set of international standards for optical multiplexing. Unlike the North American Digital Hierarchy, SDH is an internationally accepted standard. Table 4 shows the characteristics of each type of optical circuit in the SDH. It’s tempting to think of the DS-0 column as representing “telephone calls,” but remember that optical carriers are digital and indifferent to the origin of the bits that they carry. Telecommunication service companies provide digital bandwidth that can be used for any application. The rather curious and seemingly arbitrary multiples of 64 Kbps are a reminder of the telephonic origins of the high-speed digital carriers of today. SONET and SDH permit service providers to allocate bandwidth to customers without the need to do elaborate hardware reconfigurations. Bandwidth flexibility is a major positive feature of SONET and SDH.
Cascading Multiplexers and their larger customers. TDM is the fundamental form of multiplexing used in SONET, but FDM-based dense wavelength division multiplexing can be used to combine multiple SONET channels on a single fiber for transport.
SONET Architecture SONET systems usually consist of one or more rings of fiber-optic cable. Interspersed around the ring are add–drop multiplexers (ADMs), which are opticalelectrical-optical conversion devices. ADMs serves three basic functions. First, they handle the transition between wired formats and the optical formats, so that payload components can be added and dropped as required. Most customer termination equipment today have electrical interfaces, and ADMs handle this conversion. Second, ADMs handle optical signal conditioning. Like all signals, the light pulses in a SONET ring will be attenuated or distorted over long distances, and ADMs function as a digital repeater to restore signal quality. Third, ADMs handle network failures. If one leg of the SONET ring fails, the network will heal itself automatically within about 50 milliseconds. This feature promotes high reliability in a SONET multiplexer system. Figure 7 shows a sample SONET ring.
TDM multiplexers are used to aggregate signals that are themselves aggregated. In other words, there can be a succession of multiplexers to collect individual data streams and consolidate them into larger and larger single data pipes. Figure 8 shows an example of cascading multiplexers, starting with a T-1 signal and ending with an OC-48 signal.
WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING Wavelength Division Multiplexing Concepts A SONET system uses TDM to multiplex data by pulsing monochromatic light through glass fibers. It is possible to pass several different colors of light through the same fiber at the same time, however. The individual colors are independent of each other because they have different wavelengths or frequencies. This is a situation analogous to sunlight, which contains many frequencies (wavelengths) of light. A prism, for example, reveals that white light actually has various color components. It is possible to send several wavelengths of light simultaneously into a fiber-optic cable using different wavelength lasers, and each of the wavelengths can be
Table 4 North American and International Optical Carrier Standards and Data Rates Sonet Optical Level (OC) OC-1 OC-3 OC-12 OC-48 OC-96 OC-192 OC-768
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy Level (SDH)
Electrical Level (North America Only)
Gross Data Rate (MBPS)
Payload Data Rate (MBPS)
Overhead Rate (MBPS)
Equivalent DS-0 Channels
— STM-1 STM-4 STM-16 STM-32 STM-64 STM-256
STS-1 STS-3 STS-12 STS-48 STS-96 STS-192 STS-768
51.840 155.520 622.080 2,488.320 4,976.640 9,953.280 39,813.120
50.112 150.336 601.344 2,405.376 4,810.752 9,621.504 38,486.016
1.728 5.184 20.736 82.944 165.888 331.776 1,327.104
672 2,016 8,064 32,256 64,512 129,024 516,096
WAVELENGTH DIVISION MULTIPLEXING 1 DS-0 (64 Kbps) 1 DS-1 (1.5 Mbps)
1 OC-12 (622 Mbps) 1 OC-48 (2.5 Gbps) 4 OC-12
12 DS-3
28 DS-1
24 DS-0
1 DS-3 (45 Mbps)
32,256 DS-0 out
Figure 8: Cascaded multiplexers.
pulsed independently. A separate train of TDM pulses can be sent using each wavelength, and in this way the capacity of a single optical fiber can be dramatically increased. In wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) there is both TDM and FDM occurring at the same time. First, the individual input data streams use TDM to encode multiple channels of data. Second, each stream of data is assigned a separate frequency (or wavelength) of light, and this is an example of FDM. Therefore, there are two separate types of multiplexing occurring at the same time. Figure 9 shows a simple conceptual example of WDM in which there are three input bit streams: ABC, DEF, and GHI. Each uses TDM to contain several channels of information. For example, in the first bit stream, TDM separates the A input channel from the B input channel and the C input channel. The same process takes place for the other two bit streams. The multiplexer on the left takes the three TDM multiplexed bit streams and transforms them into a train of pulses on the shared fiber-optic cable medium. Each of the three input streams is given a unique and distinguishable light color before being combined with the other colors on the single fiber-optic cable. (The reference to color here may be somewhat misleading. The driving lasers in a real WDM system operate in the infrared range, not the visible light range.) The three channels of data coexist on the fiber-optic cable at the same time. The different frequencies of light separate each of the channels from each other and make them independent. Within one color TDM is used to encode several channels of data. This can be thought of as a multilane highway in which several streams of vehicles can travel in parallel at the same time.
Light and FDM The fundamental idea behind FDM is to separate different channels of data by using different carrier frequencies for each channel. The FM radio example that was cited
CBA CBA CBA FED FED FED IHG IHG IHG
CBA CBA CBA FED FED FED
CBA CBA CBA
IHG IHG IHG
IHG IHG IHG
FED FED FED
Shared Fiber Optic Cable
Figure 9: Example of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM).
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earlier in this chapter used carrier frequencies ranging from 88.1 MHz to 107.9 MHz. Each carrier frequency is separated by 200 KHz. Different wavelengths (colors) of light also have different frequencies. For example, the ITU has defined the “C” category of WDM optical channels as wavelengths of light from 1,528 nm to 1,560 nm. These wavelengths correspond to 196.10 THz to 192.10 THz, respectively. (Note that wavelength and frequency have an inverse relationship. As wavelength gets shorter frequency gets higher.) The ITU standard defines 80 intervals in this range. Each interval is about 0.40 nm wide, resulting in a bandwidth of 50 GHz for each channel. This latter specification is important when considering the carrying capacity of each of these light carriers. Each interval must accommodate both the payload bandwidth as well as the guard bands. Most WDM systems use two fiber channels, one for transmitted data and one for received data, but it is possible to use a single optical fiber for both transmission and reception. Two wavelengths of light can be used in the same medium, one encoded with transmitted data and the other with received data. This is similar to the FDM technique used on the telephone local loop to achieve full duplex data transmission with conventional modems.
WDM Technology in Practice There are two keys to make WDM work in practice. The first key is to control precisely the wavelengths of light on both sides of the multiplexing process. On the transmit side, the lasers used to encode the TDM pulse stream must produce light of consistent and accurate wavelength. The lasers must be stable and must not drift in frequency over time. The detectors on the receiving side must be able to discriminate between the different wavelengths of light and must be sensitive to only a single wavelength. Naturally, both the transmitting laser and the corresponding receiving detector must be precisely matched in frequency as well. The second key is to control the spacing of the light channels. Channels with very close spacing have the potential to carry large amounts of data because many channels can be accommodated in a single optical fiber system. There is a cost to this approach, however. The hardware must be able to discriminate reliably between individual light frequencies and extract the TDM data from only one of many channels. Closely spaced light frequencies make this task harder. This process is considerably easier for frequencies that are further apart but at a cost of fewer multiplexed channels of data and a lower aggregate bit rate.
Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM) Coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) systems require relatively less stringent hardware specifications than do dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems. A typical CWDM system uses channels spaced at 20 nm, and an 8-channel system typically uses wavelengths of 1,470 nm, 1,490 nm, 1,510 nm, 1,530 nm, 1,550 nm, 1,570 nm, 1,590 nm, and 1,610 nm. In terms
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MULTIPLEXING
of frequency, a 20-nm spacing corresponds to 6.4 THz, a wide margin for optical hardware. If each of these eight channels carries an OC-48 (2.5-Gbps) signal, there is an aggregate capacity of 8 × 2.5 Gbps for a total of 20 Gbps.
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) achieves higher aggregate bandwidth by reducing the spacing of adjacent channels. DWDM is the prevailing optical multiplexing technique in use today. Manufacturers such as Lucent continue to refine laser and fiber technology, and any statements of capacity made here are likely to be surpassed quickly. Today, common DWDM spacings are 1.6 nm (200 GHz), 0.8 nm (100 GHz), and 0.40 nm (50 GHz). (Work is underway to achieve spacings of 25 GHz and lower). Most current DWDM systems are capable of carrying 160 distinct OC-48 signals for an aggregate bandwidth of 400 Gbps. Using today’s technology, TDM limits the upper speed of a single SONET channel to about 10 Gbps (OC-192), but most WDM systems today use 2.5 Gbps (OC-48) as a more conservative data rate. Recent laboratory work has shown that DWDM systems consisting of 320 40-Gbps channels are feasible for field deployment.
STATISTICAL TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING By themselves, FDM and TDM do not make efficient use of the aggregate bandwidth. Each input signal is guaranteed the same bandwidth regardless of the actual need for bandwidth. In some cases, the allotted bandwidth for an input channel may not be adequate to support the input data stream. In other cases some channels may be underutilized, and the aggregate data stream has unused capacity. Statistical time division multiplexing (STDM) attempts to correct this imbalance by dynamically allocating bandwidth depending on past data speed requirements. STDM eliminates the guarantee of bandwidth for one particular channel in exchange for allowing a channel to exceed the defined bandwidth some of the time. The key for successful operation rests on the definition of “some of the time.” If all channels need to exceed their defined base bandwidth all of the time, then STDM won’t work. In this case, the aggregate bandwidth will be oversubscribed. When this occurs, the multiplexer will attempt to implement flow control procedures with the subchannels to reduce demand temporarily. If some input channels don’t require their full bandwidth, however, then some of this excess capacity can be diverted to those channels that do need bandwidth. A successful STDM system has two main measures of success: (a) It will have a high percentage use of the aggregate bandwidth, and (b) individual channels will experience minimum congestion and wait time.
STDM: Dumb Terminals One of the earliest uses of STDM was for support of “dumb terminals.” Dumb terminals provide only a limited
Figure 10: Statistical time division multiplexing (STDM) example.
range of functionality, such as a screen and a keyboard, because most of the computing takes place at a remote computer, such as a minicomputer or a mainframe. Dumb terminals are not personal computers, although a PC can provide dumb terminal services through a terminal emulation program. Dumb terminals tend to be bursty devices. In other words, data may come in short, intense bursts followed by longer intervals of relative inactivity. For example, a few commands typed at the keyboard may elicit a screen of data followed by a period of idleness until the next string of commands is typed. Figure 10 shows a simple configuration in which four dumb terminals are linked by a single communications circuit to a remote minicomputer. In this example, there are four remote dumb terminals on the left, each of which operates at 9,600 bps. On the right side of the figure, we have four serial ports into a minicomputer, each of which operates at 9,600 bps. A single 9,600-bps channel connects the multiplexers. In theory, this is a terrible configuration because it seems like the common channel is overcommitted. This would be true if each of the devices were operating at full speed 100% of the time. Dumb terminals are bursty, however, and it is unlikely that each of them would be operating full speed at all times. Instead, it is assumed that there is a probability that at any one time several of the terminals will be idle, and the full bandwidth of the channel would be available to whichever single terminal needs it. To simplify the calculations: If each of the four terminals has a one-in-four chance of being active at any one time, then that terminal will have access to the full shared channel bandwidth of 9,600 bps. Because there is a one in four chance that any terminal will be active, this means that the shared channel will be utilized 100% of the time. This is an efficient use of what is presumably an expensive common resource.
CONCLUSION This chapter has covered the concepts, theory, and practice of multiplexing. The history of multiplexing provides a context for understanding current technologies and future possibilities. Frequency division multiplexing and
FURTHER READING
time division multiplexing have been covered in depth, as have practical applications such as T-carriers, optical carriers, SONET, and wavelength division multiplexing. Anyone concerned with Internet bandwidth allocation will encounter these concepts and technologies, and this chapter provides a solid foundation for further work. Readers should consult the references provided (see Further Reading) for greater detail on any of the concepts encountered here.
GLOSSARY Add–drop multiplexers Hardware devices on a synchronous optical network or synchronous digital hierarchy ring that provide signal regeneration, network failure management, and optical to electrical conversion, so that payload components can be added or dropped as required. Bandwidth The capacity of a channel. In analog systems, bandwidth is measured in Hertz. In digital systems, bandwidth is measured in bits per second (bps). Carrier frequency In frequency division multiplexing, carrier frequency is the signal on which the information to be carried is imposed. Channel bank A hardware multiplexer used to combine several signals on a shared channel. Crosstalk Interference between adjacent multiplexed signals. Dumb terminal A user device with a keyboard and monitor but with very limited processing capacity. Frequency division multiplexing (FDM) An analog technique for encoding many narrow band signals on a single wide band channel. Guard band A portion of a carrier that contains no information but provides a buffer between adjacent channels. Multiplexing The transmission and reception of two or more electronic signals over the same medium. Nyquist sampling rate The minimum sampling frequency required to sample an analog signal digitally to preserve a specified upper frequency limit. Public switched telephone network (PSTN) The worldwide voice network. Synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) The European equivalent of synchronous optical network. Synchronous optical network (SONET) A fiber-optic based data transmission system. Time division multiplexing (TDM) A digital technique of encoding many signals on a single shared channel by allocating a separate time slice to each signal. Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) A technique for increasing the capacity of a fiber-optic medium by encoding different input signals using light of different wavelengths (frequencies).
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Services and Applications; Public Networks; Wide Area and Metropolitan Area Networks.
FURTHER READING The following references cover the early development of multiplexing techniques: Ault, P. (1974). Wires west. New York: Dodd, Mead. Fagen, M. D. (Ed.). (1975). A history of engineering and science in the bell system, the early years (1875–1925). Holmdel, NJ: Bell Telephone Laboratories. General references to multiplexing can be found in a variety of standard telecommunications reference books and texts: Bell Telephone Laboratories. (1977). Engineering and operations in the bell system. Holmdel, NJ. Dodd, A. (2002). The essential guide to telecommunications (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: PrenticeHall. Freeman, R. (1996). Telecommunication system engineering (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. Hieroki, W. (2000). Telecommunications (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Noll, A. M. (1991). Introduction to telephones & telephone systems (2nd ed.). Boston: Artech House. Rosengrant, M. A. (2002). Introduction to telecommunications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Stallings, W. (2001). Business data communications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. The next group of references cover fiber-optic technology, SONET, and WDM techniques: Goff, D. R. (2002). Fiber optic reference guide: A practical guide to communications technology (3rd ed.). New York: Elsevier Press. Hecht, J. (1999). City of light. New York: Oxford University Press. Hecht, J. (2001). Understanding fiber optics (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Shepard, S. (2001). Optical networking crash course. New York: McGraw-Hill Multiplexing standards can be found on the following Web sites: http://www.itu.org (Date of access September 18, 2002) http://www.ieee.org (Date of access September 18, 2002) http://www.ansi.org (Date of access September 18, 2002) http://www.eia.org (Date of access September 18, 2002) http://www.telcordia.com (Date of access September 18, 2002) General information on multiplexing can be found at the following Web sites: http://williams.comp.ncat.edu/Networks/multiplexing. htm (Date of access September 18, 2002). http:// www.wmpenn.edu/ PennWeb / Academic / ArtsTech / CompSci/Networks/Multiplex/Multiplex.html (Date of access September 18, 2002)
CROSS REFERENCES
General reference for telecommunications:
See Convergence of Data, Sound, and Video; Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN): Narrowband andBroadband
http://campus.champlain.edu/faculty/whitmore (Date of access September 18, 2002)
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Fiber-optic resources can be found at: http://www.sonet.com/edu/edu.htm (Date of access September 18, 2002) http:// www.nortelnetworks.com / products/01 / sonet / collateral/sonet 101.pdf (Date of access September 18, 2002) http://www.lucent.com (Date of access September 18, 2002) http://wdm.pennnet.com/home.cfm (Date of access September 18, 2002)
T-1 Reference Material: http://www.dcbnet.com/notes/9611t1.html (Date of access September 18, 2002) http://www.arcelect.com/RJ48C and RJ48S 8 position jack .htm (Date of access September 18, 2002) http://www.ansi.org/rooms/room 9/public/1998feb/atis 6. html (Date of access September 18, 2002)
N N
Nonprofit Organizations Dale Nesbary, Oakland University
Introduction Literature Review Nonprofits and E-commerce Fundraising The Internet and Nonprofit Volunteerism Case Studies Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit The Ad Council The National Multiple Sclerosis Society Recommendations for Successful Technology Implementation Concept Evaluation Define the Project Set Realistic Project Goals Specify Project Parameters
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INTRODUCTION Facing competition on a number of levels, nonprofits are turning to the Internet and e-commerce to solicit funds and seek volunteers. Accordingly, many nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations are working to determine the best methods of integrating Internet and e-commerce into their organizations. This chapter examines volunteerism and fundraising as they are affected by the Internet and e-commerce. Along with a literature review, case studies of nonprofit Internet and e-commerce use are presented. Recommendations are made to nonprofit managers with respect to implementing Internet and e-commerce technologies. Finally, key nonprofit Web directories and search engines are listed to give the reader additional examples of nonprofit use of the Internet for e-commerce purposes. It must be noted that not all nonprofits are created equal. Some are large and complex. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society fits this example well. Others are local in scope with a specific focus. H.A.V.E.N., a domestic violence shelter serving the Pontiac Michigan area fits this example. This chapter paints nonprofits with a broad brush and does not attempt to identify them by size, funding, complexity, or purpose. It does intend to discuss, in some detail, their use of the Internet and its components, particularly the World Wide Web. Although it is a truism that these criteria obviously may be related to the extent to which a nonprofit may use the Internet, this chapter is a first step in determining how nonprofits use the Internet but not necessarily what factors influence their use of the Internet.
Establish Leadership and Management Structure Identify Stakeholders (Internal and External) and Procure Their Support Evaluate Project (Formative) Examine Primary Uses of a Web Site Create an Action Plan Finalize Funding Implement the Action Plan Evaluate Project (Summative) Conclusion Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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It must be also be noted that there exists a wide range of nonprofits, some of which rely extensively on gifts, other relying primarily on volunteerism, and still others relying on fee-for-service or grants to fund operations. This chapter focuses on the latter two categories of nonprofits.
LITERATURE REVIEW There exists a growing body of academic and popular literature regarding how the Internet and e-commerce have impacted the world (“Internet Infatuation Filters,” 2000; Montagu-Pollock, 2001; Notovny, 2002). Much of it deals with the social sciences (e.g., Social Science Computer Review), education (e.g., British Journal of Educational Technology), and administrative issues (e.g., Public Administration Review). This literature supports the contention that technology is helping transform numerous institutions from being relatively slow and nonadaptive to more nimble and flexible (Western, 2000). Additionally, many nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations are working to determine the best ways to integrate the Internet and e-commerce into their organizations, some more successfully than others. Moreover, the Internet has radically changed the way that business is conducted. Business, nonprofits, and government now have almost immediate access to clients and customers. This access has accelerated the economy, decentralized society, increased demands for accountability, and allowed nonprofits and funding sources to reach each other much more effectively (Strom, 2002). Nonprofits routinely use Internet tools and techniques to reach their 675
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audience. For example, online public service announcements are a natural extension of the Web’s ability to reach a larger market than before (Reidman, 1998). Driven by the commercialization of the Web, use of the Internet has grown dramatically. Estimates range from 500 million to 1 billion users worldwide and substantial increases in government revenue sourced from Internet commerce (Nesbary, 2000). Independent Sector (2002) argues that “The true impact the Internet will have on civil society is in ‘building community,’ bringing together groups of citizens who are united by shared values working for the public good, often spanning international lines.” Communities will enhance the abilities of nonprofits to provide services in a way that has not been achieved to date. Alternatively, Pliskin (1998) and others maintain that the Internet may cause disruption from traditional social and community connections such as work and family. Although the Internet is experiencing tremendous growth and providing new channels for purchasing goods and providing services, it is also having an effect—not always a positive one—on the way these goods and services are supplied. This is evidenced by numerous dotcom failures in 2000 and 2001 (http://www.IDG.net) and a perceived lack of ethical and legal boundaries, causing some to describe this openness as “ominous” (Donaldson, 2001). This could be an indicator that many consumers remain wary of using the Internet for anything but research, communicating, and information gathering. At the same time, nonprofits are increasing their audience and identifying a specific, more technologically advanced user (Pearson, 2002). This may lead to a gap or “digital divide” between Internet users and nonusers. Given this gap, it is not enough for nonprofits to simply advertise their services on the Internet, nor is it enough to assume that users will find a particular agency’s Web site simply by browsing the Web (Blau, 2002). To realize fully the Internet’s potential, nonprofit organizations must assist “donors” and volunteers in locating their Web site easily, enable them to access desired information quickly, and keep them interested in using the site on a regular basis. This is best done by targeting potential users through advertising and use of meta-tags (key words) embedded in Web pages. “Push technologies” are also a useful technique in getting information in the hands of intended recipients (Allen, 2002). Push technologies actively seek out specific users through e-mail lists, pop-up advertising, and streaming audio and video. Internet surveys are a rapidly growing method of collecting information and donations (Mertler, 2002; Witte, Amoroso, & Howard, 2000). Combining Internet technologies with traditional recruitment and fundraising strategies is the best strategy overall to accomplish the goal (Gardner, 1998).
NONPROFITS AND E-COMMERCE FUNDRAISING Nonprofits are clearly taking advantage of Internet fundraising. Commercial fundraising activities by nonprofits, those involving businesslike promotion and sales, accounted for approximately $60 billion in 2001 (Strom,
2002). This comprised more than half of all nonprofit fundraising, far outstripping fundraising in government grants (36%) and private donations (10%). Internet fundraising has served as a natural extension to traditional nonprofit fundraising. Many nonprofits are landlocked in a way, meaning that they have no effective mechanism for reaching contributors outside their local sphere of influence. The Internet has changed that dramatically. Following are some examples of how individual nonprofits have used the Internet to enhance fundraising activities. The Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (NTEN) is an excellent national resource for nonprofits seeking information on the use of technology. N-TEN’s Capacity Map is a searchable, online directory of individuals and organizations that provide technology services to the nonprofit sector. The map’s purpose is to help nonprofits find the right provider to meet their needs and to help nonprofit technology professional find their peers and colleagues in the field. (N-Ten, n.d.). As of December 2001, $110 million of the $1 billion donations to various September 11, 2001, funds came via the Internet (Souccar, 2001). The percentage of Internetraised funds has remained stable since September 11 (through May of 2002). A Chicago-based, interactive agency, Two Way Communications, has adopted several local nonprofit groups and assisted them in creating Web sites. For Children’s Memorial Hospital, a pledge site was created (http://www.forchildrens.org) and banner ads designed to raise money in conjunction with the hospital’s annual telethon (Reidman, 1998). The Web site of Food for the Hungry (http://www.fh.org/learn/aboutus.shtml) indicates that its Web site is its second-largest source of new child sponsors, with sponsors found via the Internet nearly doubling to 7% over 12 months and generating annual income near $190,000 (Food for the Hungry, n.d.). Artlinx (http://desktoppublishing.com/artlinx.html) includes approximately 400 links to arts or arts-supporting organizations. The Nonprofit Resource Center (http://notfor-profit.org) includes a comprehensive list of nonprofit Web sites, support organizations, fundraising and grant writing assistance, and marketing support. Fundsnet (http://www.fundsnetservices.com) is another comprehensive nonprofit Web site supporting nonprofit fundraising and development capacity. It has a detailed listing of foundations and funders Web sites, compiled since 1996. Geneforum.org is a nonprofit organization whose aim is “to promote dialogue and educate people about genome science and its impact on their lives. Using proven strategies, experienced science educators create environments for learning and facilitate forums for discussion” (Geneforum, 2002). They are interested in protecting the privacy of an individual’s genome and have identified the Web as the primary mechanism to promote their message. Gene Fowler, executive director of Geneforum, believes that the Internet is the most appropriate cost- and information-effective medium for his organization. He says that Geneform uses the Web to foster what is known as “deliberative democracy.” Research has begun to assess systematically the utility of Internet technology in nonprofits. In 2001, the Greater Detroit Chapter of Fundraising Professionals conducted
CASE STUDIES
a technology, media, and fundraising survey of 500 southeast Michigan nonprofit organizations (Fike, 2002). The survey examined a number of issues, including use of the Internet by nonprofits. Of interest, 38% of respondents used Web sites to solicit donations, whereas 22% accepted donations online. Half of the respondents felt that online fundraising was not successful for them, whereas 10% felt that it was moderately successful. Eighty-five percent of nonprofits maintained a Web site, and 45% had had a Web site for 1–3 years. Nearly all Web sites describe the organization’s mission, and about half offer visitors an opportunity to register. In summary, many nonprofits are using the Internet as an effective tool for raising funds and accessing potential donors. Most maintain Web sites and use them to raise funds and advertise. What is the impact of the Internet on volunteerism? The next section will examine this issue.
THE INTERNET AND NONPROFIT VOLUNTEERISM Like fundraising strategies, volunteerism in nonprofit organizations is being impacted by Internet technologies. Nonprofits are beginning to understand that they can use their Web sites to market effectively to potential volunteers (Oehler, 2000). For example, Kidsonline, a nonprofit education organization, is using broadband Internet to train its volunteers and teach young at-risk students (Cruver, 2001). Making Opportunities for Upgrading Schools and Education (MOUSE) is a New York City–based nonprofit that connects the public schools with high-tech companies (Vargas, 2001). MOUSE provides hardware, software, expertise, and mentorship to participating schools. NetAid, a collaborative effort between the United Nations Development Programme and Cisco Systems Corporation, brings together musicians to help eradicate poverty and hunger in developing nations (Waldron, 1999). Among the pages on the NetAid Web site are volunteer recruitment, fundraising, and information dissemination. Many volunteers are relatively young and technology savvy. Nonprofits are taking advantage of this by using Internet technology in the organization as well as external Internet tools. Not surprisingly, volunteer recruitment Web pages are becoming more common on Web sites. Nonprofits are advertising for staff positions on job search Web sites. A search of Monster.com (http://jobsearch. monster.com) using the term “nonprofit” yielded 162 hits for jobs open within the past 30 days. Other nonprofit organizations use the Web as an integral part of their recruitment, communication, and marketing strategy. Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (http://www. bluelake.org) is a nonprofit arts organization located in Twin Lake, Michigan. Blue Lake serves approximately 4,500 students in its summer camp, more than 1,000 American and international students in its international exchange program, an additional 1,500 students in its adult and youth camp. It is the home of a 100,000watt FM fine arts radio station serving western Michigan. Blue Lake maintained a basic Web site through 2000 and recently added a number of more advanced features. Students can now print registration materials and job
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applications directly from the Web, volunteers can print application materials, and donors can pledge to the radio station’s fund drive.
CASE STUDIES The following section examines the Web and e-commerce portfolios of three nonprofits, including the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit, the Ad Council, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. These organizations vary with respect to size, mission, and structure, but all have a Web presence. Telephone or personal interviews were conducted with staff from each organization with follow-up discussions concerning issues that arose during the original discussion.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit Big Brothers Big Sisters (http://www.bbbs-detroit.com) is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to strengthen children in need through one-to-one relationships with volunteer mentors (BBBS Detroit, n.d.). This is accomplished by identifying potential mentors and matching them with available little brothers and sisters. A detailed screening process helps to ensure that matches are successful. The BBBS operates numerous chapters around the country, one of which is located in metropolitan Detroit. The Detroit chapter is one of the largest in the country and maintains four locations in and around Detroit. David Lingholm, development director with the BBBS-Detroit, served as primary contact. The BBBS Web site was first established in 1998. The site was developed internally and remains internally supported. The Web site’s purpose was and is for marketing, advertising, volunteer recruitment, fundraising, and information dissemination. It currently does not have interactive e-commerce capacity but does have limited communications capacity via e-mail. The Web site includes several pages for volunteers, program descriptions, donations, news calendar, success stories, and contact pages. The Web site does not provide intranet capacity. Lingholm identifies a number of potential enhancements to the site. He says that would like to see the Web site allow volunteers to register via the Web, as well as to provide a mechanism for mentor background checks. Also, the current donations page does not allow for interactive (direct) donations via the Web site. The donations Web page must be printed, completed, and then mailed to the BBBS-Detroit office. These are all time-consuming tasks that could be done in significantly less time via a forms-based Web page. “If I could be freed up another hour a week, that would be wonderful,” says Lingholm. He says, “We have plans to do it, but the funding is the difficult part. Donors will ask, ‘Is this a good use of my donation?’ It is hard to make a connection between the benefits of technology and more time to spend on programs.” Overall Lingholm believes that the BBBS-Detroit Web site is useful and helpful but needs updating and the capacity to accept donations and volunteers directly. In summary, the Web site was originally designed as a communications device with the community and as a public relations tool for potential mentors and patrons.
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The BBBS National Office produced a public service announcement (PSA) in conjunction with the Ad Council. This PSA was released in late 2002 and includes a link to the BBBS national Web site. This use of technology is exactly the kind of imitative needed to ensure that nonprofits are able to compete effectively for funding and resources in a competitive 21st-century environment.
The Ad Council The Ad Council (http://www.adcouncil.org) is a private, nonprofit corporation whose mission is to create PSAs addressing issues of importance, generally addressing quality-of-life issues. Each year the Ad Council conducts approximately 40 campaigns in issue areas such as improving the quality of life for children, preventive health, education, community well-being, environmental preservation, and strengthening families (Ad Council, n.d.). Originally, the Ad Council served as a nonprofit mechanism for supporting the war effort in World War II, creating many memorable public service announcements that raised $35 billion in war bonds and planting 50 million victory gardens. After World War II, President Truman asked the War Advertising Council, as it was known then, to continue with its mission. The newly constituted Ad Council went on to create well-known advertising campaigns such as Smokey the Bear, the Crash Test Dummies, and McGruff the Crime Dog. The Ad Council originally established its Web site in 1995. The purpose was, and still is, to disseminate information and to enable media companies to preview and order public service advertising materials at no cost. The site has grown to the extent that today it provides detailed information on roughly 50 advertising campaigns. The Ad Council developed and maintains its Web site internally. It is fully interactive, allowing visitors to communicate with staff via e-mail link and Web-based form. This interactivity allows for visitors to perform a number of functions online, including the following: r r r r
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Donate online via secure Web-based form as well as by phone, fax, or regular mail Link Web forms to databases, giving managers the ability to use collected efficiently and effectively View current contributors based on contribution amount or name of contributor Order television, radio, newspaper, magazine, Internet, and out-of-home advertising directly through the Web site via Web-based form View the Ad Council’s most recent ads via streaming video
The Ad Council Web site includes more than 100 pages and is organized into several broad categories associated with its internal organizational structure. These categories are links on each Web page and include the following: r
The Issues—Social issues important to the United States as defined by the Ad Council r Campaigns—Advertising campaigns available for distribution to media and other outlets
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Organizations—Government or nonprofit organizations that support the Ad Council in its efforts r Nonprofit Resources—Help for those who have developed or wish to enhance an existing campaign r Make a Difference—Contributions and contributors pages r About the Ad Council—An introduction to the Ad Council The Ad Council Web site was developed by a contractor but is now maintained internally. The site has some unique features, the most interesting of which is the ability of users (media companies) to preview and order public service advertising materials at no cost. This means that a potential user may visit the site, preview examples (digital images, text, video) online, and immediately order a particular service via secure Web form.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society The National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society’s (http:// www.nmss.org/) mission is “to end the devastating effects of MS” (National MS Society, n.d.). The MS Society, through its nationwide network of chapters, supports research efforts, educates, provides a variety of programs, organizes fundraising events, and advocates for people with multiple sclerosis. The MS Society serves approximately 780,000 U.S. residents with MS and counts approximately 2 million volunteers, friends, and supporters among those who assist in the cause. It has chapters across the United States and is an affiliate of the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation. The National MS Society Web site, established in 1995, is a comprehensive and detailed site with more than 200 Web pages. It is a fully functional e-commerce site, allowing the user to donate directly, pledge support for the MS Society via its MS Walks, volunteer, become a member, or learn about multiple sclerosis. Site visitors may communicate with the MS Society via e-mail, Web-based form, or secure payment form. The Web site is organized around primary MS Society functions, including the following: r
Treatments—Describes existing treatments for MS Research—Provides emerging research regarding treatments and information for professionals r Media—Discusses MS Society activities, news releases, and methods for the media to contact staff r Education—Examines MS Society and affiliate education programs r Donations—Provides, through secure server, mechanisms for visitors to donate directly r My Community—Includes links to state and regional MS Society Web sites and contact information r Member Services—Allows visitors to join the MS Society r Special Events—Provides comprehensive information about MS Bike, MS Challenge Walks, MS Walks, including the ability to search by zip code for the nearest MS walk r Advocacy—Outlines advocacy programs provided by the MS Society r
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION
The Web site also includes links to MS Society publications and offers content in Spanish. Intranet services are offered in the national office and in a number of the chapter offices. In a conversation on May 31 2002, Abe Eastwood, information technology director of the MS national office in New York City, explained that the Web site is under constant revision. “We’re working on several things, such as enabling ‘members’ to edit their own information, and integrating data from the Web site with our central CRM database.” The MS Society main Web site was developed by a contractor and is currently maintained internally. Many states and regions maintain their own Web sites, developed internally. These Web sites range from those with very few pages to comprehensive sites with nearly 100 pages. According to Eastwood, the Web site is undergoing a major revision and will be standardized along with the Web sites of all state and regional chapters. A vendor has been selected to accomplish this task and is currently working with some of the states to convert their sites.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION Developing a plan for implementing a Web and ecommerce strategy is an ongoing process. The plan should be an integral part of an organization’s strategic plan and relate closely to an organization’s communications plan. A comprehensive strategic plan is important whether or not the organization is developing a marketing strategy, embarking on a capital campaign, or launching a Web site. The following section outlines a strategic plan for implementing technology in a nonprofit organization.
Concept Evaluation In any organization, it is important to have congruence between organizational mission and new and emerging ideas, particularly with respect to Web sites. As mentioned earlier, the Web site must serve the needs of the organization, not the other way around. When a Web site is developed without a direct connection to organizational mission (for example, fundraising or volunteerism), the Web site may detract from that organizational mission (Alsop, 1999, 167). Alsop notes, “it isn’t enough that a Web site be well designed and treat my money appropriately. It has to provide actual, real-world service. I want my main vendors to have customer support just like the support you would expect from an airline or a courier service, and I want them to be competent about delivering products to me. That means the Web site can’t be isolated from other parts of the business” (p. 167).
Define the Project Project definition is a key piece of the puzzle in developing a technology plan. Although having a clear project definition may appear to be self-evident, often an organization will begin a process without completely understanding what it is that they want to accomplish and why
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they want to accomplish it. This is particularly important with respect to the Web and e-commerce. Web sites and e-mail servers are not to be constructed in a vacuum. In a nonprofit organization, Web sites are launched for two primary reasons: fundraising and volunteer recruitment. If these factors are given short shrift, the real reason for launching the Web site may be obscured.
Set Realistic Project Goals Concurrent with defining the project, projects goals must be identified as well. What exactly is the Web site going to produce? Are increased revenues a primary goal of the Web site? Does the organization seek to increase the number of volunteers through online recruitment? Is more effective client communication a reason for adding an enhanced Web server? Each of these goals may be accomplished without upgrading or launching a Web site. Perhaps contributions are low because of staff misallocation or a lack of communication between the organization and contributors. The organization must be certain that e-commerce is the best way of increasing contributions or that a Web site is the best method of increasing volunteerism.
Specify Project Parameters The scope and parameters of a project must also be identified. Once it is determined that Web enhancement or ecommerce are the best ways to accomplish organizational goals, project parameters must be set clearly. Parameters may be fiscal (fundraising goals, budget), human (staff, consultants, volunteers), technological (Web access, hardware, software), or knowledge-based (information availability, validity, and reliability). Fundraising goals are among those most important. The organization must understand what client needs exist before identifying specific fundraising targets. Key to this a comprehensive understanding of the organizations’ market. For example, as mentioned earlier, there exists a wide variety of nonprofits based on size, scope, and mission. The National MS Society has a national client base and would naturally seek funding from that base. According to Connie Nesbary, manager of clinical programs of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Michigan Chapter, the society has clear knowledge of both the number of persons in the United States with MS and the levels of severity of MS that generally exist (June 3, 2002, interview). Combining this knowledge with an understanding of the cost of providing programs to people with MS and the role that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society plays in research, the MS Society can produce a relatively specific internal budget and a relatively specific fundraising target. A local nonprofit has a smaller client base and would naturally seek funding from its community or region. The Spokane (Washington) Symphony Orchestra has a series of fundraisers and memberships designed to cater to and seek funding from patrons and local organizations (Spokane Symphony, n.d.). It maintains a Web site (http://www.spokanesymphony.org) on which a contribution page is located. According to Lori Mello, director of community education, HAVEN (Help Against Violent Encounters Now), raises money from several local resources as well as grants from state and federal
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government resources. HAVEN maintains a Web site (www.haven-oakland.org) and receives some funding through it (September 30, 2002, interview). The organization must have a clear assessment of its human and technological resources before embarking on a major information technology (IT) initiative. Many small to medium nonprofits have limited or no dedicated information technology staff. All the goodwill in the world cannot overcome a lack of technical knowledge regarding constructing a Web site or adding e-commerce components to an existing Web site. These skills usually cost time and money. None of the small nonprofits interviewed for this chapter staffed a full-time technology employee, and the larger organizations maintained limited technology staff.
Establish Leadership and Management Structure Regarding any project, someone must be responsible for project management and implementation. A Web site or e-commerce strategy is no exception. It is important to understand that implementing an Internet or e-commerce strategy is as much a management issue as it is a technology issue. As mentioned earlier, nonprofit technology staffing is often limited or nonexistent, so it can be difficult to identify appropriate staff to take a lead in implanting technology. In many organizations, the most well-respected, well-trained managers may have little or no technology experience (Kotrlik, Harrison, & Redmann, 2000), making it even more essential to identify internal or external support in identifying appropriate information technology management staff. Clearly, having a strong leadership portfolio and coherent management structure is essential.
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Internet connection fees Potential staff costs r Balanced Scorecard approach r
Of these tools, the Balanced Scorecard is a recent evaluative innovation and likely to hold promise for nonprofits because it “is comprehensive in that it considers the customer perspective, the internal business perspective, and the innovation and learning perspective, as well as the financial perspective” (Olson & Slater, 2002, p. 12). Generally, balanced scorecard approach may be tailored to a business’s strategy, communicate strategic objectives, enhance feedback and learning, and, most intriguing to nonprofits, lead to enhanced revenues (Dalton, 2002).
Examine Primary Uses of a Web Site Making the Web Work (2002) outlines a comprehensive list of reasons for nonprofits to develop a Web site, including the following: r r r r r r r r r r r r r
Identify Stakeholders (Internal and External) and Procure Their Support A whole host of stakeholders may be interested in a nonprofit Web site, including employees, managers, volunteers, contributors, patrons, participants, governmental agencies, students, researchers, and many others. It is important to determine which of these stakeholders may be of assistance in launching a Web site and ensuring its success. A comprehensive and relevant Web site is built on recommendations from all stakeholders.
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Evaluate Project (Formative) Continuous evaluation of the project is vital. Evaluation provides a useful exercise to ensure that the intent of the project is maintained and provides funding agencies (particularly governmental) confirmation that a thoughtful approach to the planning and execution of the project is being pursued. As part of formative evaluation, an initial budget must be developed. Understanding that the project is not fully developed, there are several ways to estimate a budget, including estimating the following: r r
Which services will have an Internet presence The cost of contracting and paying a Web developer and Web host
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Membership development Fundraising, advocacy campaigns Getting feedback on programs and services Publicizing an event, Online registration for conferences Sharing best practices Updating mailing lists Freeform discussion and facilitated dialogue Managing collaborations Distributed publishing of calendars and new resources Highlighting successes Building awareness around an issue Displaying community assets through the use of online mapping Providing public access to searchable databases Cost-effective distribution of newsletters and other publications Marketing fee-based services Creating organizational photo or art galleries Building support through multimedia storytelling Addressing the needs of niche constituencies Enhancing media relationships Archiving frequently asked questions Creating the control center for an integrated internet strategy
Clearly, many nonprofits do not have the staff or funding to implement all of these tools and techniques, but understanding the universe of uses of a Web site is essential for getting the most “bang for the buck.”
Create an Action Plan Having a written strategy for implementing e-commerce in a nonprofit is solid management technique. An action plan usually asks the following questions: Who is responsible? For what are they responsible? When will the project be completed? and How much will it cost? An
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effective action plan may take also the form of a “task list,” an annotated list of all tasks needed to accomplish or implement an action plan. A task list would include a time schedule for implementation that includes tasks, responsibilities, resources, and measures. Environment Australia advises the Commonwealth Government on policies and programs for the protection and conservation of the environment, including both natural and cultural heritage places. It also manages a number of major programs, the most significant of which come under the umbrella of the Natural Heritage Trust. Environment Australia maintains an online action plan (Environment Australia Online, 2000), discussing in detail how it plans to implement its mission. Although this plan is specific to Environment Australia, it is general enough to give the reader an understanding of how an online action plan may be structured. The core components of their action plan are as follows:
occurring. To the extent that the action plan implements ecommerce in a nonprofit organization, it is likely to be new or substantially revised, thus requiring significant oversight. Part of successful plan implementation is ensuring that minor problems do not become crises. Another important piece of action plan implementation is ensuring that controls (fiscal and programmatic) are kept in place. This is of particular importance in the case of e-commerce- and Internet-related programs. Although implementing a Web site is ordinarily costeffective, add-on pages or Web initiatives unrelated to the implementation of e-commerce may take place. If these initiatives are not part of the overall strategy, management must take a strong position to ensure that they are relevant, otherwise these add-on costs items must be rejected or pared back to the point that they are costeffective.
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Evaluate Project (Summative)
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The nature of the agency and the environment in which the agency operates IT environment IT clients Services that the agency believes are appropriate to provide online Services that the agency believes are inappropriate to provide online Implementation strategies and timeframes Approaches to overcoming impediments to providing online services Legislative framework Evaluation and continuous improvement Strategies to ensure that the organization achieves agreed standards
Each step in the plan includes a description of how the step is to be implemented. It is concise and detailed enough to give the casual reader a clear understanding of what Environment Australia intends to do and how they intend to do it.
Finalize Funding Once the action plan is completed, a final budget must be developed, accounting for the complete e-commerce and Internet strategy of the nonprofit, including increases in existing costs and new cost categories. Using a performance-based budgeting strategy is an effective tool to ensure that these costs are captured. Performancebased budgets require that a program provide some level of justification for base and increased funding. This is accomplished through the inclusion of performance measures in the budget document. Such systems require stronger roles for planning and goal setting and stipulate the conduct of performance measurement and reporting about program results (Willoughby & Melkers, 2001).
Implement the Action Plan Once funding is finalized, the plan may be implemented. Implementation of an action plan needs to include a regular review of the action plan versus what is actually
A summative evaluation is an important part of program implementation and review. Specific milestones need to be set for the evaluation of any new or revised program, and it is especially important to set evaluative milestones for an e-commerce initiative. Evaluating the extent to which the organization achieved these milestones is key to implementing a sound summative evaluation. Carter McNamara (n.d.) of managementhelp.org provides an excellent synopsis of summative evaluation and why it is important to nonprofits: Program evaluation with an outcomes focus is increasingly important for nonprofits and asked for by funders. An outcomes-based evaluation facilitates your asking if your organization is really doing the right program activities to bring about the outcomes you believe (or better yet, you’ve verified) to be needed by your clients (rather than just engaging in busy activities which seem reasonable to do at the time). Outcomes are benefits to clients from participation in the program. Outcomes are usually in terms of enhanced learning (knowledge, perceptions/attitudes or skills) or conditions, e.g., increased literacy, self-reliance, etc. Outcomes are often confused with program outputs or units of services, e.g., the number of clients who went through a program. Clearly, McNamara’s typology fits well with the evaluation of an e-commerce initiative. Developing a Web site must comport with the nonprofit’s organizational goals, as well as relate to the societal benefit that the nonprofit promotes.
CONCLUSION Nonprofit organizations are moving gradually with respect to the implementing Internet technologies. The speed of Internet implementation is a function of a number of factors, including fundraising capacity, relevance, budget, management and staff capacity, and technology capacity. All of these factors are interrelated. For example,
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clearly Internet implementation has to be relevant to the function of the organization. Examples of this relevance are the many nonprofit Web sites with fundraising and volunteer recruitment Web pages. Without funding, these organizations cannot exist, and the Internet is a useful mechanism for raising funds. Furthermore, many young people use the Internet (e-mail, Web browsing, instant messaging) as their primary means of communicating with their peers. They are as likely to browse a volunteer recruitment Web page as they are to hear read or see a recruitment advertisement via traditional means. Hence, raising funds and recruiting volunteers relates directly to the relevance issue. Without a budget, however, the implementation of a Web site and e-commerce technologies cannot happen. Management has to be sufficiently knowledgeable regarding the Internet’s relevant to the organization for a decision is made to fund a Web site or to add a fundraising Web page. Having internal staff with the capacity to create a new Web site or to enhance an existing Web site also is key regarding the likelihood that Internet technologies will be pursued by a nonprofit organization. Finally, nonprofit organizations must plan the implementation of Internet and e-commerce technologies carefully. Any significant change in an organization can be disruptive for employees, clients, volunteers, and stakeholders. Careful planning, implementation, and evaluation are key to successful organizational change.
GLOSSARY E-commerce The application of communication and information technology to further the objectives of nonprofit, not-for-profit, business, and governmental organizations. Foundation An organization created from dedicated funds from which income is distributed as grants to nonprofit organizations and, in some cases, to individuals. Homepage the Web page designated to be the first page seen upon entering a Web site. Intranet A method of connecting multiple computer systems over a relatively small area using Internet technologies; an Intranet can be as small as two computers in one room to as large as 1,000 or more computers in a large organization. Nongovernmental organization Any private or nonprofit organization, usually referring to those providing support to citizens ordinarily provided by governmental units. Nonprofit corporation A corporation not intended to operate for profit and that is barred by law from making a profit. Not-for-profit An activity conducted without intent to raise money; the term may refer to hobbies, informal groups, and organizations not organized to make income. Pledge A promise to make future contributions to an organization; for example, some donors make multiyear pledges promising to grant a specific amount of money each year. These definitions were generated from the following source documents:
IUPUI Payton Philanthropic Library. Retrieved June 11, 2002, from http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/special/dict. html Nesbary, D. (2000). Survey research and the World Wide Web. New York: Allyn & Bacon. Dewitt, J. D. (2001). Volunteer legal handbook (6th ed., rev.). Guess & Rudd P.C. Retrieved June 12, 2002, from: http://iciclesoftware.com/vlh/VLH6Glossary.html Council on Foundations. (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2002, http://www.cof.org/glossary/index.htm
CROSS REFERENCES See Digital Divide; Internet Literacy; Intranets; Politics.
REFERENCES Ad Council. (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved June 3, 2002, from http://www.adcouncil.org/fr about.html Allen, D. (2002). Lesson 169: Edge side includes. Network Magazine, 17, 22, 24. Alsop, S. (1999). How I judge if a Website deserves my business. Fortune, 40, 67–68. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved May 2, 2002, from http://www. bbbs-detroit.com/aboutus.html Blau, A. (2002). Access isn’t enough. American Libraries, 33, 50–52. Cruver, P. (2001). Broadband the future of learning. Multimedia Schools, 8, 28–29, 31. Dalton, J. (2002). Strategic score-keeping. Association Management, 54, 53–57. Donaldson, T. (2001). Ethics in cyberspace: Have we seen this movie before? Business and Society Review, 106, 273–291. Environment Australia Online. (2000). Action Plan. Retrieved June 3, 2002, from http://www.erin.gov.au/about/ publications/online3oct.html Fike, J. (2002, Spring). Technology, media and fundraising survey of southeast Michigan nonprofit organizations. Detroit Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals Newsletter, 1, 4. Food for the Hungry. (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2002, from http://www.fh.org/learn/aboutus.shtml Gardner, C. J. (1998). Nonprofits tap new donors with Internet fundraising. Christianity Today, 42, 26– 27. Geneforum. (n.d.). About us. Retrieved March 20, 2002, from http://www.geneforum.org/organization/ Independent Sector.Retrieved May 14,2002, from http:// www.independentsector.org/e philanthropy/schedule. html Internet infatuation filters down to Italy: Europe’s Internet capitals. (2000). Advertising Age International, 29, 40. Kotrlik, J. W., Harrison, B. C., & Redmann, D. H. (2000). A comparison of information technology training sources, value, knowledge, and skills for Louisiana’s secondary vocational teachers. Journal of Vocational Education Research, 25, 396– 444. Making the Web Work. (2002). MTNW toolbox. Retrieved April 3, 2002, from http://www.makingthenetwork.org/ tools/index.htm
FURTHER READING
McNamara, C. (n.d.). Evaluation activities in organizations. Retrieved May 21, 2002, from http://www. managementhelp.org/evaluatn/evaluatn.htm Mertler, C. (2002). Demonstrating the potential for Webbased survey methodology with a case study. American Secondary Education, 30, 49–61. Montagu-Pollock, M. (2000–2001). A landmark year—but not a smooth one. Asiamoney, 11, 31–32. National Multiple Sclerosis Society. (n.d.). Frequently asked questions. Retrieved May 3, 2002, from http://www.nationalmssociety.org/NMSS-FAQs.asp Nesbary, D. (2000). The taxation of internet commerce. Social Science Computer Review, 18, 17–39. Notovny, P. (2002). Local television, the world wide Web and the 2000 presidential election. Social Science Computer Review, 20, 59–72. N-Ten. (n.d.) Retrieved October 1, 2002, from http://www. nten.org/capacity-map Oehler, J. E. (2000). Not-for-profit organizations can profit by investing in the Internet. The CPA Journal, 70, 65. Olson, E. M., & Slater, S. F. (2002). The balanced scorecard, competitive strategy, and performance. Business Horizons, 45, 11–16. Pearson, T. (2002). Falling behind: A technology crisis facing minority students. TechTrends, 46, 5–20. Pliskin, N. (1998). Explaining the paradox of telecommuting. Business Horizons, 41, 2. Riedman, P. (1998). Nonprofit ads find a home on the Internet. Advertising Age, 69, 14. Souccar, M. K. (2001). Fund-raising techniques see fundamental changes. Crain’s New York Business, 17, 7–12. Strom, S. (2002). Nonprofit groups reach for profits on the side. New York Time March, 17, 2002 Late Edition Final. Retrieved February 28, 2003 from http://80web.lexis-nexis.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/universe/ document? m=5d988f49139db6a7836b9c1314dfb879 & docnum=1&wchp=dGLbVzz-lSlAl& md5=03e5f5ab 0ba802913253111b302bc36d Vargas, A. (2001). Providing the connections to make MOUSE roar. Crain’s New York Business, 17, 50. Waldon, C. D. (1999). NetAid: Music and technology join forces to battle poverty. Choices, 8, 13–16. Westen, T. (2000). E-democracy: Ready or not, here it comes. National Civic Review, 89, 217–227. Willoughby, K. G., & Melkers, J. E. (2001). Assessing the impact of performance budgeting: A survey of American states. Government Finance Review, 17, 25–30. Witte, J. C., Amoroso, L. M., & Howard, P. E. N. (2000). Method and representation in Internet-based survey tools: Mobility, community, and cultural identity in
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Survey 2000. Social Science Computer Review, 18, 179– 195.
FURTHER READING Blazek, J. (2000). The Internet and tax-exempt organizations. The Tax Adviser, 31, 344–353. Davis, J. (2000). Dot-com casualty list mounts as holiday season approaches. InfoWorld, 22, 32. Toffler, A. (1980). The third wave. New York: Bantam Books. Yetman, R. J. (2001). Tax-motivated expense allocations by nonprofit organizations. The Accounting Review, 76, 297–311. The following is a short list of Web links to nonprofit Web directories and search engines. These Web links are useful to anyone interested in examining nonprofit Web sites or simply searching for nonprofits by category in the U.S. or around the world. Action Without Borders—Idealist.org (http://www. idealist.org/). Includes more than 28,000 organizations and 6,000 volunteer opportunities Independent Sector (http://www.indepsec.org/). A coalition of nonprofits, foundations, and corporations providing information dissemination and research services IT Resource Center (http://www.itresourcecenter.org/). A national resource for nonprofit training, jobs, and research The Nonprofit Resource Center (http://not-for-profit.org/) Includes links to nonprofits, nonprofit boards, nonprofit support organizations, fundraising resources, and marketing information Philanthropysearch.com (http://www.philanthropysearch. com/). Includes searchable database of Web sites including fundraising, education, social services, publications, and charitable giving Planet Volunteer (http://www.planetvolunteer.com/). Allows user to search for volunteers or volunteer organizations Servenet.org (http://www.servenet.org/. Primarily a volunteer organization focusing on youth and young adults Union of International Associations (http://www.uia.org/). Provides information on intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations Yahoo Nonprofit Resource (http://dir.yahoo.com/Society and Culture/Issues and Causes/Philanthropy/Nonpro fit Resources/Web Directories/) Yahoo Volunteerism Links (http://dir.yahoo.com/Society and Culture/Issues and Causes/Philanthropy/Commu nity Service and Volunteerism/)
O O
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) (OLAP)
Joseph Morabito, Stevens Institute of Technology Edward A. Stohr, Stevens Institute of Technology
Introduction OLTP Systems OLAP Systems OLAP Technology Data Capture and Cleansing Data Distribution Varieties of OLAP A Word on Computer Platforms The OLAP Data View Meta-data Sparsity Functionality of OLAP Tools Report Capabilities Pivot or “Slice and Dice” Nesting Multiple Dimensions Calculated (Virtual) Data Graphical Capabilities Drill Through Multiple Hierarchies
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INTRODUCTION Management reporting is the earliest form of wide-scale decision support application and typically employs the data structures used for the organization’s transaction processing. Management information systems (MIS) provided the necessary technology in early batch processing systems. As online data entry and access became available in the 1970s, transaction processing systems became known as online transaction processing (OLTP) systems and represent the bulk of a typical organization’s systems. To maintain data consistency during transaction processing, OLTP designs emphasize the notion of data normalization in relational databases. Normalization of a company’s data means essentially that each database table stores data about instances of a single entity (e.g., all customer instances) or of a single event (e.g., all purchase transaction instances.) The objective of normalization is to reduce data redundancy and streamline update transactions. In satisfying these objectives, OLTP systems sacrifice ease of reporting. Generating reports from a relational database may involve joining information in multiple tables at a huge computational cost for databases of any size. This type of reporting concentrates on detailed listing of records and is well-suited for managing the bottom line and may include, for example, performance ranking of sales
Aggregation Fact Tables Communication With Other Tools Information Architecture for E-commerce Access Log and Web Usage Statistics Recognizing Visits or Sessions Web Usage Summary Statistics Organizing Data for OLAP and E-commerce Data Webhouse Building the Integrated E-data Warehouse Developing Data Marts Using OLAP in E-commerce Applications The Web Is Just Another Sales Channel Clickstream Analysis Providing OLAP Capabilities to Customers Conclusion Glossary Cross References References
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people and other such reports. The majority of reports in such systems are preformatted (sharing this characteristic with MIS systems). Sophisticated users may generate ad hoc reports using the database’s query language. With the advent of integrated transaction processing systems (e.g., enterprise resource planning; ERP), the back-end database design did not change in philosophy; it only became larger and more complex. Such designs are sometimes referred to as operational data stores (ODS) and represent integrated data stores of several applications (i.e., an integrated set of separate OLTPs). This environment is well suited to support operational queries. Such queries cut across functional applications and give an end-to-end readout of an event or situation. For example, a brokerage house may want to resolve a problem trade with a client and would need to run a report that displays the life history of a given trade: the order, the trade, its clearance, its settlement, and any final positioning information for the client. With traditional OLTP applications this would be a series of reports run and manually integrated by operations personnel covering hours or even days; with an integrated operational data store, this would be a single query executed by the client’s broker or a centralized help desk. The definition of an operational data store is somewhat slippery. We have seen the term used with reference to a data structure supporting a single OLTP application as 685
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well as an integrated operational data structure supporting integrated applications, including operational queries (e.g., the brokerage example). In a data warehouse environment, an ODS means some set of data that is a consequence of data extraction from OLTP data stores. The ODS typically is not accessed directly by users but serves as a staging area prior to making data available to users through data marts. In this sense, the ODS may represent a kind of enterprise data warehouse. An ODS may also serve as a staging area in the development of what Bill Inmon has called an “atomic” data warehouse (Inmon, 1996). This is a large data warehouse of detailed data that is only lightly categorized and summarized. In either case, an ODS is a staging area that supports data cleansing prior to data delivery to users. Data cleansing includes activities such as removing duplicate records, correcting invalid attribute values, and so on. Finally, the structure of an ODS in a data warehouse environment usually takes one of two forms: the first is as an integrated and normalized data model, and the second is merely a series of file structures corresponding to source data structures. The first implementation may require extensive data transformation and integration, while the second requires little if any transformation. The second implementation is more common than the first. Systems that rely primarily on preformatted reports are inadequate for a world dominated by the need for speed and characterized by constant change. With the advent of the Web, users’ demands for a “business intelligence” (BI) capability in organizations have increased dramatically. By BI, we mean the full set of activities required to analyze and capture, transform and derive, store and distribute data through applications and specialized tools to support analysis and decision making. (The forerunners of BI systems were called either MIS or executive information systems [EIS] depending on the level in the organization of the target user.) Please note that some organizations separate data warehousing and BI activities: the former refers to the development of data warehouses and marts, while the latter refers to the development of BI tools and applications that run against the data warehouses and marts to perform analyses that are critical to the firm. For BI to succeed, users need to examine data at various levels of aggregation and to take different views of the data along multiple dimensions such as product sales by district over time or sales to customers by customer type and geographic region. Moreover, users should be able to “drill down” seamlessly from high-level aggregate data to more detailed levels of data, perhaps even to the transaction level. Online analytic processing (OLAP) systems provide these capabilities and more, thus providing analysts with a flexible means to examine their organization’s data and to discover relationships and trends that less flexible tools could not reveal (Inmon, 1996). OLAP tools are therefore an indispensable component of any data warehousing and BI strategy. OLAP represents the latest evolution in decision support. While traditional reporting is positioned to manage the bottom line (with OLTP data structures) and operational queries to enhance customer service and save costs (with ODS data stores), OLAP is designed to promote the top line by improving strategic decision making
and customer relationships. In contrast to OLTP and ODS data schemas, OLAP employs multidimensional data stores. Traditional reporting and operational queries reference data structures designed primarily to support other types of processing (i.e., transactions) and hence support decision making incidentally. It is not surprising that these reports support simple analyses and decision making. In contrast, multidimensional data stores are designed specifically for OLAP, making analyses and decision support far richer than otherwise. Following is a brief review of selected differences between OLTP and OLAP systems.
OLTP Systems r
Each transaction execution involves a small number of logical records (usually one). r Small number of transactions types. r Large number of transaction executions. r Comparatively static requirements and data schema. r Involves primitive database operations (i.e., create, read, update, and delete; CRUD). r Contains atomic, detailed data. r Usually restricted to the current time period (e.g., present point in time going back for some short period of time such as three months). r Performance and throughput comparatively important.
OLAP Systems r
Each transaction execution may involve a very large number of logical records. r Large number of different types of queries (including ad hoc queries) and applications. r Small number of long-running transactions. r Comparatively dynamic analytical requirements and data. r Generally read-only, but increasingly supporting dynamic calculations on the fly (e.g., supporting what-if scenarios). r Contains value-added data (e.g., categorized, summarized, and derived data). r Includes a wide range of historical time periods (e.g., often 7 years for legal applications). r Performance and throughput relatively less important. Before concluding this section, it should be noted that OLAP and data mining tools are complementary. Both tools are enabled by the existence of data warehousing capabilities in the organization, because both tools draw their data from sources external to themselves. Data mining involves discovering hitherto unknown patterns or relationships in data using an array of techniques from the field of statistics as well as from computer science and artificial intelligence. Often, the results of a data mining investigation are expressed as rules, for example, IF Customer Visits to Product Page > 3 THEN probability of purchase > 0.5. This rule conforms with common sense and is also “actionable”—the company might offer such visitors to its Web site a discount on the particular product of interest.
INTRODUCTION
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Query Type
Transaction Query
Operational Query
Data Ware house Query
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Operational
Analysis and Decision
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Figure 1: Varieties of query types. Both OLAP and data mining tools are used to discover patterns in data in a broad sense. The differences are great, however. The OLAP philosophy views data as structured in terms of multiple dimensions such as time, product, or customer. The patterns that may be discovered in the data by the astute OLAP analyst may be useful, but they are somewhat constrained by the overall multidimensional structure. OLAP tools can be used by anyone possessing sufficient business knowledge and the desire to explore the data. In their present state of development, however, data mining tools are best used by data mining specialists in conjunction with business experts. Generally, there is a continuum of queries that cover the range of OLTP, OLAP, and data mining (see Figure 1). The difference between the queries is not always clear-cut (Hand, Mannila, & Smyth 2001). For example, we may be interested in the address of a client or in uncovering the audit trail of a lost stock trade. The first is a transaction query, and the second is an operational query that, in the absence of an ODS or a data warehouse, would cover several separate operational databases. The distinguishing characteristic of these two queries is that they involve logically a single record and fall into the category of an OLTP query. At the other end of the continuum, an example of an OLAP query may be finding the sales of all products by month and region, while a data mining query may be finding what products have similar sales patterns or finding rules that predict the sale of a certain product using customer segmentation or clustering (Hand et al., 2001). An OLAP query is distinguished by aggregation, whereas data mining involves pattern discovery and rule development. Both OLAP and data mining involve a large number of logical records. The data warehouse query lies in the middle of the continuum and best exemplifies the unclear and rapidly evolving query environment. An example of such a query would be finding the trend in sales of a particular product in a particular region. This involves only light aggregation, and although it may be implemented as an OLAP query with a restricted data view (e.g., virtual OLAP), optimum implementation is with a reporting and query tool against a data warehouse. The variety of query types represent the changing nature of query requirements, query tool capabilities, and the emerging role of an integrated business intelligence environment as a support, even an “operational” system for the knowledge-based work
that defines the 21st-century organization (Kochan, Orlikowski, & Cutcher-Gershenfeld, 2002). Figure 2 illustrates a full-capability business intelligence architecture. It shows the relationship of the various constructs we have been discussing: operational data stores, data warehouses, data marts, data mining, and OLAP technologies. There are several observations that we can make from this illustration, among them the following: The BI environment includes an interrelated mix of platforms, data structures with different schemas, enduser tools and technologies, and applications. The BI architecture is characterized structurally by a kind of back-end data capture, a central storage area, and front-end data distribution. This structure supports the following functions in the life history of a data element as it moves through the architecture: data identification and access; data capture, cleansing, rationalization and transformation; data derivation, categorization, and calculation; development of supporting meta-data; data distribution, reporting, OLAP, and mining. It should be noted that not all functions fit neatly in one particular place in the architecture. For example, data elements may, and often are, derived and calculated anywhere in the architecture. In fact, as discussed subsequently, one of the key characteristics of OLAP is the ability of an end user to derive and calculate data on the desktop as he or she sees fit. Organizations tend to be data rich but information poor. The BI environment addresses this issue head-on by increasing the richness of data, and thus creating information, as it flows through the architecture. Furthermore, an end user may access data at any level of richness (i.e., specific information), depending on the analysis. The BI architecture and technologies support several ancillary functions, such as the following: r
Identifying data inconsistencies within and between source systems. r Serving as a bridge to combine data across legacy systems and create enterprise-level information. r Identifying, recording, and operationalizing business rules. r Empowering workers and decentralized decision making through the widespread, even organizationwide, distribution of information, made possible by the combination of OLAP and reporting technologies with the Web.
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Business Intelligence Management DataMart Product Customer
Web Logs Normalized
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Extract Transform Load
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forms of data &
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Web, Operational & external data
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Figure 2: Relationship between ODS, data warehouse, data mart, OLAP, and data mining. r Promoting
knowledge work by capturing and distributing information and giving each worker the ability to further manipulate data and create additional information.
These are concerns for most organizations. The BI architecture is an opportunity to address each of these issues in an integrated and systematic manner.
OLAP TECHNOLOGY Observe from Figure 2 that as the data moves from left to right, it increases in value. In classical informationprocessing theory, this is known as increasing the “information carrying capacity of data.” This is accomplished through the application of explicit knowledge: data is turned into information with increasing richness as we progress along the “information continuum,” from raw, atomic data to derived and transformed multidimensional data (Morabito et al., 1999). Data has its informationcarrying capacity increased through semantic manipulation (e.g., derivation, categorization, summarization, etc.) and data visualization (e.g., graphics, traffic lighting, etc.), supported with multidimensional data structures. A multidimensional data structure is one in which data are stored in a form that makes interactive, spreadsheet-like analysis possible. Thus, an OLAP capability takes shape as we enrich data and then put it in a form amenable for interactive analysis and manipulation.
Data Capture and Cleansing Data is initially accessed from “certified” sources of operational data, including weblogs and external data, extracted and stored in an ODS, either as an integrated and normalized database or as flat files (e.g., comma delimited, of fixed field size files). In the ODS, it is cleansed and
then extracted, transformed, and loaded (ETL) into the first-level, or atomic-level, data warehouse. Typically this data warehouse is large and contains detailed data that is only lightly categorized and summarized. The atomic data warehouse is usually stored in a relational DBMS and is organized as facts (i.e., measures) and dimensions in a “star schema.” A star schema organizes data as facts and corresponding dimensions in a kind of hub-and-spoke configuration. Each dimension is denormalized and captures all the attributes associated with that dimension. Variations to the star schema include a snowflake design: a snowflake schema is a star schema with selected dimension attributes normalized, particularly a dimension with an embedded hierarchy—it’s the repeating values of the hierarchy that are normalized. Normalized dimension tables, whether or not part of a snowflake, are sometimes known as “outrigger” tables (Kimball, 1996). The star schema is suitable for reports and queries and also supports simple OLAP (virtual) activities as well as ROLAP (OLAP technology with a relational database). It should be noted that the ETL function is applied between data layers or stores within the BI architecture— between source data stores and an atomic data warehouse, between an atomic data warehouse and a data mart, and so on. ETL functions are facilitated with tools; the primary tool is an ETL tool, but this technology usually needs to be supplemented with CASE tools and data dictionaries. Most ETL paradigms and corresponding tools are meta-data driven: the source and target data elements are identified at the logical (optional) and physical (required) level, while transformations and derivations between source and target data stores are defined with rules as meta-data. The actual implementation may be in the form of code generated by an ETL tool (early generation) or in an “ETL-engine” that moves and transforms data between data stores. Also, ETL tools may
OLAP TECHNOLOGY
be either batch- or real-time oriented; in the former case, the load function is usually separated from extract and transformation and applied with the batch-load utility of the target database. This is done for performance reasons.
Data Distribution To implement a full OLAP capability, we need to add more richness to the data than is typically contained in an atomic data warehouse. Therefore we execute an ETL process between the atomic data warehouse and a target data mart. A data mart is a small, focused data warehouse usually deployed at the departmental level, which usually involves more data transformations and derivations than its source data warehouse. The data mart may be organized as a star schema in a RDBMS, or organized along a “cube” metaphor in a proprietary database known as a multidimensional database (MDDB). The data mart contains additional categorization and derivations—again, its richness has been increased. The combination of OLAP and reporting technologies with the Web allows end users easy access to the atomic data warehouse, data marts, and meta-data. The structure of the data largely dictates the type of OLAP access. For example, the OLAP technology that is used with a star schema in a relational database is known as ROLAP, whereas that used with an MDDB is known as MOLAP. Each of these areas is elaborated in the following section.
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MOLAP MOLAP refers to OLAP technology with a proprietary database known as a multidimensional database (MDDB). The metaphor of an MDDB is a cube—an n-sided spreadsheet data structure. Each “side” of the cube is a dimension (e.g., time, product, location), and each cell is a measure, such as sales. The primary advantage of an MDDB is that it is extremely fast. Moreover, MDDBs often support dynamic derivations and calculations—an OLAP reference to a dynamic-defined fact will invoke the calculation. The disadvantages of MOLAP include a relatively small number of dimension attributes, an unfamiliar technology, and size limitations. MDDBs are typically deployed as data marts and often include complex derivations and aggregations as measures.
ROLAP ROLAP refers to OLAP technology with a relational database. The back-end database is designed with a multidimensional schema for relational databases known as a star schema and its variations such as a snowflake. The star schema facts correspond to the measures in the cells of an MDDB and its dimensions correspond one-to-one to the sides of an MDDB cube. ROLAP’s primary advantages include practically no size limitation, a large number of dimension attributes, and familiar relational technology. Its disadvantage is that it is significantly slower than MDDBs.
Varieties of OLAP
Virtual or Desktop OLAP
OLAP comes in a variety of flavors (see Figure 3). Each type will have an impact on its position as an e-commerce tool and its implementation in the BI architecture. We now briefly review the different types of OLAP.
Virtual OLAP has a narrow focus, encompassing relatively few dimensions and measures. Virtual OLAP is operationalized through a simple reportlike query against a relational database (i.e., star schema) that returns a “micro cube” in memory. The user then has a subset of OLAP features available such as drill, pivot, and rotation. Other features are not available; for example, bookmarking only makes sense with “real” data structures. When the user is finished with his or her analysis, the micro cube is simply removed from memory. This form of OLAP is sometimes known as “desktop OLAP.” One advantage of virtual OLAP is that the user receives only those facts and dimensions in which he or she is interested.
OLAP OLAP is the generic software technology associated with multidimensional analysis. OLAP involves aggregate data, and therefore multidimensional databases are sometimes deployed as data marts derived and aggregated from a source data warehouse. Although traditional reporting and queries are static and use a list or table metaphor, OLAP is distinguished by its interactive nature and by use of a spreadsheet metaphor. The spreadsheet metaphor is a simple data visualization technique that is highly effective in manifesting data patterns and graphics. The spreadsheet metaphor does not imply two-sided analysis, but rather an n-dimension analysis. Furthermore, each “cell” in the spreadsheet may contain any number of measures or “facts” for the same set of dimensions, for example, assets, commissions, number of trades, and so on. OLAP is associated with a number of advanced analytical and graphical capabilities as discussed later. OLAP
MOLAP
ROLAP
Virtual OLAP
Figure 3: Varieties of OLAP.
HOLAP
HOLAP Hybrid OLAP refers to a technology in which a query optimizer references two data structures: one is a star schema and the other is an MDDB. In essence, HOLAP exploits the benefits of both MOLAP and ROLAP. The user submits a query request and the optimizer selects the most suitable data source, the relational star or the MDDB. The purpose of the hybrid approach is to optimize the data source and to promote ease of use. This rationale stems from the fact that most large-scale decision-making environments include both relational star schemas (in the form of a data warehouse) and MDDBs (in the form of derived marts). The hybrid approach optimizes the utility of both types of data structures.
A Word on Computer Platforms Operational data sources may reside on a variety of platforms, but in practice most large organizations have their
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core operational systems on mainframes. The ODS (as either an integrated data base or as a series of flat files) may reside on either mainframe or client servers. If most of an organization’s source data reside on the mainframe, however, it makes sense to implement the ODS on the mainframe as well. In this way, one may harness the power of the mainframe for data cleansing. The atomic data warehouse gives us an opportunity to implement on a clientserver machine, but the mainframe may also be used. With a MDDB, the target platform is virtually always clientserver. Finally, the users may access data (reports, virtual OLAP, ROLAP from the atomic data warehouse, and MOLAP from MDDBs) from a Web server. Thus, as with the enrichment of data along the information continuum, the platforms also shift in emphasis, from mainframe to client-server to the Web and the user’s desktop.
THE OLAP DATA VIEW Regardless of their underlying physical data structure, OLAP tools project a multidimensional view of data. The user is able to visualize the data as consisting of cells in a multidimensional cube. The dimensions of the cube (such as product, customer, and time) serve to identify, qualify, and describe facts in the multidimensional space. As mentioned earlier, a cell in the data cube might represent sales of a particular product in a particular region at a particular time period. The content of a particular cell is often called a “fact.” Actually, each cell in the data cube may contain multiple facts. For example, each cell in the Product × Customer × Time cube in Figure 2 might contain data concerning sales, cumulative sales to date, contribution, margin, price, cost, and so on. A powerful feature of many OLAP tools is that the dimensions can support hierarchical views of the data, with each level in the data structure representing a particular level of aggregation. For example, the Product dimension might consist of All Products, All Product Classes, and All Products Within Each Class. This obviously facilitates viewing the data at multiple levels of integration. As the user picks a different level in each dimensional hierarchy, the values in the cells of the cube are automatically adjusted. For example, if the user wishes to perform an analysis at the highest level of aggregation representing all products, the cells of the cube will reflect total organizational sales, costs, etc. for the particular customer and time periods. As we have implied, it is possible to aggregate at different levels on each dimension of the cube. The hierarchical view of the cube’s dimensions naturally facilitates “drill-down” capabilities. For example, if total sales of a particular product in some time period are unexpectedly high or low, the user can drill down to lower levels on the customer dimension to discover the particular customer classes or even customers that are responsible for the unexpected result. OLAP tools also handle time in a sophisticated manner. For example, in the time dimension, most tools can manage calendars and calculate durations automatically. Mechanisms are also provided to handle automatically accumulations such as “sales to date” and common comparisons such as “sales this month last year” versus current sales, and budgets versus actual.
Meta-data Of particular importance is the capability of the OLAP tool to handle meta-data. For example, it is essential for proper decision making for the analyst to understand the definitions of data: When is revenue recognized by the firm’s accounting system? When was the data generated? By whom? and etc. This concept of meta-data is particularly important in a BI environment. In the past, meta-data was meant primarily for the database administrator. It served to help the DBA design a database. We call this technical meta-data, which includes items such as data length and type. In a BI environment, however, the primary users of meta-data should be the business user. For analysts and decision makers to be effective, not only must the data they manipulate be accurate and timely, but their understanding of the data must also be accurate. For example, the concept of a “household” in a bank can take on many meanings—a billing versus a marketing household for example. Do we include everyone living in a dwelling as belonging to a single household? What of children away at college? As another example, when calculating “assets under management,” different departments will “roll up” assets differently for each product category—departments often define products differently. In fact, for most every data element there are different and equally correct perspectives; what distinguishes one from the other is the business context. Thus, a business user must be able to not only see meta-data but also manipulate it. A given business user should be able to select the appropriate context (e.g., a marketing perspective of household) and then see the appropriate breakdown and rollups. In addition to manipulating meta-data, a user should be able to see the complete audit trail of every data element to which he or she has access. This would include source systems, data steward, transformation algorithms, associated business rules, date of last refresh, and so on. A user should also be able to access a library of existing reports, queries, and OLAP “bookmarks” for every data element; in this way a user has an opportunity to reuse existing analyses or OLAP navigation paths. This is all meta-data. Finally, meta-data also includes other forms of supporting documentation for a particular perspective. This includes text documents, presentations, and navigation to internal Web sites for additional information. Thus we see that meta-data is a complex construct: It includes traditional technical meta-data as found in a data dictionary and business meta-data found in a variety of places and forms. The former concerns issues of data structure, and the latter concerns data context. To be effective, each kind of meta-data should be a “click away.”
Sparsity MDDB cubes tend to grow asymmetrically. By this we mean, for example, that not every product is sold in every store every day, every student does not take every course every semester, and so on. Thus, we often discover that the cells of a cube are empty as the cube grows in size. In a star schema, the fact table is said to be sparse in that we do not add rows in a fact table if there is no activity.
FUNCTIONALITY OF OLAP TOOLS
A second variation to the concept of sparse data concerns repeating values; for instance, the price of a product may be the same in every store every day for some period of time, and then the price may change everywhere simultaneously. In each case, sparsity is not an issue as such but may have an impact on size, performance, and certain types of calculations such as “average.” The better MDDBs and corresponding OLAP tools will have some sort of compaction routine that avoids repeating duplicate values; instead, they record a given value and the range in which the value is repeated. In a star schema, the solution is not so straightforward. If we no not add rows to a fact table when there is no activity, the SQL AVERAGE function will yield incorrect results. The solution is to use the SQL SUM function and divide the results by the appropriate number of instances (i.e., compute SUM and cardinality separately and then combine to calculate the average). Unfortunately, this must be programmed and does not support end-user report development. One solution is to add rows containing “zero” values; this, in effect, eliminates sparisty and solves the “average” computation problem, but most likely creates a huge fact table—affecting both size and performance. Another solution is to not add rows containing zeros, but to choose an appropriate enduser query tool that meets this and other computing criteria beyond supporting structured query language (SQL) queries. (See Adamson & Venerable, 1998, for a discussion on sparsity and computational issues.)
FUNCTIONALITY OF OLAP TOOLS OLAP tools combine ease of use with sophisticated functionality. This functionality was implied in the previous discussion but is discussed in more detail here. Generally, report formatting is secondary to aggregation and data visualization. OLAP tools do not emphasize traditional list reports, but rather charting and the display of tabular data.
Report Capabilities The most basic and necessary functionality involves report formatting capabilities. Most OLAP tools will automatically format tabular views showing titles and row and column labels and display multiple dimensions on each axis in a visually clear manner. Moreover, they will automatically fit the report display to the user’s screen or provide simple horizontal and vertical scrolling capabilities. OLAP tools will similarly format and paginate printed reports.
Pivot or “Slice and Dice” One way to think about this class of functionality is to first imagine the underlying cube data structure. OLAP tools permit the user to navigate up and down (drill up or drill down) and around selected dimensions (pivoting)— in effect, a user may select which portion of the cube to view by merely rotating dimensions. Pivoting means that a user selects which dimension to display along the x-axis, which dimension to display along the y-axis, while selecting and holding constant the remaining dimensions. For example, in a cube that contains sales as a measure and
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product, region, and time as dimensions, a user may select a given product category and display, for that product category, regions (along the y-axis) versus time (along the x-axis). If the user then wanted to change perspectives, he or she would, for example, swap product and region: In this case, the user would have to select a given region and display, for that region, products (along the y-axis) and time (along the x-axis).
Nesting Multiple Dimensions One of the more popular extensions of the pivoting capability is to nest dimensions along one axis. Although pivoting requires, for example, a user to swap dimensions and display one dimension along each axis, nesting permits a user to display several dimensions along a given axis. For example, in the scenario just described, rather than swapping product and region, a user may drag-and-drop product underneath region: In this case the y-axis would display product categories within each region while the time dimension remains displayed along the x-axis. This is a particularly powerful feature, provided the user doesn’t get carried away and overload a display with too many nested data points.
Calculated (Virtual) Data A powerful feature of OLAP is user-defined, automatic calculation of dates and durations as well as other arithmetic operations. For example, users may define a dimension as actual–budgeted and then create “on the fly” a new attribute called “variance” and define it as the difference between actual and budgeted measures. Similarly, users can define a dimension as actual–budgeted–projected and engage in a variety of what-if analyses.
Graphical Capabilities As one would expect, the spreadsheet display associated with OLAP lends itself to the automatic generation of multidimensional bar and pie charts, line plots, and so on. The key ingredient here is the selection of the appropriate graphical display; for a given spreadsheet display, one type of chart may be more effective than another, whereas others may make no sense. For example, in the scenario we have been discussing, a display of sales for region versus product lends itself to a bar chart; a line graph would make no sense. Similarly, a display of sales for region versus time lends itself to a line graph; a bar chart would be possible but not be nearly as rich as the line chart. Thus, the selection of the appropriate visual display adds richness to the underlying data.
Drill Through This is not a form of OLAP but a technique to connect an MDDB with its source relational star. The central concept here is that a user engaged in OLAP with an MDDB may need to drill down to a lower level of detail (i.e., grain) than a cube typically contains. The technology supports “drilling through” from an aggregate or derived cell in an MDDB to its corresponding detail records in the relational star from which the data in an MDDB was sourced and aggregated or derived.
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Multiple Hierarchies A multiple hierarchy is one in which a “child” element has more that one “parent.” For example, a location dimension may have two hierarchies: one may be geographic (salesperson to store to city to state), whereas the second may be regional (salesperson to store to district to division). In this example, district and division are independent of city and state boundaries. As another example, the time dimension contains at least two hierarchies for most organizations: day to month to quarter to year and day to week. In each of these cases the key is to recognize that each hierarchy is logically part of the same dimension. The better MDDBs and corresponding OLAP tools support multiple hierarchies for a single dimension. In the absence of this direct support, the OLAP designer will have to define each hierarchy as a separate dimension.
Aggregation Fact Tables MDDBs build aggregations into the dimensional hierarchies. With star schemas, we may predefine certain aggregations and store the results in “aggregate fact tables.” These fact tables may be thought of as “derivative” fact tables because they are derived from main, detail-level fact tables (Kimball, 1996). The presence of predefined aggregations improves response time by avoiding repetitive summarization activities. On the other hand, we cannot build aggregations for every possible combination. The key considerations in choosing the right aggregations are sparsity and usage patterns. Aggregation is more efficient if we aggregate along dense dimension elements (a large number of rows for that dimension element compared with other dimension elements) rather than among sparse Web
Users
dimension elements; in the former case preaggregation will save resources, whereas in the latter case aggregations may be done on the fly without seriously affecting performance (see Stanford Technology Group, 1995).
Communication With Other Tools OLAP tools allow the user to export reports to word processing and graphical documents or to external spreadsheets for advanced or individual computing that cannot easily be handled by the OLAP tool.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FOR E-COMMERCE The OLAP technologies described in the previous sections each have their place in e-commerce applications. For example, if the analysis requirement were to study market penetration or customer profiling, a MOLAP design would be used. If the requirement were for analysis of specific customer behaviors in a customer relationship application (e.g., CRM), a ROLAP or a drill-through implementation would be preferable because both aggregate and corresponding detail data would be needed. Generally, organizations will use OLAP (and other data warehousing and decision support technologies) to analyze clickstream data. This may be used to assess traffic over the Internet at an organization’s Web site. The second utility is to combine this data and analytical results with other data in an organization, in particular marketing data. This will create a link between, say, marketing campaigns and promotions with Web traffic. Figure 4 illustrates the integration of a Web server with various
Web Usage Reports
Web Server
OLAP Tool
Data Marts
3rd Party Data Sources
Log Analysis Software Web House
Integrated Warehouse
Management Reports
Accounting Analysis
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Decision Model(s) Web Market Data
Ad Network
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Merchant Software
User Registration
Figure 4: Data architectures for e-commerce.
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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FOR E-COMMERCE
other data sources and analytical tools including OLAP. Typical applications that result from these linkages are the following: r
Enhanced marketing and sales promotion activities (e.g., direct marketing campaigns), r Support for customer relationship activities, such as providing possible sales leads, and r Support for personalization and an enhanced customer experience at an organization’s Web site. Central to supporting a wide variety of e-commerce and OLAP applications is architecture and associated datagathering activities. This environment cannot be single threaded for OLAP, but must encompass the full breadth of decision support activities and technologies. In the remainder of this section, we explain each component of the architecture in Figure 4.
Access Log and Web Usage Statistics Every access to a Web server is stored in real time in the server’s “Transfer” or “Access” log (see Figure 4). This file contains a complete record of every event recognized by the Web server. For example, when a “hit” occurs, a record is generated containing the precise time, the IP address of the user, and the name of the requested page, file, or object. A “log analysis system” can then be used to provide detailed reports on, among other things, the number of “hits,” “page views,” and “visits” to the total site and to any page on the site (Stout, 1997). The log files contain detailed data about all the events registered by the server. From this information, the Web site can learn valuable information about its users and about the features on the Web site that are of most interest and generate the most income. Busy sites generate gigabytes of detailed data every day. To understand the data analysis steps, it is helpful to start with an understanding of the structure of weblog data (Stout, 1997). A typical Web server generates four “access log” files. These are the transfer, error, referrer, and agent logs, respectively. We now describe the data elements contained in a combined transfer, agent, and referrer log file (see Figure 5).
Host Field The Host field contains the identifier of the remote host making the connection and requesting a document. The identifier can be the fully qualified domain name (the URL, or uniform resource locator, familiar to all Web users) or simply the Internet protocol (IP) address (a number that is the Web’s identifier for a particular machine). The URL corresponding to an IP address can often be obtained by looking it up in the Internet domain name system (DNS), a hierarchical system of IP directories maintained on the Internet by various public and private authorities.
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Combined Web Log File
Host-Field
211.56.155.44 (or www.acme.com)
Ident
-
Auth-User
(ID or password for protected area)
Time-Stamp
Date, Time
HTTP-Request
Method + page URL
Status-code
Error code (200 for success)
Transfer-Volume
File size (bytes)
Prior URL
Page user's browser was displaying
+ Search String Path & File Name
(if from search engine) Requested page ( e.g., /index.html)
Browser
User's browser & version no.
Server Cookie
User ID + data on interaction
Figure 5: Data fields from Web log files (combined).
Auth-User Field The Auth-User field provides identification information for users accessing protected portions of the Web site. This can be used for billing users for their use of Web site features.
Time-Stamp Field The Time-Stamp field provides the date and time (down to the second) of the transfer request.
HTTP-Request Field The HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) Request field contains a key word describing the type of request being sent to the server and the version number of the HTTP protocol used to make the request.
Status-Code Field The Status-Code field records the success or failure of the transaction. In the latter case, the reason for the failure is also coded.
Transfer-Volume Field The Transfer-Volume field records the amount of data (in bytes) transferred as the result of a successful “Get” operation.
Prior URL Field The Prior URL field contains the URL of the current page or the URL of the page from which the user first came to the Web site (and perhaps also the actual search parameters used if the user comes from a search engine).
Ident Field The Ident field was designed to record the actual user’s name. For privacy and other reasons, however, it is seldom used; in its place, the server simply records a “-”.
Path & File Name Field The Path & File Name field contains the URL of the user’s next requested page.
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ONLINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING (OLAP)
Server Cookie Field The Server Cookie field contains a unique identifier for the user plus information relevant to the user’s interaction with the Web site. Web Server log files contain basic information about Web site usage but can be difficult to interpret. Note that the server will be recording data from multiple users in real time. This means that the records corresponding to a given user will normally be dispersed throughout the log.
Recognizing Visits or Sessions From the previous discussion, it can be seen that the number of “hits” recorded by a Web site is not a reliable or meaningful statistic. The hits record events that can be accesses to HTML (hypertext markup language) pages, HTML page frames, gif image files, Java applets, and so on. It is much more useful to record the number of page views and visits by users to the Web site. For example, advertisers are often charged according to the number of page views (or “impressions”) to which their ads are exposed. This information can be found from the Prior URL field. Visits and unique visitors can be even more meaningful statistics. A visit is recorded in the transfer log as a sequence of hits coming from the same IP address. The visit ends when the user either logs off from his or her browser or clicks on a link to another site. A problem arises if the user moves away from his machine for an extended period of time without clicking away from the site. To provide closure in these circumstances, it is customary to record the end of a visit after 30 minutes have elapsed with no response from the user. Thus, a new visit is recognized if the user resumes his or her session (say) 35 minutes after his or her last activity. There are two other methods for determining visits— both of which are more accurate than the use of log files. First, if users are required to identify themselves on entry to the Web site their identity will be maintained throughout the visit in the auth-user field. Furthermore, user records can be generated to allow for comprehensive tracking of the user’s behavior over multiple visits, which is the ideal situation. Many sites do not require users to sign in for fear of losing them. A second, somewhat controversial, method for tracking visits, is to identify users through the use of “cookies.” A cookie is a small text file that is generated by the server on the first access by a user. The cookie contains, minimally, the identification of the server and a unique user id number that is dynamically assigned by the server to the user, or rather, to the user’s computer. The cookie is sent to the user’s machine, where it is accepted by the browser and stored on the local disk drive—often with other cookies in a file called “cookie.txt.” When the user initiates the next request for a page from the server, the browser examines its file of cookies to see if a cookie exists for the server. If this is the case, the cookie information is included in the next request to the server. In this way, the server can identify the visitor and understand the current “state” of his or her interaction with the system. Information about individual users is built up over time. If a unique identifier is assigned via a cookie when a user signs on to a site for the first time, the behavior of the
user can be tracked over time. The user is still anonymous, however. If the user signs on to some service provided by the site, then the user can be identified by name. With this information, a match may be possible to the customer’s records in the company’s legacy files (see Figure 4).
Web Usage Summary Statistics A wealth of information can be gained using appropriate software to analyze the data stored in Web Access logs. A number of commercial “log analysis” packages are available that perform this function. These packages are installed on the Web site’s server and used to provide a wide range of useful reports. The following is a list of the typical statistics that are gathered and reported by these packages (adapted from Stout, 1997). Other technical statistics such as the browsers used to access the site are also recorded. User information: User profile by regions Most active organizations Organization breakdown North American states and provinces Most active cities Sites accessed by proxy Top referring sites Top referring URLs
Site activity information: Top requested pages Top downloaded files Top submitted forms and scripts Top download types Forms submitted by users Activity statistics Activity by day of the week Activity by hour of day Most accessed directories
A number of companies specialize in tracking traffic on Web sites. To use these commercial services, it is only necessary to install a small program that periodically (e.g., hourly or daily) sends the tracking company a copy of the log file. The Web analysis reports, which are similar to those that can be produced in-house, can be read by accessing the service’s Web site. Analyses produced by the software described in this section are useful for ongoing measurements of the performance of the Web site and short-term decision making. The logic that such programs use to distinguish visits, visitors, and so on, is valuable. Log analysis software can therefore be used to produce files of clean, summarized data for subsequent, more sophisticated analyses. This data can be entered into the data warehouse. From there it can be used to estimate parameters for decision models and to provide inputs to data mining exercises in which the objective is to discover deep insights about users and usage patterns. Log analysis software can therefore constitute a vital link in the information chain leading to higher Web site profitability.
ORGANIZING DATA FOR OLAP AND E-COMMERCE We now come to the point where data must be appropriately organized for OLAP in e-commerce applications. The key is to construct a BI architecture (see Figures 2 and 4) with Internet data. There are two general
ORGANIZING DATA FOR OLAP AND E-COMMERCE
approaches depending on the e-commerce application. The first is to build an Internet-specific data mart for clickstream analysis; the second is to construct an integrated structure (data warehouse or mart) that contains data sourced from both the Internet and non-Internet sources (e.g., operational). Each of these areas is discussed in the following sections.
Data Webhouse Up to this point we have been discussing clickstream data as a source of data. This data must be used to populate an integrated Data Warehouse as shown in Figure 4. There are two approaches. The first is simply to build the complete data warehouse illustrated in Figure 4. Another approach is to first build a data warehouse of Web data, which is known as a data webhouse (Kimball & Merz, 2000). This data webhouse may be used as a source for analysis (including OLAP) of Web traffic and as a staging area for integrated data warehouses or marts. These integrated data warehouses include selected data from the webhouse as well as specific organizational data, shown as the Legacy Database in Figure 4. The key decision in designing the data webhouse is the selection of its grain. The grain is a representation of a single fact record. At the very least, the grain should be a completed visit or session. For more granularity, a grain of page event may be chosen. Each design results in a huge data webhouse that may be used to cluster customers and analyze their respective behaviors, such as time spent on the site, percentage of sessions that yield product sales, and so on. Other analyses, such as sales from demographic groups, are better implemented with aggregations of sessions. Each of these designs is illustrated in Table 1, adapted from Kimball and Merz (2000). As shown in Table 1, the first two designs yield large, detail-oriented data structures best implemented as star schemas in a relational database employing ROLAP analytical tools. The session aggregation data structure is substantially smaller and can be implemented in a MDDB employing MOLAP technology. Because the aggregation session data structure is derived from the detailed session
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data structure, each may be linked through drill-through or HOLAP technologies.
Building the Integrated E-data Warehouse As shown in Figure 4, advertising and sales information, beyond that recorded in the weblogs, comes from a number of different sources and contributes to the Web market data database. In particular, if the user registers at the site, valuable identification and demographic information is obtained. The data warehouse is populated by extracting Web transaction data from the Web server’s transfer log (or the log analysis software) and market data from the Web market database. If the user can be identified (because he or she has registered or purchased goods or services), it may be possible to link the accounting, product and customer data from the firm’s financial database (see Figure 4). Finally, again depending on precise identification of the user, the firm may purchase valuable demographic and financial information about the user from third-party sources such as mail-order houses. For example, these databases may contain information on the houses and vehicles owned by the user. The integrated data warehouse combines data from the webhouse with data from existing data warehouses (or their legacy sources). Integration is possible only with common dimensions, sometimes called conformed dimensions (Kimball, 1996). For example, dimensions that are common to the clickstream datamarts shown in Table 1 and traditional marketing or sales data marts, for example, would most likely include calendar date, timeof-day, customer, product, and causal (inferred reason for user presence on the Web site) dimensions (Kimball & Merz, 2000). The technology used for an integrated data mart will follow that chosen for the clickstream data mart. Linkage supplements traditional marketing and sales analyses with clickstream data. In effect, an organization’s Web site becomes another channel and the integrated data mart is an extension of the marketing or sales data marts. With an integrated data mart an analyst will be able to determine sales percentage and profitability along each of an organization’s channels, including the Web. Other
Table 1 Sample Clickstream Datamarts (adapted from Kimball & Mertz, 1999) Dimension Name Calendar date Time-of-day Customer Page Session Referrer Causal Event Product (page subject or event trigger) Calender aggregation unit such as month Demographic aggregation
Clickstream Session Fact
Clickstream Page Event Fact
X X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X
Clickstream Session Aggregation Fact
X X
X
X
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ONLINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING (OLAP)
Table 2 Data Mart for Sales Channel Analysis Dimensions Time Year Quarter Month Day of week Time of day Current month Prior month
Customer Customer class Customer Size Demographics
Product Products lines Products
analyses would include the proportional contribution of the Web after a sales promotion or advertisement, most active locations (e.g., cities), and so on.
Developing Data Marts An integrated data warehouse as described in the last section, is difficult and time-consuming to construct. It may also contain hundreds of gigabytes of data. To reduce complexity and increase computational speed, it is customary to develop a series of data marts using an OLAP or ETL tool (see Figure 4). Each data mart will reflect a particular view and will contain a subset of the total data in the warehouse. For example, one data mart might contain customer and clickstream data with the objective of using a data mining tool to discover patterns of Web site access that might distinguish different classes of customer. Given this information, the company might be able to recognize particular customers and their associated class and customize the Web site dynamically. Another data mart might contain product and customer data that could be introduced to an OLAP tool and used to discover trends by time, customer class, and geographic region. As shown in Figure 4, the OLAP tool might also be used to extract data for routine management reporting and accounting purposes or for input into a decision support tool or spreadsheet that will support quantitative modeling and prediction.
USING OLAP IN E-COMMERCE APPLICATIONS Recent experience has indicated that even within an organization only the serious analyst makes direct use of OLAP
Channel All channels Retail stores Catalog Web
Facts Revenue Costs Profit Units sold
technology. This is primarily for two reasons.First, there is a long learning curve associated with OLAP; second, many of the attractive features of OLAP (e.g., drill-down, graphics) have been ported over to the more familiar and easierto-use reporting technologies. Less expert users, however, make use of OLAP through preformatted and automatically generated reports. OLAP views may be set up with bookmarks and other MDDB features. The most common use of OLAP within an e-commerce environment involves Internet data, particularly Internet data that is integrated with marketing and sales data to form an integrated data mart as discussed in the previous section. There are several ways in which OLAP concepts can be used in e-commerce. The following three scenarios are typical.
The Web Is Just Another Sales Channel The multidimensional structure described in Table 2 will allow analysis of sales over multiple channels including the Web. For example, one could use this design to display monthly “high-end” (customer class) revenue by sales channel. To do this, in one commercial OLAP tool, one would simply click on Month, Customer class, All channels, and Revenue in each respective column.
Clickstream Analysis The data cube described in Table 3 can be used to investigate many facets of the Web site usage. For example, one could easily plot a graph of number of page views versus customer zip code for a geographical analysis, number of page views versus time-of-day to identify peak usage, and so on.
Table 3 Data Mart for Click Stream Analysis Dimensions Time Quarter Month Week Day of week Time of day Current month Prior month
Customer
Product
Facts
Customer class Customer zip Customer
Products lines Products
Sessions Visits Page views Subscription $
GLOSSARY
Providing OLAP Capabilities to Customers In the two previous scenarios, the OLAP cubes were designed for internal use. In the third scenario, the objective is to provide a service to customers by allowing them to analyze data pertaining to their own interaction with the company. This might be done by providing customers with many preformatted reports. For example, ARIBA provides this service to its customers, allowing them to view reports of summary and detailed transaction data. An alternative is to allow customers execution access to the OLAP cube itself. For example, at the request of its institutional investors, one large insurance firm in the Northeast plans to provide OLAP execution capabilities on its extranet. Analysts employed by the firm’s customers will then be able to slice and dice the data in their “book,” examining trends in billing versus claims or analyzing disability claims by class of employee, for example. A firm, could, of course, employ several or all three of these modes of using OLAP.
CONCLUSION OLAP is a technology that facilitates the advanced analysis of data along a set of predefined dimensions. It is often used to support both structured and unstructured decision making. OLAP comes in a variety of forms, depending on the back-end data warehouse or mart. Management of the modern BI environment does not separate OLAP from other technologies or their back-end data stores. As shown in Figure 2, the BI environment is distinguished by an architecture that serves to increase the information carrying capacity of data (i.e., increasing data richness) in a formalized and documented way. Each type of end-user tool (data warehouse query and reporting, OLAP and its varieties, data mining) is tied to the appropriate level of data richness on which it operates. From such an “architected” decision support environment, it is relatively easy to mix and match data and tools; the development of a data webhouse to analyze Web data, integrating it with other data marts, making the separate or integrated data available to internal or external clients, and so on follow from the BI architecture. The 21st-century organization is characterized by knowledge-based work and the integration of the technical and social dimensions of technology (Kochan et al., 2002). OLAP is one key technology for knowledge-based work, but as we have discussed throughout this chapter, OLAP can no longer be separated from other related technologies. Thus, the second dimension of the BI environment is the intermingling of delivery technologies— the requirement for an environment that mixes query paradigms and makes each available to a user (illustrated in Figure 2) as well as complex analytical applications. For example, we have seen organizations apply data mining to large data sets and deploy the results through reports or OLAP. These are sometimes called “opportunity reports” and have been used in several industries: opportunities for client sales in the financial industry and for drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. For example, a large brokerage firm runs a series of complex analyses on its client
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base and deploys “opportunities” that are personalized: Each broker may access a report or OLAP presentation of sales opportunities, depending on the mining criteria (deployed as meta-data) for his or her specific clients. In this case, data mining, reporting, OLAP, personalization, and meta-data are seamlessly integrated and become opportunities for cross- or up-selling for the stockbrokers of this organization. We believe that this will represent the next generation of BI.
GLOSSARY Aggregate fact A predefined aggregate measure along a dimension in a multidimensional database or in an aggregate fact table in a star schema. Business intelligence (BI) The full set of activities required to analyze and capture, cleanse and store, transform and derive, and distribute data through analytical applications and specialized tools to support analysis and decision making. Conformed dimension Common or shared dimensions (logical or physical) among two or more data warehouses. Conformed dimensions permit the incremental construction of an integrated data warehouse. Integration is achieved through conforming dimensions among the separate data warehouses and their different sources—a data webhouse and a marketing data warehouse, for instance. Data cleansing A data warehousing function that is executed before data delivery to users. Data cleansing includes activities such as removing duplicate records, correcting invalid attribute values, and so on. Data cleansing is typically applied to operational data stores and occurs at the instance level (dealing with actual values) and not at the type level (technical meta-data such as data type or length). Data warehouse A database system that supports analysis and decision making. The data warehouse stores data from various operational databases and is the central construct in the BI environment. Data webhouse A term used to refer to a data warehouse consisting of Web data. The data webhouse may be used as a data source for analysis of Web activity or as one data warehouse to be integrated with others (e.g., marketing) through conforming dimensions (Kimball & Merz, 2000). Executive information system (EIS) Strategic-level information systems that serve to support unstructured decision making through advanced graphics and communications (Laudon & Laudon, 1998). Also known as an executive support system (ESS). Extract, transformation, and load (ETL) A set of data warehouse functions that embody the capture, transformation, and loading of data elements between data layers or stores within the business intelligence environment (e.g., between source data stores and an atomic data warehouse, between an atomic data warehouse and a data mart, etc.). Hybrid online analytical processing (HOLAP) HOLAP is an optimized and integrated form of both MOLAP and ROLAP, designed to exploit the benefits of both OLAP technologies.
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ONLINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING (OLAP)
Meta-data Usually defined as data about data, metadata is more properly defined as information of varying richness describing data. There are two types of meta-data, technical and business. The former is the traditional view and reflects the historical perspective of meta-data as something contained in a data dictionary for use by information technology professionals, particularly data or database administrators. Business meta-data is for use by an end user and describes the business context of a given data element or elements. Multidimensional data An organization of data used to support analysis and decision making, particularly by end users. The key factors in modeling multidimensional data are simplicity and understandability. In practice, the key design criteria are aggregation and speed of retrieval. Multidimensional database (MDDB) A proprietary database used to store multidimensional data. The MDDB is organized as an n-sided spreadsheet and is known as a “cube” structure. Naturally, the cube is a metaphor because a given MDDB may have many sides (through in practice more than a dozen is rare). The sides of an MDDB structure correspond to the dimensions of a star schema design while the cells correspond to its facts or measures. Management information systems (MIS) Management-level information systems that serve the functions of planning, controlling, and decision making by providing routine summary and exception reports (Laudon & Laudon, 1998). Multidimensional online analytical processing (MOLAP) MOLAP is OLAP applied to multidimensional data stored in an MDDB. Online transaction processing (OLTP) A transaction processing system normally associated with an organization’s operational processes. OLTP systems typically operate on a single, logical record of data and represent the bulk of an organization’s systems. Online analytical processing (OLAP) An interactive analytical system for use by analysts and other key decision makers in an organization. OLAP systems are distinguished by their projection of a multidimensional view of many logical records of data. Operational data store (ODS) An ODS has several definitions, usually falling within one of two categories, representing operational and data warehouse perspectives, respectively. In the operational category, an ODS is the underlying data store that supports either a single OLTP or an integrated OLTP system. In the data warehouse category, an ODS refers to the data store that is
a consequence of extraction from source, operational data. Relational online analytical processing (ROLAP) ROLAP is OLAP applied to multidimensional data stored in a star schema in a relational database. Star schema A multidimensional relational database design. The data is organized as facts and corresponding dimensions in a kind of hub-and-spoke configuration. Each dimension is denormalized and captures all the attributes associated with a given dimension. Visit or session A sequence of “hits” from the same Internet protocol address. The visit ends when either the user logs off, clicks on a link to another site, or is timed out after a predetermined length of inactivity, often 30 minutes.
CROSS REFERENCES See Data Mining in E-Commerce; Data Warehouses and Data Marts; Databases on the Web; Knowledge Management.
REFERENCES Adamson, C., & Venerable, M. (1998). Data warehouse design solutions. New York: Wiley. Hand, D., Mannila, H., & Smyth, P. (2001). Principles of data mining. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Inmon, W. H. (1996). Building the data warehouse (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley. Kimball, R. (1996). The data warehouse toolkit. New York: Wiley. Kimball, R., & Merz, R. (2000). The data webhouse toolkit. New York: Wiley. Kochan, T., Orlikowski, W., & Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J. (2002). Beyond McGregor’s theory Y: Human capital and knowledge-based work in the 21st century organization. Retrieved December 2002 from http://mitsloan. mit.edu/50th/papers.php Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (1998). Management information systems: New approaches to organization & technology (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: PrenticeHall. Morabito, J., Sack, I., & Bhate, A. (1999). Organization modeling: Innovative architectures for the 21st century. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Stanford Technology Group (1995). Designing the data warehouse on relational databases. White Paper. Menlo Park, CA: Stanford Technology Group. Stout, R. (1997). Web site stats: Tracking hits and analyzing traffic. Berkeley, CA:.Osbourne McGraw-Hill.
Online Auctions Auctions
Gary C. Anders, Arizona State University West
Online Auctions and Products Types of Auctions How Auctions Make Money Competition in Online Auctions Academic Research on Auctions Transactions Costs and Risk
699 700 701 703 704 705
ONLINE AUCTIONS AND PRODUCTS As a consequence of the Internet, we are experiencing a technologically based economic revolution. One aspect of e-commerce is the growing popularity of online auctions. Through online auctions the Internet has become a global marketplace for hundreds of millions of people. Online auctions overcome many of the limitations associated with conventional markets. In contrast to traditional face-to-face transactions, online auctions provide an electronic format for buying and selling. Internet auction sites make it less expensive for buyers and sellers to meet, exchange information, and complete transactions. Online auctions are a portal where buyers and sellers separated by time and distance can make transactions for a great variety of items. Online auctions operate continuously—24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. Once the terms of the auction are established, buyers and sellers from all over the world can participate. Internet auctions can range from common household items in business to consumer (B2C) auctions to million-dollar equipment in business to business (B2B) auctions. (Among the many advantages of online auctions is the ability to set sale quantities on the basis of existing inventory, and even offer special closeouts for damaged or defective items.) There are an increasing number of B2C online auctions selling a wide variety of goods and services. In addition, there are individual seller online auctions that make up a segment of online B2C auctions. Estimates of e-commerce are quickly outdated because of the high rate of growth. Still, it is possible to see the emerging trends even though the actual forecasts are understated. For example, according to the Forrester Research, global Internet commerce including both B2B and B2C will be approximately $6.8 trillion in 2004 (up from approximately $657 billion in 2000; Forrester, n.d.). Of this, the B2B component of online auctions is expected to account for 29%. Although these types of auctions are briefly discussed, the primary focus here is on B2C auctions. Table 1 presents a list of the most successful Internet auction sites. eBay, which owns and operates eBay.com, the largest online auction, has a huge customer base of approximately 22 million registered users from 200 countries. Established in September 1995, eBay has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion. In 2000, eBay users completed transactions with an aggregate value of more than $5.4 billion. eBay features a powerful search engine that
Conclusion Acknowlegment Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
706 707 707 707 707 708
allows bidders to search more than 8,000 categories for a specific item. The main categories on eBay.com include art and antiques; books; business office and industrial; clothing and accessories; coins; collectibles; computers; consumer electronics; dolls and bears; home and garden; jewelry, gems, and watches; movies and television; music; photo; pottery and glass; real estate; toys and hobbies; and everything else. eBay has recently added new specialty auctions and services to its product line. eBay Motors in association with AutoTrader.com offers auctions for automobiles, parts, and accessories. eBay Premier offers premium art and collectibles in conjunction with traditional auction houses Butterfields and Kruse International owned by eBay. In addition, eBay owns Half.com, a fixed price venue that permits sellers to list books, recorded music, movies, and video games for sale. eBay and its affiliates also operate online trading platforms in numerous foreign countries. The online bookseller, Amazon, recently branched out to offer Internet auctions. Amazon features an international orientation with conversions of various currencies into U.S. dollar prices and its own highly developed search engine. Egghead, which merged with Onsale in 1999, subsequently filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by Fry’s Electronics, which is owned by Kroger. The Egghead site, powered by Amazon.com, primarily specializes in computer and office equipment. Priceline allows bidders to set their own prices on travel-related services, but is quickly expanding into new areas including automobiles and home financing. Yahoo recently launched a shopping network site that combines new and used retail sales with auctions and classified advertisements. UBid.com has grown from an online vendor of refurbished items to a major auction site through strategic alliances with Microsoft Network (MSN), Excite, and other companies. Online B2B auctions specialize in industrial markets for components and surplus equipment. The first online auction for industrial goods was Trade Out.com founded in October 1998. During its first 5 months it sold $22 million to 7,500 customers. FreeMarkets creates real-time virtual markets for industrial products and commodities for pre-qualified buyer and sellers (Vigorosa, 1999). Other industrial auctions include Equipp.com, DoveBid, iMark.com, bLiquid.com, and AsseTrade, which all handle industrial products and manufacturing equipment (Teschler, 2000). 699
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ONLINE AUCTIONS
Table 1 Major Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) Online Auctions eBay.com Amazon.com Egghead.com
Priceline.com uBid.com Yahoo! Shopping Network TradeOut.com (B2B) FreeMarkets.com (B2B)
Founded in 1995, eBay is the largest online auction. It recently undertook a successful joint venture with AOL. Amazon began offering auctions on March 30, 1999, to its established base of more than 8 million customers. Egghead merged with Onsale in 1999 but was absorbed by Fry’s Electronics in 2001. Now powered by Amazon, this site specializes in computers, electronics, and office products. This site offers travel, hotel rooms, rental cars, plus additional categories for long-distance telephone, automobiles, and home financing. Started in 1997 to sell refurbished computer equipment, uBid has grown into a successful auction site offering name-brand consumer electronics. Started in 2001, this portal combines retail sales with auctions and classified adds. This online industrial auction was established in 1998 and sold more than $22 million in its first 5 months. Started in Pittsburgh in 1995, FreeMarkets.com established industrial auctions for components such as circuit boards. Gross revenues from 2000 were in excess of $8.3 billion.
Large manufacturing companies have established reverse online auctions to collect competitive bids from vendors. Visteon Automotive Systems (a division of Ford Motor Company) used a 90-minute online auction to collect bids on $150 million dollars in supplier contracts. As a result, Visteon was able to cut several weeks off the usual procurement process and realize considerable savings (Dalton, 2000). According to Bollinger and Madey (2000), online auctions reduce delays, inventories, cycle times, and operating costs while improving quality and profit. They also point out that online B2B auctions make it possible for global suppliers to compete on the same level as local suppliers. Other large companies, such as General Motors and DaimlerChrysler, are developing online auctions as profit centers (Teschler, 2000). There is a fairly strong possibility, for example, that some companies will implement internal online auctions that encourage employees to bid on jobs as well as employee teams to bid on projects. Even such typically staid industries as banking and mortgage lending have been swept up in the fast-moving currents of online auctions. Consumers can now buy a house and arrange for financing and insurance through online auctions. Some banks such as Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank Corporation have started auctioning Certificates of Deposit online (Dalton, 2000). A newly formed investment bank, W.R. Hambrecht & Co., uses the Internet to collect online bids for public offerings (Dalton, 2000). Placing an item for sale on the Internet is often cheaper that placing a classified advertisement, and the seller is able to reach a broader audience. According to LuckingReiley (2000b) online auction commissions are about one fifth of what traditional auctions charge. Moreover, a seller does not physically have to transport goods to the market. Quantities offered can range from one item to an entire inventory, and sellers are able to offer goods at differing initial prices. Overall, the ease of replicating the same format for multiple items makes selling on online
auctions highly attractive. This dynamic pricing feature provides a mechanism for first-degree price discrimination for the complete extraction of consumer surplus based on what each buyer is willing to pay for an item. This is possible because of the large number of buyers and the difficulty of collusion. Online auctions reduce the costs of gaining market exposure while providing businesses with a mechanism for testing the sensitivity of demand to various prices or jointly sold items. Here is a brief explanation of how an online auction works. To participate, both the seller and the buyer have to register with the auction site and agree to the auction rules. The seller submits an item for sale that often includes a photograph and a short description along with other relevant information including the accepted forms of payment. In this process the seller can choose the type of auction, length of auction, and include either a minimum bid, or a secret reserve price that must be met before the good can be sold. The buyer follows the auction and may make incremental bids, or use a bid proxy to automatically increase his or her bid. Bids are increased according to the current price with high prices requiring a larger incremental increase. Toward the end of the auction the bidders compete up to the closing moments when the highest bid is finalized. Immediately after the end of the auction, both the buyer and the seller are notified of the result and are provided with each other’s e-mail address so that they can communicate with each other regarding arrangements for payment and shipping. Auction fees are charged against the seller’s account or credit card. The participants of the auction, their bids, feedback about each other, and the winning bid become a part of the auction history and are available for review.
TYPES OF AUCTIONS There are nine principal types of auctions, and most of these are replicated online:
HOW AUCTIONS MAKE MONEY
1. In Standard English ascending price auctions, an item is listed with an opening bid that establishes the minimum price. Bids increase until the auction ends or until there is no further activity. This is the most common type of online auction. 2. Reserve auctions allow a seller to list an item with a low starting price, but the item will not be sold until the bidder meets the seller’s reserve price. Reserve auctions provide the seller with protection from low bidding. 3. Dutch auctions In online Dutch auctions, the buyer specifies the quantity that is being bid on along with the offer price. Winners in online Dutch auctions pay the lowest price of the winner who established the quantity offer that clears the market. This term is also used in online auctions where multiple identical items are offered. 4. Sealed bid auctions attempt to reduce the “winner’s curse” syndrome by not disclosing bids until after auction is over. In the “second-price” sealed bid auction, the highest bidder wins, but pays the second highest price. 5. Descending price auctions are a more traditional version of the Dutch auction. These auctions start at a high price and incrementally reduce the price until the good is sold. 6. Double auctions involve several buyers and sellers who publicly announce their demand and supply prices. Westland and Clark (1999) argue that double auctions are more efficient because their prices reflect all relevant information. An example of this might be trades on the floor of an exchange such as the Chicago Mercantile Authority. 7. Commodity auctions are used for oil, freight transportation, and electricity. These types of auctions have also been used to sell bandwidth to telecommunications companies and drilling rights on publicly owned lands. 8. For Industrial auctions of surplus manufacturing equipment, a date and time for the start of the auction and its duration are specified, and in many cases, bidders need to be to pre-qualified to participate. 9. Reverse auctions allow companies to collect online bids from prospective contractors. For example, a large manufacturing company will hold an online auction to collect bids from pre-certified suppliers to fill orders for parts. Generally, online auctions run for a specified period of time, usually between 3 and 7 days (for more discussion, see Lucking-Reiley, 2000a). Some auctions such as Amazon have a “going, going, gone” feature that allows active bidding to extend the auction. In the most common English or ascending price online auctions, bidders can enter their reserve and a proxy will automatically increase their bids up to this amount. Online proxy bidding also tends to reduce the possibility of cheating that, according to Lucking-Reiley (2000b), is fairly common in secondprice auctions. During the course of the auction, bidders are notified by e-mail of the status of their bids. Sellers and successful bidders are automatically notified when a transaction is completed. In this respect, eBay auctions
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come closer to Vickrey’s (1961) “second-price sealed bid auction” because these auctions allow the prospective buyer to consider their reservation price rather than simply reacting to the bidding activity. There are auctions that legally provide for interstate sales of firearms and knives such as gunbroker.com. Transactions that involve modern weapons are subject to federal regulations and are shipped to and from licensed dealers, who do the required background checks and paperwork. There are, however, strenuous efforts to prohibit the listing of certain items on online auctions. The obvious examples are illegal items such as non-regulated firearms sales, pornography, and items that violate the copyrights of manufactures. Because of the liability issues online auctions sites are increasing their vigilance of both products and vendors. For example, eBay established the SafeHarbor program, which has a number of functions including guidelines for trading, dispute resolution, and investigations of possible misuse of eBay such as the sale of prohibited goods or shill bidding.
HOW AUCTIONS MAKE MONEY Online auction.s offer a wide assortment of goods while bypassing traditional intermediaries. Online auctions are a robust and efficient market that brings a large number of buyers and sellers together. Although sites exist where it is possible to post an item at no cost, most online auctions charge fees for this service. TradeOut.com charges a flat fee of $10 per listing, plus a 5% commission on sales. In contrast eBay has a fairly complicated fee structure that varies with the type of auction, special options chosen, and the final selling price. The nonrefundable fee for posting an item is called the insertion fee (see Table 2). Insertion fees tend to vary by the type of auction including the following: r
Regular listings insertion fees, based on the opening value or minimum bid r Reserve price auction insertion fees, based upon the reserve price of the item listed for sale. eBay charges an additional fee for reserve price auctions ranging from .50 to $2.00, but this fee is refunded if the item sells. r Insertion fees for Dutch auctions, based on the opening value or minimum bid of the item listed for sale Table 2 eBay Insertion Fee Schedule MINIMUM BID, OPENING VALUE, OR RESERVE PRICE $0.01–$9.99 $10.00–$24.99 $25.00–$49.99 $50.00–$199 $200 and up
INSERTION FEE $0.30 $0.55 $1.10 $2.20 $3.30
Source: eBay, your personal trading community website,
http:/w.w.w.eBay.com. These fees were in effect in April 2002. Other fees
are applied to more expense items such as automobiles, motorcycles,
and real estate and are sold in different eBay auctions.
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ONLINE AUCTIONS
Table 3 eBay Optional Fees SELLER FEATURE Home Page Feature Featured Plus! Highlight Bold Gallery Gallery Featured List in 2 Categories 10-Day Auction Duration Buy It Now
DESCRIPTION
INSERTION FEE
The item will be listed in a Special Featured section on eBay’s Web site Special featured items are listed first each category A colored band is placed around the item to draw attention The title of the item is bolded Using a JPEG format, a small picture of the item is included with the description This is a larger sized picture included in the listing Allows seller to list an item in more than one auction category This is eBay’s longest listing
$99.95
This feature allows a buyer to purchase an item instantly
$0.05
$19.95 $5.00 $2.00 $0.25 $19.95 Double the insertion, plus optional feature fees $0.10
Source: eBay, your personal trading community website, http:/w.w.w.eBay.com. These fees were in effect in April 2002. Other fees are applied to more expense items such as automobiles, motorcycles, and real estate and are sold in different eBay auctions.
multiplied by the quantity of items offered. Sellers use Dutch auctions to sell a quantity of an identical item. Therefore, they are willing to pay a higher insertion fee because of the potential for multiple sales. Additional nonrefundable fees are charged for different listing options. These options include featured auctions that showcase items, giving them more visibility; gallery listings that allow sellers to post small pictures of the item; and featured gallery with a larger size picture. Table 3 summarizes these auction fees. Along with fees for listing an item, online auctions charge a final value fee if the auction is successfully concluded (i.e., the goods are sold and the seller collects money). These fees vary depending on the selling price and the type of auction. For example, if the item sold for more than $25, the final value fee on eBay is 5.25% of the first $25 plus an additional 2.75% for sales of between $25.01 and $1,000, and another 1.5% of anything over $1,000. For Dutch auctions, the final value fee is based on the lowest successful bid multiplied times the number of items sold. Table 4 presents the eBay sales fees. eBay does not charge a fee for listing an item on Half.com, but
sellers are charged a commission equal to 15% of the final sale price. There are other fixed fees for higher value items: $40.00 for automobiles and $25.00 for motorcycles. A different fee structure applies to real estate auctions. These fees apply only when the auction is successful. If there are no bids or no bids equal to the minimum reserve, eBay does not charge a final value fee. Except for real estate, final value fees (FVF) are charged at the end of the auction based on the item’s final sale price, unless in a reserve auction the minimum price has not been met, or no bids were received on the item. Otherwise sellers are charged these fees regardless of whether the sale is consummated. A seller may report a nonpaying bidder and receive a credit for the FVF amount, but not for the insertion fee. In addition to auction fees eBay and other companies make considerable revenue from selling advertisements, providing e-commerce services, and hosting online stores. For example, eBay’s Application Program Interface (API) and Developers’ Program allows other companies to use eBay content for their own businesses. In 2001, it earned approximately $700 million in net revenues from its auctions and subsidiaries. eBay attributes its success to a
Table 4 eBay Final Value Fees CLOSING VALUE $0–$25 $2–$1,000 Over $1,000
FINAL VALUE FEE 5.25% of the closing value 5.25% of the initial $25 ($1.31), plus 2.75% of the remaining closing value balance 5.25% of the initial $25 ($1.31), plus 2.75% of the initial $25-$1000 ($26.81), plus 1.50% of the remaining closing value balance
Source: eBay, your personal trading community website, http:/w.w.w.eBay.com. These fees were in effect in April 2002. Other fees are applied to more expense items such as automobiles, motorcycles, and real estate and are sold in different eBay auctions.
COMPETITION IN ONLINE AUCTIONS
very large subscriber base, a large selection of goods, and name-brand recognition. Because of this, eBay has developed a critical mass of buyers and sellers that result in a high rate of successful auctions. Through major investments in Billpoint and PayPal, eBay earns profits from its electronic payment services that allow buyers to pay for transactions over the Internet. The economics of online auctions are based on relatively high fixed costs, but decreasing average costs. Attracting more buyers and sellers to an auction increases the number of successful transactions. The greater the number of completed auctions the more the fixed costs are spread over a larger quantity of goods sold. This is known as economies of scale, and it has important implications for the online auctions industry. Economies of scope involve using the Internet portal to offer an increasing array of different types of goods and services. Because of the exponential growth, major online auctions have experienced lucrative returns on their investment. The potential for significant economic profits has given rise to increasing competition.
COMPETITION IN ONLINE AUCTIONS Global online auctions now include such sites as eBay, Amazon.com, Yahoo!, uBid, Buy.com, AOL.com, and MSN. As these companies have broadened their product offering, they have incited competition from distributors, liquidators, catalog and mail order companies, and traditional retailers. (See eBay filings for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/ srch-dgar?text = eBay&first = 1993&last = 2002&mode = Simple.) There are also a growing number of more specialized online auctions, such as Ariba, Bid4Assets, bLiquid.com, BizBuyer.com, CloseOutNow.com, Cnet. com, DoveBid, First Auction, Surplus Auction, Oracle, bLiquid.com, Overstock.com, Sabre, Ventro, and VerticalNet. Some of the new entrants into the online auctions industry such as MSN have substantial capital to support the development of a competitive platform, others are seeking a unique market niche. One such example is local auctions that specialize in items for a regional market. Some examples are the Web sites of local newspapers and Internet providers. There has been an attempt to establish a system of regional online auctions by CityBid.net. To meet this challenge, eBay launched eight regional sites for items of local interest or that are too bulky or expensive to ship. According to traditional microeconomic theory, industry profits largely accrue to firms with the lowest costs of production. In the competition between established global auctions with a large customer base and extensive product offering, new entrants must be able to overcome the advantages of economies of scale. The existence of items particularly suited to local auctions does not insure that local auctions can compete against global auctions. The success of an auction is directly related to the exposure it receives from a large number of subscribers. Global auctions that have achieved a “critical mass” can provide many more choices to both buyers and sellers and have an established reputation, which means that they can more easily attract customers to their Web sites.
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If local auctions are to be successful, they must be able to provide sellers with compensating advantages. Global auctions offer sellers maximum exposure to the largest number of prospective buyers, but for certain sellers of nontransportable goods and services, a local auction may be more useful. Online local auctions may provide the seller with an opportunity to generate additional revenue. Let’s take a look at a hypothetical example. Suppose a recently graduated dentist starts a practice. While she or he may get referrals from family and friends, it is unlikely that this dentist will have enough clients in the first year to pay the extensive fixed costs of renting space and paying for the equipment. A local area auction could provide an opportunity to boost the number of clients, but it would not make sense to auction this service in the global auction. Other prospective local auction items include professional services, theater and movie tickets, restaurant meals, tours, and sporting events. All of these have a common nontransportable feature. Even though they can be sold nonlocally to enjoy these products and services, a buyer must be physically present. Local auctions must provide sellers with a way to attract bidders who are more likely to buy their nontransportable items. For instance, if I am interested in selling tickets to a sporting event or concert in Phoenix, global auctions are only relevant if they include some bidders who will be in Phoenix at that time. Global auctions offer sellers the ability to offer their wares to millions of potential bidders. The dominant firms like eBay believe that the size of their auction site provides sellers with a ready market. Because of this they compete without reducing their fees. But as global auctions increase their size and scope, it means that many auctions may fail due to a lack of bidders. Therefore, the success of local auctions largely depends on their ability to attract a loyal client base of higher probability buyers. As a result, local auctions will have to target a segment of the online market and concentrate their resources in building a comparable reputation, and so on. If they are successful, it may be possible to take away some of the market share from global auctions. In this respect, local online auctions will create new markets for items of local interest such as professional services. At the same time, they may lure customers away from their competitors despite switching costs that include seller reputation established through customer feedback. For example, eBay has fostered customer loyalty by providing buyers and sellers chat rooms, bulletin boards, and threaded discussion boards. But this service is easily replicated and enhanced, as in the case of Amazon.Com, which provides product evaluations and other information to buyers. Table 5 summarizes the differences between global and local auctions. Given the ease of adding an online auction capability to an existing Internet-based company it is likely that the number of new entrants will continue to increase over time. For firms willing to dedicate the additional resources to add an e-business component to their existing operations, there could be considerable benefits. For example, in addition to selling their products, a business receives exposure that constitutes a form of extremely low-cost advertising. Building a database of repeat customers also allows firms to market their products directly through e-mail.
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ONLINE AUCTIONS
Table 5 Comparison of Online Auctions GLOBAL AUCTIONS Established URL brand Large customer base Large number of auctions Economies of scale and scope Highly capitalized Possible diseconomies of scale Increased buyer transactions costs
eBay’s competitive strategy is based on growth through geographic expansion, increasing product categories, and now fixed-price sales. To counter upstarts, eBay has established local trading for 60 geographic regions in the United States and has launched a similar regional service offering in Germany, the United Kingdom, and other countries. This continued growth raises questions about the technological limits in online auctions. It remains to be seen whether the dominant firms may reach the point where having such a large number of auctions increases the possibility of system failures. In traditional microeconomics, we use the term diseconomies in the physical production of goods. This means that at some point beyond the minimum efficient scale (MES), the costs of production will increase. In information-based businesses, a diseconomy might occur when an increasing number of items and auctions undermine the firm’s ability to manage the increasing amount of data. In other words, eBay may become so large that search algorithms designed to find items will become overloaded, resulting in longer response times. These longer wait times increase transaction costs to bidders and may negatively impact sellers. In short, the possibility that such large-scale data management may eventually encounter technological limitations creates another niche for local auctions. In addition to local auctions, global auctions must overcome the competition arising from intermediaries such as Dealtime.com that provide efficient searches to several online auctions. To develop a client base, auctions directly market to sellers, but new buyers must rely on search engines to take them to an auction Web site. As a result of the function played by auction consolidators and Web browsers, it seems likely that they may seek to capture a share of online rent. Eventually, increased competition may result in reduced operating margins, loss of market share, and diminished profits. Certainly we can anticipate a dynamic and multifaceted rivalry between all of these players and increasing sophistication of the online market place.
ACADEMIC RESEARCH ON AUCTIONS The purpose of this section is to briefly review some of the important academic research on auctions. For a more extensive review, see Kagel and Roth (1995). Vickrey (1961) was one of the first economists to study auctions seriously. Much of the scholarly literature on auctions has been de-
LOCAL AUCTIONS Must rely on search engines to find site Smaller, but targeted customer base Fewer auctions, but focused offerings Niche market player May have an existing subscriber base Potential for higher quality service Reduced search time for local products
voted to estimating the revenue outcomes from various types of auctions (Ward & Clark, 2000). A stream of literature began to emerge which found that first price Dutch auctions and second-price sealed bid auctions should result in equivalent revenues to the seller given differences in private valuation (Kagel & Roth, 1995). Milgrom (1989) pioneered research that compared various auction formats and bidding behavior. Bulow and Roberts (1989) further developed the theorem of revenue equivalence. McAfee and McMillian (1996) examined how open bidding encourages higher bids. Emmanuel, Perrigne, and Vuong (2000) demonstrated a procedure that estimates the underlying distribution of bidders’ private values from observed bids. The standard auction model postulates a single good sold at a competitively determined price. Biglaiser and Mezzetti (2000) extended this model to incentive auctions in which principals compete for the exclusive services of an agent. This is a variant of the first-price sealed bid auction in which bids are incentive contracts and private information exists on both sides. Examples of this type of auction include competition for sports stars or talented executives. Brannman and Froeb (2000) studied the effects of mergers and small business preference policies in Forest Service timber auctions. Dasgupta and Maskin (2000) show that the Vickrey (one good) and the Groves-Clarke (multiple goods) auctions can be generalized to attain efficiency if the bidders’ information is one-dimensional. Efficiency is defined as “auctions that put goods into the hands of buyers who value them the most” (Dasgupta & Maskin, 2000). But when bidders’ information is multidimensional, in other words buyer’s information cannot be reduced to one dimension such as private valuation, no auction is generally efficient. To appreciate the importance of this point we must understand that in the Vickrey auction, bidders reveal their true private valuation. In the multidimensional and more representative case, a buyer’s valuation often depends on the signals they receive from other bidders. In other words, auctions with complex interplay between multiple buyers forming affiliated private valuations in response to the revealed valuations of competing bidders is “constrained efficient” subject to incentive constraints. Until recently, little attention has been paid to understanding the differences between online bidding results and traditional auctions (Roth & Ockenfels, 2002). Bapna (2000) provided an excellent review of the literature on
TRANSACTIONS COSTS AND RISK
auction theory and online auctions. Empirical research based on actual participation in online auctions provides us with an understanding of the issues unique to Internet platforms. For example, it is generally understood that competition between buyers within the context of online auctions reduces the buyer’s consumer surplus. Given the higher reservation prices of bidders with a higher income or stronger preference for a particular product, their participation can drive up prices and thereby reduce expected gains. Bajari and Hortacsu (2000) examined the empirical relationship between the number of bidders and the corresponding decrease consumer surplus. They studied price determination and online bidder behavior using a data set from eBay coin auctions in which the average seller had previously conducted 203 auctions, and the buyers had previously won an average of 41 eBay auctions. They found that 85% percent of these auctions resulted in a sale with an average of three bidders per auction and that the average sale was 83% of book value with a mean bid spread of 32% of book value for coins ranging from $3 to $3,700. They found that in a sample of 516 auctions over a 5-day period, 20 auctions resulted in a winning bid of more than 50% of the item’s book value resulting in the “winner’s curse.” In other words, the highest bid for the item is substantially greater than the book value or replacement cost. Mathematically this can be modeled as Xi = Vi + Ei , where Xi , the bid, is equal to expected value Vi , plus a noise effect Ei common to all bidders; however, in winner’s curse” situations, Xi = Ui + Vi + Ei , where Ui is the subjective utility associated with winning the auction that may cause overbidding and the winner’s curse. Bajari and Hortacsu also found that coins on eBay with a higher book value tended to be sold with a secret reserve price and low minimum bid, and that a low minimum bid, high book value, and low negative feedback increase the number of bidders. Thus, the number of bids submitted in the auction is a decreasing function in the ratio of minimum bid to book value. Another aspect of some online auction is sniping, a term used to describe the placing of last-second bids. Usually, the sniper does not bid earlier in the auction and waits until the last possible instant before bidding. This can be an effective bidding technique unless the auction rules extend the time. Bajari and Hortacsu’s analysis confirms that most bidding activity occurs at the end of the auction (also see Roth & Ockenfels, 2002). Furthermore, an increase in the number of bidders reduces buyer profit by about 3.2% per bidder, which increases the likelihood of overbidding. Katkar and Lucking-Reiley (2001) found that the use of secret reserve prices in eBay auctions tends to lower the probability of a successful outcome and is less desirable than an equivalent minimum starting bid. Based on
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actual auctions for collectable cards public reserve auctions with a higher minimum bid ended successfully in 72% of the auctions as opposed to 52% for secret reserve auctions. This means that there is a significant difference in bidding behavior when items are placed on auction with a reserve versus a low opening bid and no reserve.
TRANSACTIONS COSTS AND RISK Exchange always contains an inherent element of risk for the contracting parties. In the case of online auctions the level of risk is higher for the buyers for several reasons. First, even though feedback on sellers does provide evidence of their reliability, too little information may be available to warrant complete confidence. Nonetheless, McDonald and Slawson (2000) have statistically shown that a seller’s good reputation increases both the number of bidders and the prices in eBay auctions. Most vendors work hard to establish an unblemished reputation for honesty and fairness—even going so far as to provide a money back guarantee. Yet some unscrupulous individuals can and do commit fraud—keeping the money, but never sending the buyer the item that they paid for. Now, with escrow account services and online payment systems such as PayPal, this risk has been somewhat reduced. With escrow capabilities, a third-party ensures payment after the buyer receives the item. Electronic payment systems provide fraud investigation and verify their customers. Electronic payment services open up new opportunities for fraud, however. By subscribing to services such as PayPal, members must provide bank account and credit information over the Internet. Second, even when the vendor is reliable, the possibility exists that the goods are damaged or inappropriate for the buyer’s intended purpose. A seller’s good reputation is reassuring, but it does not always provide the same measure of certainty as a physical inspection of the goods. Third, auction prices are not guaranteed to be cheaper than one could find at a local store. Numerous opportunists pander goods at inflated prices hoping to snag sales from inexperienced buyers. Before placing a bid, experienced buyers carefully review recent auctions to ascertain prices. Although prohibited by online auctions, some unethical sellers use shills to inflate bids. The Latin adage caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) is sound advice for online bidders. The Internet provides a new and effective medium for buyers to collect up-to-the-minute price information. Most online auctions provide an extensive database of previous transactions that enable bidders to gather price information. However, collecting up-to-date price information can be time-consuming. Pricing standardized commodity items in new condition is relatively easy, but when the condition varies, it becomes more difficult to determine accurate values. The costs of finding the auction, of reviewing seller feedback, and estimating a bid price all constitute the transactions costs of participating in online auctions. In effect, online auctions shift a large portion of the transactions costs on to the buyer. Given the increasing popularity of online auctions, these costs are accepted by buyers partly because they can be combined with other online activities.
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ONLINE AUCTIONS
For comparative purposes, consider the following equation, which models online auction buying: Pa = Pb + T + Sc + W + R + Tax Pa is the total cost of the auction for the winner. Pb is the winning bid. T is the search costs of reviewing seller feedback and previous closing prices. Sc is the shipping cost charged buy the seller. W is the disutility (delayed gratification) that comes from waiting for delivery. R is the normally distributed risk for fraud or dissatisfaction. Tax is the sales tax, where applicable, from purchasing online. It is relevant to point out that some of these costs are incurred whether or not a bidder wins the auction. This equation captures the most significant differences from over-the-counter sales. First, no sales taxes are collected on online auctions unless the sale is made to a buyer in the same state where online taxes are charged. As a result the auction price can be between 4–9% cheaper than physical retail stores depending on state and local taxes. (The application of sales taxes to sellers without a physical presence in the state where to goods are sold is currently under review.) Second, even though online shopping can require extensive searching, these costs are not always lower in physical markets. The cost of visiting numerous brickand-mortar stores to compare prices and quality during their regular business hours can be relatively more expensive than shopping at home. Shopping online shifts the time constraint and allows the buyer to ration more valuable prime time toward more highly valued activities. Third, in some instances, sellers require additional fees in excess of the actual cost of shipping the item. Fourth, once a buyer wins the auction she or he must wait until the item is delivered, which can take a couple of weeks. Fifth, the risk of loss or dissatisfaction is increased in online sales because the buyer never actually sees the item until after it has been purchased. That is why escrow services have been created. From the seller’s perspective the auction cost is the cost of the item, the auction fees, plus the opportunity cost of their time to list the item, correspond with the buyer, as well as packaging and shipping cost. Dangers to sellers include colluding bidders who post low and unreasonably high bids. Toward the end of the auction, the high bidder withdraws his bid, allowing the low bidder to purchase the item at the low price. Given all of these considerations it is a statement of true market behavior that such a great percentage of auctions are successful.
CONCLUSION Online auctions make it easier for buyers and sellers to interact without leaving their homes or offices. At the same time, it proves a form of recreation and entertainment. The Internet encourages comparative shopping but also facilitates random impulse buying. Even with the availability of pricing information, it is common to observe the “winner’s curse” when a buyer gets caught up in the excitement of the auction or overestimates the value of an item. Furthermore, participating in online auctions can take up a great deal of time. Despite these drawbacks the popularity of online auctions is increasing.
In conclusion I offer the following observation: In general, the success of online auctions is based on four factors: name-brand recognition, Web site architecture, trust, and the combination of talents and business processes accumulated over time. Name-brand recognition is a function of a number of factors including the length of time that the auction had been in existence, the size and the volume of the auction, and the quality of the service provided to both buyers and sellers. Offering higher quality in this industry means targeting bidders with a higher propensity to buy the products with faster searches and focused product offerings. Architecture relates to the construction of the Web site, its overall ease of navigation, and the speed with which searches are conducted and transactions posted. It includes the ability to efficiently take bidders into databases for the retrieval of past auction prices, feedback, and even to other auctions for comparisons. Trust includes the feedback rating on buyers and sellers, but also includes insurance and fraud protection for auction purchases. Business processes are a function of the human talent accumulated over a range of experience. These factors result in the continuous innovation of new features while improving the security and quality of the basic service. The online auctions industry is made possible because of the Internet and is therefore affected by changes in technology, government policies, and changing customer expectations. The future of competition will depend on a company’s ability to adapt to future changes. One of the biggest threats to online auctions is the possibility that state and local governments could apply sales taxes on transactions. The Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce created by Congress recommended continuing a moratorium on any new Internet sales taxes that expired in 2001. But as online commerce increases, state and local governments, concerned that online vendors are eliminating many small retailers (Dalton, 1999) and thereby reducing state and local sales taxes, will move to apply Internet sales taxes. Various coalitions of states and brick-and-mortar retailers have started to lobby congress. Given the current fiscal crisis it is highly likely that states will soon start taxing internet transactions. Given the complexity of the many state and local tax structures, the movement toward the adoption of Internet sales taxes would likely require a plan for the simplification of the existing tax structures. In any event, the decision to allow states to levy sales taxes on Internet sales on nonresidents would significantly reduce the difference in prices between virtual and physical shopping and undermine some of the competitive advantage that auctions currently enjoy. Goolsbee (2000) found that Internet sales are highly sensitive to sales taxes. His econometric analysis found that application of existing sales taxes to the Internet could reduce the number of online buyers by up to 24%. Likewise, it is possible that new laws and regulations will be adopted to protect consumers. Compliance with these laws could increase the cost of doing business. Foreign countries may also enact their own regulations that will make it more difficult to operate a single platform internationally. (See eBay filings with the Securities and Exchange
REFERENCES
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Commission http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-dgar?text = eBay&first = 1993&last = 2002&mode = Simple.) The preceding discussion deals with a facet of ebusiness that is still in its infancy. It is becoming clear that our traditional educational approaches will need to be reexamined in light of these developments. No doubt students fully integrated into the Internet will call into question much of what has been accepted by past generations. Goldfarb (2000), for example, described various class assignments he used to “raise the students’ consciousness about the functions and mechanics of pricing in different economic settings.” These include the classification of various types of auction, and the identification of the characteristics of auctionable items. The Internet provides a valuable opportunity for educators to redefine the research and teaching frontiers by developing curricula for teaching courses for the New Economy. As an experiment, I successfully participated in more than 50 auctions on eBay for a range of goods. In 50% of the auctions, identical goods from local merchants or catalog stores were available at a lower price. Given this, the commercial value of the online auction may be overstated. The entertainment value of following auctions, or competing with other potential buyers, may be in combination with the increased convenience a major reason for their continuing popularity. Certainly, we are living in an age where an Internet business is by definition global, and consumers have more choices that at any other time in human history.
CROSS REFERENCES
ACKNOWLEGMENT
See Business-to-Business (B2B) Internet Business Models; Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Internet Business Models; Electronic Payment; Online Auction Site Management.
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Fiftieth International Atlantic Economic Conference, Charleston, October 15–18, 2000. The author expresses his appreciation to Marilyn Greenstein, Pierre Balthazard, P. Krishnakumar, Robyn Stout, and the reviewers for their comments.
GLOSSARY Common value auctions Auctions in which the item has the same value to all bidders. Consumer surplus Savings realized by a buyer who pays less that his or her reservation price for an item. Dutch auction Originally a term used by economists to describe a descending price auction, but that now describes an online auction for multiple units of an identical item. Economies of scale A reduction in the average cost of producing a unit of output associated with increases in the quantity of output. Electronic payments Companies such as PayPal and Billpoint that provide successful bidders or buyers the ability to pay for an item using credit cards or electronic checks. Feedback Comments made by the buyer or seller after the conclusion of an auction that provide information on the transaction and establishes a reputation for each party. First-degree price discrimination Extracting the consumer surplus from each and every buyer.
Insertion fee A fee paid by a seller to list an item for auction; this fee varies with the value of the item, the reserve price, and the type of auction. Private valuation auctions Bidders know with certainty what the value of the item is to them. Proxy bidding Using an automatic feature that will incrementally raise the bid until it reaches the bidder’s reserve price or the auction is successfully completed. Reserve price auction An auction in which the seller places a secret “reserve price” that is the lowest price for which the good can be sold; to win the auction, the bidder must place the highest bid that is equal to or greater than the seller’s reserve. Shill The use of a seller’s accomplice to bid up the price in an auction. Sniping A bidding strategy in which a buyer wins by placing a slightly higher bid in the closing seconds of an auction. Transaction costs All of the costs involved in a transaction including the cost of collecting information, following the auction, and arranging payment. Winner’s curse A winning bid greater than the value of the item; this is generally associated with common value auctions, but it can occur anytime a buyer overvalues an item.
REFERENCES Bajari, P., & Hortacsu, A. (2000). Winner’s curse, reserve endogenous entry: Empirical insights from eBay auctions. Retrieved August 2, 2000, from http://papers. ssrn.com/paper.taf?abstract id = 224950 Bapna, R. (2000). IS perspective of research issues in electronic commerce and online auctions. In M. Chung (Ed.), Proceedings of the Sixth Americas Conference on Information Systems (pp. 926–928). Long Beach, CA: California State University. Biglasier, G., & Mezzetti, C. (2000). Incentive auctions and information. Rand Journal of Economics, 31, 145–164. Bollinger, A. S., & Madey, G. R. (2000). An analysis of electronic auctions as a mechanism for supply chain management. In M. Chung (Ed.), Proceedings of the Sixth Americas Conference on Information Systems (pp. 936– 941). Long Beach, CA: California State University. Brannman, L., & Froeb, L. (2000). Mergers, cartels, setasides, and bidding preferences in asymmetric oral auctions. The Review of Economic and Statistics, 82, 283–290. Bulow, J., & Roberts, J. (1989). The simple economics of optimal auctions. Journal of Political Economy, 7, 1060–1090. Dalton, G. (1999, October 4). Going going gone. Informationweek, 45–50. Dalton, G. (2000, February 15). Online auctions pick up. Informationweek, 37.
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Dasgupta, P., & Maskin, E. (2000). Efficient auctions. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115, 341–388. eBay, your personal trading community website. Retrieved from http:/w.w.w.eBay.com eBay filings for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved on October 20, 2000, from http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/srch-dgar?text = eBay&first = 1993&last = 2002&mode = Simple Emmanuel, G., Perrigne, I., & Vuong, Q. (2000). Optimal nonparametric estimation of first-price auctions. Econometrica, 68, 525–574. Forrester Research. (n.d.) Forrester findings: Internet commerce. Retrieved on December 17, 2000, from http:// www.forrester.com / ER / Press / ForrFind /0,1768, 0, 00. html Goldfarb, R. S. (2000). An Onassis retrospective: What products are auctioned, and why? Journal of Economic Education, 31, 157–168. Goolsbee, A. (2000). In a world without borders: The impact of taxes on Internet commerce. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115, 561–576. Kagel, J., & Roth, A. (1995). The handbook of experimental economics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Katkar, R., & Lucking-Reiley, D. (2001, March). Public versus secret reserve prices in eBay auctions: Results from a Pokemon field experiment (NBER Working Paper No. w8183). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. (Available online at http://papers. nber.org/papers/W8183) Lucking-Reiley, D. (1999). Using field experiments to test equivalence between auction formats: Magic on the Internet. The American Economic Review, 89, 1063– 1080. Lucking-Reiley, D. (2000a). Auctions on the Internet: What’s being auctioned, and how? Journal of Industrial Economics, 48, 227–252. Lucking-Reiley, David. (2000b). Vickrey auctions in practice: From nineteenth century philately to twenty first
century e-commerce. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14, 83–92. McAfee, R., & McMillian, J. (1987). Auctions and bidding. Journal of Economic Literature, 25, 699–738. McDonald, C. G., & Slawson, V. C. Jr. (2002). Reputation in an Internet auction market. Economic Inquiry, 40, 633–650. Milgrom, P. (1989). Auctions and bidding: A primer. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3, 3–22. Roth, A., & Ockenfel, A. (2002). Last-minute bidding and the rules for ending second-price auctions: Evidence from eBay and Amazon auctions of the Internet. American Economic Review, 92,1093–1103. Teschler, L. (2000, March 9). Let’s start the e-bidding at $50. Machine Design, 148–151. Vickrey, W. (1961). Counterspeculation, auctions, and competitive sealed tenders. Journal of Finance, 18, 8– 37. Vigorosa, M. (1999, January). On the Internet. Purchasing, 126, 85–86. Ward, S. G., & Clark, J. M. (2000). Bidding behavior in virtual versus “live” auctions: An examination of the eBay collectibles market. In M. Chung (Ed.), Proceedings of the Sixth Americas Conference on Information Systems (pp. 945–946). Long Beach, CA: California State University. Westland, J. C., & Clark, T. H. K. (1999). Global Electronic Commerce. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
FURTHER READING Klein, S., & O’Keefe, R. (1999). The impact of the web on auctions: Some empirical evidence and theoretical considerations. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 3, 7–20. Milgrom, P., & Weber, R. (1982). A theory of auctions and bidding. Econometrica, 50, 1089–1122. Shapiro, C., & Varian, H. R. (1999). Information Rules. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Online Auction Site Management Management
Peter R. Wurman, North Carolina State University
Introduction Brief History of Internet Auctions Auction Concepts Product Specification Bidding Rules Intermediate Information Clearing The Core of an Auction System Scheduling Actions Notification Scaling Complementary Features of Auction Systems
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INTRODUCTION Internet auctions appeared on the scene in the mid1990s and quickly became one of the most successful applications of electronic commerce. eBay, the premier consumer-to-consumer (C2C) Internet auction site, is generally held up as an exemplar for the industry. It is widely predicted, however, that the potential transaction volume in business-to-business (B2B) auctions will be much greater than in the C2C channel (Keenan, 2000; Rosenthal, 2002). In the B2B marketplace, auctions were initially pressed into service as tools to dispense with excess inventory. One-time market leaders such as Onsale helped companies, primarily consumer electronics manufacturers, sell products near the end of their lifecycle. Onsale was founded in 1996 and made a name for itself early on as an auction-based outlet store. Eventually, they added a C2C component in an attempt to compete with eBay. In what now seems like the prototypical dot-com arc, Onsale merged with Egghead in 1999, and the combined company filed for bankruptcy in 2001. The current wave of B2B integration represents a much deeper integration of auction technology into the day-today operations of many businesses. In particular, companies are using auctions in many procurement situations in an effort to extract better prices from their suppliers. This move toward more formal and rigorous negotiation with suppliers folds neatly into the need to better manage the supply chain and make operations more efficient. The third wave of integration will involve the use of dynamic pricing through the entire product lifecycle, on both the sales and procurement sides. We are already starting to see evidence that products are being sold by auction earlier in their lifecycles; IBM and Sun regularly sell relatively new products via a distribution channel on eBay. Although eBay sets the standard for features and performance in C2C markets, the potential applications of auctions to B2B markets requires more varied and complex systems and places different burdens on the auction administrators. On the one hand, B2B auctions
Personalization Catalogs and Search Payment and Escrow Reputation Management Censorship Fraud Integration Conclusion Glossary Cross References References
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may require more elaborate and sophisticated auction processes, such as combinatorial auctions (Rothkopf, Pekec, & Harstad, 1998). On the other hand, B2B markets tend to have well-known and authenticated bidders and lower overall communication loads. Auction systems have three distinct sets of users: the bidders, the auction initiator, and the auction system administrator. Each class of users requires different core and complementary features of an auction system. Note that we do not treat sellers and buyers separately; in the general case, they are both bidders and have similar needs. On most C2C sites, sellers are the auction initiators and place their one and only bid to establish the reserve price during the creation of the auction, if at all. The auction system administrator is the person (or group of people) who installs, configures, and maintains the auction site. This chapter discusses many of the issues related to Internet auctions for B2B, B2C, and C2C marketplaces. The discussion is framed by a brief history of auctions on the Internet, followed by an introduction to some central concepts. The rest of the article is divided into two parts: a description of the core features of auction systems followed by a discussion of features that are complementary and commonly affect the design or selection of an auction system.
BRIEF HISTORY OF INTERNET AUCTIONS It is difficult to pinpoint the earliest auction held on the Internet, but it is clear that auctions were conducted via e-mails and newsgroups as early as 1988. (See the historical record, formerly called deja-news, at http:// groups.google.com/.) As the Web developed in the early 1990s, it was only a matter of time before people began using this new technology to enhance their online auctions. At first, sellers simply provided a static source of multimedia information (i.e., text and images) about the products being auctioned and continued to collect bids via e-mail. Later, sellers used Web forms to collect 709
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and process bids. eBay, founded in 1995, was among the earliest known auction services available on the Internet. Within a year, it had many competitors, including uBid, Onsale, Z-auctions (now defunct), and more. In the B2B arena, Fastparts.com was an early market maker, having bulletin-board-based systems as early as 1991 and launching a Web-based system around 1996 (information from http: //www.fastparts.com/fpwebsite/jsp/about/about/jsp). Internet auction platforms were also being developed in research laboratories in 1996, including the Michigan Internet AuctionBot (Wurman, Wellman, & Walsh, 1998), the FishMarket system (Rodriguez, Noriega, Sierra, & Padget, 1997), and GEM (Reich & Ben-Shaul, 1998). The need to build hundreds of electronic auction sites rapidly in a wide variety of industries created opportunities for packaged and hosted software systems. To satisfy the demand, several companies built and marketed auction software. Among the best known of the auction service providers were OpenSite, Trading Dynamics, Moai, and FreeMarkets. FreeMarkets was founded in 1995, and Moai formed in 1996. OpenSite began life as Web Ducks around the same time, and Trading Dynamics was founded in 1998. OpenSite and Trading Dynamics were acquired in 2000 by Siebel Systems and Ariba, respectively. Meanwhile, IBM was building its own auction engine (Kumar & Feldman, 1998), and CommerceOne acquired CommerceBid to obtain auction technology. Moai and FreeMarkets both remain independent companies. Although these more established companies remain the leaders, the field has become crowded with new ventures, such as i2, ProcureNet, Frictionless, and ICG Commerce, and procurement solutions introduced by multinational companies like SAP, General Electric, and IBM. In the early days of e-commerce, it was logical for auction software companies to design flexibility into their products so that they could be employed in many application markets. Thus, these products typically are designed to allow customization, to some degree. The amount and type of customization depends on the particular details of the target market and whether the auction engine was slanted more toward B2B, B2C, or C2C applications. Today most major e-commerce vendors have an auction product targeted at B2B procurement, although these products vary widely in features and customizability. More recently, there has been growing interest in advanced auction formats. These advanced formats include combinatorial auctions—auctions that allow bidders to place offers on sets of items. Several companies have recently begun offering systems that manage combinatorial trading. CombineNet, Emptoris, NetExchange, and TradeExtensions are among the leaders in commercial combinatorial auction systems. Another type of advanced auction that is starting to appear in electronic systems is the multi-attribute auction, in which the object (or contract) being negotiated has several negotiable parameters in addition to price. An oft-cited example is a negotiation between a manufacturer and a supplier in which product quality (or purity) and delivery date are negotiable. In a multi-attribute auction, different suppliers will offer contracts that differ in the promised product quality or delivery schedule, and the buyer needs a well-defined
method for selecting among the contracts and (optionally) generating the equivalent of price quotes. It is also important to note that Internet auctions were not the first auctions facilitated by electronic networks. NASDAQ’s Small Order Execution System began operation in 1984, and many of the stock exchanges now incorporate electronic trading or electronic support systems. Historically, financial systems ran on closed networks, with custom trading stations at designated, access-controlled locations. Operating markets on the public networks raises new concerns, such as security, privacy, identify verification, and network availability. In addition, the much wider variety of products and services being negotiated on the Internet requires versatile trading systems.
AUCTION CONCEPTS Although the term auctions tends to bring to mind the classic situation with a seller offering a single item to the highest bidder, like eBay or the stereotypical face-to-face auction, the accepted definition of the term in economics includes a wide variety of negotiation mechanisms. The English auction, procurement auctions, and stock markets are members of a large class of negotiation mechanisms that can rightly be called auctions and can be precisely defined by their rules. It is useful to collect the rules into three related sets: rules that govern the admission of bids, rules that govern the information revealed by the auction, and rules that govern how the auction computes trades. A detailed mathematical treatment of these rules is available elsewhere (Wurman, Wellman, & Walsh, 2001). Of concern here is how the parametrization affects the choice of an auction system. Flexible auction systems are built around some notion of parametrization, although most auction systems have simplified interfaces that make it easy to implement common configurations. For example, an auction initiator can simply select “English auction” to get a standard ascending auction rather than go through the potentially confusing task of specifying the bidding rules and quote and clear policies that define the English auction.
Product Specification The first task is to specify the product or service to be traded. In C2C auctions, it is common to sell single objects. C2C systems also permit multiunit auctions in which multiple copies of a single object are offered for sale. In B2B scenarios it is common to procure services and longer term contracts for physical products. In procurement auctions groups of objects are often purchased together. When the objects can be bid on independently, the auction is referred to as a multiobject auction. When some of the objects must be bid on as a group, they are called a lot.
Bidding Rules Bidding rules define the types of bids that are allowed and which participants are allowed to place them. In a single seller auction, the designated seller is the only participant who can place a sell offer and is typically required to do so at the beginning of the auction. If that offer is
AUCTION CONCEPTS
nonzero, then the seller’s offer is called the reserve price. In a procurement situation, only the designated procurer can place a buy offer, and typically, the members of a prescreened set of suppliers are the only participants who can place sell offers. In an open, continuous double auction (CDA), such as the stock market, any participant can place either a buy or sell offer. In fact, in a CDA, a bidder can place offers to buy and sell simultaneously, as long as the buy offers are less than the sell offers. Much of the flexibility of auction systems comes from treating buyers and sellers symmetrically. Different auction mechanisms may have different languages for expressing the bids. The simplest type of bid is an offer to buy or sell one unit at a specified price. When multiple units are being traded, the language may allow the bidder to express a bid schedule in which the buyer (seller) expresses how many units she would like to buy (sell) at various prices. This allows a bidder to, for instance, say, “I’ll buy one unit if the price is less than $50 and two units only if the price is $35 or less.” A language that allows multiunit bids must have clear semantics. In particular, it must be clear whether the auction has the right to satisfy the bids partially. For example, the statement, “I’ll buy two units if the price is less than $25,” can be interpreted as, “I’ll buy exactly zero or two units if the price is less than $25” or “I’ll buy zero, one, or two units if the price is less than $25.” In the latter case, the bid can be partially satisfied, whereas in the former case it cannot. When bids cannot be partially satisfied, the auction’s clearing and quote generation tasks may become computationally intractable. In combinatorial or multiattribute settings, bidding languages can become even more complex, and the ability to express bids concisely becomes an issue (Nisan, 2000). Moreover, the auction designer can choose among several rules that restrict bids as a function of the current price quote or of the bidder’s previous offers. The beat-the-quote rule requires that a new bid be better than the price information revealed by the auction. In the English auction, the interpretation of the beat-the-quote rule is obvious and simple to implement. In advanced auctions, however, the rule can be subtle to interpret and apply and does not always achieve the desired outcome of progressing the auction. The improve-your-bid rule is an alternative that requires that a bidder’s new bid be a strict improvement over his or her previous bid. Although not obviously useful in an English auction, in advanced auctions the auctioneer will often need to use the improve-your-bid rule in conjunction with the beat-the-quote rule to achieve the desired results. Ausubel and Milgrom (2002) proposed a combinatorial auction in which the improve-your-bid rule is the only bid improvement rule. Recently, market designers have started using activity rules to determine which types of bids are permitted. Like the improve-your-bid rule, activity rules define allowable new bids based on the bidder’s previous bid state. Activity rules condition the allowable bids on a variety of measures of previous activity, such as the number of objects the bidder was winning or the number of improved offers that were made in the last bid. The discussions that surround the government auctions for spectrum licenses focus, to a large extent, on the selection of activity rules that
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encourage progress without overconstraining the bidders (McAfee & McMillan, 1996). In addition to controlling the who and how of bidding, the rules control the when. In simple scenarios, bids are accepted at any time. Some auctions are organized into timed rounds, however, whereas others require an offer from each designated participant before they can progress.
Intermediate Information Auctions that generate no intermediate price information are called sealed-bid auctions. The vast majority of online auctions generate intermediate information to help guide the bidders. Typically, the information generated is a current price, often presented in the form of a bid-ask spread. Although the bid-ask concept is inspired from the stock market—a continuous double auction in which the buyers and sellers offers do not overlap—these concepts can be generalized to a larger class of auctions (Wurman, Walsh, & Wellman, 1998). In addition to price information, an auction may reveal a list of the current bids—called an order-book—or the identities of the bidders. Price information becomes more complex to compute and express with advanced auctions. For instance, in multiunit auctions that allow bidders to make all-or-none offers, a simple price-per-unit announcement may not accurately inform the bidders whether they are currently winning the auction. In fact, an all-or-none offer may be turned down in favor of an offer that has a lower per-unit value because the overall value of the trades is greater. For example, an auction in which the seller is offering three items may choose a bid to buy exactly two items at $4 each, and a bid to buy one item for $2, and not select an offer to buy exactly two units at $3 each. The former two bids generate $10 of revenue for the seller, and no combination using the third bid can do as well. Most C2C auctions finesse the problem by listing the current undominated bids and whether they are winning, instead of announcing prices. It is left up to the bidder to compute what bid they would have to place to become a winner, or to simply improve their bid and observe the effect.
Clearing The final collection of rules determines when and how an auction computes trades. The act of computing trades is called clearing and is handled by a well-defined policy instantiated as an algorithm in the auction software. An auction may clear whenever a bid is received (i.e., continuous clearing), when no new bids are received for a specified time (e.g., the typical English auction), at a prescribed fixed time (e.g., eBay), or on a prescribed schedule. The policy that is used to compute trades is generically called the matching function. There are many types of matching functions, some of which are described in the companion article on online auctions (see Anders, this volume). The various matching functions trade off desirable properties that cannot be achieved simultaneously even when a single item is being sold by a seller to a single buyer. In combinatorial scenarios, the tradeoffs are more complex and are further influenced by computational factors.
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THE CORE OF AN AUCTION SYSTEM The rules discussed here suggest a generic architecture that delegates the responsibilities of the three main rule sets to corresponding components of the architecture. Although specific auction systems will vary in their actual software architecture, most can be abstracted into the generic software architecture shown in Figure 1. The diagram illustrates some of the core interactions that bidders and initiators have with an auction system, and some of the primary internal procedures. In actual commercial systems, the internal components may be more or less clearly delineated than in the figure, but the responsibilities remain essentially the same. Industrial strength databases are used to store information about the auctions, bids, users, and transactions. The use of a database ensures data reliability and facilitates the communication of data between the disparate components of the system. Although clearly beneficial, adding a database also adds significant computational overhead, and communicating with it is often a performance bottleneck. An auction is created when a user (the initiator) interacts with the auction manager to specify and launch a new auction. Auction creation can be a time-consuming process. The initiator must clearly describe the product, including as much detail as necessary for bidders to know exactly what they are buying or selling. Often the product description will also contain information about the shipping and handling, payment process, and other de-
tails pertinent to the transaction. In B2B procurement scenarios, the process is even more onerous, and many procurers soon realize that they have to generate precise definitions of the products and the contractual obligations before the suppliers will have the information they need to bid properly. Occasionally, the initiator will need to clarify information during the course of the auction. Generally, updates should augment, rather than replace, the original text, and bidders who placed bids before the update should have the option of retracting their bids if the description has changed dramatically. The initiator must also select the rules of the auction and choose key parameters such as the duration, bid increments, and format of the bids. In many B2B scenarios, the initiator will specify the set of bidders that are permitted to participate in the auction. The bid manager component is responsible for enforcing the bidding rules and admitting bids that satisfy them into the system. To enforce some types of bidding rules, the bid manager may have to extract the auction description and current state from the database. For instance, to enforce the beat-the-quote rule, the bid manager needs to extract the auction’s current quote information, whereas to enforce the beat-your-bid rule the auction must extract the bidder’s previous bid. Once the bid manager has determined that a bid satisfies the conditions, it admits it into the set of current bids and stores it in the database. Bids that are admitted are termed valid, and those that are not admitted are rejected.
Figure 1: A model auction architecture.
THE CORE OF AN AUCTION SYSTEM
The clear manager is responsible for executing clear actions. It must read the bids and the auction’s configuration from the database and compute trades according to the auction’s policies. The new trades are stored in the trade database. In addition, information about the bids and the auction may have to be updated in their respective databases. For example, a bid that becomes part of a trade needs to be marked as transacted in the bid database. The quote manager is responsible for generating price or other information about the auction in accordance with the auction’s policies. The quote manager may update the bid database in order to track which bids are currently winning, and may store new quote information as part of the auction database. Both the quote manager and the clear manager must communicate the results of their actions with the interested parties, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 1.
Scheduling Actions Not shown in Figure 1 is a system for triggering the actions and coordinating the activities of the various components. A critical feature of an auction system is its ability to guarantee the proper sequencing of actions. For example, if a bid is received 1 second before a clear event, the bid should be considered when the clear is computed. If two bids are received nearly simultaneously, the first bid should be handled before the second or an incorrect trade may result. An auction system that provides a guarantee that events are handled in correct chronological order is consistent and auditable—if an external auditor looked at the bids after the auction was over, she would be able to show that the auction did the right thing. Often, these demands conflict with the desire to make the system perform in real time. Various auction systems handle this complicated trade-off differently. One method of guaranteeing consistency is to have a sequential system. In a sequential system, there is only one thread of control for a given auction, thus guaranteeing that events happen in the correct order. A sequential system cannot handle a new event until it has finished processing the previous one, however; it cannot accept a new bid while it is generating a price quote or admitting a previous bid. If any of the events take a noticeable amount of time to compute, the system will appear to be unresponsive, or unavailable for other uses. A sequential system also does not benefit from the advantages of multithreaded processing, such as improved use of processor and I/O (input/output) resources. A parallel auction system can handle many auction events simultaneously, but greater care must be taken to ensure that the events are handled in the correct order. It is relatively straightforward for the auction program to sequence the quote and clear activities correctly when they are internally triggered, but when they are triggered by the asynchronous submission of bids, sequencing is more difficult. The bid submission time—the point at which the bid is officially considered admitted—is a key design element of the system. Essentially, there are three choices, corresponding to points at which the bid is spoken, heard, and understood. These points are labeled (1), (2), and (3) in Figure 1.
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Users would like the bid submission time to be the moment when they click the submit button on a Web form (1); this is problematic for a number of reasons, including the fact that the submission time is measured by the local machine, whose clock cannot be verified by the server. The second choice is to stamp a submission time on the bid when it reaches the server (2). In this case, all the bids can be tagged with a central clock, and the server’s response to the user can state that the bid is officially submitted but has not been validated by the bid manager. In addition, the system must be designed so that clears and quotes wait until the bid manager has actually validated all of the submitted bids, introducing a level of asynchrony into the system (Wurman et al., 1999). The third choice is to consider the bid submitted only after it has been validated by the bid manager (3). The advantage is that a definitive response regarding the admission of the bid can be returned to the user. In many cases, however, validation requires a call to the database and therefore takes time. In advanced auctions, the evaluation of a bid’s validity may be computationally complex, and the response back to the bidder must be delayed until this computation is complete. Some auction systems relax the guarantee regarding the admission of bids for some types of events. For example, at the time of this writing, eBay’s system does not guarantee that its beat-the-quote rule is enforced for bids received within a very small window of time. While examining the data, we have found cases in which a bid was admitted with a time stamp that is one second after a bid that would have made the former bid rejected (Shah, Joshi, & Wurman, 2002). Presumably due to the asynchrony, the earlier bid had not been fully processed and the new minimum bid computed when the later bid was admitted. Although eBay relaxes the temporal ordering while processing two competing bids, it does not do so when processing the clear event. These issues become more complicated when the auction system is distributed over several hardware devices. Like other three-tier architectures, auction systems can rely on a database that resides on another machine. Many auction systems also benefit from the fact that the auctions themselves are independent of one another. This enables, for instance, all auctions related to Product 1 to be stored in a database on Machine A, whereas all auctions related to Product 2 are stored in the database on Machine B. The ability of the auction software to be distributed in this way goes a long way toward making the system scalable. As in other distributed architectures, load balancing becomes an issue. The issues of effective load balancing in auction systems have not been carefully addressed in the literature on auctions. (Interestingly, markets have themselves been promoted as solutions to load balancing problems; Clearwater, 1996. Essentially, the machines in the cluster auction their time; the busier a machine is, the more expensive its time becomes.)
Notification Figure 1 suggests that information flows out of the auction system to the users in the form of price quotes or information about trades. In the early days of auction systems, participants received up-to-date information either
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through text-based e-mail or by checking the Web site. These two methods represent two approaches to the communication process. E-mail based notification is a push technology, that is, when information changes, the server pushes the new information to the clients. Web-based dissemination is a pull technology, and clients must explicitly request the latest information from the server. Even as auction systems are increasingly connected to more mobile information devices (eBay can send notifications to e-mail enabled mobile phones, pagers, and personal digital assistants), the push-pull distinction still divides the multiplicity of communication channels. Whether an auction system uses push or pull technology, or both, depends on the application, but the two formats put different stresses on the architecture. In a push system, users will typically subscribe to various types of notifications. Each time an event occurs for which some people have requested notification, the server must compose and send a message. In some settings, this process may generate more messages than are needed to keep the users informed. For instance, if I am away from my computer for a while, when I log on again, I may not need to know all of the intervening price changes, but only the most recent. Pull-based communication does away with the excess of information but may introduce and excess of information-less messages. In a pull system, users request information only when they are ready to look at it. Because they don’t know whether the information has changed on the server, however, they will be forced to make frequent requests to keep their information up-todate, and the majority of those requests have no new content. Thus, when users need the most up-to-date information (e.g., at the end of an eBay auction), they will make frequent requests to the server and can easily overwhelm the system. This may be true even when push-based information is provided because push channels—like e-mail— are generally asynchronous themselves and don’t provide the most up-to-date information. There are several approaches to controlling the load placed on the server by information requests. One method is to cache the information in files (or memory) so that it can be served quickly. This method is successful for content-oriented sites but can be problematic for dynamic sites like auctions. eBay’s category listings are emblematic of the difficulty of keeping all views of an auction up-todate. The category listings are not refreshed in real time, and it is common to follow a link from the catalog to the auction description and find that the current price is much higher than the price listed on the catalog, especially near the end of the auction. A system architect’s alternative to caching the catalogs is to generate them on demand, an approach that would be untenable given the number of user requests and the number of database queries involved on a site like eBay, but which may be practical for smaller sites.
Scaling Like any Web system, the hardware and software architecture has to be scaled to handle the expected load. An auction site manager should be concerned with at least
three types of loads: page views, bidding actions, and internal actions like clears and quotes. Page views measure the number of requests for HTML documents from the clients. Static pages can be served faster than dynamic pages (which require calls to a database). Unfortunately, auctions are highly data-driven sites, and many of the pages, like the auction status, must be constructed at a moment’s notice. Bidding actions put an extra strain on the system because writing to a database is slower than reading from one, and temporarily locks others out. Thus, the load due to bidding should be considered separately from that due to page views. Finally, the events triggered internally compete for computational resources, and steps must be taken to minimize negative effects from concurrent internal events. To scale the system properly, it is necessary to estimate the loads. This can be done easily from an estimate of the number of auctions hosted and educated guesses about the behavior of the users. For example, if a C2C auction site hosts x auctions per time period t, and we expect an average of b bidders each with r bids per auction, we immediately have the expected number of bids, brx / t. To get an estimate of the number of page views, suppose that the seller and bidders track the auction by viewing the auction description v times each. The number of page views due to this activity will be vx(b + 1)/t. In addition, bidders will look at n auctions before selecting one in which to bid. Thus, we would expect an additional nb/t page views due to searching. It is relatively easy to estimate some of these parameters by examining bidding patterns on existing sites such as eBay. These calculations return an average load. A system administrator planning the hardware to run an auction site will also be concerned with the peak loads, which can also be estimated with reasonable accuracy. The choice of auction rules also affects the load. Consider the effect of the rules used by eBay compared with those used by Amazon’s auctions. On eBay, auctions close at a fixed time, regardless of activity. This encourages a bidding technique called sniping in which a bidder attempts to place a bid high enough to win at the very end of the auction. To execute this strategy, the bidder must have the latest information about the current price, and thus the bidder makes many requests to eBay’s server as the auction nears its end. On Amazon, auctions are extended for 10 minutes following the last bid, and close when no new bid is received in that period. This avoids the end-of-auction frenzy that is common on eBay and distributes the bidding more evenly over time (Ockenfels & Roth, 2002). eBay employs two techniques to help smooth out the load. First, it does not give the seller direct control over the closing time of the auction. Instead, the auction closes exactly (to the minute) 3, 5, 7, or 10 days after it is started, where the duration is chosen by the seller. This bounds the number of auctions that can close at a given time by the number that were created at the front end of the time window. Although tools are available that help sellers automate the listing of items, these tools must still operate by interacting with eBay’s Web servers by submitting HTML form data or, more recently, Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents, via hypertext transfer protocol
COMPLEMENTARY FEATURES OF AUCTION SYSTEMS
(HTTP). Thus, requests to initiate auctions are funneled through a gateway. The net effect of eBay’s rigid control of auction creation and duration is that auction closings are distributed over time, diminishing the peak loads. The second approach eBay uses to smooth the load is to allow proxy bidding. EBay’s proxy bidding system allows users to submit a maximum willingness to pay, and then automatically increases the user’s bid on his or her behalf until the maximum is reached or the auction closes. When users take advantage of eBay’s proxy bidding, they reduce the direct interaction with the system. In addition, when two proxy bids are submitted, eBay can directly compute the result of the subsequent bidding war without actually computing all of the intermediate bids. The theory (Roth & Ockenfels, 2002) predicts, and empirical studies (Shah et al., 2002) support, that straightforward proxy bidding is not the only strategy employed by bidders. Despite the fact that eBay provides a proxy bidding feature, third-party bidding software is becoming popular with eBay’s users. Companies like eSnipe and Auction Blitz offer sniping services, and there are many “free” programs available for download. These sniping tools are simple, but the potential benefits of bidding assistants— agents—are tremendous, in both C2C and B2B environments. Although auction sites have discouraged these tools, the potential benefits to bidders are so great that it seems unlikely that bidding agents can be suppressed for long. This has serious implications for online auction managers. An architecture in which agents make requests for Web pages and parse them to extract the relevant information is inefficient for both the agent and the server. As the number of automated bidding agents increases, auction sites are going to feel the need to provide specialized communication channels. It is clear that XML will be the meta-language of choice for constructing formal languages for querying and bidding in auctions. Indeed, most market-based research platforms now support XML based messaging (O’Malley & Kelly, 1998). Although we have yet to see bidding agents explicitly designed for B2B auctions, there is a growing recognition of the value of optimization approaches to generating bids. Decision support systems for generating bids in procurement auctions have been demonstrated by IBM (Goodwin, Akkiraju, & Wu, 2002) and others.
COMPLEMENTARY FEATURES OF AUCTION SYSTEMS Auction systems rarely exist as stand alone Web sites. Generally, an auction Web site provides complementary features that enhance a user’s experience with the site. In fact, many of these features are essential to the success of an auction business. The importance of the features will depend on the particular type of marketplace. Figure 2 shows how several types of marketplaces differ with respect to the number of bidders and the number of differentiated products available. Large C2C markets such as eBay have many users and many products simultaneously auctioned. Commodity and security markets, like the New York Stock Exchange, have many bidders but relatively few and static
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Figure 2: Space of marketplace structures.
products. B2B exchanges, like FastParts.com or the automotive markets run by Covisint, have a moderate number of products and screened traders. Procurement auctions typically cover fewer products (e.g., contracts) and have a small set of preselected suppliers.
Personalization Bidders need an interface that allows them to create accounts, find product listings, and place bids. All sites require that bidders log on to place bids or initiate auctions. Authentication also allows the server to customize the user’s view of the auction site. Typically, the custom view lets users keep track of their bids, watch auctions of interest, and manage other aspects of their accounts.
Catalogs and Search Catalog and search features are two methods that enable bidders to find products, and both are typically provided on sites with large numbers of products. Catalogs are based on a natural, hierarchal organization of the products. Generally, catalogs are constructed by the auction managers, and thus the manager needs tools to construct and manage the catalog over time. The placement of a product listing in a catalog is usually left to the auction initiator. Thus, catalogs are effective only if the initiators place the products in appropriate locations. In C2C auctions, inevitably, some sellers either misunderstand the hierarchy or abuse the freedom, and list auctions in the wrong location. Fortunately, enough sellers correctly position auctions in the catalog that it is an effective way to locate categories of products. Catalogs suffer from two other problems: they don’t work for users who have hierarchal view of the product space different from that of the catalog organizer, and they often require many “clicks” to navigate. Search interfaces alleviate these problems. At a minimum, the search interface must provide a case-insensitive search for text in both auction titles and product descriptions. Standard techniques from information retrieval can be used to improve the quality of the results. Better implementations give
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users greater control over the search by allowing them to constrain the time, price, or other aspects of the auction. Many search implementations allow users to scour both open and recently closed auctions. Historical auction data provides valuable information about the recent market prices, and, if past bids are revealed, the bidding behavior of the market participants.
Payment and Escrow C2C auction sites increasingly offer extra services to improve the security and efficiency of the marketplace. Two of the most common offerings are payment and escrow services. eBay affiliates with Escrow.com to offer escrow services and recently purchased PayPal, a popular payment service that had become widely accepted among eBay users. Amazon has integrated payments for auctions into its system-wide 1-Click ordering feature and guarantees that buyers will be reimbursed, up to specified limits, if they pay and fail to receive the product or the product is materially different than the seller described. (Information can be found on Amazon.com’s Web site.) To support these efforts, the auction system must be integrated with the payment systems and provide tools to investigate disputes. Some aspects of electronic payment are more straightforward on B2C and B2B sites, in part because there is less anonymity in these marketplaces, which enables standard payment methods to translate to the electronic domain more successfully. B2C sites generally accept credit cards as a form of payment, whereas B2B auction sites are more likely to invoke purchase orders. B2B sites are more likely to be involved in international exchanges, however, and monetary exchange rates become a factor.
Reputation Management Reputation mechanisms are another common method of combating the fraud that often comes with the freedom afforded by anonymity. Reputation mechanisms collect feedback about users and allow them to accumulate a personal history. A positive history is an emblem of trustworthiness that can be used to assure potential trading partners that a transaction will go smoothly. A positive reputation is a valuable asset, and serves to make the site “sticky;” sellers with positive reputations are reluctant to take their business to a new site where they would need to build a new reputation from scratch. Typically, reputation mechanisms collect both a numerical evaluation and text comments. To avoid fraudulent inflation of reputations in a C2C site, users should only be allowed to comment on other users once per mutual transaction. In a B2B environment, this type of fraud is less common, and the designers may give the users more freedom to comment on one another. Although reputation systems have become a de facto standard feature, their social effects are not well understood. Negative feedback is exceedingly uncommon (only 0.3% of all transactions were rated negatively; Resnick & Zeckhauser, 2001), and when a seller does receive negative feedback, the user can simply start a new account with a clean reputation. In June 2001, eBay took steps to curtail this behavior by tying seller accounts to credit
card numbers. This provides a means to (somewhat) track identities, although new credit cards are easy to obtain. Nonetheless, negative reputations remain rare. Resnick and Zeckhauser suggested that there is an atmosphere of reciprocity and retaliation in the feedback system; a buyer is reluctant to submit negative feedback on the seller because the seller will retaliate. Despite these challenges, eBay’s reputation system, and others like it, create a sense of community and a perception of trustworthiness and are considered crucial to the success of a C2C marketplace.
Censorship The global reach, relative openness, and anonymity afforded by C2C auctions permits the posting of politically incorrect material (i.e., Nazi memorabilia, which is illegal to trade in some countries) or illegal products (i.e., illicit drugs or terrorist weapons). C2C sites have established policies and procedures to filter the postings to eliminated unwanted auctions. In addition, many specialty markets focus on collectable products that are targeted at children. Auction sites that expect to have children visitors must censor the product listings, feedback, newsgroups, and other content submitted to the site to be sure it is appropriate for minors, or create a gateway to prevent minors from accessing the adult-oriented content.
Fraud Fraud, unfortunately, is common on C2C sites. In fact, the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) reports that auction fraud accounts for 64% of all complaints, making it the single most common type of fraud on the Internet (IFCC Report, 2001). The most common type of auction fraud is nondelivery; the buyer sends the money, and the seller never sends the product. Many other problems exist as well, including shill bidding, multiple bidding, feedback extortion, and false reports of fraud (Freedman, 2000). Shill bids are bids placed by the seller or a collaborator to force legitimate buyers to pay more. On eBay, shills appear to be used to ferret out the maximum bid, information that wouldn’t necessarily be revealed by the proxy bidding system. Shill detection software would be a complementary feature to auction software targeted at C2C sites. eBay has a large fraud division but does not publicize its techniques, and fraud detection is only recently being addressed in the academic literature (Shah et al., 2002). Multiple bidding is a problem similar to shill bidding, except that it is perpetrated by a buyer to defraud a seller. The buyer uses one identity to bid just enough to win, and a second identity to bid very high. This high bid drives away competition, and eventually wins the auction. Then, however, the buyer defaults on the high bid, and the seller may exercise her option to offer the product to the second highest bidder at that bidder’s (significantly lower) price. The seller may report the delinquent high bidder but may never know that the two identities can be traced to a single individual. Feedback extortion occurs when a buyer demands a better deal after the auction under the threat of slamming the seller with negative feedback. Negative feedback
CONCLUSION
can be so damaging to a seller’s reputation that the seller will often capitulate to the blackmailer’s demands. eBay is loath to get too involved in the resolution of these disputes because it opens the door for false reports of fraud for the sole purpose of discrediting competitors. In B2B settings, the auction initiator will often specify the certified bidders and may actually create accounts on behalf of the bidders. This greatly reduces the opportunities for fraud. In B2B scenarios, bidders may be granted special privileges, as when they are preferred suppliers in a procurement situation. The initiator may maintain more control over the auction, and may have power to intercede if unforeseen circumstances occur, much the way the stock market will suspend trading on a stock with excessive volatility. Collusion among sellers is still possible, however, and extremely hard to detect.
Integration It is common, especially in B2B or B2C settings, for the auction system to be connected to a variety of other software systems. Consider a company selling its products via an auction. When an auction closes, the company needs to update its inventory, compose a shipping request that is routed to the fulfillment department, transfer information about the sale to a customer relationship management system, and initiate a billing process. Although XML provides a framework for structured communication between components, integrating these systems still requires a significant amount of time and effort. Thus, administrators of a B2B or B2C site need access to the underlying software components, including the auction engine, the database, the Web server, and the e-mail server, so that they can integrate them with payment systems and other backend applications that may support billing, inventory management, credit authorization, and logistics. Often, the auction system will be a component of a larger Web presence, and as such must be integrated into the entire Web site and “branded,” raising issues of content management. For example, consider Amazon’s auction offering. All of the auction pages share Amazon’s common graphic and navigation elements (often referred to as “assets”), which are probably managed by a content management system. Thus, when integrating an auction engine into the larger site, a significant amount of work may go into marrying Web content generated by the auction engine with assets served up by the content management system. The customization tools provided with commercial auction systems vary from simply allowing custom graphics to providing scripting tools to create an entirely custom interface. In addition to working out the details of data flow between the components being integrated, the developers must consider the effect of the integration on the system’s responsiveness. In general, the system is only as fast as its slowest component. Thus, if the auction data is stored in a database shared by other mission critical operations, the combined load may overwhelm the database server. Similarly, if authenticating a bidder involves a query through a bottleneck unified authentication system, users may be unable to get through the front door of the auction site.
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The integration issues on a C2C auction site are somewhat different. Although the inventory is managed by third parties, these sellers are becoming more technically sophisticated. In fact, many eBay sellers run quite sophisticated operations, and established businesses, both large and small, are using eBay as a direct sales channel. These types of sellers need the ability to connect the outcomes of the auction to their internal order fulfillment processes. Currently, the glue that holds the channel together is provided by small companies that specialize in managing the “auction” distribution channel. (The list of companies that provide this service includes Andale, AuctionHelper, Auctionworks, ChannelAdvisor, CommerceFlow, FairMarket, Zoovy, all of which can be found at their respective dotcom addresses.) In both C2C and B2B environments, auction managers will need tools to handle the unexpected operational missteps that are bound to occur. For example, most auction sites have a policy to extend the duration of auctions that are adversely affected by system downtime. Great care must be taken when the system is brought back online. A na¨ıve implementation of the system architecture will come back on line and notice that a large number of auctions are past due and will immediately clear them, informing the buyers and sellers of the trades. If the system administrators intend to extend the affected auctions, they would be forced to correct the auction and bid data manually and inform all of the affected buyers and sellers that the transactions have been nullified. In short, a na¨ıve implementation will create an embarrassing mess. A better implementation will give the system administrators control over how auctions are handled when the system is brought back online, including allowing affected auctions to be extended without clearing, and notifying the auction initiators, and perhaps the bidders, of the changed schedule.
CONCLUSION All auctions share the same core functionality: admit bids, generate information, and clear. The sequence and frequency with which the auction performs these three actions is specified by the auction rules. The rules also determine what types of bids are acceptable, what format the intermediate information takes, and how trade prices are computed. A configurable auction server will be able to implement a greater variety of auction types by mixing and matching the auction rules. This flexibility demands more complex software architecture, however. In addition, auction systems vary widely in their ability to integrate with (or provide) a variety of complementary features that are common on Internet auctions. Whether selecting from existing auction engines or building one from scratch, the fit between the software’s functionality and the needs of all three classes of users (bidders, auction initiators, and administrators) must be considered. The importance of different features will depend on the particular type of auction site being developed—a public C2C market has different requirements than a one-time procurement auction with certified participants. Although there have been dramatic successes and failures in the short history of Internet auctions, they will
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continue to be a central fixture in the automation of commerce activities. The potential gains from the pervasion of dynamic pricing in the economy far outweigh the shortterm costs associated with developing the technologies.
GLOSSARY Activity rules Rules that constrain bidders’ options based on their actions in previous rounds of the auction. Auction A system for accepting bids from participants and computing a set of trades based on the offers according to a well-defined policy. Auditable An auction system that can be inspected by an outside auditor to confirm that the auction’s actions were in accordance with its policies and the bids received. Beat-the-quote rule A rule that requires bidders’ new offers to improve on their current offer with respect to the current quote information. Bid An offer to buy or sell a product or service submitted to an auction. Bid admission The act of certifying that a bid satisfies the bidding rules and has become an active bid in the system. Bid schedule An offer that specifies a desire to buy or sell at more than one price point. Bid submission time: The time at which the auction officially considers the bid submitted. Clear The act of computing trades in accordance with the auction’s policy and removing the associated bids from the set of active bids. Combinatorial auction An auction that allows bidders to make offers on combinations of items. Consistent An auction system that handles all bid, quote, and clear events in the order they ought to occur. Content management system A Web publishing tool that facilitates the management and presentation of large amounts of content on the Web. Double-sided auction An auction with multiple buyers and sellers. Improve-your-bid A rule that requires bidders’ new offers to improve on previous bids in a precise manner. Matching function The policy the auction uses to compute trades from bids. Multiple bidding A strategy involving a fake bid placed by a buyer with a secondary account to scare off other buyers; the high bidder then defaults on the bid and the real buyer wins with less competition. Order book The list of current bids and the bidders who placed them. Parallel architecture An auction architecture that, to some degree, allows multiple actions to be handled simultaneously. Proxy bidding The use of a software program to place bids on behalf of the user; A proxy bidder, unlike an agent, is generally operated by the auction. Quote The activity of computing and announcing information about the current state of the auction; the information computed and announced. Reputation system A system that allows a community of traders to comment on each other’s performance,
thus enabling users to establish reputations within the community. Reserve price In a single-seller auction, the minimum price at which the seller is willing to part with the item; in a single-buyer auction, the maximum price the buyer is willing to pay. Sealed bid An auction in which no information is revealed until the auction closes and the winners are announced. Sequential architecture An auction architecture that performs one action completely before beginning another. Shill bid A fake bid placed by a seller, or a collaborator, to raise the price paid by real buyers. Single-sided auction An auction with either a single buyer (and multiple sellers), or a single seller (and multiple buyers). Trade A declaration by the auction that one bidder should exchange a particular quantity of the item with another bidder at a particular price; generally, the execution of the trade is outside the scope of control of the auction system. Valid bid A bid that satisfies the bidding rules.
CROSS REFERENCES See Cybercrime and Cyberfraud; Internet Censorship; Legal, Social and Ethical Issues; Online Auctions; Web Content Management.
REFERENCES Ausubel, L. M., & Milgrom, P. R. (2002). Ascending auctions with package bidding. Frontiers of Theoretical Economics, 1, 1–42. Clearwater, S. (1996). Market-based control: A paradigm for distributed resource allocation. River Edge, NJ: World Scientific. Freedman, D. H. (2000, November 27). Sleaze bay. Forbes ASAP. Goodwin, R., Akkiraju, R., & Wu, F. (2002). A decisionsupport system for quote generation. Proceedings of Fourteenth Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference (pp. 830–837). Menlo Park, CA: AAAI Press and Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Internet Fraud Complaint Center. (2001, May). IFCC 2001 Internet fraud report [Technical report]. Retrieved September 2002, from http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index. asp Keenan, V. (2000, April). Internet exchange 2000: B2X emerges as new industry to service exchange transactions [Technical report]. San Francisco: Keenan Vision. Kumar, M., & Feldman, S. I. (1998). Internet auctions. In Proceedings of the Third USENIX Workshop on Electronic Commerce (pp. 49–60). Boston, MA: USENIX. McAfee, R. P., & McMillan, J. (1996). Analyzing the airwaves auction. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 10, 159–175. Nisan, N. (2000). Bidding and allocation in combinatorial auctions. In Proceedings of the Second ACM Conference on Electronic Commerce (pp. 1–12). New York: ACM Press.
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Ockenfels, A., & Roth, A. E. (2002). The timing of bids in internet auctions: Market design, bidder behavior, and artificial agents. AI Magazine, 23, 79–87. O’Malley, K., & Kelly, T. (1998, September). An API for Internet auctions. Dr. Dobb’s Journal, pp. 70– 74. Reich, B., & Shaul, I. B. (1998). A componentized architecture for dynamic electronic markets. SIGMOD Record, 27, 40–47. Resnick, P., & Zeckhauser, R. (2001, February 5). Trust among strangers in Internet transactions: Empirical analysis of eBay’s reputation system [Technical report]. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Rodriguez, J., Noriega, P., Sierra, C., & Padget, J. (1997, April). FM96.5 a java-based electronic auction house. Paper presented at the Second International Conference on the Practical Application of Intelligent Agents and Multi-Agent Technology (PAAM ’97), London, UK. Rosenthal, R. (2002, August). 2002 competitive assessment of eRFx solution providers. Retrieved September 2002 from http://www.idc.com Roth, A. E., & Ockenfels, A. (2002). Last-minute bidding and the rules for ending second-price auctions: Evidence from eBay and Amazon auctions on the Internet. American Economic Review 92(4), 1093– 1103.
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Rothkopf, M. H., Pekec, A., & Harstad, R. M. (1998). Computationally manageable combinatorial auctions. Management Science, 44, 1131–1147. Shah, H. S., Joshi, N. R., & Wurman, P. R. (2002, July). Mining for bidding strategies on eBay. Presented at the Fourth WEBKDD Workshop: Web Mining for Usage Patterns and User Profiles. Edmonton, Canada. Wurman, P. R., Walsh, W. E., & Wellman, M. P. (1998). Flexible double auctions for electronic commerce: Theory and implementation. Decision Support Systems, 24, 17–27. Wurman, P. R., Wellman, P., & Walsh, W. E. (1998). The Michigan Internet AuctionBot: A configurable auction server for human and software agents. In Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Autonomous Agents (pp. 301–308). Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN: ACM Press. Wurman, P. R., Wellman, M. P., Walsh, W. E., & O’Malley, K. A. (1999). Control architecture for a flexible Internet auction server. Paper presented at the First IAC Workshop on Internet Based Negotiation Technologies, Yorktown Heights, NY. Wurman, P. R., Wellman, M. P., & Walsh, W. E. (2001). A parametrization of the auction design space. Games and Economic Behavior, 35, 304–338.
Online Banking and Beyond: Internet-Related Internet-Related
Offerings from U.S. Banks Banks
Siaw-Peng Wan, Elmhurst College
Introduction Origin of Online Banking and Other Internet-Related Offerings Sources of Information Marketing Information
Educational Materials
Financial Information
Nonfinancial Information
Online Banking Products and Services for Individuals Opening an Account Accessing Account Information Initiating Transactions Online Self-Serve Customer Service Other Features Online Banking Products and Services for Small Businesses Online Payroll Services Internet-Based Accounting Human Resources Tool Business Workshops Online Banking Products and Services for Corporations
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INTRODUCTION The Internet has been in existence since the late 1960s; however, access then was only available to government agencies and academic institutions. It was used primarily for research purposes and no commercial traffic was allowed. All this changed in the mid-1990s, when the Internet was privatized, allowing the general public and commercial enterprises to freely access and use it. The privatization of the Internet has led, in a short few years, to a dramatic transformation of the U.S. business landscape. New entities such as Internet pure plays and dot-com companies began to appear in massive numbers. As brick-and-mortar companies felt the pressure from these new online entities, many of them started establishing their presence on the Internet, thus transforming themselves into click-and-mortar companies. In other words, companies have both offline and online channels to reach and serve their customers. Despite the well-publicized flameouts of a large number of Internet pure plays and dot-com companies in the late 1990s, the availability of the Internet to commercial enterprises has fundamentally transformed the way many traditional companies do business. There is no turning back for these companies. The Internet is now a wellintegrated channel for many companies to reach and serve their customers, to trade with other companies, and to connect with their trading partners. 720
Treasury Management International Trade and Foreign Exchange Electronic Bill Presentation and Payment Cross-Selling Other Banking Products Loans and Mortgages Insurance Products Online Brokerage Services Electronic Safety Deposit Boxes E-commerce Solutions and Tools B2C E-commerce Solutions and Tools B2B E-commerce Solutions and Tools Online Shopping and E-procurement Online Shopping for Individuals Online Shopping and E-procurement for Small Businesses and Corporations What Could be Next? Consumer Banking Commercial Banking E-commerce Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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Banks are no exception when it comes to the influence of the Internet. Most banks view the Internet as an important channel in reaching their customers. Virtually all banks have established Web sites to provide information regarding their products and services to their customers. An increasing number of banks are also using the Internet to provide consumer, small business, and corporate banking services to their customers. This allows bank customers to conduct many of the banking transactions and activities on the Internet simply with browsers. Today, banks are offering more than just banking services and products to their customers via their Web sites. They are attempting to serve all aspects of their customers’ needs over the Internet. Most banks are turning their Web sites into online portals to compete with other online entities. These portals serve as gateways to information resource centers and financial supermarkets for bank customers, ranging from individuals to corporations. Customers can now use a bank’s Web site as a central access point to a variety of information (both financial and nonfinancial) and products and services (both banking and nonbanking) (Fonseca, Hickman, & Marenzi, 2001). The Internet is also providing an opportunity for banks to branch out into offering other products and services. A number of large banks have recently offered small businesses and large corporations a variety of tools and instruments to facilitate their activities in the business-toconsumer and business-to-business e-commerce markets.
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ORIGIN OF ONLINE BANKING AND OTHER INTERNET-RELATED OFFERINGS The roots of online banking can be traced back to home banking, which was first offered by major banks in the mid-1980s when they attempted to bring the convenience of banking services to the homes of their customers (Gray, 1994; Serwre, 1995). Home banking was initially available in two forms, phone-based banking and PC-based banking. With phone-based home banking, bank customers conducted all their banking needs with touch-tone telephones. On the other hand, with PC-based home banking, banks were developing proprietary software packages that allowed their customers to dial into their systems directly to carry out their banking needs (Nixon & Dixon, 2000). In other words, bank customers were simply using their PCs as dumb terminals. Both forms of home banking services offered bank customers very limited banking functions. They could only check their account balances, make payments to selected billers, and transfer funds among different accounts within the bank. However, home banking was not widely available among banks. Only 340 U.S. banks, out of approximately 12,000, were offering home banking services by the late 1980s (Gart, 1992). One of the reasons for this limited availability was that home banking was accessible only through proprietary systems that required a huge technology investment, which only bigger banks could afford. Another reason was that the demand for PC-based home banking services had been very low because the number of households with PCs was very low and therefore most banks could not justify the investments needed to offer such services (Nixon & Dixon, 2000). In the early 1990s, PC-based home banking found a new life as commercial services such as Prodigy began to offer a whole host of services, which included electronic banking services, to their subscribers. About 10 banks began offering such banking services on Prodigy in 1991. However, the growth of electronic banking services was slow. There were only 16 banks offering such services on Prodigy by 1996 (Radigan, 1996). However, this did not discourage other commercial services from offering similar electronic banking services. America Online (AOL) began offering electronic banking services to its subscribers in late 1995. Wells Fargo and Bank of America were among the 16 banks that had joined AOL’s Banking Center by the end of 1986 (Yamada, 1995). While commercial services were bringing electronic banking to their subscribers in the early 1990s, personal financial management (PFM) software packages such as Microsoft Money and Intuit Quicken were also incorporating online banking features into their latest versions. Both companies were successful in contracting with a number of banks to offer electronic banking services to their customers who used either MS Money or Quicken to manage their finances. As in the case with earlier PC-based home banking services offered directly by the banks, electronic banking services available with MS Money and Quicken were limited to checking account balances, transferring funds, and paying bills. By the end of 1993, customers of Michigan National Bank, U.S. National Bank
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of Oregon, and First National Bank of Chicago could conduct electronic banking using MS Money, and customers of Bank One, First National Bank of Omaha, Wells Fargo, and Meridian Bank could do so using Quicken (Arend, 1994). PC-based home banking with commercial services and PFM software packages allow bank customers to conduct their banking transactions any time but not anywhere. Anytime-and-anywhere banking did not materialize until banking services began to appear on the Internet, allowing bank customers simply to access them with browsers. However, it did take a few years before banking services became commonly available over the Internet. When the Internet first became available to commercial enterprises in the mid-1990s, most of them, including the banks, viewed it as just a new channel to distribute information to their customers. First Union Bank was one of the first banks to establish a presence on the Internet. In 1995, it established the First Access Network, a customer-serviceoriented Web site providing information on the bank, its product and services, and other areas (Online for cyberbanking, 1995). In other words, banks were simply putting their existing brochures on their Web sites. Some banks, however, did see the Internet as a new channel to offer banking services to their customers. In 1995, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) approved Cardinal Bancshares Inc.’s application to provide limited banking services over the Internet. As a result, Security First Network Bank, the first Internet-based bank, was established (Messmer, 1995; Hoffman & Kim, 1995). However, many banks were still skeptical of the Internet’s potential as a channel to offer banking products and services to their customers. According to Online Banking Report, there were only 24 banks offering account balances and transaction processing to their customers over the Internet in early 1997 (Wilson, 1997). However, as online competition for customers from other nonbank entities such as brokerage firms and financial Web sites intensified, many banks began to step up their efforts in offering online banking services over the Internet. The number of banks offering Internet banking services increased to 200 by 1998 and grew to 819 by 2000 (Orr, 1998; Online Banking Report true Web banks & credit unions database, 2001). Not only has the number of banks offering Internetbased (or Web-based) banking services increased over the past several years, but the types of products and services offered by banks on their Web sites have also expanded. Banks are now offering products and services that go beyond the ones traditionally offered by banks, often through partnerships with other Web-based companies and providers. In addition, as security measures and Internet technology advance, banks are also expanding their Web-based offerings to individual customers to include small businesses and corporate clients.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION The Internet is well suited for delivering information because (1) it can be accessed anywhere and anytime, (2) it can be updated easily and instantaneously, (3) the cost of delivering the information is much lower than in other
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media, (4) much more information can be delivered compared to other channels, and (5) the information can be multimedia and interactive. Banks, just like other commercial enterprises, are taking advantage of the Internet’s qualities to deliver a variety of information to various target audiences and to provide interactive and unique experiences to those accessing these information sources. The majority of the information available on a bank’s Web site is designed for its current customers and its potential customers. The information can be grouped into four general categories: (a) marketing information, (b) educational materials, (c) financial information, and (d) nonfinancial information. All of these sources of information are freely available to anyone, but some banks do require visitors to register before gaining access to certain information.
Marketing Information Most marketing information focuses on introducing the various products and services a bank has to offer to its customers and on helping its customers locate its physical branches and ATM machines (if there are any). In general, this information is grouped according to the various customer groups the bank serves, such as individuals, small businesses, and corporate clients. Other than providing descriptions of their products and services, some banks have also chosen to help their customers gain a better understanding of their products and services by offering Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) sections. For example, if a LaSalle Bank customer is interested in applying for a home equity loan, he or she can find out more about the procedure by clicking on the How do I apply for a home equity loan? link in the FAQ section. Many banks are offering this information in a static manner. In other words, customers have to plow through pages and pages of information in order to find the information they need. Some banks are now taking advantage of the inherently interactive nature of the Internet environment to provide their customers with a more dynamic and pleasant experience when accessing such information. For example, instead of simply providing written information on its online banking services, Firstar Bank offers its customers an online demonstration of the services’ various features. Its demonstration is made up of a series of Web pages with illustrated screen captures to help its customers understand what types of tasks they can perform online and how to go about performing them. Customers simply need to click on the different links to access the appropriate pages to learn about the various features. Net Bank, on the other hand, chose to provide a Macromedia Flash-based demonstration to help its customers learn more about its online banking features. Therefore, Net Bank’s customers do not need to click on any links to advance to the next features. All they need to do is sit back and enjoy the presentation, which incorporates animation, sound, video, and other multimedia elements. These two approaches are the two most common ones adopted by banks when demonstrating their products and services. Although they do incorporate various multimedia features into their demonstrations, they are not hands-on. In other words, bank customers do not have the opportunity to
test drive the various features. Some banks are striving to offer their customers such opportunities. When accessing the online banking demonstration, customers of Westport National Bank can try out the various features by modifying the given information and see the changes reflected in the appropriate screens immediately. For example, if a customer transfers $500 from the checking account to the savings account, the demonstration will present him with a screen to confirm the transaction. Once it has been confirmed, the presentation will show how the transaction affects the various bank account balances. Often though, it is still difficult for bank customers to find answers to their questions despite the banks’ efforts in offering an extensive amount of information on their Web sites. The bank customers can send e-mail messages to the bank’s customer service department to have their questions answered. However, it often takes some time before they receive responses from the bank. Some banks have been pushing to offer their customers instantaneous responses to their questions by offering them an opportunity to interact with customer service representatives via a chat room environment. For example, Harris Bank’s customers can click on the Push to Talk button to connect with an online customer service representative. The chat room environment allows customers to carry out real-time “conversations” with customer service representatives.
Educational Materials With the understanding that an educated customer is a good customer, it is no longer sufficient for banks simply to provide information on their products and services. They need to help their customers understand why they need these products and services. Most banks are now offering a variety of educational materials to their customers, focusing on individuals and small businesses, to help educate them on a wide range of topics. These educational materials are often categorized into different sections to help the intended target audiences easily locate the information they need. Different banks have chosen to categorize the materials in different manners. For example, when it comes to educational materials for individuals, some banks are grouping the materials into general topics such as education, home, and retirement planning, investing; some banks are grouping them based on activities such as planning for emergencies, getting married, and supporting a growing family; and some banks are grouping them based on demographic groups such as teenagers and women. Within these various categories, customers can find a number of articles and tutorials related to a specific topic and a glossary that provides an explanation for the many common terms used in the materials. These articles and tutorials cover not only financial-related materials but also non-financial-related materials. For example, customers accessing Citibank’s educational materials on college planning can find not only articles on how to fund a college education, but also articles on how to plan summer college visits and how to prepare for college admissions. In addition to written materials, many banks are also offering a number of interactive calculators and planning
ONLINE BANKING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS
tools to help their customers make certain financial decisions, such as decisions related to financing a vehicle by determining the monthly payments for their auto loans. The calculators prompt the users to provide certain key information and then provide a detailed explanation of the outcomes. To help the customers pick out the appropriate calculators, banks generally word them in an easy-tounderstand manner, often in the form of a question. For example, when Bank of America’s customers are trying to choose a Home Purchase calculator, they can pick from ones with titles such as Which is better: fixed or adjustable? and How much should I put down for a new home? Many calculators are created using JavaScript and are best suited for simple calculations. Some banks are choosing to offer Java applet calculators that can handle more complicated calculations. The Visual Planners from Bank One are Java applets that provide detailed visual summaries of the outcomes. In addition, customers can also save the inputs and results and return to them at a later time. The JavaScript or Java applet calculators generally help the users deal with specific issues such as choosing between buying and leasing a car. Some banks, such as Fifth Third Bank, are beginning to offer more comprehensive planning tools that help their customers deal with more complex issues such as retirement planning. Through its Retirement Center, the bank is providing a planning tool that offers a step-by-step approach that helps the customers determine their retirement needs and plans from beginning to end.
Financial Information Banks, just like any other entities with an Internet presence, want to keep visitors at their sites as long as possible. To prevent their customers from visiting other financial Web sites for basic financial information, many banks are now offering similar information sources at the banks’ Web sites. Customers can now access financial information such as delayed stock quotes, charts, current market activity, and economic and company news. These information sources are often located on a bank’s home page so that its customers can easily access the information.
Nonfinancial Information In addition to offering basic financial information on their Web sites, some banks are also offering nonfinancial information such as general news feeds and local weather forecasts. This is especially the case with some smaller banks that are attempting to create closer ties to the local communities by acting as gateways to a variety of local information. For example, City National Bank of Florida is providing links to a number of third-party Web sites that offer information on various local activities such as South Florida arts, home and garden events, and local sports. Citizens Financial Bank’s Web site also provide links to local organizations such as schools, YMCAs, and hospitals. Some banks are even offering the local community a venue on the banks’ Web sites to post information regarding certain activities and events. Anchor Savings Bank has an online Community Event Form, which allows local organizations to submit information on charitable or
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not-for-profit events to be posted on the bank’s Community Calendar.
ONLINE BANKING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS Because e-commerce (more specifically Internet commerce) first gained momentum in retail markets that catered to individual consumers in the mid 1990s, it is logical for banks to target their online banking products and services to individual bank customers. There were more than 800 banks in the U.S. offering some form of banking products and services over the Internet by 2000. Many of these banks present very similar features for their offerings in terms of the types of activities and transactions individual bank customers can perform via the banks’ Web sites.
Opening an Account Most banks with an Internet presence allow their customers to initiate the account application process over the Internet. Some banks provide account application forms on their Web sites, requiring their customers to download and print the forms, fill them out, and then either drop them off at a local branch or mail or fax them to the bank. On the other hand, some banks will allow their customers to complete and submit their applications online. Even though it is convenient for bank customers to be able to submit their account applications online, it is not without its share of frustrations. On many occasions, bank customers find that they did not have all the relevant information they needed after they are halfway through with the online application process. This usually means that they will have to start the application process again if they cannot easily locate the missing information. A number of banks have taken measures to ease the process associated with collecting information for the applications. These banks allow their customers to save their incomplete applications for a certain period of time, allowing them to return during that period to enter any missing information and to modify existing information. Customers at Chase can save their incomplete applications for up to 30 days. Even with all the information provided on the various bank products, many bank customers do run into problems picking the right bank products to best fit their needs. Some banks, such as LaSalle Bank, are offering interactive tools to help customers find the appropriate products. These tools generally ask the customer a series of questions to form the foundation of their recommendations.
Accessing Account Information Once bank customers activate online banking services with their banks, they can access a variety of information related to their accounts via the banks’ Web sites. They can view the account balances on their checking, savings, CDs, mortgage, IRA, line of credit, credit card, and other accounts. For example, TCF Bank’s customers can access online a variety of information on their mortgage accounts, such as their mortgage payment status,
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their mortgage and escrow balances, and the interest and tax paid information for the current and previous year. Customers can also view their account transaction histories online. How far back in time bank customers can go depends on the bank. Bank of America’s customers can view their account transactions for the past 70 days, whereas Fleet Bank’s customers can do so for the past 180 days. For example, they can easily determine whether a particular check has cleared simply by clicking on the link associated with that particular check. However, most banks do not provide information such as the payee of the check as part of the account transaction information unless the customers request the information. To simplify the lives of their customers, some banks are now letting their customers view the front and back images of cleared checks. This makes it a lot easier for customers to determine who the payee is on each cleared check without having to look it up in their checkbooks. In order to provide their customers with timely information on various accounts, some banks are beginning to offer their customers the opportunity to view their bank statements online. Net Bank provides electronic bank statements in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat formats that its customers can view online or save to their hard drives. Similarly, customers of First Tennessee Bank can also review and download monthly electronic bank statements for their accounts for the past 16 months. In addition to offering access to information related to the various accounts customers have with the banks, many banks have recently begun to provide them with centralized locations for information on other online accounts not related to the banks. In other words, banks are offering their customers a single access point for information from various online accounts using account aggregation. Bank customers can set up account aggregation to access information on their online banking, brokerage, and credit card accounts. In addition, they can also access their e-mail, review their frequent flier miles, and receive news feeds from various third-party sources. Currently, banks that are offering account aggregation are doing so by partnering with one of two major account aggregators, Yodlee.com and My Accounts from Quicken. Some banks are also sending out e-mail messages to alert their customers when certain customerpredesignated events have taken place. For example, Fleet Bank will send out an e-mail message if a customer’s account balance is either above or below a certain specified amount or if a bill payment has not been cleared after a predetermined amount of time. In addition to account-related activities, Zions Bank’s My Alerts feature will also send out e-mail notification when the CD or money market rates reach a certain pre-specified level and as personal reminders such as for anniversaries, birthdays, and meetings.
Initiating Transactions When bank customers sign up for online banking services with their banks, they can choose which accounts they would like to be linked online. Once the linkages have been set, customers can easily transfer payments among these accounts if permitted. For example, they can
easily transfer funds between their checking and savings accounts. And if the customers have credit cards issued by their banks, they can easily pay the credit card balances simply by transferring money from their checking or savings accounts to their credit card accounts. In addition, customers can also choose to sign up for an online bill payment feature if their banks offer it. Once this feature has been activated, bank customers can schedule future payments for up to a year in advance or set up recurring payments such as mortgage payments. Online bill payment can be used to pay for almost anything regardless of whether the payees accept electronic payment or not. If they do not accept electronic payment, the banks will simply cut the checks and mail them out. The only exceptions to online bill payments are court-ordered payments, payments to purchase securities, tax payments, and payments outside the U.S. With online bill payment, customers can easily track their expenses by payee, date, account, or category. Some banks are also bundling online bill presentation service with their online bill payment service. If bank customers choose to activate the online bill presentation feature, they will be able to receive electronic bills rather than paper bills from selected billers. The bank customers can then pay these bills using the banks’ online bill payment features, which will transfer funds from the customers’ accounts to the billers’ accounts.
Online Self-Serve Customer Service The Internet offers many commercial enterprises, including banks, the opportunity to reduce many of the costs associated with customer service by allowing them to provide many traditional customer services via their Web sites. Many banks have now set up online automated services that enable their customers to perform certain functions so that they no longer have to go to the banks or call up a customer service representative. They can now perform online a number of account-related activities such as reordering checks, ordering paper copies of checks and bank statements, or requesting a stop payment on a check. In addition, customers can also change certain personal information such as their addresses, PIN numbers, and other information easily online without having to fill out a number of forms at a local branch.
Other Features Many banks are also branching out online to provide many products and services to their customers that are not account-related. Some of these services have traditionally been performed at local branches. For example, a number of banks are now offering their customers the opportunity to order traveler’s checks and foreign currency for their travels directly through the banks’ Web sites. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Net Bank are a few of the banks that are currently providing such services. Once the banks transfer the appropriate funds from the customers’ accounts, the traveler’s checks and foreign currency are then delivered to the customers’ doorsteps. Some banks are also offering services that are not traditionally offered by banks. For example, some banks are beginning to provide certain tax assistance to their
ONLINE BANKING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
customers. LaSalle Bank is providing advice on tax issues to its customers over the Internet through its Tax Hotline service. In addition, individuals are now able to prepare and file their tax returns online at a number of banks using the provided Quicken Turbo Tax for the Web. Bank One, Busey Bank, People’s Bank, and Webster Bank are a few of the banks that are currently offering such service. Another new service that is currently provided by a handful of banks is the ability for customers to send and receive money over the Internet. Citibank and Bank One have introduced such services, named c2it and eMoneyMail, respectively. These services enable the banks’ customers to send money over the Internet to pay for online purchases and to donate to charities without having to mail out paper checks or to provide credit card information online.
ONLINE BANKING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES The commercialization of the Internet created a new channel for many small businesses to access a variety of banking and business solutions provided by banks. Traditionally, it had been the practice of many banks to tailor their offerings to big corporate clients and to individual customers. To meet their business needs, small businesses were forced to choose between the expensive services for corporate clients and the oversimplified offerings for individual customers. Banks could repackage many of these services to meet the needs of small businesses but many banks could not dedicate the time and the attention to service this particular customer group. The Internet provided banks the opportunity to offer many of the repackaged services via their Web sites without expending a great deal of resources (Bers, 1996). Most online banking services available to small businesses are very similar to the ones available to individual customers. Through the banks’ Web sites, small businesses can perform a number of activities such as accessing account balance information, reviewing bank statements, viewing images of cleared checks, transferring funds between accounts, paying bills online, filing federal taxes, and ordering foreign currency and traveler’s checks. The major difference between online account-related services for individual customers and online accountrelated services for small businesses is that small businesses have the ability to grant and limit access to the various features for different employees. For example, First Tennessee Bank allows small businesses using its online account services to designate individuals as super-user. The super-user will then determine the types of features other employees can use and grant them the appropriate levels of access. Other than the banking services mentioned above, many banks are also providing a number of web-based products and services to help small businesses better manager their operations. In addition, many banks are also partnering with third-party providers to offer other products and services. As a result, banks’ Web sites have become online hubs for small businesses to access a variety of products and services from different sources. Payroll
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services, accounting system, human resource tools, and educational workshops are four of such products and services commonly available via the banks’ Web sites.
Online Payroll Services A number of banks are bringing the convenience of anywhere and anytime payroll services to small businesses by offering them through the banks’ Web sites. Small businesses can now easily make any changes to the payroll information anytime they choose over the Internet. In addition, they can also review the payroll amounts for each employee online before approving and releasing the payroll for processing. Once everything is processed, these online payroll services will also process payroll taxes for the small businesses as long as their accounts are sufficiently funded. Banks that offer online payroll services to their small business customers tend to do so through partnerships with third-party providers. For example, JP Morgan Chase Bank offers Powerpay through its partnership with Ceridian and First Tennessee Bank offers POWERPayroll through its partnership with PayMaxx.
Internet-Based Accounting Most small businesses rely on software packages such as Intuit Quickbook to manage their accounting ledgers and processes. These packages offer the convenience of anytime accounting for the small businesses but not anywhere accounting. Some banks are now offering small businesses an alternative to such accounting packages by providing a web-based accounting program on their Web sites. For example, small business customers of Well Fargo can access the Oracle Small Business Accounting program on the bank’s Web site. These Web-based accounting programs are offering small businesses anytime-and-anywhere accounting. They can perform a number of activities with just a browser and an Internet connection. In addition to managing all their accounting ledgers and processes online, small businesses can also print checks, create their invoices, track their project expenses, and create their budgets online with the program.
Human Resources Tool Understanding the complexities many small businesses encounter when dealing with human resource issues compliance requirements, some banks are striving to help their small business customers handle such issues by offering a variety of human resource tools on their Web sites. First Tennessee Bank is one bank that is offering a number of online human resource tools to its customers, through its partnership with Firstdoor.com. Small business customers of First Tennessee Bank have access to three different modules offered by Firstdoor.com. One of the modules (RESEARCH FIRSTdoor) offers small businesses the tool to search an extensive library of HR materials, and another module (TRAIN with FIRSTdoor) provides various online training courses and tools to employees of the small businesses. If the small businesses have any questions regarding HR issues, instead of
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contacting their attorneys or accountants, they can receive customized answers by submitting the questions using the ASK FIRSTdoor module.
Business Workshops In order for small businesses to succeed, they need to be familiar with the marketing, legal, financial, and other tools that are at their disposal. Some banks are stepping in to help their small business customers learn more about the various tools and to incorporate the tools into their businesses. Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank are two banks that are offering, through their partnership with DigitalWork, a number of workshops tailored for small businesses. The objectives of these workshops are to help familiarize small businesses with various business tools and to help them put the tools to work. Small businesses can choose from areas such as Web site development, public relations, online advertising, and market research. For example, small businesses that are interested in online advertising can learn how to send promotions and newsletters online, how to submit their Web sites to search engines, and how to send direct e-mail. If the small businesses are interested in putting the tools to work, the banks do offer simple-tofollow guidelines for some of the tools and also links to third-party providers that will perform the tasks for the small businesses.
ONLINE BANKING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR CORPORATIONS Many banking services for corporate clients have long been available online via dedicated network connections such as financial EDI (electronic data interchange) and ACH (automated clearinghouse) networks. It was not until the late 1990s when security measures and Internet technology made dramatic advancements that banks began offering Web-based interfaces for many of these services. Corporate clients can now access such online banking services anywhere and any time with a browser and an Internet connection. In addition, as business-to-consumer (B-to-C) and business-to-business (B-to-B) e-commerce flourished in the late 1990s, many banks began to offer a number of tools and services to facilitate the online activities.
Treasury Management Online treasury management is the most commonly available online banking service for corporations among banks. The basic features of the service allow a corporation to exchange information and documents with a bank and to initiate a variety of payments over the Internet. These features generally include ACH origination and direct deposit, controlled disbursement of funds, depository services, wholesale lockbox services, and information reporting (Wilson, 2001). Just as in the case of small businesses, corporations can check their account activities, move funds between accounts, set up recurring payments, and initiate payments and transfers. The only difference from small businesses is
that corporations are dealing with more complex transactions. For example, when it comes to initiating payments and transfers, corporate clients can conduct both domestic and international wire transfers, using the appropriate online treasury management feature. In addition, they can also initiate ACH transactions such as direct deposit of payroll and federal and state tax payments. Most online treasury management services also provide image archive services to corporate clients. For example, U.S. Bank’s Image Check service enables its clients to retrieve and review sharp, detailed images of any paid check on the Internet the day after it clears. LaSalle Bank’s image archive service through its Cash Pro Web provides its clients a 7-year archive of check images. In addition to check images, some banks are also offering online archive services for other documents. The Wholesale Lockbox Imaging service from Fifth Third Bank provides companies online access to payment files such as remittance and correspondence through a secure Web site.
International Trade and Foreign Exchange Many banks are enabling corporate clients that have international business dealings to conduct many of their foreign exchange activities online, such as the initiation of payments and the acceptance of payments to settle international trades. LaSalle Bank currently offers Max Trad (formerly Trade Station Online), an online letter of credit and international receivable service for corporations. Importers can create and send applications for letters of credit online and exporters can receive letters of credit over the Internet. Another activity that corporations can conduct online is the management of their international payments. For example, corporate customers of Comerica Bank can conduct, via the bank’s eFX service, a number of activities such as initiating and executing payments in different foreign currencies and receiving real-time foreign currency quotes. In addition, some banks are also offering foreign exchange trading services where corporations can hedge their foreign currency risks online using a variety of foreign exchange instruments such as spot, forward, swap, and option contracts. Two of the banks offering foreign exchange services are U.S. Bank with its Foreign Exchange Web and Fifth Third Bank with its FX Internet Trading.
Electronic Bill Presentation and Payment The latest development that has caught the attention of a lot of corporations is the ability to present bills and invoices to their customers and trading partners and to accept payments over the Internet. Electronic bill presentation and payment (EBPP) can be divided into two different categories depending on the parties the corporations are dealing with: business-to-business EBPP and business-to-consumer EBPP. B2B EBPP enables a corporation to invoice its corporate customers and process the payments over the Internet. Citibank is one of the banks that is offering its corporate clients B2B EBPP service through its B2B e-Billing feature. For corporations that have signed up for this feature, Citibank will extract the necessary
CROSS-SELLING OTHER BANKING PRODUCTS
information directly from the corporations’ accounts receivables files, create the invoices, and present them formatted on a secured Web site. Citibank will then send out e-mail notifications to the corporations’ trading partners, alerting them that the invoices are ready for them. The trading partners will then access the invoices by simply using a browser. They can then review the invoices, process them, and initiate payment if there are no disputes regarding the invoices. If there is any dispute on a particular invoice, the trading partners will have the ability to adjust it. The corporations and their trading partners can export the billing and payment information into their accounts receivables and accounts payable systems, respectively. On the other hand, B2C EBPP is designed for corporations to bill and process payments from regular customers. For example, a corporation that has signed up for Citibank’s B2C e-Billing feature will transmit its billing files to Citibank when it is ready to bill its customers. Once Citibank receives the information, it will translate the information, format the bills, and send them to each customer’s designated site, which is prearranged with the corporation by the customer. The designated site could be the corporation’s own Web site, the customer’s bank’s Web site, or a consumer bill consolidator’s Web site. The customers will then access the designated sites to access the electronic bills, review them, and schedule their payments. The customers’ payment authorizations will then result in instructions to electronically debit their accounts and credit the corporation’s account. Citibank will also transmit the file to the corporation’s accounts receivable system for updating.
CROSS-SELLING OTHER BANKING PRODUCTS A bank’s Web site is a good channel to cross-sell its other products such as loans and mortgages, insurance, and online brokerage services. In general, the offerings of these products are available either through the bank’s affiliates or through a partnership with a third-party provider.
Loans and Mortgages Online lending is defined as the ability to completely process a loan, from application to closing, using Internet banking channels (Treadwell, 2001). It generally involves four steps: (1) taking the application over the Internet, (2) underwriting the loan and providing an instant credit decision, (3) delivering relevant documents (if necessary), and (4) funding the loan (Courter, 2001). Due to the complexity involved in some loan applications, especially with mortgage loans, many banks have not even taken the initial step in offering online lending through their Web sites, namely accepting loan applications online. These banks are merely providing loan application forms on their Web sites for their customers to download and then print out. Their customers still need to fill them out and then either drop them off at a branch or mail them in. Some banks will accept online loan applications for certain loans but require hard copy applications for other loans. For example, People’s Bank will accept
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online applications for personal loans but not for home equity, credit line, or auto loans or personal credit lines. As for the banks that are accepting online loan applications, some of them are allowing their customers to save their incomplete applications for a certain period of time. For example, Charter One and Washington Mutual allow their customers to save their online applications and calculations for up to 30 days and 60 days, respectively. Customers can continue to enter new information and modify existing information on their saved application during that period. Once the applications have been submitted online, some banks will provide their customers an instant online credit decision regarding their loan status. On the other hand, some banks will take longer to process the loan applications, requiring the customers to return later to check on their application status. Even though some banks are able to provide instant approval for their loan applications online, most of them are not able to fund the loans immediately because of the complex paperwork and signatures required for many types of loans. To ease the frustration associated with loan applications, some banks are taking measures to help their customers determine if they are qualified for the loans they want to apply for before they begin the application process. Banks such as Washington Mutual are offering online prequalification tools on their Web sites to help customers determine if they might qualify for the loans before filling out the applications. If the customers do qualify for the loans and they decide to apply for the loans, the prequalification tool will transfer all the information provided and prefill it on the online application forms, thus saving some time for customers. A few banks are also offering other services associated with loan products. For example, First Union has a Relocation Center that provides articles and resources related to areas such as buying and selling a house, looking for a new home, and moving across the country. Bank One, on the other hand, is providing its customers a link to MovingStation.com.
Insurance Products Another bank-related product that is increasingly available through banks’ Web sites is insurance. The majority of banks that are taking insurance applications online are partnering with third-party insurance providers. Some of these partnerships offer a very extensive list of insurance choices, whereas others offer only very limited choices. Net Bank, through its partnership with Insurance.com, is offering a wide variety of insurance products to its customers. Customers can apply online for auto, life, home, long-term care, health, boat, motorcycle and RV/ATV, travel, and pet insurance. On the other hand, Comerica Bank is offering only health insurance through its partnership with eHealthInsurance.com. Many other banks have chosen not to accept any online insurance applications, but instead have chosen to offer only online quotes. Standard Federal Bank, HomeStreet Bank, Hibernia National Bank, and United California Bank are a few of the banks that currently only offer online insurance quotes.
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Some banks are also offering other insurance-related services via their Web sites. For example, to expedite the insurance claim process, BNC National Bank and Washington Mutual are two of the banks that are allowing their customers to file their claim submission through their Web sites.
offering a number of front-end and back-end e-commerce solutions and tools to small businesses and corporations. Some of these tools focus on facilitating e-commerce activities in B2C online retail markets and some focus on facilitating e-commerce activities in B2B markets and electronic exchanges.
Online Brokerage Services
B2C E-commerce Solutions and Tools
As in the case with their online banking services for individuals, banks’ online brokerage services offer many of the same features for brokerage accounts. Investors can either apply for a brokerage account online or download and print out a paper copy of the application forms. Once they have set up their online brokerage accounts, customers can begin placing a variety of orders (e.g., market, limit, and stop orders) for different types of financial assets (e.g. stocks, bonds, and mutual funds). They can also view their account balances and investment activities, such as their order status. In addition, they can view their trading histories for the entire account or for a particular financial asset. If the investors have banking and brokerage accounts with the same bank, they can transfer money between the accounts. Investors with online brokerage accounts also have access to a variety of online resources and tools. They can receive real-time quotes, charts, market data, and different news feeds on the economy, a specific industry, and specific companies. In addition, they also have access to a wealth of research materials from third-party providers such as Market Guide, Valueline.com, Standard & Poor’s, Thomson Investors Network, Briefing.com, and others. Some banks are also providing a number of interactive tools to help investors pick the most appropriate assets for their portfolios. Many online brokerage services offer screeners, which are interactive tools that help investors find the stocks and mutual funds that meet the customers’ criteria. Some brokerage services also provide portfolio trackers that help investors monitor the performances of a number of mock portfolios. For example, Citibank’s portfolio tracker service offers investors the ability to create up to 30 portfolios, each containing up to 40 financial assets.
A number of banks are assisting small businesses to establish online storefronts by helping them build their Web sites from scratch, by providing the necessary tools to conduct online selling, and by hosting online storefronts. On the front end, banks can help online merchants come up with designs for their online storefronts and create a number of components to help shoppers find the products they need and to help Web merchants take orders on their Web sites. For example, Chase’s eWEBuilder service helps Web merchants establish electronic catalogs so the shoppers can easily search for products. In addition, it also creates shopping carts, tailored to the Web merchants’ needs, which allow shoppers to select a number of items to be purchased during their visits. It also programs the checkout screens to tally the shoppers’ purchases and collect payment and shipping information from the shoppers. On the back end, banks can help online merchants process payments and transfer them to the appropriate accounts. Chase’s eWEBuilder service offers Web merchants a payment gateway, which is a secure server connection that encrypts the payment information collected at the checkout screens and sends it out for authorization and payment processing. Chase, together with Wells Fargo and Zions Bank, is one of the banks that provide all the front-end and backend services associated with establishing and running online storefronts completely in-house. However, some banks are only offering some of the services in-house and are offering the other services through a third-party provider. For example, PNC Bank is providing the Web site creation and hosting services through its partner Gateway and the bank focuses on providing credit card processing support. Instead of providing a complete package to help Web merchants establish online storefronts, some banks have chosen to focus solely on offering a secure way for Web merchants to accept credit card and other payments from their shoppers and on processing the payments. In addition, some banks will also help Web merchants provide some follow-up customer service to their customers. For example, LaSalle Bank will send out e-mail messages to the Web merchants’ customers, notifying them of the their order and shipping statuses.
Electronic Safety Deposit Boxes Several banks are beginning to offer their customers the ability to store important documents electronically on their Web sites. Fleet Bank, Zions Bank, and JP Morgan Chase Bank have introduced file TRUST, z-vault, and I-vault, respectively. These are electronic safety deposit boxes for their customers to load, archive, and retrieve various documents and records such as contracts, deeds, titles, wills, and other documents via the Internet. Customers can choose to selectively provide online access to these documents to their partners, lawyers, financial planners, accountants, and others.
E-COMMERCE SOLUTIONS AND TOOLS Many of the larger banks have recently jumped on the ever-growing e-commerce bandwagon and have begun
B2B E-commerce Solutions and Tools In recent years, electronic exchanges have flourished, which enables companies to broaden the pool of companies that they trade with. However, when companies are trading online through an electronic exchange, they are often dealing with companies that they have never traded with before. As a result, companies are assuming a great deal of counterparty risk. In other words, buyers are uncertain if the sellers will ship the products and sellers are
ONLINE SHOPPING AND E-PROCUREMENT
uncertain if buyers will pay after they have received the shipments. Many banks have been stepping in to reduce the uncertainties associated with trading on an electronic exchange. For example, Citibank has offered companies trading on electronic exchanges the CitiConnect Escrow Service, which serves as a trusted third party to the transaction. The sellers will only ship their products after the bank has received the payments from the sellers and the bank will only release the buyers’ payment to the sellers after the buyers have received and accepted the shipments. In addition, to ensure that companies are confident in the true identities of the companies they are trading with on an electronic exchange, some of the banks are issuing digital certificates, basically electronic tools, that help verify the identities of the companies. One such online identity service is Identrus from LaSalle Bank.
ONLINE SHOPPING AND E-PROCUREMENT The Internet has provided a new channel for both individuals and companies to shop for products and services. However, it is sometimes difficult for them to find the products and services they need. Many banks have stepped in to play the matchmaker role, helping individuals and companies with their shopping and procurement efforts. A number of banks are providing gateways via their Web sites to different online merchants to help individuals and companies search for products and services. In addition, a number of banks are beginning to offer online forums in the form of electronic marketplaces for companies to trade with one another.
Online Shopping for Individuals There are a number of ways for banks to offer an online shopping experience to individuals: (1) partner with a few Web merchants to bring very specific products and services to their customers, (2) offer their own shopping malls that house a number of Web merchants, and (3) partner with existing shopping malls.
Partner with a Few Web Merchants A common way for some of the smaller banks to bring online shopping opportunities to their customers is by partnering with a selected few Web merchants. Bank of Smithtown, Carrollton Bank, and Anchor Savings Bank are three such banks that have partnered with Trip.com to bring travel-related services and resources to their customers. Through their Web sites, the banks’ customers are able to purchase plane tickets, to book hotel rooms, and to reserve rental cars. In addition, customers can also access destination guides, street and airport maps, driving directions, weather forecasts for their destinations, and other travel related information.
Offer Their Own Shopping Malls A number of banks have chosen to offer their own shopping malls or marketplaces that offer products and services from a relatively large number of Web merchants. Shoppers visiting these online shopping malls can often
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find web merchants or products available grouped in various categories such as apparel and accessories, books, music, and movies, and toys and video games. Citibank and Bank of America are two banks that offer online shopping malls on their Web sites.
Partner with Existing Shopping Malls Two of the biggest credit card companies, Visa and MasterCard, offer online shopping malls to their card members: Visa with its Visa Reward Online and MasterCard with its MasterCard Exclusives Online. These online shopping malls offer special deals from various Web merchants to credit card holders. A number of banks are partnering with one or both of these credit-card-sponsored shopping malls to bring online shopping to their customers. LaSalle Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Wells Fargo, Charter One Bank, and People’s Bank are some of the banks that are offering MasterCard Exclusives Online on their Web sites, and First Union Bank and People’s Bank are two of the banks that are offering Visa Reward Online. In addition to bringing online shopping to their customers, many banks are also offering a number of other shopping-related resources to their customers. For example, customers of Chase can access the bank’s Buyer’s Guide section to learn more about the different features they need to look for and pay attention to when purchasing certain products. Through its partnership with Epinions.com, Citibank is offering its customers the opportunity to search for reviews of the products that are of interest to them. Some banks are also providing a number of shopping services to their customers. For example, Bank of America offers its customers a search engine to help them easily compare prices from different Web merchants. Customers visiting its online shopping mall, the Shopping Network, can search for products by specifying the type of product within the category, the brand, the minimum price, and the maximum price they are willing to pay. The Web site will then display the products and pricing information from Web merchants that meet the criteria specified by the customers.
Online Shopping and E-procurement for Small Businesses and Corporations Compared to online shopping malls that cater to individual shoppers, there are much more limited choices for such online shopping malls for small businesses. A few banks do provide links to a small number of online stores for their small business customers. For example, Wells Fargo provides a link to OfficeDepot.com and Fleet Bank provides a link to Stamps.com. On the other hand, a few banks do offer bigger collections of links to Web merchants that provide products and services to small businesses. For example, Hibernia National Bank’s Market Place groups the online merchants by categories such as business resources, taxes & accounting, financial management, and sales & marketing. Customers accessing the business resources category can find links to Web merchants such as Bplans.com, which offers business planning software packages, and Credit FYI, which offers small businesses credit checks on other small businesses.
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The largest source of products and services available to small businesses online is the numerous electronic marketplaces available through a number of large banks’ Web sites. Most of these electronic marketplaces are designed for the banks’ corporate clients, but many of them are also accessible to small businesses. These electronic marketplaces are virtual marketplaces where buyers and sellers can get together to trade on a variety of products and services. Some of these electronic marketplaces are offered directly by the banks such as Web Procure from Fleet Bank and Key Procure from Key Bank. A number of other banks are offering them through their partnerships with eScout. Harris Bank, Citizens Bank, Charter One Bank, and First Tennessee Bank are several of the banks partnering with eScout. These electronic marketplaces allow firms to search through a large quantity of goods and services, such as office supplies and computer products, from a variety of suppliers. They provide a streamlined procurement process with automated tracking capabilities and versatile control. With the aid of privilege-based security, firms can control their procurement expenses by predetermining the appropriate categories of products that can be purchased by their employees.
WHAT COULD BE NEXT? In a relatively short period of time, Internet offerings from U.S. banks have blossomed from simple marketing information related to their products and services to a variety of online banking products and services for consumers, small businesses, and large corporations. Banks’ customers now have access to numerous online tools to conduct their daily financial and business activities from anywhere and at anytime simply with their web browsers. In addition, the commercialization of the Internet has also presented banks an opportunity to establish themselves as a key player in the e-commerce arena by developing tools for both online B2C and B2B transactions and by establishing the infrastructure for conducting such transactions. What could be next on the horizon in terms of U.S. banks’ Internet offerings? The following are some potential near future developments.
Consumer Banking Over the past few years, U.S. banks have focused on developing a number of online consumer banking tools to serve their customers. The purpose of these tools is to offer bank customers the opportunity to carry out many of their banking activities on their own via the banks’ Web sites. In other words, these are convenient self-service tools with minimum human contact with the bank. However, as bank customers become more comfortable conducting their banking activities online, they also become more demanding in terms of the customer services they receive online (Pastore, 2001). For example, waiting for an e-mail response to a question is no longer acceptable for many bank customers. There will be a trend among many banks to adopt chat technology to offer instant responses to their customers’ inquiries. In addition, to build
a closer relationship with their customers, many banks will also increase their offers of customized e-mail reminders where the customers can preselect the events that will trigger an e-mail notification from the banks. Since the passage of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act in 2000, the U.S. banking industry is still in the process of developing a universal standard for accepting electronic signatures over the Internet. Once such a standard is adopted and the proper security measures are put in place by the banking industry, which is expected to take place in the very near future, bank customers will be able to apply for a number of bank products completely online. For example, bank customers will no longer need to submit hard copies of their signatures when applying for an account. Banks will also be able to process a loan, from application to closing, completely over the Internet. Banks will also strive to provide their customers with real-time information on their accounts. Currently, account information accessible online is generally not updated until the end of the business day. In other words, if bank customers withdraw money from an ATM machine or use their debit cards at a grocery store, that information will not be reflected on their account if they logged on to their accounts immediately. Many banks will also be extending their reach to offer many of the currently available online tools to their customers through means other than computers. As Webenabled wireless devices such as cellular phones and PDAs become more commonly available, many banks will be modifying many of their online offerings to allow delivery via such devices (Molwig, 2001). In addition, there will also be a trend among banks to Web-enable their ATM machines so that they can offer their customers another channel to access their online tools. Fleet Bank announced in late December of 2001 that it will be Web-enabling its ATM machines to allow its customers to carry out activities such as accessing and printing their 30-day account statements and paying their credit card and utility bills (Mearian, 2001).
Commercial Banking Online commercial banking tools, thus far, have come primarily from the larger U.S. banks because they are the ones that traditionally offer commercial banking services such as treasury management and foreign exchange services to larger companies. They will continue to take the lead in offering many of their more complex commercial banking services over the Internet as new Internet tools and standards are developed and adopted. For example, as Internet security measures such as encryption technology continue to advance, there will be a trend among larger U.S. banks to provide Web interfaces for many of their existing electronic commercial banking services. In other words, banks will be offering their customers the ability to conduct many more complex banking activities with a browser rather than with specialized software and dedicated system. In addition, the adoption of new standards such as the extensible markup language (XML) will pave a new and more efficient way for banks to exchange data-heavy financial documents with their customers.
FURTHER READING
As the technology for online commercial banking tools matures, the cost of providing such tools will also drop dramatically. This will enable smaller banks to enter the arena of commercial banking that was previously not easily accessible to them due to the high costs associated with them. Even the smallest community banks will be able to offer many of these services (Wilson, 2001). The access to such online tools means that smaller banks will now be able to offer such tools to small businesses, which have traditionally been underserved by larger banks. There will be an increasing number of smaller banks offering online commercial banking services via their Web sites in the very near future. Unlike their larger counterparts, many of these smaller banks will focus their online offerings on the most basic commercial banking tools, namely treasury management services, because most small businesses tend to have less sophisticated needs.
E-commerce Banks will continue to be involved in facilitating ecommerce activities in the retail market but the larger U.S. banks will be focusing more on the B2B e-commerce arena. Currently, the majority of B2B e-commerce activities are concentrated in the procurement area, where buyers and sellers trade with one another online. Many of the larger U.S. banks have already been heavily involved in developing many of the standards for such B2B online transactions. In addition, a number of these banks have also partnered with other entities to develop the infrastructure for conducting such transaction, such as B2B exchanges. These banks will continue to dedicate their resources in further developing transaction-oriented initiatives and infrastructure for B2B e-commerce activities. They realize that it is important for them to play a key role in shaping the financial transaction settlement infrastructure for this particular market and they are positioning themselves to be the key players as B2B e-commerce activities evolve beyond procurement and into the entire supply chain of an industry.
GLOSSARY Automated clearinghouse (ACH) network An electronic system for settling transactions among financial institutions. Electronic data interchange (EDI) A system, among big companies, to exchange information over a private network, via dial-up lines or dedicated leased lines. Java A cross-platform programming language that is often used to create Internet-based applications, i.e., applets. JavaScript A scripting language used to control the behaviors of certain elements in a Web page. Pure play A company that exists solely online and does not have a physical establishment.
CROSS REFERENCES See Electronic Commerce and Electronic Business; Electronic Data Interchange (EDI); Electronic Procurement; Internet Literacy.
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REFERENCES Arend, M. (1994, February). Son of ATM is growing up fast. ABA Banking Journal, 86, 74–76. Bers, J. S. (1996, October). Capturing the burgeoning small business market via the Internet. Bank Systems & Technology, 40–43. Courter, E. (2001, August). Quicker shopping. Credit Union Management, 26–30. Fonseca, I., Hickman, M., & Marenzi, O. (2001, Summer). The future of wholesale banking: The portal. Commercial Lending Review, 23–35. Gart, A. (1992, Spring). How technology is changing banking. Journal of Retail Banking, 14, 35–43. Gray, D. (1994, May). Here comes home banking—Again. Credit Card Management, 54–58. Hoffman, T., & Kim, N. (1995, October 23). In net we trust. Computerworld, 14. Mearian, L. (2001, December 17). FleetBoston to Web-enable ATMs, revamp technology. Computerworld, 14. Messmer, E. (1995, May 15). Banks surge ahead in electronic commerce. Network World, 12–14. Molwig, D. (2001, August). Pragmatism reigns. Credit Union Management, 55–56. Nixon, B., & Dixon, M. (2000). Sams teach yourself e-banking today. Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. Online Banking Report true Web banks & credit unions database [data file]. Retrieved December 1, 2001, from http://www.onlinebankingreport.com/resources/ Online for cyberbanking. (1995, February). Financial Technology International Bulletin, 9. Orr, B. (1998, June). Community bank guide to Internet banking. ABA Banking Journal, 90, 47–53. Pastore, M. (2001, October 25). Connecting channels key to online banking. Retrieved June 30, 2002, from http://cyberatlas.internet.com / markets / finance / print / 0,,5961 910511,00.html Radigan, J. (1996, April). Have on-line services peaked? US Banker, 54–58. Serwre, A. (1995, June 26). The competition heats up in online banking. Fortune, 18–19. Treadwell, T. (2001, November). The state of online lending. Credit Union Management, 36. Wilson, C. (1997, June). The Internet comes to home banking. Community Banker, 10–15. Wilson, C. (2001, May). Cash management services. Community Banker, 22–25. Yamada, K. (1995, November 27). Intuit, America Online team up for electronic banking. Computer Reseller News, 65.
FURTHER READING Anchor Savings Bank (http://www.anchornetbank.com)
Bank of America (http://www.bankofamerica.com)
Bank of Smithtown (http://www.bankofsmithtown.com)
Bank One (http://www.bankone.com)
BNC National Bank (http://www.bncbank.com)
Busey Bank (http://www.busey.com)
Carrollton Bank (http://www.carrolltonbank.com)
Charter One Bank (http://www.charterone.com)
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Chase (http://www.chase.com)
Citibank (http://www.citibank.com)
Citizens Bank (http://www.citizensbank.com)
Citizens Financial Bank (http://www.citizensfinancial-
bank.com) City National Bank of Florida (http://www.citynational. com) Comerica Bank (http://www.comerica.com) Fifth Third Bank (http://www.53.com) First Tennessee Bank (http://www.firsttennessee.com) First Union Bank (http://www.firstunion.com) Firstar Bank (http://www.firstar.com) Fleet Bank (http://www.fleet.com) Harris Bank (http://www.harris.com) Hibernia National Bank (http://www.hibernia.com)
HomeStreet Bank (http://www.homestreetbank.com) Key Bank (http://www.key.com) LaSalle Bank (http://www.lasallebank.com) Net Bank (http://www.netbank.com) People’s Bank (http://www.peoples.com) PNC Bank (http://www.pncbank.com) Standard Federal Bank (http://www.standardfederalbank. com) TCF Bank (http://www.tcfbank.com) U.S. Bank (http://www.usbank.com)
United California Bank (http://www.unitedcalbank.com)
Washington Mutual (http://www.wamu.com)
Webster Bank (http://www.websterbank.com)
Wells Fargo (http://www.wellsfargo.com)
Zions Bank (http://www.zionsbank.com)
Online Communities Communities
Lee Sproull, New York University
Introduction Definition and Attributes Definition Supporting Technologies General Attributes and Processes History of Electronic Communities Types of Online Communities Types by Member Interest Types by Sponsor Interest
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INTRODUCTION The Internet was not invented as a social technology, but it has turned out to be one. From the earliest days of the ARPANET (network of communicating computers established in the late 1960s with U.S. government funding), people have shaped and used the technology for social purposes. Today millions of people use the Net as a means of making and maintaining connections with other people who share a common experience, interest, or concern. The Net-based social contexts range from family e-mail to fantasy games with hundreds of thousands of players. This chapter focuses on a subset of net-based social contexts, which in recent years have come to be called online communities. These are large voluntary online groups, composed primarily of people who have no preexisting ties with one another and who may never meet face-to-face. Online communities range in technical sophistication from Usenet discussion groups to complex multiplayer fantasy games supported by proprietary software. They range in purpose from entertainment to political dissent. They range in access restrictions from totally open to closed behind corporate firewalls. (This chapter does not discuss private online communities.) In addition to describing how technical and social factors mutually interact to produce and sustain online communities, the purpose of this chapter is to begin to produce a differentiated view of online communities. Online communities share some underlying attributes and processes, but they differ in member interests, goals, processes, benefits, and negative consequences. A more differentiated view will make possible more productive theorizing, research, and design.
DEFINITION AND ATTRIBUTES Definition Offline communities are defined as collectivities based on members’ shared experience, interest, or conviction, and their voluntary interaction in the service of member welfare and social welfare (Etzioni & Etzioni, 1999; Knoke, 1986). Examples include neighborhood communities, religious communities, civic and social communities
Online Community Consequences Positive Effects Negative Effects Research Methods and Issues Conclusion Glossary Cross References References
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such as youth scouting or service clubs, and collections of like-minded enthusiasts such as sports fans. Communities in the physical world can be described by structural attributes that exist independent of any member such as rules, roles, and resources. Thus one can talk about the size of a community, membership requirements and obligations, resources and amenities, member characteristics, interaction patterns. Communities can also be described by psychological attributes internal to their members such as feelings of trust, identification, and commitment. Both structural and psychological attributes exist along a continuum, so one can find more or less well-structured communities with more or less committed members. In all cases, however, the term “community” usually suggests positive feelings, prosocial behavior, and choice. (People rarely talk about a prison community even though its inmates interact and have experiences in common.) The definition of online community is also based on shared experience, interest, or conviction, and voluntary interaction among members in the service of member welfare and social welfare. An online community is defined as a large, voluntary collectivity whose primary goal is member or social welfare, whose members share a common interest, experience, or conviction, and who interact with one another primarily over the Net. Online communities can have more or less structure and more or less committed members. This definition excludes electronic work groups and virtual teams, whose primary goal is economic, whose members are paid, and whose size is relatively small. It excludes ad hoc friendship groups and buddy lists, which are relatively small and unstructured and whose members may interact primarily in the real world. It also excludes nominal groups such as allthe-people-who-use-Google (who neither share a common interest nor interact with one another) or all-the-peoplewho-donate-cycles-to-Seti@home (who may share a common interest but do not interact with one another). Others who have offered definitions of electronic communities include Figallo (1998), Kim (2000), Powazek (2002), Preece (2000), and Rheingold (2000). Until the mid-1990s, almost no one used the term “online community.” Instead these groups were named after the technology that supported them and were called 733
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“newsgroups,” “listservs,” “mailing lists,” “BBSs,” or “Free-nets.” In some ways, online communities bear little resemblance to communities in the physical world. They own few tangible resources and amenities; they require no visible or tangible commitment from members (such as taxes, dues, attendance at meetings); members may never see or meet one another face-to-face. Yet some online communities have resources that may be economically valuable: their domain name, the wisdom accumulated in their FAQs (frequently asked questions), the intellectual property created by their members. Fantasy game characters and properties have yielded nontrivial sums for their creators on eBay auctions. The members of one voluntary online community collected enough money in member donations to buy a new server to host the community (Boczkowski, 1999). Nevertheless, calling any electronic site where people may gather an “online community,” doesn’t make it one. As in the physical world, the term carries positive connotations, and some who have used it are merely guilty of wishful thinking. This may be particularly true for those who, in the late 1990s, aspired to create online communities for profit (e.g., Bressler & Grantham, 2000; Hagel & Armstrong, 1997).
Supporting Technologies In addition to the packet-switching technology of networked communication, many online communities rely on message-based group communication applications to support member interaction. Asynchronous discussion is often supported via mailing lists or bulletin board applications. Mailing lists, a push technology, send group messages to a person’s e-mail inbox where they intermingle with the person’s other mail. With bulletin boards, a pull technology, a person reads group messages organized by topic in a file exclusively devoted to that group. (Some people establish filters to move all mailing list messages into separate folders, thereby making distribution lists function somewhat more like bulletin boards.) Synchronous discussion may be supported via talk programs such as IRC (Internet relay chat) or text-based virtual reality (VR) environments. MUDs (multiuser dungeon, domain, or dimension) and MOOs (MUD object oriented) began as text-based virtual reality games, a computer-based version of fantasy games such as Dungeons and Dragons. Today some are still organized as fantasy games; others are organized for professional or social purposes. Their spatial metaphors and programmable objects and characters are the precursor of today’s graphically based fantasy games. With the spread of the Web and graphical browsers in the late 1990s, online communities could support more varied forms of interaction on their Web sites. Some use real-time chat for discussions that are scheduled and announced in advance. Some use special file formats to share image, sound, or video files. Online game communities are supported by more or less elaborate software that supports play in board games like chess or supports avatar creation and interaction in fantasy worlds. Most discussion among members on online community Web sites still occurs in message-based discussions, however. Even the fantasy games have discussion boards.
General Attributes and Processes The Social Psychology of Message-Based Communication Reduced social context cues characterize all discussionbased communities, relatively to face-to-face discussions. Weak social context cues mean that messages carry few explicit reminders of the size of the group or members’ physical appearance, social status, or nonverbal reactions compared with face-to-face or telephone communication. (In virtual reality communities, people can create entirely new personas.) Therefore communication tends to be relatively frank and open (Kendall, 2002; Reid, 1999; Sproull & Kiesler, 1991). Weak social context cues can lead to different effects, even for people within the same community. It can increase affiliation and commitment among members because objective differences among them are obscured and subjective similarities, based on their common interest, are magnified (Galegher, Sproull, & Kiesler, 1998; Mackenna & Bargh, 1998; Sproull & Faraj, 1995). Alternatively, it can increase disaffection and dropout because it may be more difficult to establish common ground or consensus and manage conflict (Carnevale & Probst, 1997; Cramton, 2001; Dibbell, 1998; Herring, 1994; Kollack & Smith, 1996). Asynchrony and weak social context cues condition communication in many online communities. They allow for a potentially greater geographic and social diversity of participants than many physical communities do. At the same time they offer few cues to that diversity in interaction, except those revealed through linguistic cues. There is a body of research on gender differences in online language (e.g., Thomson & Murachever, 2001). In synchronous communities, people can participate from any place that has technology available. In asynchronous communities, people can also participate at any time as well as from any place. Common interest and technology become the only two requirements for community participation; geographic location is irrelevant.
Microcontributions Many of the tools for electronic group discussion are based on a relatively fine granularity of time and attention—the text message. Although messages can be any length, ones sent to asynchronous discussion communities typically range between 10 to 30 lines or one to two screens of text. For example, Winzelberg (1997) reported a mean of 131 words; Galegher et al. (1998) reported a mean of 8 to 20 lines of new text; Wasko and Faraj (1999) reported a mean of 25 to 30 lines of text; Sproull and Faraj (1995) reported a mean of 22 to 42 lines of new text. Single synchronous contributions in a chat room or VR environment are usually even shorter. In asynchronous communities, people can read one or more messages and post or send one or more messages at their convenience. The message can be thought of as a microcontribution to the community. When people are online much of the day as a part of their work, voluntary microcontributions can be interspersed throughout the work day. Even in synchronous communities, some members report that they keep a community window open on their screen while they are working. Every once and a while they
DEFINITION AND ATTRIBUTES
“check in” on the community (Kendall, 2002). Or participation can be interspersed with other activities at home in the evenings. Some people may devote hours a week to an online community, but they can do so in small units of time at their own convenience. Communities based on microcontributions have relatively low barriers to entry. It is fairly easy to read enough microcontributions to know if a particular community is relevant or appropriate. If so, that reading readily demonstrates the appropriate form that a newcomer’s own microcontributions should take. The production and posting of initial microcontributions is relatively low effort. Then, if all goes well, the newcomer receives positive reinforcement in the form of (easy to produce) responding microcontributions from other community members. Whereas microcontributions create low barriers to entry, they may also create high barriers to commitment. It can be difficult to develop complex arguments or achieve nuanced understanding through microcontributions. Communities that are easy to join are often just as easy to leave.
Aggregation Mechanisms Although people can make microcontributions at random, they must be organized into larger units for efficiency and social effectiveness. Both technical and social mechanisms are necessary to organize the smallest unit of contribution into larger units that are useful to participants. Software for asynchronous discussion lets people indicate that their contribution is a response to a previous one. All contributions so designated could be aggregated by the software and displayed as “threads”— a seed message and all reactions to it. Forms of threads common from the earliest days of the net include a question with replies and a proposal or statement with comments. Threads organize microcontributions so that everyone can see their constituent parts, making it easy for potential contributors and beneficiaries to see what has already been said. (Software also allows readers to mark threads they have already read or to display only unread messages.) Asynchronous discussion communities may have tens or hundreds of threads active at the same time, necessitating a level of organization beyond the self-organizing thread. Here a human designer may suggest or impose a topic map or architecture to group threads into more general topic categories. (In some older bulletin board systems, people would vote to create a new top-level topic, which would get its own separate bulletin board.) Webbased software can display these maps graphically so that users can click on a topic that interests them and see all threads related to that topic. The shared interest of a group usually suggests the type of topical map that may be created. For example, medical concern communities may have topics for symptoms, medications and side effects, negotiating the health care system, and managing relationships with family and friends. Movie or television fan communities may have topics for major and minor characters, actors who play those characters, and past and future episodes. Creative communities that build software will have categories for different types of code, bug reports, patches, and documentation.
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Threads and topic maps may not be sufficient to structure extremely large numbers of messages. Thus was created another form of micro-contribution, the rating message. Some Web sites now give members the opportunity to rate the contribution of others’ messages. Software then aggregates and displays these ratings in an overall quality index for contributions (e.g., Slashdot) or contributors (e.g., MotleyFool). Overt ratings of contribution quality surely increase economic trust within an electronic market like eBay buyer and seller ratings (Kollock, 1999). It is an open question whether they increase or inhibit emotional trust and cohesiveness within an electronic community setting. Software for synchronous interaction may organize contributions in channels or use a spatial metaphor to organize contributions in “rooms.” Residence-based communities may organize contributions around civic functions like the garden club or public library. As these communities increase in membership, the organizers or members themselves construct new rooms, buildings, and territories to organize interaction. Some also offer rating and review functions to rate characters or contestants and properties.
Norms and Motivations Some norms of community behavior, which were visible from the early days of the ARPANET, prevail across many types of online communities. One is peer review of content (Benkler, 2002). In most electronic discussion communities and creative communities, there are no “authorities” to certify the accuracy of message content. Instead, it is expected that members themselves will comment on the quality, accuracy, completeness, and so on of one another’s contributions. Similarly, peer review of behavior is also expected: it is normative for members to chastise or complain about inappropriate behavior and praise helpful behavior. Most important is the norm of altruism. Community members freely offer information, advice, and emotional support to one another with no expectation of direct reciprocity or financial reward. The fundamental dynamic supporting discussion communities is that someone asks a question or makes a proposal or statement and other people provide answers or comments. Utilitarian self-interest may be all that motivates the askers—a personal need for information. But pure self-interest does not explain the behavior of people who reply. By definition, they are not paid for their replies. Because they are unlikely to have a personal relationship with the person they help, neither friendship obligation nor the expectation of direct reciprocity is likely to impel their behavior. Indeed, an early influential paper (Thorn & Connolly, 1987) predicted that computer-based systems relying on volunteers would be doomed to failure. They argued that people who could give the best replies would have no incentive to participate because they would receive few benefits for doing so. It was unlikely that anyone could answer their questions; their time would be unrewarded. (In social dilemmas, helping in these situations is known as the “sucker’s choice.”) Over time, therefore, the quality of help would decline until people no longer even bothered to ask questions. The fallacy in this argument is the assumption that replier rewards must come in the
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same form as the help they give. Yet motivations for helping behavior can be quite complex. In studies of volunteers in the physical world, motivations include commitment to the cause or interest associated with the community, the desire to help others, benefits from displaying expertise, and the personal satisfaction and self-esteem derived from helping others (e.g., Clary et al., 1998; Omoto & Snyder, 1995). Studies of electronic discussion communities document a similar combination of motivations for people who answer questions and otherwise support their online community (e.g., Butler, Kiesler, Kraut, & Sproull, 2002; Lakhani & von Hippel, 2002; Wasko & Faraj, 2000). In virtual reality communities, the environment indexes participants’ motives (Reid, 1999). In VR game communities, the motives are tied to the rules of the game: amass property, kill enemies, design an award-winning room, and so on. In VR professional communities, the motives are tied to the profession: contribute to shared databases, review articles, and participate in policy discussions. In VR social communities, the motives are tied to exploring social worlds.
HISTORY OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNITIES Both the technical and social trajectories of electronic communities began with the design and early deployment of networked computing in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (See Table 1 for time line.) Whereas computer networking was initially conceived as a way to share scarce computing resources located in one place with researchers at other places via remote access, it soon became a convenient way for people to gain remote access to other people as well as to computers (Licklider & Veza, 1978; Sproull & Kiesler, 1991). During the 1970s and 1980s, people created additional networks and wrote e-mail and bulletin board software, technical innovations and improvements that made networked computing more useful for supporting human communication. During the 1990s, the technical innovations of the Web and the graphical browser supported the broad diffusion of electronic communication to millions of U.S. households and hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The social trajectory of electronic discussion communities had its beginnings in the same technical community that invented the ARPANET. By the mid-1970s, ARPA program officers and researchers around the country had begun using group e-mail to share results, discuss plans, and organize meetings. Some researchers also began using group e-mail for purposes unrelated to work: for example, to share opinions on cheap Chinese restaurants in Boston and Palo Alto, favorite science fiction books, inexpensive wine, and new movies. This research community invented both the technology (group communication tools) and the new form of social organization (the voluntary electronic group). They appropriated technologies that were created for utilitarian purposes to create self-organizing forums for the voluntary discussion of common interests. The social trajectory of VR communities began in 1979–80 with an effort to program a game that would be like the fantasy game Dungeons and Dragons. The first
multiuser VR game was accessible on the ARPANET in 1980. By the 25th anniversary of the ARPANET in 1994, electronic group communication had become a taken-forgranted process and voluntary discussion communities had become a taken-for-granted organizational form in universities, technical communities and scientific disciplines, and some corporations (e.g., Finholt & Sproull, 1990; Kiesler & Sproull, 1987; Orlikowski & Yates, 1994; Walsh & Bayma, 1996). Multiplayer games were also popular on university campuses. Despite their growth, at this point both discussion groups and games were still in large measure the province of young, technically adept men. The final years of the 20th century saw Net-based communication enter the mainstream of U.S. life because of a combination of technical and economic developments. The technical developments were the Web and the graphical browser, which made it much easier for ordinary people to find and access information and groups on the Net. The economic developments were the commercialization of the Net and AOL’s business model. Once the Net was commercialized, corporations began to see potential economic value in electronic communities and so endeavored to support them and, indeed, to “monitize” them (e.g., Hagel & Armstrong, 1997). The online game industry began to grow. AOL emphasized member discussion groups in contrast with other commercial services that were still emphasizing access to databases. By 2000, AOL had 34 million members—more than all the other commercial services combined—many of them participating in electronic forums and communities of interest. That year, 44 million U.S. households were on the Net. Despite the enormous influx of people very different from the ARPANET pioneers, four themes evident from the earliest days of the ARPANET continued to characterize electronic communication at the beginning of the 21st century: access to people as much as to databases, group communication as well as dyadic communication, personal interest topics as well as utilitarian ones, and self-organizing voluntary electronic communities.
TYPES OF ONLINE COMMUNITIES Until the early-1990s, most electronic communities used similar technology and their members had similar attributes. Highly educated, young, technically adept people congregated electronically with similar others who shared similar interests. These congregations were relatively homogeneous in structure, process, and membership. Now, however, the diversity of Internet users and group goals and processes is so great that it is helpful to differentiate types of communities to understand their costs and benefits in more detail. This section categorizes and describes types of online communities based on the interest that members or sponsors have in common. (See Table 2 for examples.) It is neither an exhaustive nor a mutually exclusive characterization, but it does represent some prevalent types. Despite the differences across types of shared interest, all of these communities are characterized by any-time, any-place communication with weak social context cues, aggregated microcontributions, and norms of interaction. The boundaries across types can be
TYPES OF ONLINE COMMUNITIES
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Table 1 Timeline for Community-Oriented Group Communication on the Net DATE
NAME
1965–68
ARPA projects
1969 1972
ARPANET RD
1973 1975 1978 1979
MsgGroup BBS Usenet
1979 1979
MUD CompuServe
1980 1981
MUD Bitnet
1981
Sendmail
1984–85
Delphi, Prodigy, AOL
1985
Listserv
1986
IETF
1988 1990 1990 1990
World Wide Web LambdaMOO
1991
Linux
1992 1994
AOL Netscape
1994
2000 2001
TECHNICAL
SOCIAL
Research on networking to share scarce computing resources First four ARPA sites connected First ARPANET e-mail management program
Networking research community forms across small number of labs
75% of ARPANET traffic is e-mail First ARPANET mailing list First bulletin board system Free software to share bulletin board discussions First multiuser VR game Began offering e-mail to customers MUD first played over ARPANET Computer network for University computer center non-ARPANET universities directors band together to support this Free software to send mail across networks Commercial information services founded that offered e-mail Free software to manage e-mail lists Volunteers focused on technical operation and evolution of Internet >1,000 public listservs >1,0000 Usenet groups; >4,000 posts per day Invented by Tim Berners-Lee VR environment created at Xerox PARC Free computer operating First message about Linux posted system to Usenet group Connects to Internet Introduced graphical Web browser >10,000 Usenet groups; >78,000 posts per day; Estimated 3.8 million subscribers to commercial online services 34 million AOL subscribers; 44 million U.S. households online 90,000 Usenet groups; 54,000 public Listserv groups
IETF = Internet Engineering Task Force; MUD = multiuser dungeon, domain, or dimension; VR = virtual reality.
fuzzy; the descriptions indicate central tendencies within types.
Types by Member Interest Customer Communities: Brands and Fans Customer communities are composed of people who share a common interest in and are loyal to a particu-
lar brand, team, entertainer, or media property. Although people organized fan clubs prior to the net, it was difficult for them to arrange activities on a large scale and frequent basis. Online customer communities have a much broader reach. People voluntarily share their information and passion with thousands or hundreds of thousands of others who share their interests in a particular product,
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Table 2 Examples of Online Communities Customer Communities http://www.audifans.com http://www.lugnet.com http://www.Britney-Spearsportal.com http://Rec.arts.tv.soaps (A)vocation Communities http://www.mastersrowing.org http://www.bikeforums.net http://www.Everquest.com http://www.chessclub.com http://www.tappedin.sri.com http://LambdaMoo Place-Based Communities BEV Netville Condition Communities http://www.seniornet.org http://www.systers.org Alt.support.depression BHL (Beyond Hearing mailing list) AML (Argentine mailing list) Concern Communities http://www.clearwisdom.net http://www.moveon.org Talk.guns Soc.religion.mormon Creative Communities LKML http://www.wikipedia.com IETF http://www.rhizome.org
entertainer, or media property. AudiFans, for example, is composed of more than 1,000 Audi enthusiasts who exchange information about parts suppliers and mechanics, post photos of their cars, and share the joys and sorrows of Audi ownership. The Britney Spears portal contains pictures, MP3 files, news, and forums where thousands of people comment (positively or negatively) on all things having to do with Britney. For most members of customer communities, the shared interest may be an intense one, but it typically represents a fairly small and often shortlived portion of members’ lives.
(A)vocation Communities Experts and enthusiasts form and join voluntary (a)vocation communities to increase their pleasure and proficiency in their hobbies or work. A particular product may be a means to advancing a common interest in an a(vocation) community, but it is not the primary focus of attention. From bicycling to computer programming, dog training to quilting, karate to the Civil War, there
Fans of the Audi marque Adult fans of Lego Fans of Britney Spears Soap opera fans For masters rowers and scullers For the avid cyclist For Everquest players For chess fans For K–12 teachers Virtual reality environment for social interaction Blacksburg Electronic Village Wired suburb of Toronto, Canada For people over age 50 For female computer scientists For sufferers of depression For people with hearing loss For Argentinian expatriates For practitioners of Falun Gong For online political activists For handgun advocates For believers in Mormonism For developing the Linux kernel Collaborative project to produce an encyclopedia For maintaining and improving the Internet For creating and discussing new media art
are communities for people who share these interests. “How-to” information prevails in discussions and people who share their expertise are greatly appreciated. BikeForums, for example, has more than 3,500 members who discuss and debate bicycle commuting, mountain biking, tandem biking, racing, training, and so on. TappedIn is a professional VR community for K–12 educators. The Internet Chess Club has more than 25,000 members who play chess with other members, take lessons, play in tournaments, watch grandmaster competitions, and so on. Everquest and Ultima are large online communities for people who delight in fantasy games. The shared community interest in (a)vocation communities may represent a relatively enduring part of members’ lives.
Place-Based Communities These communities are organized by and for people who live in a particular locale. Their genesis in the early 1980s had a political agenda—to give residents a(n electronic) voice in the local political process (e.g., Schuler, 1996).
ONLINE COMMUNITY CONSEQUENCES
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More recent versions have had the broader goal of building social capital by increasing the density of electronic social connections among residents of physical communities (Hampton & Wellman, 1999; Kavanaugh, 1999). In principle, the shared interest should last at least as long as people reside in the community.
the community project has produced more than 40,000 entries (http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main Page). The shared interest of creative communities is likely to be deeply involving for members, although it need not be as enduring as the shared interest in concern communities.
Common Condition Communities
Only within the past 10 years have online communities been sponsored or organized by anyone other than members themselves (with a few exceptions such as the Well and geographically based bulletin board systems called Free-nets). Many recent third-party sponsors or organizers have been motivated by the profit potential of online communities with revenue models based on either sales (of advertising, membership lists, products, etc.) or subscriptions. During the dot-com boom, third-party sponsors of some customer and demographic condition communities used sales-based revenue models. Profit-oriented community sites were created for L’eggs panty hose, Kraft food products, women (iVillage), Asian Americans (Asia Street), and African Americans (NetNoir), for example. Some third-party-sponsored communities based on subscriptions are relatively healthy; arguably a substantial (but unknown) fraction of AOL’s subscriptions are a function of online community memberships. Within the game industry, subscription-based revenue models have been successful. Several multiplayer game communities have thousands or hundreds of thousands of members. Members of one game, EverQuest, report spending an average of more than 22 hours a week playing it (Yee, 2001). Some corporations have avoided revenue-based models and instead have supported online communities to build market share or increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Sun Microsystems sponsors the Java Developer Connection, an (a)vocation community designed to support and expand the Java software developer community worldwide. The Lego Corporation supports several “adultfans-of-Lego” sites, in addition to sponsoring its own site, to support loyal customers. Various software companies support voluntary technical discussion and support communities in the interest of increasing high-quality, inexpensive tech support. Harley-Davidson uses H.O.G., its online members-only group, to reinforce the brand loyalty of Harley owners worldwide. In the not-for-profit sector, foundations and service organizations have sponsored communities for their target populations with the goal of improving their welfare. Thus, for example, The Markle Foundation sponsored the creation of Seniornet, a not-for-profit online community for people over age 50, which currently has 39,000 members. The National Science Foundation sponsored TappedIn, a not-for-profit online community for K–12 school teachers and teacher developers, which currently has more than 14,000 members.
In these communities, people share the experience and interest of a common condition. It may be based on a demographic characteristic such as race, age, or ethnic background; a medical or psychological condition such as arthritis or depression; or being an alumnus/a of a particular organization such as a college or branch of the military. People join condition communities to learn how others experience or are coping with their condition and to share their own experiences. Along with practical information and advice, “you are not alone” sentiment prevails in many discussions. BeyondHearing, for example, has more than 1,000 members who have a hearing loss or who have a loved one with a hearing loss. Topics range from cochlear implants to the best audiologists to funny stories about lip reading mistakes. Systers’ membership is more than 3,500 female computer scientists and engineers who discuss female-friendly graduate schools and employers, how to manage male subordinates, and so on. The shared community interest is often a long-term or lifetime one for members.
Concern Communities In these communities, members share an interest in a common political, social, or ideological concern. Because members often wish to influence the state of affairs in the physical world, these communities usually have multifaceted ties to that world. They may announce and comment on real-world events and organize letterwriting campaigns, rallies, fundraisers, and so forth. They may use click-and-donate applications to raise money or pledges of volunteer time. MoveOn, for example, began as an online petition drive to censure Bill Clinton and has grown to include many online advocacy groups that organize volunteer campaigns. More than 1,000 members of soc.religion.mormon discuss and debate Mormon doctrine and practices. The shared interest of concern communities is likely to be a deep and abiding one for their members.
Creative Communities Unlike other community types whose primary output is talk or amusement, members of creative communities work collaboratively on the Net to produce real products, be they software, literary works, or other artistic creations. Most open source software is produced in voluntary communities today despite the growing interest of the corporate sector (e.g., Raymond, 1999). Indeed much of the design and engineering of the Internet itself is accomplished by a voluntary community that conducts most of its business electronically, the Internet Engineering Task Force (n.d.). Poets participate in writers’ communities whose members thoroughly critique one another’s work. A more pragmatic writing community is creating a new encyclopedia. In the first 18 months of its existence,
Types by Sponsor Interest
ONLINE COMMUNITY CONSEQUENCES Positive Effects Benefits to Members Not surprisingly, most studies of online community members report that information benefits are important to
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them (e.g., Baym, 1999; Lakhani & von Hippel, 2002; Wasko & Faraj, 2002). What is noteworthy is the form that the information takes. It is not the disembodied, depersonalized information that can be found in databases or official documents, which are themselves easily accessible on the Web. Instead, it is profoundly personalized information. Its form and content are personal—personal experiences and thoughts. Likewise, its audience is personal. Questions or requests for comment do not look like database queries: They are framed for human understanding and response. (A discourse analysis of Usenet groups found that almost all questions included a specific reference to readers; the few that did not were much less likely to receive replies; Galegher et al., 1998.) Replies typically address the person or situation engendering the request and are based on the replier’s own situation or experience. In customer communities personalized information can increase members’ pleasure in using or experiencing the product or property. Personalized information can increase members’ pleasure or competence in practicing their (a)vocation. It can also challenge one’s assumptions and beliefs (e.g., Kendall, 2002). Members derive more than information benefits from online communities, however. Some also derive the social benefits that can come from interacting with other people: getting to know them, building relationships, making friends, having fun (e.g., Baym, 1999; Butler et al., 2002; Cummings, Sproull, & Kiesler, 2002; Kendall, 2002; Quan y Hasse, Wellman, Witte, & Hampton, 2002; Rheingold, 2002). Occasionally these social benefits are strong enough that they lead some members to organize faceto-face group activities, such as parties, rallies, show and tell, reunions, or meeting at conferences or shows. Members of medical and emotional condition communities may derive actual health benefits from their participation in addition to information and social benefits. The evidentiary base for these benefits is small but comes from carefully designed studies that use either random assignment or statistical procedures to control for other factors that could influence health status. Benefits for active participants include shorter hospital stays (Gray et al. 2000), decrease in pain and disability (Lorig, Laurent, Deyo, Marnell, Minor, & Ritter, 2002), greater support seeking (Mickelson, 1997), decrease in social isolation (Galegher et al., 1998), increase in self-efficacy and psychological well-being (Cummings et al., 2002; Mackenna & Bargh, 1998). Membership benefits do not accrue equally to all members. Passive members, those who only read messages, as a class may benefit least. This speculation is consonant with research in physical world groups and communities that finds that the most active participants derive the most benefit and satisfaction from their participation (e.g., Callero, Howard, & Piliavin, 1987; Omoto & Snyder, 1995). Most studies of online communities investigate only active participants because they use the e-mail addresses of posters to identify their research population; they have no way of identifying or systematically studying people who never post but only read. Research that has studied passive members systematically finds that they report mostly information benefits; their total level of benefits is lower than that for more active participants; they
are more likely to drop out (Butler et al., 2002; Cummings et al., 2002). Among active participants, people who participate more extensively report having a greater sense of online community (Kavanaugh, 1999; Quan y Haas et al., 2002). More frequent seekers of information report receiving more helpful replies than less frequent seekers (Lakhani & von Hippel, 2002). More frequent providers of information report greater social benefits, pleasure in helping others, and pleasure in advancing the cause of the community (Butler et al., 2002).
Benefits to Third Parties Many attempts to directly “monitize” online communities through sales revenue from advertising or commerce have been relatively disappointing (Cothrel, 2001; Figallo, 1998; Sacharow, 2000). Although the potential customer base could be quite large for brand or demographic condition communities, attracting and retaining customer/members is difficult. By contrast, subscription revenues—in the online game industry at least—have been relatively robust. Specific figures are hard to get from privately held companies. But estimates are that revenues from online games were more than $200 million in 2000 and will grow to more than $1 billion in 2004 (Zito, quoted in Castronova, 2001). In customer and (a)vocation communities, substantial nonrevenue benefits may accrue to corporations through reinforcing customer brand loyalty and increasing customer satisfaction. Voluntary personal testimonials about a product or experience in the context of giving help can be quite persuasive, both to the person who asked for help or comment and to others reading the exchange. Motivational theories of attitude formation (e.g., Festinger, Schachter, & Back, 1950) and information processing theories of decision making (e.g., Nisbett & Ross, 1980) both point to the influential nature of voluntary personal testimonials. The process can be so powerful that there have been unsubstantiated reports of paid shills masquerading as community members in customer communities (Mayzlin, 2001). Much of the help offered on customer and (a)vocational communities is personalized customer support—and potentially quite high-quality support at that. In the software industry, online communities have been recognized as the Best Technical Support Organization of the Year for 1997 and 1999 (Foster, 1999). Information that solves customer problems or enhances their product experience is likely to increase their satisfaction and loyalty. When it is provided by self-organized volunteers, the corporate cost is minimal. Some online communities offer potential product development benefits. Most remarked are probably open source software communities that have generated product revenues for companies like Red Hat and product enhancements for companies like IBM and Sun Microsystems. Some game and hobby communities offer extensive product testing before widespread product release (e.g., Wallich, 2001). Some actively propose, design, and discuss new product features. The strategic question for corporations today centers on what type of corporate involvement in online
RESEARCH METHODS AND ISSUES
communities is likely to bring the greatest benefit. With few, but important, exceptions, direct corporate ownership and control of online communities is unlikely to be the answer. (This is not to say that corporations won’t benefit from Web-based sales and customer support; ecommerce can be profitable even if online communitybased ecommerce is not likely to be.) Forging positive and productive relationships with independent online communities can be challenging, however.
Benefits to Society Rigorous empirical evidence is almost nonexistent for online community benefits to society. If members of condition communities achieve improved health status, the cost of their medical care to themselves and society could decrease. Alternatively, better informed members may seek out additional tests or treatments, thereby increasing the cost of their care. If members of targeted populations such as K–12 schoolteachers or senior citizens derive cognitive, social, and emotional benefits from participating in online communities, then the larger society may benefit as well. Data from Blacksburg Electronic Village suggests that participation in online community activities can increase civic involvement (Kavanaugh, 1999). If members of online concern communities can more effectively mobilize, then the causes served by their advocacy are likely to benefit (e.g., Gurak, 1997; Quan y Haas et al., 2002). Note, however, that online communities can advocate for harmful causes just as easily as they can for helpful ones.
Negative Effects Although anecdotes are widespread, systematic evidence on the negative consequences of online communities is sparse. Members can be harmed by erroneous, malicious, or destructive information. The norm of peer review of content in discussion communities acts as a damper on this kind of harm but cannot prevent it entirely. More seriously but less likely, members can be harmed by unhealthy, dangerous relationships that can form via online communities. Unscrupulous or criminal intent can be masked by an online persona that inspires trust and friendship within the community context. If a relationship moves out of community scrutiny and into private e-mail, it can lead to emotional harm or even physical danger. Within VR communities, there have been a small number of widely publicized “attacks” that caused emotional harm to their members (Dibbell, 1998; Schwartz, 2001). A group itself can harm its members: cults can exist in cyberspace as well as in the real world. One such, ProAna, extols the joys and personal freedom of anorexia. Its members share tips on how to hide weight loss from family and friends, discuss the importance of personal choice, and praise members’ announcements of their weight loss. Although participating in an online community may not be directly harmful to its members, involved members may withdraw from their physical relationships and responsibilities. People who spend a great deal of time online must be spending less time doing something else. The research thus far has only examined the effects of aggregate number of hours spent online. One study found it was associated with a small decrease in social involvement and psychological well-being for a particular group
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of new users (Kraut et al., 1998), but that effect was erased with continued use (Kraut et al., in press). Some studies have found it to be associated with an expanded social circle (Katz & Apsden, 1997; Quan y Hasse et al., 2002; Kraut et al., 2002). Just as members may be harmed by erroneous or malicious information, so too may corporations. Companies may fear liability if advice promulgated in an online community leads to product failure or product-associated damages. Customer complaints can be shared very rapidly with large numbers of people. If accurate, they can snowball rapidly into widespread mobilization. The Intel corporation had to manage a wave of Internet protest, much of it organized through Usenet groups, as it learned about and took steps to correct a flaw in its Pentium processor. Ultimately, of course, fixing the error benefited Intel and its customers (Uzumeri & Snyder, 1996). In a different case, members of a number of Internet groups mobilized to protest the introduction of a new household database product created by the Lotus Development corporation. That protest led to the withdrawal of the planned product (Culnan, 1991). Online communities are not the only means of mobilizing discontent on the Net (e.g., Gurak, 1997), but because they are characterized by member commitment, they can be particularly potent. Intellectual property infringement is another area of potential harm for corporations. Trademark infringement is easy to spot in many customer communities. Copyright infringement can be particularly troublesome for media property companies. Fan community members create and discuss fan fiction, that is, new story lines or alternate plot endings for their favorite shows, movies, or characters. Corporations routinely issue cease and desist orders against these groups, fearing loss of copyright control (Silberman, 1996). As with mobilizing discontent, online communities are not the only mechanism on the net for intellectual property infringement. Unauthorized media file sharing probably represents a larger area of intellectual property harm for media companies at the moment, but the social reinforcement that is generated when community members praise or critique one another’s (arguably intellectual property infringing) creative work can be potent.
RESEARCH METHODS AND ISSUES Two broadly different research traditions characterize much of the research on online communities. In caricature these can be labeled “insider studies” and “outsider studies.” Participant observation studies began with Howard Rheingold’s (2000) description of the Well, a Northern California online community begun in 1983. Examples of scholarly ethnographies include those of a soap opera discussion community (Baym, 1999), a social MUD (Kendall, 2002), a lesbian cafe´ (Correll, 1995), and an IRC arts community (Danet, 2001). In each case the writer/analyst was a member of the community for an extended period of time. The ethnography evokes the language, personalities, beliefs, interpretations, and daily lives of people inhabiting these worlds. “Outsider studies” typically extract records of online behavior or attitudes for study outside the community
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context. Linguists may extract text records for linguistic analysis of online talk (e.g., Herring, 1996). Sociologists may analyze them for norm strength (Sassenberg, 2002). Social psychologists may use questionnaires to survey community members about their social support systems in the online world and the physical world (e.g., Cummings et al., 2002; Mackenna & Bargh, 1998). Sociologists and political scientists may use questionnaires to survey members about their social and civic activities and attitudes (Kavanaugh, 1999; Wellman & Hayathornthwaite, in press). Online communities are appealing targets for researchers. New or newly visible social phenomena are intrinsically interesting to the social scientist. Moreover online access to one’s subjects of study offers beguiling efficiencies. Ethnographers can do ethnographic work without leaving the office. Survey researchers can administer questionnaires to multinational samples without buying a single postage stamp. Linguists have access to entire cultural corpora in digital form. The efficiencies are not problem free, however. Ethnographers have an incomplete picture of their community members’ offline lives. Survey researchers often have no access to members who never post (e.g., Nonnecke & Preece, 2000). Linguists do not see private or back channel communication. Still, despite the drawbacks, the past 10 years have seen a substantial growth in social scientists and social science methods oriented toward understanding online communities. Whereas principles of ethical research are widely shared within the academic social science community (and are governed by federal regulation), procedures for implementing those principles in research on online communities are under debate. Consider just the principles of informed consent and subject anonymity. If a person’s words in a community discussion are considered private, consent should be obtained before analyzing them. If they are considered public, consent should be obtained before quoting them (except for fair use). If a researcher plans a participant observation study, she or he should seek permission from community members before beginning the study. Because most communities are open, members who join after the study has begun do not have the same opportunity to give or revoke permission, however. In publishing results, the researcher must honor promises of anonymity by disguising identity. Because full-text search engines are so powerful, verbatim text, even with no identifier, can be used to find the original (identified) source. Bruckman (2002) pointed out that norms in the humanities encourage attribution and reproduction. Several scholarly and professional associations are currently grappling with the ethics of online research (Frankel & Siang, 1996; Thomas, 1996).
CONCLUSION The Internet has been a home for self-organizing voluntary groups since its inception. As the Net grew, so did the pace of people and technology mutually adapting to form and support new online communities of interest (e.g., Boczkowski, 1999). Despite the large number of online communities and online community members today, the social form has been widespread for less than a decade.
The nature of the net means that experimentation and evolution into new variants of the social form can occur rapidly. The next 10 years should see more new community types, new ways of aggregating microcontributions, and new community processes. The social form is also immature in terms of impact on members and on the offline world, but with a more differentiated view of community types, we should be able to better specify which types of online communities should or could have which kinds of impacts on which types of members. Nevertheless, people live in the physical world. The real online community design payoff may come from supporting online extensions of the places where people live, work, send their kids to school, recreate, vote, and worship. Television has had an enormous impact on family communication patterns, teen culture, political activity, and consumer behavior. Most of the decisions that led to those impacts were made by an extremely small number of wealthy and influential individuals. In online communities, by contrast, everyone has the opportunity to shape the processes that will make a difference.
GLOSSARY Dot-com Internet sites or businesses designed to make money during the late 1990s. Internet relay chat (IRC) A program for simultaneous text communication among two or more users. Listserv A program for managing a distribution list of e-mail addresses. Multi-user dungeon/domain/dimension (MUD) A text-based virtual reality environment, initially used for fantasy games, now also used for social and professional purposes. MUD object oriented (MOO) Text-based virtual reality environment in which users can program objects that have persistence. Seti@home An activity organized over the Net in which people donate idle CPU cycles to process data looking for radio signals. Usenet A system of electronic bulletin boards. Virtual reality (VR) A text-based or graphics-based environment that evokes a self-contained world.
CROSS REFERENCES See Internet Etiquette (Netiquette); Internet Navigation (Basics, Services, and Portals); Legal, Social and Ethical Issues; Privacy Law; Virtual Reality on the Internet: Collaborative Virtual Reality.
REFERENCES Baym, N. (1999). Tune in, log on: Soaps, fandom, and online community (new media cultures). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Benkler, Y. (2002). Coase’s penguin, or, Linux and the nature of the firm. The Yale Law Journal, 112, 369–446. Boczkowski, P. J. (1999, Spring). Mutual shaping of users and technologies in a national virtual community. Journal of Communication, 86–108.
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Online Dispute Resolution Resolution
Alan Gaitenby, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Introduction Need for ODR Nature of ODR Evolution of ODR from ADR ADR Primer ODR: An Early History Evolution of Cyberspace and Online Disputes: 1990–1995 Emergence of ODR: 1995–1998 Entrepreneurial Drive and Burst Bubbles: 1998–Present Need and Nature of ODR Domain of Online Dispute Resolution Online Commerce: B2B, B2C, and C2C Domain Names
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INTRODUCTION The emergence of the Internet and myriad online social and commercial interactions has spawned another realm of human disputing. Information technology entrepreneurs applying alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practices and theories created online dispute resolution (ODR) to manage and ameliorate ever-increasing online conflict.
Need for ODR Online interaction is the source of conflict to which ODR is designed to respond. Online interactions include commerce, group identification and maintenance, and conducting personal or professional relationships. Commercial transactions produce many online disputes in need of resolution and have been subject to concerted ODR development and marketing efforts (Rule, 2002). Conflict in commerce is costly, thus amelioration through open and fair terms of trade and dispute resolution arising from that trade are critically important and desirable. There are noncommercial interactions as well, such as discussions and e-mail exchanges in chat spaces or message boards. Conflict erupts in all of these spaces. Most online conflict is resolved via informal means such as direct negotiation. Some conflict necessitates more formal responses however. ODR is part of that response, sharing dispute resolution responsibilities with positive law, as well as filling niches where that law’s reach is challenged. ODR has become the default for managing certain forms of online conflict because of its “fit” with those disputes (i.e., both the dispute and the resolution are manifested online). ODR also offers cost advantages over traditional remedies, the delivery of dispute resolution expertise at a distance, and the convenience of settling disputes from the comfort of an individual’s computer.
Message Boards, Chat Spaces, Listservs, E-mail Claims Settlement ODR Building Blocks ODR’s Manifestations Blind Bidding ODR Hybrids Facilitated Mediation Arbitration Decision Support and Multivariable Negotiation Virtual Courts and Collaborative Platforms Conclusion Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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According to Henry H. Perritt, Jr., “three characteristics of the Internet make traditional dispute resolution through administrative agency and judicial procedure unsatisfactory for many controversies that arise in Internet-based commerce and political interaction.” First, “the Internet’s low barrier to entry invites participation in commerce and politics by small entities and individuals who cannot afford direct participation in many traditional market and political arenas.” Second, “the geographic openness of electronic commerce makes stranger-tostranger transactions more likely.” Third, “the Internet is inherently global” (Perritt, 2000, p. 675). ODR suggests a synergistic fit with particular online interactions and contexts, as well as recognizing significant concerns with the practical effectiveness of state sponsored legal remedies (Bordone, 1998). Online transactions with geographically disparate participants, especially transactions of modest value, would be best served by online dispute resolution. ODR offers convenience because participants do not have to meet in person; dispute resolution expertise is provided to their own personal computers (PCs). ODR is also well suited to conflict management processes marked by repetitive and relatively discrete information exchanges. Despite national and international property, commercial and contract law questions persist about whether that law ought, or feasibly can, reach all online interactions and transactions. This is exacerbated when the participants are at distant locations, and the service providers for Internet connections or applications are also at a distance. An online transaction gone awry between a business and individual located in a single country poses a considerably different legal and practical challenge than between parties in different countries. Cost structures also mitigate favorably to ODR over traditional law when a transaction crosses considerable distance and numerous political or geographic boundaries, or importantly when 745
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the transaction is not of great value but significant enough to one or both parties to pursue resolution. The practical effectiveness of positive law is challenged by both subject matter and party jurisdiction over cyberspace. Online interaction is relatively new and thus may not yet be covered or described effectively in law’s various forms (e.g., cases, codes, and commentary). Additionally, uncertainty as to “location” of online interaction and the reach of political sovereigns into cyberspace pose serious challenges. Legal institutions and actors may be slow to act, and even as political sovereigns seek to exert and define jurisdiction over online activity, much will be unattended unless other mechanisms are developed and employed. ODR’s potential for managing online conflict remains strong because of its fit and particular advantages over traditional legal mechanisms. Where ODR processes are seen to alleviate systemic strain and deliver improved social justice courts and judicial administration will likely adopt ODR much as court sponsored mediation has been incorporated to great success by family and divorce courts in the United States.
Nature of ODR ODR refers to alternative dispute resolution processes implemented largely using Web-based information management and communication and in some cases database applications. ODR relies on the Web and users’ abilities to access sites and submit or download information from the Internet. Because of the relatively rapid diffusion of networked information technology, ODR has the potential to increase access to conflict management dramatically among people who would otherwise forego thirdparty facilitation. Whether litigation or ADR there are physical variables to be addressed which ODR transcends (Kassedjian & Cahn, 1998). ODR lowers barriers to entry by reaching into homes, offices, schools, and halls of government all over the globe. ODR however presents other obstacles, most significantly the need for networked information technology and bridging the digital divide. ODR is described as a “Fourth Party,” supplementing traditional ADR third party facilitators or neutrals critical to resolving disputes outside of traditional litigation (Katsh & Rifkin, 2001). ODR systems tend to be dedicated to particular dispute resolution models such as mediation, arbitration, and negotiation. Two prominent examples found niches providing dispute resolution to immense online marketplaces like eBay, as well as relatively small but valuable exchanges like ICANN domain names registration. ODR is part of the developing law in these contexts, law that is directly associated with the marketplace or auction, operating in the shadow of ADR and positive law itself (e.g., “eBay law”; Katsh, Rifkin, & Gaitenby, 2000). There are two basic ODR approaches: dispute avoidance (DA) and dispute resolution (DR). Dispute avoidance is informal ODR, where information technology is employed to lubricate online social interaction so that fewer full-blown disputes erupt that necessitate formal resolution. DA takes advantage of the fact that online information exchanges, regardless of social setting or context, are considerably less robust than offline exchanges.
Primary DA technologies include credit card chargebacks and online money transfer, payment, or escrow services facilitating a wide range of online transactions from marketplaces such as LLBean.com to free-wheeling auction sites such as eBay.com. Chargebacks are debt erasures for consumers by credit card companies (e.g., Citibank, American Express). Chargebacks occur when consumers wish to challenge or reverse a transaction they made with a credit card and are unable to otherwise get satisfaction from the merchant. Chargebacks are popular with consumers because financial liability is largely removed from them and transferred to merchants (i.e., the benefit of the doubt rests with the consumer). Payment systems are relatively simple and help reduce some transaction costs associated with online markets (e.g., seller having to wait until a money order arrives via “snail mail” before sending the purchase). Third-party payment systems (e.g., Paypal.com) maintain accounts, much like bank accounts, in which users make deposits via check, money order, or electronic fund transfer, although these accounts are not regulated or ensured as banks. Users maintain balances, but rather than accessing the money to conduct transactions, the money transfer service facilitates the deal after being notified that a transaction has been requested and authorized. Money transfer systems then either cut a check, credit a credit card or bank account, or adjust an interest-earning balance for users’ accounts. Other DA mechanisms provide consumer and seller information profiles derived from data about transactionrelated behavior, these profiles are a track record or reputation that can be incorporated into decision making by potential buyers or sellers. The eBay feedback rating system is a prime example of such an information database readily available to buyers and sellers alike. eBay buyers and sellers are ranked by those with whom they do business, and eBay then computes overall positive and negative ratings upon which decisions to trade may be tied. Trustmarks and trustseals are other prominent DA applications. Trustmarks and seals are protocols or standards of good practice for online commerce, privacy, and dispute resolution. Online services and enterprises capitulate to the standards and are accredited by a trustmark or trustseal service provider (e.g., TrustE, SquareTrade). Online services or enterprises pay for the mark or seal to appear on their site to verify accreditation and satisfaction of promulgated standards. Trustmarks and seals are important to ODR not only because they help parties avoid disputes in the first place but also because they stipulate standards of dispute resolution.
EVOLUTION OF ODR FROM ADR ADR Primer The groundwork for ODR was laid with the establishment of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the latter half of the 20th century (Auerbach, 1983). ADR represents a collection of professional practices and theories designed to resolve disputes outside of courts. ADR is largely voluntary, comprising direct or facilitated negotiation, mediation by a neutral party with variable levels of power in structuring the exchange and in solution crafting,
EVOLUTION OF ODR FROM ADR
binding or nonbinding arbitration with a neutral decision maker, and decision support practices. The adversarial model of courts and litigation came under scrutiny during the 1960s and 1970s because it was perceived to be less responsive to evolving needs for social justice, especially as that relates to the maintenance or reparation of damaged, and highly valued, relationships (Fuller, 1978). Litigation may consume considerable resources and time, because courts tend to be busy and the lawyers who access them costly. Thus, powerful practical disincentives exist to adversarial dispute resolution in addition to an ideological opposition to a one-size-fitsall, win–lose proposition. Substance and process concerns with litigation led to the development and ultimate acceptance of ADR (Fuller, 1978). The adversarial model’s formalisms of rights, advocates, neutrals, openness, due process, and enforcement of remedies, however, remain powerful incentives for litigation. ADR can adhere to some of these formalisms (e.g., binding arbitration’s litigation-like qualities), but enforcement of remedies is the source of much criticism for ADR and now ODR. Because the voluntary nature of mediation and negotiation, ADR must depend on more than force to be effective. ADR appeals to disputants’ desire to repair relationships as well as seek recompense for a given act or transgression. ADR’s “teeth” reside within the desires of participants themselves and the potential of various ADR processes to be applied to facilitate achieving those desires or next-best alternatives. ADR offers opportunities for so-called win–win solutions and plays heavily on its cost advantages. Litigation takes time and money, thus a strong incentive to settle quickly plays to ADR’s favor. Not all ADR is without force however; arbitration can be binding and recognized as law through statutes (e.g., U.S. Federal Arbitration Act, 2002) or transnational conventions (e.g., The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards; http://www.uncitral.org/en-index.htm). Binding arbitration is increasingly part of professional service contracts stipulating that as disputes arise they must be settled through binding arbitration. ADR moves the power in the dispute resolution setting to the participants and away from some external authority or the process itself. Most significant in terms of substantive justice is the flexibility in outcomes and the eschewing of the standard win–lose dichotomy. ADR has proven that moving justice away from the courthouse is often desirable and that the arena of dispute resolution, once thought to be the exclusive domain of law and courts, is markedly different from what it was several decades ago. Mediation arbitration, and other forms of “alternative” dispute resolution are now the most common approaches to dealing with conflict. (Katsh & Rifkin, 2001, p. 27)
ODR: An Early History Although practitioners and scholars of ADR began using personal computers in the 1980s, e-mail in the early 1990s, and the Internet by the middle of the 1990s, ODR systems
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did not emerge until the Web became ubiquitous. The Web was the innovation that spurred many to recognize the potential for commerce and other forms of social interaction in cyberspace. Entrepreneurs, scholars, lawyers, and policy makers realized that all this interaction included the propensity for conflict, and that had a damping effect on the vitality and value of online interaction. ODR’s early history has had three distinct periods between the years 1990 and 2002. This ends with the Internet “bubble” bursting in 2000–01 and the adverse impact on the fledgling ODR field, a challenge that gave way to ODR’s push to maturity, marked by product differentiation, niche filling, and innovative entrepreneurial dispute avoidance tools.
Evolution of Cyberspace and Online Disputes: 1990–1995 Before 1995 there was no universal online standard like the Internet. Rather, there were several key activities, supported by software and a protocol to use the Internet. E-mail and finding and moving files through textual interfaces required that users know some operating system command language. Interfaces between users and the Internet were sufficiently complicated to slow Internet use, and access and use was concentrated among academics, scientists, researchers, and select others who did not encompass a broad social cross-section. Dial-up bulletin board and listserv services, moderated e-mail lists to which users subscribed, were the most active areas of cyberspace then. At the far edge of cyberspace in those days were the pioneers of virtual realities and communities, the “gods,” “wizards,” and everyday users of multiuser object-oriented realities (MOOs) and multiuser dungeons (MUDs; Gaitenby, 1996). Listservs were common asynchronous communication protocols, sustaining all variety of conversations. Listservs were sometimes moderated, but more likely were left alone; in both instances discursive norms were developed formally and informally to structure textual interaction. In a moderated list, authority was more overt and terms of use more explicit. Unmoderated lists, on the other hand, were laboratories for self-governance and indigenous normative development. In these early days of cyberspace, flaming was the most common form of dispute to develop in a listserv, often occasioned by a textual bombardment against a particular user, viewpoint, or both. Flaming could result in the shutting down of the listserv because levels of acrimonious traffic have a significant damping effect on online discourse. Listserv disputes were resolved either by moderator interjection or other authoritative action (e.g., active content management, issuance of warnings to cease, evict participants). Without moderators, disputes were handled informally but also with the adoption of specific conduct norms by consensus or other decision-making method. Such methods could, however, be utterly undemocratic and unfair because there were rarely process or first-order rules to enable the creation of substantive or second order rules. Even in the absence of moderation, listserv authority and management ultimately rested with system administration, the final authority in resolving disputes
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was the power to shut down a board, a user, or a specific conversation. More ambitious than listserv technology and practices were MOOs and MUDs, those online textual realities whose players immersed themselves in complicated roleplaying games as well as thematically oriented social environments. In most of these environments, users adopted new identities and characteristics. System administrators were more fully vested in the rule structure and dispute resolution mechanisms than in listservs where they filled a more mechanical role. In MOOs and MUDs, system administrators were the “gods,” and “wizards” of the universes they were creating and inhabiting, and it was to them that dispute resolution, or at least decision enforcement, ultimately fell. During 1993, in the virtual reality LambdaMOO, a clever user created a program that allowed him to manipulate the online characters of other users. Manipulation appeared as all other actions in these spaces, as a textual expression, which all users could “see.” Characters so afflicted were “forced” to perform self-mutilation or sexual assault upon themselves and characters of other users. A number of LambdaMOO users called for the admitted perpetrator’s removal. After a public forum called by general consensus to address the event and its ramifications, the perpetrator was banished by a wizard. Many present felt the removal was a violation of fair process; most, however, felt he had clearly violated a fundamental norm of conduct. Conflict and its management had come fully to cyberspace.
Emergence of ODR: 1995–1998 With faster and cleaner Internet connections, more powerful microprocessors, hypertext markup language editors, and browsers, the Internet became a mass-cultural phenomenon after 1995. As more people went online and the complexity of social interaction increased, so, too, did the likelihood for conflict. Not surprisingly, conflict came readily to that place where valued exchange was most important online during these relatively early days, the provision of an interface by Internet service providers (ISPs). ISPs hold the keys to Web access for many individual users. Their relationships with users are typically longstanding and have potential for conflict. ISPs provide an uplink to the Internet and often supply applications that allow users to move files and communicate. With those keys come expectations about terms of use, and not far behind is the law, constructing things like liability and responsibility for both user and service provider. The primary point of contention that arose between ISPs and users concerned ISP liability for users’ actions. Specifically, ISPs were worried that they would suffer contributory liability for such actions as libelous speech or copyright violation by users. In 1995, the Virtual Magistrate online arbitration system was established through which ISP disputes could be handled (Post, 1996). Virtual Magistrate, and later the Online Ombuds at the University of Massachusetts and the Family Mediation Project at the University of Maryland, were implemented with support from the National Center for Automated Information Research. Although conflict
arising online was the impetus for these developments, applying information technology in dispute resolution more generally was the prime objective. ODR’s second developmental period was dominated by two trends, the rapid proliferation of online activity and technologies to support it and the emergence of ODR prototypes from academic institutions.
Entrepreneurial Drive and Burst Bubbles: 1998–Present Internet entrepreneurs and ADR professionals took the lead as the Web was more vigorously used in commerce and other interactions. Two major features of this period were significant growth in number and diversity of ODR enterprises, and an increased recognition by policy makers that online dispute resolution was needed to promote efficiency and vitality in evolving online markets. From 1995 to 1998, the field grew from a handful of academicsponsored prototypes to roughly four dozen mostly private entrepreneurial efforts. Cross-border ecommerce was the primary impetus for government attention to ODR. By 1999, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce formally addressed ODR as an important element to enhanced consumer protection and willingness to trade online. U.S. efforts largely focused on providing incentives and support to private ODR initiatives rather than governmental dispute resolution or command and control regulatory mechanisms. In Europe, the concern for privacy protection in ecommerce were paramount and spurred the adoption of the SafeHarbor protocol, which required privacy protection and grievance handling processes for any ecommerce entity wishing to do business in Europe. During this period ADR practitioners teamed with Internet entrepreneurs to produce online versions of offline ADR practices in the belief that aside from managing conflict arising online, that ODR could be used to manage many forms of offline conflict as well. These pioneers felt that information technology could be leveraged to enhance the provision of nonadversarial means of conflict resolution regardless of context. ODR systems were created for specific online marketplaces, in the business-to-business (B2B) context much of this was dispute avoidance through closed-network electronic data interchanges which provided structure and consistency to a variety of online transactions between members of a trading consortium or other private marketplace. In more public consumer marketplaces, such as business-to-consumer (B2C) or consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplaces, ODR systems were created to provide direct negotiation or facilitated mediation/arbitration services. The Internet shakeout of 2000–02 had a dramatic impact on ODR. Many efforts failed or went dormant, retrenchment left a few core areas of activity in auctions, domain names, and insurance claim settlement. Offline disputants have not adopted full-fledged ODR in any meaningful way and likely will not until more ADR practitioners, lawyers, and laypeople are made aware of ODR’s advantages and utility. ADR practitioners and lawyers to a
NEED AND NATURE OF ODR
lesser degree use e-mail, the Web, and other information technology (IT) tools to enhance performance of their traditional practices.
NEED AND NATURE OF ODR Domain of Online Dispute Resolution Many disputes are avoided through possessing information about social environments, understanding the range of possible interactions, the rules and norms structuring them, and the potential participants. In online contexts, code is used to ameliorate conflict by shaping environments and potential interactions, as well as supplying desired information about goods, markets, players, and rules (Lessig, 1999). Avoidance is not perfect or always desirable, thus as the complexity and frequency of online interaction increases disputes occur more readily. Online disputes require alternative dispute resolution as well as traditional legal remedies. Cost, convenience, and efficiency advantages, in addition to challenges facing traditional litigation, mitigates favorably for ODR. Online interaction falls into commercial and noncommercial categories. Some disputes arising from them are subject to formal legal attention, a large portion are settled informally, and a growing pool is served by ODR.
Online Commerce: B2B, B2C, and C2C Commercial transactions online produce disputes between businesses (B2B), businesses and consumers (B2C), and between consumers (C2C). These disputes vary greatly in terms of value, location, and rule structures. Online commercial disputes erupt for many of the same reasons as offline commercial disputes: a transaction was unsatisfactory, and one or both parties wish to achieve recompense. Online commerce and business generally is critical proving ground for ODR (Rule, 2002). B2B online transactions are largely managed through private contracts; for example, an online trading consortium may bring together suppliers and buyers for a particular market. Contracts bind the players together, defining roles and responsibilities, and providing for ready-made dispute resolution mechanism. ODR may yet be a primary dispute resolution method in B2B online disputes as stipulated in these contracts; at present, however, ODR is not significantly relied on. “ODR is not used to any meaningful degree in the B2B market segment since the parties have made other arrangements for the settlement of disputes between them and disputes among them are rare in any case” (American Bar Association Task Force on Electronic Commerce, 2002, p. 15). B2C online transactions (e.g., a purchase at LLBean. com or an online transaction with a National Association of Securities Dealers member) are regulated by terms of sale, contracts, and consumer law more generally. Most disputes from B2C transactions are settled relatively painlessly under terms of sale; those unsuccessful few in which the relative value of the dispute is significant enough may be settled via consumer protection law or other legal mechanism. Cross-border transactions may complicate this somewhat, but contract and commercial law have been globalized especially effectively through
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transnational agreements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. C2C online transactions, on the other hand, have provided especially fertile ground for online disputes and their management with ODR. Online auctions (e.g., eBay. com) are the primary manifestation of C2C transactions causing online disputes. Auction disputes are straightforward: either the seller or buyer was dissatisfied with the transaction and seeks alteration of the conditions of trade. Most disputes are buyer initiated, with the purchase not satisfying expectations, and thus the buyer seeks recompense. If a seller declines to negotiate, or disputes the claim altogether, direct negotiation and facilitated mediation ODR may be employed. Applying ODR does not alter rights of access to formal legal processes and remedy.
Domain Names At the root of all online interaction lies Internet symbolic addressing through domain names. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) exclusively controls domain name registration due to a U.S. government contract subject to periodic renewal and congressional oversight. Symbolic addressing of Internet numeric addresses has a significant value for many organizations and individuals and thus results in particularly vested disputants. Domain name registration disputes arise when two or more parties assert property interests in similar names or marks, or one party challenges the registration and use of a domain name as being in “bad faith” as defined by the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) of ICANN. Traditional mark law takes political and cultural boundaries, physical distance, and market distinctiveness into account when evaluating claims of infringement. Thus similar names or marks for two or more distinct applications (e.g., Apple Computer and Apple Records) would likely not be in conflict. Geographic and market distinctions do not hold online in the same fashion and disputes erupt between parties all over the globe as they scramble to lay claim to valued domain names.
Message Boards, Chat Spaces, Listservs, E-mail Disputes arise within the myriad online discussion forums. Discussion forums are e-mail or Web facilitated, sustaining both synchronous and asynchronous communication. Communication may be private (e.g., a one-toone e-mail) or public (e.g., an individual posting on a widely read message board). Disputes occur readily, and private ad hoc means are employed ranging from cessation of relationship to one party “giving in” to repair the damage done. In forums such as message boards, however, the very public nature of the experience makes private and informal dispute resolution difficult. Flaming and overly vigorous or vitriolic debate continue to be the primary dispute profile in discussion forums. In these cases, one or more forum participants post messages or send e-mails that may threaten, libel, besmirch, or simply annoy other forum participants. Most flaming is can be considered nuisance speech, and
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sometimes a threat threshold is breached; largely, however, it is just unpleasant. The challenge has been twofold: defining the limits for a given discussion forum and establishing a mechanism for managing events when limits are said to be breached or threatened. Flamed speech in these contexts tends to drown out other speech and quickly squelches participants’ desire to be a part of the discussion. The exit option tends to be the most readily available and practical for discussion forum participants (Hirschman, 1970). In this case, the exit option is a function of the continued discretionary nature of participation in these spaces and the profound challenge of managing discourse without stifling debate. Exit may not be the most attractive option for long. Increasingly discussion forums are being created and used for a wider range of subjects and applications, becoming valuable to users for important professional and personal information exchanges. A particularly vibrant area of online discourse has been forums associated with social and political interests and movements, forums that enable geographically disparate individuals to come together virtually for a variety of purposes. NativeWeb.org, the foremost online resource and virtual community for and about indigenous peoples, provided resources and expertise at a distance while establishing an infrastructure for the development of numerous discussion forums. NativeWeb ran many discussion forums and message boards and also provided Web site hosting to support more discussion forums and message boards. Between 1998 and 2001, many forums and boards experienced arguments and flames over issues of native peoples’ identity, cultural appropriation, misrepresentation, and fraud. Those targeted or implicated were fearful that online disputes would seriously affect offline life (i.e., livelihood and physical well-being). In the face of ongoing discussion forum disputes many participants simply dropped out, taking the exit option was the ultimate dispute resolution method. NativeWeb followed by shutting down all their discussion forums by 2002.
Claims Settlement Insurance claims settlement exemplifies offline interactions lending themselves to online dispute resolution that may be cost-effective and desirable. When an automobile accident produces a dispute, the resolution of that dispute (i.e. the filing, negotiating, and agreement on settlement) presents a unique opportunity for ODR. Insurance claims settlement is a discrete and repetitive negotiation process that can be reduced to a set of defined information exchanges that can be moved online relatively easily. By avoiding physical meetings for negotiations the cost structure mitigates favorably for ODR.
Trust ODR is about trust, according to ODR pioneer and scholars Katsh and Rifkin (2001). Large-scale online commerce is constrained by a trust gap, some of which is visceral. Individuals and organizations have a disinclination to trade without certain firsthand interactions as well as secondhand accounts. Most of the gap, however, is derived from risk appraisal that evaluates the possibilities for reversing an unsatisfactory transaction in addition to potential trading partners. Contracts have long been used to reduce risk by filling the trust gap with reliance on third-party adjudication and enforcement. Trust is an interpretation or perception of security, a weighting of the likelihood that object and compensation will be exchanged smoothly. Courts and ADR are important in bridging the trust gap offline so individuals will interact with relative unknowns. In cyberspace, the trust gap between potential buyers and sellers is a significant barrier to interaction. ODR addresses those deficits, providing potential alternatives to litigation as well as assuaging some doubt regarding trading partners. In ODR, participants, or prospective participants, must also trust that the process is fair and secure and that the likelihood of resolution reasonable. Fairness in dispute resolution requires neutral facilitation, process openness, and opportunity for hearing. Security is a key concern with online commercial exchanges and dispute resolution. Users must trust that the systems and processes are not easily exposed and that private financial or personal information is not rendered public or disclosed inappropriately.
Expertise Expertise is closely related to trust. Prospective ODR users, and dispute resolution participants generally, are concerned with the quality of the system and process, requiring the presentation of expertise in the fourth-party environment as well as in third-party ADR practices themselves. When an individual or organization takes a claim to court, there are expectations about professional expertise in those who articulate, contest, and adjudicate cases. ADR has also had to build up its stock of experts, practitioners and scholars who constitute the profession and represent an accumulated knowledge base. Expertise is built into ODR software systems, for instance, structuring communication and management of information in direct negotiation systems or settlement algorithms in blind bidding. ODR is relatively new, however, and its stock of experts and knowledge base is just developing. ODR takes much from ADR to be sure, but ODR also necessitates new skills and practices specific to the online contexts.
Convenience
ODR Building Blocks ODR depends on the use of networked information technology, beyond that ODR is predicated on three essential building blocks: trust, expertise, and convenience (Katsh & Rifkin, 2001). ODR is largely voluntary, and therefore it must rely on its contextual fit, attractiveness, ease of use, and effectiveness.
Convenience is ODR’s major and most obvious advantage over formal litigation. The ease and reduction of physical costs associated with dispute resolution delivered by IT networks favors ODR. Additionally, online interaction occurs between parties often at considerable distance, when disputes arise from those interactions it is clearly more convenient to pursue resolution online than filing a physical claim in a distant court.
NEED AND NATURE OF ODR
ODR’s Manifestations ODR’s current manifestations are direct negotiation and myriad hybrid systems. Direct negotiation ODR is most often formulated as blind bidding claims settlement and is especially well suited to discrete disputes over claims in insurance settlement proceedings. Hybrid ODR covers a fairly wide spectrum of dispute resolution models. Some utilize a mix of online and offline procedures. Hybrids may be stand-alone ODR services such as mediation or arbitration with no offline component, or they may be systems employing online and offline components. At the cutting edge are decision support, collaboration, and multivariable negotiation systems that aggressively leverage the interactive and computational power of information technology to produce greater satisfaction levels for participants. Most ODR service providers employ similar technical means despite applying different dispute resolution models. All ODR service providers can be found on the Web, some are immediately associated with particular online contexts or marketplaces (e.g., SquareTrade.com and eBay.com). ODR cases commence when individuals or organizations register with an ODR service provider and file claims against individuals, groups, or organizations. Registration and filing may be all online or have mixed online–offline components. Service providers process claims by soliciting participation from the noncomplaining disputant through e-mail, phone, fax, or snail mail. Once respondent agrees to participate, the ODR service provider may use mediation, arbitration, or direct negotiation via e-mail, video conferencing, chat, a variety of Web communication, document handling, and database applications. As with ADR, offline ODR strives to provide a structure for solution development, relationship reparation, and ultimate dispute disengagement. Although direct negotiation may be completely automated in some instances and employ solution determination algorithms, other ODR models use human facilitators to promote participation, communication, and crafting of solutions. Service providers are also using IT applications (e.g., SmartSettle.com) to help formulate solutions that maximize satisfaction for disputants in complex multivariable negotiations. The population of ODR service providers is fluid; for updated list of service providers visit the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution (http://www.umass.edu/dispute).
Blind Bidding Blind-bidding direct negotiation is most effectively applied to insurance claims cases. Blind-bidding structures an iterative communication of blind demands and offers with on-the-fly calculations to determine whether the case specific settlement barrier as been breached. In 2002, CyberSettle.com and Clicknsettle.com are examples of operative blind-bidding systems. Dispute resolution in blind bidding is reduced to a simple form: a claim for reimbursement or damages is made against a party, an acceptance or attribution of some responsibility by the party against which the claim is made, an opportunity to present relevant information, and then an iterative process of blind demand and blind offer until settlement or
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impasse. Blind-bidding systems apply split-the-difference algorithms to determine settlement or impasse; never do participants know exact demands or offers, only that they are requested to submit another or resolution has been achieved. Participants create a settlement or contract to ensure enforcement of remedy; if, however, a party wishes to further the contest, more traditional legal options (i.e., civil suits) are available, and their relative positions have not been exposed. Direct negotiation is also applied by ODR hybrids. Many online disputes, especially those deriving from auctions, are straightforward, with a small domain of disputes and solutions, and nearly all relationships are one time, discrete events (Katsh et al., 2000). SquareTrade. com, following a facilitated mediation pilot project by the Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution (Katsh et al., 2000), established a direct negotiation ODR system for eBay, now handling 80% of auctionrelated disputes (Katsh, 2002) and overseeing successful resolution of more than two thirds of those. According to SquareTrade, on a given day in August 2002, they received 1,000 complaints. Online direct negotiation systems such as SquareTrade.com are Web and e-mail based, with claims and responses filed via Web interface, and then exchanges are facilitated through an e-mail message scheduling database and routing software. This form of direct negotiation requires no human facilitation by SquareTrade.com; for other online disputes, however, simply enhancing communication is not going to be enough to settle conflict.
ODR Hybrids Although many disputes can be reduced to a mathematical negotiation over a single variable or can be settled simply by enhancing communication between disputing parties, some online disputes will benefit from third-party facilitation in an ODR fourth-party environment. Hybrid ODR systems may be entirely online or employ a mix of online or offline services to cover a broad range of disputes. Hybrids are largely modeled on offline experiences with mediators, arbitrators, or other dispute resolution facilitators including judges, jurors, and lawyers. ODR hybrids are generally designed to provide these experiences while reducing the difficulties associated with face to face interaction such as travel, heated emotions, bias, and power inequities. Hybrids also leverage information technology for complex negotiations or collaborations across physical and temporal space, incorporating multiple participants and interests.
Facilitated Mediation Direct negotiation in online auction disputes has been utilized to a significant degree; when that fails, however, the dispute resolution service provider—SquareTrade, in the case of eBay—is ready with facilitated mediation options. Using a Web interface and online mediators, most of whom are also offline mediators, ODR service providers have developed relatively simple fourth-party environments for voluntary auction-related dispute mediation. Claims and responses to online auction claims are filed via the Web; e-mail is used initially to connect mediator
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with disputants. Mediation consists of a series of communication exchanges at the ODR mediation case Web site. Online mediators employ techniques similar to their offline counterparts, except without much of the informal information exchange taken for granted in physical proximity (e.g., body language, tone of voice, eye contact). After filing a claim and original narrative, online mediators may solicit each participant to expand on elements of their stories; mediators then can recraft somewhat in attempts to find common ground. Disputes arising from online auctions present limited dispute profiles, and thus mediators depend on understanding what is really of value to the disputants, as well as the most likely place for movement. Repetition has allowed SquareTrade’s online mediators to develop a knowledge base and a set of practices to manage auction-related disputes. For all its parsimony and apparent success, facilitated mediation is not binding in the larger legal context, although auction sites may deny participation rights to disputants who do not live up to terms of settlements. Facilitated mediation has had success, but it has been limited to a narrow class of online disputes; that class, however, has many members. Although not binding, facilitated mediation works because of cost and fit advantages; legal remedies are generally considered too costly and cumbersome for the bulk of online auction disputes.
Arbitration ICANN’s UDRP “arbitrations” are designed to settle disputes over Internet domain name registration quickly and cheaply. Domain name registration services, approved and licensed by ICANN, require domain name registrants to sign a service agreement contract which stipulates that any claims arising against a domain name registrant will be processed through UDRP arbitration. Several ODR service providers make available hybrid arbitration processes for these disputes: World Intellectual Property Organization, National Arbitration Forum, and Center for Public Resources, and the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center. Arbitration service providers use a mix of online and offline procedures for filing claims and associated documents (i.e., e-mail, file transfer protocols, fax, phone, snail mail, courier). Claimants choose a service provider, submit a claim, and wait for the service provider to approach the other party about participation in the arbitration. Arbitrators view the provided claims and documentation, may request supplementary information, and make decisions based on UDRP “bad faith” rules (http://www.icann.org/udrp/). Arbitrators and disputants use an array of communication types but never have a physical meeting or session. Arbitrators make decisions and submit opinions via their respective service provider to ICANN, which makes it publicly available. Service providers adhere to standards as understood in the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act and the New York Convention, despite the fact that domain name dispute resolution proceedings are not considered arbitrations under those existing laws. UDRP arbitrations are nonbinding according to both the UDRP and developing case law. In Sallen v. Corinthians Licenciamentos (2001), a federal ap-
pellate court determined that U.S. courts do have jurisdiction over domain name. In Parisi v. Netlearning, Inc. (2001), the court determined that UDRP arbitration decisions are subject to federal appellate jurisdiction. Litigation will play a significant role in how online arbitration ultimately takes shape. Policy and academic actors have roles to play as well, helping to define the terms of debate and interpreting or implementing what courts find and order (Hill, 1999). Criticisms of ICANN dispute resolution have focused on the propensity of trademark holders to prevail in domain name arbitrations. Additionally, some service providers seemed to lean more heavily toward trademark holders. Such findings have led to perceptions of forum shopping by disputants and catering to a class of disputants by service providers (Geist, 2002; Mueller, 2000).
Decision Support and Multivariable Negotiation Another class of ODR hybrids is decision support and multivariable negotiation systems (e.g., SmartSettle.com), which aggressively leverage computational information technology as much as information management and communication (Thiessen, 2000). Decision support and multi-variable negotiation is the most robust of the ODR models; third-party facilitators take active roles in assisting participants to identify, quantify, and adjust preferences in robust fourth-party environments. Users break disputes or negotiations into constituent operative variables that are given discrete value ranges and represent a mix of interests that can be adjusted during negotiations. These systems allow parties to adjust variables as they wish viewing the resulting satisfaction index and then propose a new mix.
Virtual Courts and Collaborative Platforms Beyond mediation, arbitration, and negotiation via ODR, there are a variety of approaches to conflict management. Virtual courts emulate elements of real courts and their processes; I-courthouse.com is an example of the adversarial model in online dispute resolution. Cases may originate offline or online, and disputants are essentially provided an opportunity to present a narrative claim and supporting evidence in a fourth-party environment. Virtual courts are Web accessed and typically sustain rudimentary document management. Sharing that environment are jurors who act as third parties who may query disputants individually and then render nonbinding decisions. Findings are not binding unless a contractual agreement results. At the opposite end of the spectrum are service providers that bring individuals together in fourth-party environments to seek consensus when diverse positions exist on particular issues. Consensus-building collaborative platforms (e.g., GroupMindExpress.com) present users with a variety of tools to determine group positions and individual deviances from them, as well as ascertaining commonalities among a sea of difference. These tools hold potential for ODR preprocesses, especially in large,
GLOSSARY
complicated multivariable negotiations involving numerous interests.
CONCLUSION Assessments of ODR from participants and observers are similar to offline dispute resolution; victorious disputants tend to have a more favorable overall perception of the experience. The loudest critical assessment has come from the ADR community and paradoxically ODR entrepreneurs themselves. ADR professionals are concerned that ODR’s lack of face-to-face interaction, a pillar of ADR theory and practice, is necessary for both facilitators and disputants. For facilitators, having disputants in front of them physically allows employment of a range of interpersonal skills and cues. For disputants, especially those in longstanding relationships, face-to-face interaction may be useful for rebuilding trust and helping to move from positions of intransigence toward substantive reconciliation. ODR entrepreneurs, although confident in their products and services, are critical of the market itself, of the apparent difficulties finding a fit for many of them. Other major concerns include trust gaps, openness or transparency of process balanced with security and privacy of information, lack of standards in training and practice, cultural differences among disputants and facilitators, and language. ODR strives to provide trust to online commercial contexts, but there still is a considerable lack of trust in ODR itself. Some of this comes from concerns with enforceability of remedies, but ADR was able to transcend this, and ODR is also likely to do so. Instead it is the fact that ODR service providers may be relatively unknown, their facilitators hidden behind a digital veil. To bridge that gap, service providers make assurances as to the confidentiality and privacy of participants’ ODR experiences in conjunction with open and transparent processes and third-party facilitator profiles. Until ODR is better established, the primary manner to assuage trust gaps resulting from concerns with thirdparty training and practice standards is to draw online facilitators from the ADR field. English is the dominant ODR language, and alternative dispute resolution theories and practices from North America and Europe also dominate. To counter hegemonic claims and criticisms, ODR service providers will first have to adopt language translation technology or services as they become more cost-effective and robust. Bridging the language divide will provide for creating a discourse on the substance of dispute resolution theories and practices as well as ODR models themselves. ODR’s future appears tied to online commerce in both the short and long term; it is also likely that formal dispute resolution institutions and actors will use ODR as part of a bundle of conflict management tools. Entrepreneurial applications that facilitate robust forms of information exchange and case management and that may be flexibly connected will provide more effective dispute avoidance through informed decision making. To more effectively create ODR tools, designers must focus on dispute profiles rather than mimicking ADR models. Dispute profile variables such as context, cause, missing information,
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outcome ranges, and patterns of behavior provide far more indication of potential resolution or avoidance mechanisms than existing ADR models. Online experiences are fractured; there is a seemingly endless stream of discrete interactions. ODR’s future is in diversification and niche filling, finding where market inefficiencies are intolerable and capitalizing on novel means of amelioration.
GLOSSARY Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) A set of practices to manage conflict outside of litigation and courts. Mediation, arbitration, and negotiation are the primary manifestations often facilitated by a neutral third party employing a variety of interpersonal and managerial skills. Arbitration A dispute resolution method in which a neutral third party makes a definitive finding that may be binding or nonbinding. Blind bidding An online dispute resolution method in which disputants make a series of blind bids and offers in a claims settlement negotiation. Settlement occurs when the difference between the bid and offer reach a certain predetermined threshold. Chargebacks A credit card company practice of crediting customer accounts when transactions are in dispute. Direct negotiation A dispute resolution method with no neutral third party. Disputants communicate and negotiate with each other directly. Dispute resolution All methods and models for managing conflict. This includes alternative dispute resolution and traditional adversarial contests in courts. Dispute avoidance Informal and formal practices to make disputing less likely. Forum shopping: The practice of disputants selecting apparently favorable litigation or other dispute resolution contexts or facilitators. Fourth party Software-created dispute resolution environments and constituent practices. Hybrid online dispute resolution Dispute resolution processes that use both online technologies and offline practices to manage conflict. Multivariable negotiation and decision support Online dispute resolution processes that handle complex variable-laden negotiations and decision making. Mediation A dispute resolution method in which a neutral third party facilitates communication and case settlement between disputants. The neutral party does not make final decisions, and solutions are the product of the disputants. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) An Internet domain name registration regulatory and oversight entity. MOOs/MUDs Early self-contained virtual social environments in which users conducted interaction via textual interface; users took on characters and immersed themselves in various social contexts. Negotiation A dispute resolution or avoidance technique in which parties bargain over exchanges of value with the goal of reaching a final settlement.
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Online dispute resolution The use of online technologies to support or sustain conflict management for disputes arising online and off. Positive law State or other sovereign legal institutions, rules, and actors. Third party An alternative dispute resolution facilitator (e.g., mediator or arbitrator). Trustmark/Trustseal An online seal or signification indicating that an organization, corporation, or individual meets proffered standards of commercial and other online practices. Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) Procedures for managing domain name registration conflicts under ICANN.
CROSS REFERENCES See Business-to-Business (B2B) Electronic Commerce; Consumer-Oriented Electronic Commerce; Online Communities.
REFERENCES American Bar Association Task Force on Electronic Commerce and ADR (2002, March). Addressing disputes in electronic commerce: Recommendations and report. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association. Auerbach, J. S. (1983). Justice without law? Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bordone, R. C. (1998). Electronic online dispute resolution: A systems approach—potential. Harvard Negotiation Law Review, 147. Fuller, L. (1978). The forms and limits of adjudication. Harvard Law Review, 92. Gaitenby, A. (1996). Law’s mapping of cyberspace: The shape of new social space. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 52, 135. Geist, M. (2002, March). Fundamentally fair.com? An update on bias allegations and the ICANN UDRP. Retrieved from http://aixl.uottawa.ca/∼geist/ frameset.html Hill, R. (1999, April). Online arbitration: Issues and solutions. Arbitration International. Retrieved April 4, 2002, from http://www.umass.edu/dispute/hill.htm
Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, voice, and loyalty; responses to decline in firms, organizations, and states, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Kassedjian, C., & Cahn, S. (1998). Dispute resolution online. International Lawyer, 32, 977 Katsh, E. (2002, Spring). Online dispute resolution: The next phase. Lex Electronica, 7. Retrieved April 4, 2002, from http://www.lexelectronica.org/articles/v7– 2/katsh.htm Katsh, E, & Rifkin, J. (2001). Online dispute resolution. New York: Jossey-Bass. Katsh, E., Rifkin, J., & Gaitenby, A. (2000). E-commerce, e-disputes, and e-dispute resolution: In the shadow of “eBay Law.” Ohio State Journal of Dispute Resolution, vol 15. Lessig, L. (1999). Code and other laws of cyberspace. New York: Basic Books. Mueller, M. (2000, November). Rough justice: An analysis of ICANN’s dispute resolution policy. Retrieved April 4, 2002, from http://dcc.syr.edu/roughjustice. htm Parisi v. Netlearning, Inc., 139 F. Supp. 2d 745 (2001). Post, D. (1996, May). Engineering a virtual magistrate system. Paper prepared for NCAIR Conference on Online Dispute Resolution, Washington, DC. Rule, C., (2002) ODR for business: B2B ecommerce, consumer, employment, insurance, and other commercial conflicts. New York: Jossey-Bass. Sallen v. Corinthians Licenciamentos, 273 F.3d 14 (2001). Thiessen, E. (2000). Beyond win-win in cyberspace. Ohio State Journal of Dispute Resolution, 15. U.S. Federal Arbitration Act, 9 USCS 1 (2002).
FURTHER READING Perritt, H. H. (2000). Dispute resolution in cyberspace: Demand for new forms of ADR. Ohio State Journal of Dispute Resolution, 15. Perritt, H. H. (1996, May). Electronic dispute resolution: An NCAIR Conference. Paper prepared for NCAIR Conference on Online Dispute Resolution, Washington, DC.
Online News Services (Online Journalism) Journalism)
Bruce Garrison, University of Miami
Introduction Origins of Online News The Online News World Convergence Online News Writing Searching For an Economic Model The Competitive Dimension Leading Online News Sites ABC News Cable News Network Fox News Channel Los Angeles Times MSNBC
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INTRODUCTION Online journalism has become an important part of information available on the World Wide Web and the Internet. In the past decade, online magazines, wire services, newspapers, television stations, broadcast-cable networks, and subscription newsletters have matured to take advantage of their unique orientation and audiences. New technologies that allow consumers new ways to obtain Web-based information are introduced almost each year. Wireless technology that allows even greater access to online news and information is growing rapidly in the first decade of the new century. Airports, college campuses, business centers, downtown areas, and even entire communities are becoming wireless centers for laptop and notebook computer users, and for personal digital assistant-handheld (PDA) device users. Cell telephone users have even greater wireless access for online news and information. New technologies in development, such as flat-screen portable tablets, are likely to become popular in the near future as well. Even with new wireless technologies for a variety of receiving devices, wired online services continue to grow in their availability and in use worldwide. The use numbers for online news sites and services, such as their e-mail alerts, have become staggering. News consumers are embracing these new communication tools. The new communication technologies have been viewed by news organizations as opportunities to extend their reach and contact with news consumers at international levels. The result is new forms and formats of news and information, such as news headlines and breaking story alerts delivery to subscribers, that are at the cutting edge of communication at the beginning of the new century. One example is the recently reorganized and redesigned Sacramento Bee Web site (http://sacbee.com). The site, housed in a building across the street from the newspaper offices in the California state capitol, emphasizes local and regional content built on the local and state coverage of the newspaper (Stone, 2002). The local print con-
San Jose Mercury News The New York Times The Washington Post USA Today The Wall Street Journal Online News Service Models The 24-Hours-a-Day News Model The Community Bulletin Board Site Model The Supplementary News Site Model The Exclusive News Site Model Glossary Cross References References
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tent has been enhanced with multimedia, entertainment content, and related sites devoted to local entertainment (http://sacramento.com and http://www.sacticket.com/ movies). All of this is done with about two dozen staff members, but only two devoted to content production and two others who focus on content management. Other staff members are involved in advertising sales, technical support, site management, and other site business activities (Stone, 2002). Online newspapers such as The Bee also understand the Web is a means to compete more directly with the instantaneous nature of the news services, radio, and television (Stone, 2002; Weise, 1997). This chapter focuses on the nature and status of online news and journalism, including that practiced by newspapers, magazines, and broadcast and network television. It will provide an overview of the evolution of online news over the past decade. This chapter outlines the most significant economic models that have failed, have succeeded, or currently are being tested. Competition between online newspapers, radio stations, television stations and networks, magazines, and other media is also discussed. The chapter examines the changing nature of online news and the impact of multimedia and convergence on their content and staffing. The chapter provides brief descriptions of the major American online news organizations. The primary service models for online news and a summary of online news market sizes and models conclude the discussion.
ORIGINS OF ONLINE NEWS The news industry is diversifying. Today’s news companies own local and national newspapers, local television stations, cable television and radio networks, AM and FM radio stations, general and specialized market magazines, subscription newsletters, professional sports teams, outdoor advertising companies, newsprint plants, Internet service providers, and a growing number of high-profile World Wide Web sites. These popular Web sites cover a lot of informational ground. They include news and 755
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information content, but also focus on activities such as entertainment and nightlife, tourism and travel, sports, and reference/research. News companies, particularly those that began with newspapers several generations ago, have emerged as new enterprises in the multimedia world through expansion and contraction, redefinition, and restructuring. Most news companies have embraced this form of convergence and have moved fully into the digital age. The number of online news sites grew geometrically in the mid-1990s, paralleling the growth in popularity of the Web beginning in 1993–95. However, the origins of online news can be traced to the early 1980s. In 1983, the Knight-Ridder newspaper group and AT&T launched a revolutionary experiment to bring people news on demand through their computers or television sets (AT&T dropped out of the project in 1984). Development work on the videotext service, called Viewtron, began in 1978 but took more than five years to debut. It remains noteworthy because it was a forerunner of today’s online news media. Knight-Ridder suspended the Viewtron operations on April 1, 1986, having fewer than 20,000 subscribers and having lost $50 million. A similar venture at the Los Angeles Times called Gateway also closed operations in 1986, having only 3,000 users. The failed ventures left journalists wondering whether there would ever be a market for news on demand via computers (Burgess, 1993; Keefe, 1996). Viewtron and its partners even adopted rapidly developing PCs to their service by aggressively marketing software for PCs in 1985–86, but it was not enough. With the right timing, Viewtron might have become an America Online (AOL) or CompuServe, distinguishing itself with a strong component of news and information. Had the service existed only five years later, it would have been at the edge of the then-new Web. A handful of daily newspapers were available online through proprietary online services in the 1980s. These included eleven newspapers that did an experiment with CompuServe in 1982. A few other newspapers produced online sites in 1990, including The Albuquerque Tribune, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, and the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. University of Florida Interactive Media Lab Director David Carlson has outlined this development with an online media timeline on the World Wide Web ( http :// iml . jou . ufl . edu / carlson / professional/ newmedia/default.htm). The Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com) was the first newspaper to provide same-day editorial content to America Online in May 1992. Soon afterward, the San Jose Mercury News (http://www.bayarea.com/mld/ mercurynews), also a pioneer in online news, was the first newspaper to put its entire contents online on AOL in 1993. At the time, when only three million Americans were online, the Mercury News’ decision to put the newspaper’s Mercury Center online was simply an experiment. As a result, most observers regard it as the first online newspaper. It was not surprising that a San Jose newspaper would lead the way in online journalism. Given its location, it considers itself the paper of record for the famed Silicon Valley. By the mid- 1990s, as the Web expanded rapidly, broadcast news outlets were developing a significant presence
on the Web as well. Broadcast and cable networks were among the earliest to put their news content on the Web, but local affiliates began to build Web sites with news content that also served a promotional purpose by offering program listings, biographies and other information about air personalities, and various forms of community service features. Competitive amateur and professional sports have become a major drawing card for online news sites in the past decade as well. Local and national news organizations have built a user base by providing information about local teams and major sports events while competition is underway. Local newspapers and television stations often offer running summaries and updated scores of events not always on television or radio. They enhance printed and broadcast coverage by offering statistics, schedules, and other information that, because of space or time limitations, cannot be published or broadcast. National news media often provide similar service for professional teams and major college events. There was also a growth of Web-based electronic magazines at about the same time. These topical online publications are often called “zines” or “e-zines.” Most zines did not originate in printed form, but certainly were built upon the printed magazine tradition. They are often highly specialized. Zines have been described as “independent publications characterized by idiosyncratic themes, low circulation, irregular frequency, ephemeral duration, and noncommercial orientation” (Rauch, 2002). Almost overnight, these energetic periodicals appeared all over the Web and received a large amount of popular media coverage and attention as the trend of the moment. The Web created opportunities for this new genre of specialized online news and information in the mid- and late 1990s, and they have continued into the new century with a steady niche audience appeal. There are thousands of zines on the Web today and they attract an audience in the millions (Rauch, 2002).
THE ONLINE NEWS WORLD For the past half decade, news organizations have scrambled to keep up with competitors to establish their strong presence on the Internet and Web. In some studies, Internet use for reading and viewing news has exceeded traditional news media such as magazines and radio. One study found it approached the use levels of network television and cable television (“Internet Growing as News Medium,” 2002). After having set themselves up for the future, online news media have worked to define themselves. This has been difficult for news organizations, whether they are based in newspapers, magazines, television, or radio, or are independents and only on the Web. For online newspapers, the effort to determine the role and model in which to work has already gone through several iterations. There will be more to come. Just like radio and television before it, the newest technologies undergo a formation period. Online newspapers are experiencing an era of exploration and self-determination. Although there are no geographic boundaries for online newspapers, practically speaking, most people who access a local newspaper
CONVERGENCE
do it for local news. Online newspapers differ from most online news media in their intensely local nature provided by the content they offer from their print editions. Formation of new media can trigger transformation of established media. New media may also have a destabilizing effect on old media, but old media also tend to embrace the new media (Samoriski, 2002). For example, the development of television brought on change in movie newsreels and, ultimately, their disappearance in theaters. However, it is also common for new media to complement and benefit existing outlets (Samoriski, 2002). For example, print newspapers might advise readers to go online for more information not offered in the printed editions due to space limitations or they can offer links to multimedia content-such as interviews with key newsmakers, photo galleries, video and audio of major events as they occurred-available on the online newspaper’s Web site. Online newspapers require professional abilities and skills different from their print counterparts. While both forms require news judgment, speed, and other fundamental journalistic tools, online newspapers have sought producers with greater versatility to work in multimedia as well as computer network technologies (Stepp, 1996). Old skills-based walls have been taken down in favor of individuals who can do it all—write, edit, compile, tell the story visually, and work with audio and video content. The changing staff needs have forced some online newspapers to recruit beyond their own newspaper newsrooms. News companies will continue to look for specialists in different skills areas such as print and television, but will also increasingly seek “multimedia super-reporters” who cover the world with backpacks loaded with laptops, digital video and still cameras, and audio recorders (Gates, 2002). New news media have also forced change among the more traditional online news media. The popularity of coverage offered by independent news Web sites such as Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/) and Matt Drudge and the Drudge Report (http://www.drudgereport.com/) have brought mainstream news media on the Web to new horizons. Drudge, on his own in early 1998, broke coverage of the Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton affair that scandalized the White House and the Clinton administration for several years. Established news organizations, such as those that are part of newspaper or television organizations, have responded to the wide-open approaches offered by these sites with more liberal definitions of news that include less traditional approaches to breaking stories, features, and other content.
CONVERGENCE The best online newspapers have readily moved from shovelware—the period when what they offered was little more than the published content of the traditional newspaper and the wire services—toward convergence. They seem to have matured past the point of scooping themselves when coverage of either the online or print edition carries a story that the other does not (“An Evolving Medium,” 1999; Fee, 2002). Not only do the best online newspapers today offer much more than just the best content of the daily newspaper, they offer an interactive
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Internet home for their established print edition readers as well as nonreader residents and visitors. Many online newspapers have developed online information portals for their communities (Miller, 2001). They want to offer readers a wide range of interactive tools and technologies to experience news and information like it has never been provided before (“The Impact of the Internet,” 2000). One of the most-publicized examples of national and international corporate media convergence was the America Online–Time Warner merger that was announced in early 2000. Some reports described it as a merger, but AOL stockholders actually owned 55% of the new company when the deal was completed. AOL obtained the immense resources of Time Warner, including Time Inc., and CNN, through the buyout involving $156 billion in AOL stock. This event set the stage for dozens of multimedia and convergence opportunities for the new corporation that now includes America Online’s worldwide network access, its Internet services, and its proprietary Web content, Time Warner’s CNN broadcast news networks, its widely circulated and respected magazines (e.g., Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Money, People) and news services, its cable television and broadband customers, its music library, its film library and archives, and much more. It has been characterized by one media observer as a “new age, techno-cultural behemoth” (George, 2000). The possibilities of such resources combined with the Internet and online media are dizzying. A leading example of convergence at the regional level is the merger of newsrooms by Media General in Tampa, Florida. The Tampa Tribune (http://tampatrib.com), the morning daily newspaper serving Tampa Bay, WFLA-TV (http://www.wfla.com) Channel 8, the NBC broadcast television affiliate, and Tampa Bay Online (http://www.tbo. com), the Web site serving both the newspaper and television station, moved into a single facility in 2000 to share and work together in an early effort at convergence of newsrooms and technologies. The three news organizations share news resources, equipment, and staff. In fact, the large newsrooms, studios, workstations, and other facilities spread over several floors of the news center are anchored by a circular central news desk in the building’s atrium. Journalists from each of the three news organizations staff the news desk and coordinate use of images, audio, video, wire content, local photographs, and news stories as well as other available content. Web portals provide much more than just news content. Many traditional news media have established portals for residents and visitors of their communities and regions. The San Jose Mercury News (http://www.bayarea. com/mld/mercurynews/), for example, is the daily newspaper portal serving California’s Silicon Valley and is the host newspaper for Knight-Ridder Newspapers (http:// www.knightridder.com). It serves the Bay Area with the equally suburban Contra Costa Times within a site called BayArea.com (http://www.bayarea.com). The Boston Globe has established a similar portal for New England with Boston.com (http://www.boston.com). Online newspaper and television portals provide a gateway to a series of sites and links about a region or metropolitan area. They are also often customizable so readers can select types of information displayed on the home page.
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ONLINE NEWS WRITING Online journalism has the opportunity to take the best features and characteristics of existing mass media and news media, eliminate most of the weaknesses, and roll them into a new medium in which stories can be told in new ways using words, video, audio, and still photos together. To accomplish this, online news writing is evolving. It is, of course, quite different from newspaper, broadcast, or other news media writing. To be truly valuable to users, online news must take advantage of hypermedia and hypertext and their nonlinear nature. Writing for online news sites is often done in layers (e.g., headlines, summaries, leads, and other text), often called “chunking,” and with an awareness of clicking and scrolling capabilities of browser software. Online storytelling should involve the wide variety of media forms available on the Web, not just text and images. This includes audio, video, and forms of reader-user interactivity such as chat rooms and instant opinion polls. Another important part of writing for online newspapers is style. Each publication develops its own style. Sometimes, it is personal, casual, and informal. Other approaches can be more formal. Often the style used is a function of the audience served (Rich, 1999; Whittaker, 2000). Although the Internet allows storing long articles easily, the compact style has not been abandoned. News writers still strive for brevity for many of their stories in order to display an entire story in one screen view without scrolling. Online newspapers have a struggle similar to that of their print counterparts. Both are fighting for survival in a digital- and video-oriented world. With countless other online news sources coming from television, radio, and magazines, competition for online newspapers is intense. Add to the mix a new set of news providers—online services such as America Online and Yahoo!—and the job becomes much more difficult. With an online customer base of 29 million customers and nine million log-ins per day compared to three million for The New York Times’ online version, AOL cannot be ignored as a news provider. Yet analysts are fast to criticize the news judgment and coverage of AOL as overly commercialized, perhaps even unethical (Koerner, 2001). If, as some AOL executives maintain, AOL is used by many of its customers for news and information instead of local online newspapers, the electronic editions of newspapers have a long road ahead for success and, perhaps, survival. As one critic wrote, online news consumers and journalists should “be afraid” of such ventures (Koerner, 2001, p. 25). The evolution of online newspapers has paralleled the development of other online news media in recent years (“An Evolving Medium,” 1999; Strupp, 1999). They are learning what works and what does not. Newspapers have offered electronic mail alert services for breaking and ongoing stories, severe weather bulletins, or even more routine notifications of new editions of their publications (Langfield, 2001; Outing, 2001). While interactive features, such as electronic mail used for news alert services and bulletins, have been successful, Web-based chat rooms have not been used as effectively (Perlman, 1999;
Pryor, 2000). Major national tragedies, such as those surrounding the student shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado on April 20, 1999, or the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, provided opportunities to use interactivity, but many online newspapers were criticized for failing to use them well (Outing, 2001; Perlman, 1999). Newspaper sites have become quite popular during this learning period, but newspapers continue to learn how to use their Web edition to attract and serve readers and advertisers (Strupp, 1999; Pryor, 2000). For example, use of interactive features to enhance reader feedback seems to be growing in newspaper newsrooms (“The Impact of the Internet,” 2000). While there is growth in sophistication in developing news content, the same cannot be said about commercial endeavors that would support the news product. Electronic commerce and advertising opportunities remain a mystery to many in the industry. Online newspaper managers certainly have not learned everything necessary about turning the sites into profit centers for the company, but neither have other online news organizations at this point in their development. The online newspaper industry is so young that it remains uncertain how its costs will be paid (McMillan, 1998; Palser, 2001b; Pryor, 2000). Online news technology has altered traditional news gathering and distribution in at least one additional way. The low cost of Internet access and storage space combined with the user-friendly nature of its software for content creation has led to a form of personal journalism that has become known as the “weblog” or “blog.” These personal and noncommercial sites are usually prepared by date of entry in a log, journal, or diary format. A site is usually specialized and focuses on a single topic or subject area and offers information and observations from the author, contributors, or from other sites. Some weblogs are single author and some are collaborations of groups of interested contributors. The sites are often also called blogs. These sites have attracted quite a following in the past decade and led to the phenomenon of weblogging or blogging. Readers find them appealing since they change every day. This highly personal approach to journalism has been used in independent, nonbranded online news sites and has become a feature of some more conventional online news sites as well. The ease of using the software required to create blogs has led to their worldwide growth in popularity (Higgins, 2000; Walker, 2001).
SEARCHING FOR AN ECONOMIC MODEL New York Times Company Chairman and Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., effectively expressed the position of newspapers in the online age. He recently stated that “If we’re going to define ourselves by our history, then we deserve to go out of business” (Gates, 2002). “Newspapers cannot be defined by the second word—paper. They’ve got to be defined by the first—news. All of us have to become agnostic as to the method of distribution. We’ve got to be as powerful online, as powerful in TV and broadcasting, as we are powerful in newsprint.”
THE COMPETITIVE DIMENSION
Newspapers, more than any other traditional news medium, raced to go online during the mid-1990s. In 1994 and 1995, they were offered for free. However, some owners and managers felt they could charge for the content and offered online subscriptions. This was shortlived, however, as the experiment failed when users found comparable information elsewhere on the Web (Grimes, 2002). Owners and managers had expected to be part of a digital gold rush (Dibean & Garrison, 2001; Quint, 1994), but the anticipated gold rush never came because the medium has not found a profitable economic model. To date, there simply has not been sufficient advertising volume and other revenue to support online news. News on the Web, some have observed, spreads on the Web very quickly, has a short shelf-life, and can be found for free if a user searches hard enough (Grimes, 2002). There are numerous business models for Web content, including the failed videotex model, the failed paid Internet model, the failed free Web model, the failed Internet/ Web advertising “push” model, the present portals and personal portals models, and the evolving digital portals model (Picard, 2000). Online news organizations are experimenting today with portal approaches. Within the various portal models, the subscription model may be the future despite previous failed efforts. Financial conditions often lead to such radical change and the economic environment in late 2001 and 2002 following the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, combined with a recession, put pressure on sites to generate income. Online advertising was not producing sufficient content and sites were forced to find a different economic model. Suddenly, the subscription model looked better and, as one publication in 2002 stated, “the free lunch is over” (Smith, 2002, February; see also Smith, 2002, April; Trombly, 2002). The collapse of free alternatives will lead consumers to accept the subscription or other fee-based models for operation of online news sites. Commercial sites with valued content have already found this to work. The Wall Street Journal and its online site, for example, had more than 609,000 subscribers in 2002. “We already know that consumers will pay for highly valued, proprietary content that either makes or saves them money,” stated EContent writer Steve Smith (2002, February, p. 19). “For most other content brands, however, it gets more complicated. The fear of competition from free alternatives, the risks of severe traffic loss, and the overwhelming resistance among users has left the fee-based approach more of a pipe dream.” Despite this surge toward fee-based content, it is apparent that consumers have been conditioned to expect to find news online at no cost (Donatello, 2002). Online users see the Web as an open frontier that is free to all, and they adamantly oppose paying even modest fees (Noack, 1998). Since 1997, some online newspapers ceased publication for lack of profitability. The most noteworthy newspaper to charge for its online content is The Wall Street Journal’s Interactive Edition (http://www.wsj.com). Print subscribers to the Journal and Barron’s pay a smaller fee for most of the online edition. The Journal differs from the other fee-based newspapers in that it is a nationally prestigious newspaper. The Journal also offers much editorial content related to
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business and finance, making it more akin to a specialized online publication to which an interested niche audience is willing to pay a fee (Rieder, 2001). Online news consumers are upscale and typically live in urban or metropolitan areas. A study of online newspaper consumers in 2001 concluded there is an undeveloped newspaper market for paid access to local information and news. The study concluded that “substantial marketing efforts” were required to develop the consumer base. Consumers, the study stated, are (a) unwilling to pay for content because they are conditioned to finding it for free, (b) they do not see “incremental value” in online news, (c) newspapers are “strong enough to lure a core audience online, but not strong enough to make them pay,” (d) the process of paying for content reinforces attitudes against paying for it, and (e) consumers are willing to register and provide personal information, but not to pay cash for access (Donatello, 2002, p. 36). Online news media, unlike their forerunners in videotex services, are popular. At the very least, newspapers, radio and television stations and networks, and news magazines sustain them to maintain their brand reputations in cyberspace. However, until the industry can find a successful economic model for online news media to make a profit, or at least sustain its operations, they will always be a promotional service in their organizations rather than distinct editorial voices. For several years, news organizations have been searching to find the solution for a profitable Web site. According to one national analysis, about half of the 171 newspapers participating in a 2001 survey reported slight profits, mostly from classified advertising, but they also earned some revenue from banner advertising, sponsorships, and Web-related services fees (Noack, 1998; Scasny, 2001; “The Impact of the Internet,” 2000; Trombly, 2002). The financial models for online newspapers and other online news organizations have not had enough time to test what works and what does not. In fact, one industry expert described the development of online business models as “short and wild” (Palser, 2001b, p. 82). Still, at least a few of these experts feel it is not a bad idea if marketed properly (Palser, 2001a, 2001b) or, if news sites offer more value, paid access will succeed (Scasny, 2001). It does not appear likely, in the minds of observers, that subscription revenues will overtake and replace advertising revenues in the near future. There are too many variables, such as sector served, markets, brands involved, and prices. Online news sites must explore content and merchandise offered. Sites may have to target highly specific audiences and meet their information needs, for instance, to succeed. Ultimately, the situation seems to involve redesigning content offered to create greater demand instead of simply getting customers used to paying for something they used to get for free (Smith, 2002, February).
THE COMPETITIVE DIMENSION One of the main characteristics of online news media that make them different from more traditional news media is hypertext. Fredin (1997; see also Fredin and David, 1998) noted that in order for online newspapers and other media to provide a news service online, “a computer-based
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interactive system requires a wide range of links or choices within stories” (p. 1). Most news organizations are only beginning to understand the uses of hypertext, linking, and integration of other media into their coverage of breaking news, features, and other information that can provide the depth and scope of coverage expected of newspapers and their online counterparts (Marlatt, 1999). Multimedia news content distributed on the Web still has a lot of developing to do. Online audio and video quality is often a function of connection speed. Individuals connecting to an online news source with a modem or wireless device will often experience slide-show like video and out-of-sync audio or worse (Palser, 2000). Individuals with a digital subscriber line (DSL), cable modem, or faster connections still find difficulties with loading sound and video clips and getting them to play. One critic wrote that online news video was in its “adolescence” in mid2000 (Palser, 2000, p. 84). Its potential in enhancing online newspapers and their coverage, however, seems great no matter how it is seen today, especially for newspapers that have sister television and radio stations for shared content. When Web-based multimedia news works, it can be stunning in the same way that live television takes us to the scene of breaking stories. Some newspapers, particularly those dailies in small and medium-sized markets, have begun to use live and archived audio on the Web to enhance coverage and add to their competitive edge. One of the best at using multimedia is the Topeka Capital-Journal (CJ Online, http://www.cjonline.com) in Kansas. It offers exceptional access to video and audio clips for users. Because of this and other high quality site content, the Capital-Journal was honored by Editor & Publisher, a newspaper industry trade magazine, as the Best Online Newspaper in 2002 (Richardson, 2002). Among the other early multimedia users have been the Indianapolis Star-News (IndyStar.com, http://www.starnews.com), and the St. Paul Pioneer Press (PioneerPlanet, http://www.pioneerplanet. com). These sites use sound from press conferences, interviews, and even voice reports from their own staff members in the field (Lasica, 1999). One media analyst, in fact, suggested that online newspapers use a database management model—in which stories, images, and other content are stored in a database and Web news pages are built on demand—for distributing their news instead of the broadcast, or television station style, model that had been common throughout the past decade (Blankenhorn, 1999). Online news organizations are often restricted by their budgets and staff resources. While they may seek to use interactive and multimedia resources and to develop original content, the number of people, their experience and skills levels, and the money available to pay the bills often sets stark parameters in which the online edition operates (Fouhy, 2000; South, 1999). In recent years, budgets of online newspapers and their staff sizes have been impacted by worsening economic conditions—increasing operational expenditures and decreasing revenues—that have led to numerous layoffs and curtailed services (Fouhy, 2000; Houston, 1999; Palser, 2001a; Rieder, 2001). Survival became the focus of many online news sites as the new
century began (Farhi, 2000b). Some analysts have argued that such decisions were short-sighted and not in the future interests of online news (Palser, 2001a; Rieder, 2001). Cutbacks have led to greater dependence on automated Web page production using software that builds HTML pages from news system databases, including those of the wire services. Online managers use research about their audiences on a regular basis. It may not be conventional readership research in the same way newspapers or broadcast stations have conducted it over the years. Instead, Web-based news sites depend on traffic reports generated by software that monitors the Web site’s server and visits to and from the site and its pages. Online news sites are also using information about Web site users, such as how long they spend reading a site’s pages, to help sell advertising and to target audiences more carefully (Nicholas & Huntington, 2000).
LEADING ONLINE NEWS SITES It is important to note, at this point, that some of the most popular online news sites are operated by broadcasting companies. This underlines the popularity of television as an entertainment and news source during the past four decades in the United States. Since the 1960s, the largest proportion of Americans has used television more than newspapers, magazines, or radio for daily news and information and that brand success has carried over to the broadcast companies’ presence on the World Wide Web. Just as they have done in the print and broadcast world, a handful of online news sites have dominated the short lifespan of online journalism. Recently, this has meant a combination of sites based on the nation’s leading newspapers and television networks, as shown in Tables 1 and 2. These top sites have been typically identified by their visitor traffic per day or other time period, but also because of their traditional content quality.
Table 1 Top 10 U.S. Online News Sites during 2001 Average Monthly Visitors 1. MSNBC 2. CNN 3. New York Times 4. ABC News 5. USA Today 6. Washington Post 7. Time magazine 8. Los Angeles Times 9. FoxNews 10. Wall Street Journal
MSNBC.com CNN.com NYTimes.com
10.7 million 9.5 4.8
ABCnews.com USAToday.com WashingtonPost.com
3.9 3.3 3.1
Time.com LATimes.com
2.0 1.9
FoxNews.com WSJ.com
1.4 1.4
Source: Barringer, 2001, (p. C6).
LEADING ONLINE NEWS SITES
Table 2 Leading U.S. General Online News Providers in 2002 Web Site Reach at Home/Work 1. MSNBC 2. CNN 3. Yahoo! News 4. AOL News 5. ABC News 6. New York Times 7. USA Today 8. Washington Post 9. FoxNews
MSNBC.com CNN.com Yahoo.com AOL.com ABCnews.com NYTimes.com USAToday.com WashingtonPost.com FoxNews.com
18.0% 14.1 13.1 11.9 6.7 6.0 5.5 4.0 1.8
Source: MSNBC rated #1 (2002).
ABC News ABC News, the television and radio broadcast network, has emerged as one of the leading U.S. broadcast news sites on the Internet. Drawing on its rich base of radio and television content from the network and its affiliates, the site (http://abcnews.com) features updated news content and news from its own news programs (“Good Morning America,” “World News Tonight,” “20/20,” “Downtown,” “Primetime, “Nightline,” “World News Now,” and “This Week”). The site, which went online on May 15, 1997, utilizes a large amount of interactivity. Site visitors can view network audio and video as well as webcasts. Users can visit community message boards, chat with other visitors about current public issues and breaking news stories, subscribe to e-mail news alert services, and send news content feedback, make story or coverage suggestions, and provide other comments to the newsroom. Visitors to the site as well as network television viewers are frequently encouraged to interact. The site combines the news and information content from ABC News and The Walt Disney Internet Group. The site is updated in an ongoing fashion throughout the day and night and seven days a week. It describes itself as “up-to-the-minute, engaging, informative, and interactive coverage of a range of issues and events” (ABC Newsroom, 2001). ABC News is also affiliated with ESPN, the cable sports network and channels, and often offers its content on the site. ABC News television correspondent Sam Donaldson is frequently seen on the Web site, anchoring his Internetonly live webcast called “SamDonaldson@ABCNEWS. com.” ABC News investigative reporter Chris Wallace produces and anchors an Internet-only edition of “Internet Expos.” The Wallace program has covered issues and events involving the Mafia, UFOs, and the impact of pornography on the Internet. The award-winning site attracts about 4.3 million unique users per month. This creates about 23.9 million visits and 103.9 million impressions (or deliveries of advertising messages to site readers). Most users are about 40 years old, male (59%), and are in their offices (54%) or at home (41%) when visiting the site (Advertising Opportunities, 2002).
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Cable News Network The Atlanta-based Cable News Network, known worldwide as CNN, has become a dominant international and national news site (http://www.cnn.com) on the Internet. The television news network, which debuted in 1980, arrived early on the World Wide Web and established itself as one of the leading multimedia news sites in the world, just as its broadcast parent has become in the past decade. Taking advantage of its existing video and audio content and nearly 4,000 news employees worldwide, the site combines content from the numerous television and radio services and networks with print sources to produce a news site that often functions as a news portal for many users. The site offers three editions. The U.S. edition is geared to cnn.com’s largest audience. However, the site also offers an International edition (http://edition.cnn.com) as well. Content on each edition’s site is similar in that it focuses on breaking and daily news and events, weather, sports, business, politics, law, science/technology, space, health and medicine, travel, and education. While the Asian and European pages are in English, the European page also offers readers connections to local language sites produced in Arabic, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. The CNN sites offer a variety of interactive opportunities for visitors such as the CNN polls about current events and issues, viewer feedback, and e-mail newsletters and alerts about breaking news. Content is also available for mobile telephone services. The site’s strongest attractions are its international and national coverage of news, but it also provides limited local market news through its affiliated network stations. The site has made the latest multimedia technologies, from live video streaming to audio packages, available to users. It also provides users access to searchable archives of news features and background information on the site. Like other major news sites, CNN’s site is updated continuously throughout the day. The CNN partnership with corporate cousin Time and its well-established stable of international publications has led to extensive content from such prominent magazines as Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Money on the CNN site. In 2002, cnn.com began distributing much of its video content by subscription only. Described as premium content, it offered the service with more video content and higher quality than that of the freely distributed video clips and packages from its networks. The package included CNN, CNNSI, and CNN Money video content by the month or annually at the basic level and viewers may access unedited video and “quickcasts” at the advanced level of service. CNN’s sites, of course, also emphasize user interactivity through the polls, multimedia content, e-mail, and other features.
Fox News Channel Fox News Channel (http://www.foxnews.com) is a relative newcomer in television news in the United States when compared to the well-established ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN networks, but it has come on strong in the past few years to become a popular news site for online news users. It was ranked in the top ten of U.S. news Web sites in terms of site traffic in 2002.
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The site features content related to the Fox News network news programs, the top news stories of the day, business news, sports, politics, weather, lifestyles and living, and opinion. Much of the content is generated by Fox News reporters, correspondents, and others in the Fox News Channel newsrooms around the world. The site also uses a large amount of Associated Press content. The main sections of the site include FNC Shows, which provide listings information about Fox News programs; Top Stories, which provides headlines and links to full stories about major news of the day; Politics, which focuses on international, national, and state political news from the world’s capitals; Business, which offers headlines and stories on current business news and information from Standard and Poor’s, financial and investment advice, and stock performance information and price quotes; and FoxLife, which concentrates on leisure activities such as movies and music, celebrities news, and other personal lifestyle news. The Views section of the site offers opinion essays, commentaries, and columns from Fox News correspondents, news program hosts, and contributors from outside the newsroom. The Weather section provides local forecasts and conditions searches, AccuWeather dangerous weather alerts, and other almanac and historical information. The Fox News site also has a strong Sports news and information presence that comes from/through integration with the Fox Sports Web site (http://www. foxsports.com). The Sports site is organized generally by sports and offers up-to-date partial and complete scores, sports programming listings, and headlines and stories of the current news cycle. Fox News provides an enhanced Web experience for its registered users. Registration is free, but it gives participants newsletters and discounts for fee-based services such as video archives access as well as other benefits.
Los Angeles Times The Los Angeles Times is one of the world’s leading newspapers and the dominant news source on the West Coast. Although it is internationally known, the newspaper seeks to serve Southern California with its online presence. Nonetheless, it has a significant audience of Californians as well as a national and international following, according to Richard Core (personal communication, May 2, 2002), editor of latimes.com. Core has responsibility for overseeing the editorial production of the site. Core said about half of the site’s visitors come from the print edition’s primary circulation area of Southern California, the remaining half is worldwide. The site went on the Web in April 1995, but an earlier electronic edition known as Times Link was available in 1993 and 1994 on the proprietary Prodigy information system. The site has built a considerable amount of daily traffic. Core said there are about 1.7 million page views per day (the number of pages, not single advertisements, seen by users). The site offers news, sports, business, and entertainment news stories that originate from the newspaper. This is supplemented with wire service content and video from KTLA-TV, an affiliated Los Angeles television station.
However, the strength of the site is the newspaper’s daily and weekend coverage. “We offer the whole package that you would get from a metropolitan newspaper,” Core explained. The Times’ entire print edition is not included on its Web site, however. This includes display advertising, tables such as Business section CD interest rates or Sports section results and statistics, and syndicated content such as comics or advice columns. Almost all of the Times’ news stories are posted except in extremely rare cases. Some puzzles and some photographs are also not included, but the site producers plan to improve on this. There is free content on the site that is not found in the printed editions. It includes Calendar Live! Web-only entertainment coverage, guides on Southern California, specially organized special reports, a searchable restaurant guide, searchable classifieds, and audio and video content. Original content also includes multimedia such as interviews with reporters on major local stories, documents to support reporting (such as Adobe Acrobat pdf files of indictments and lawsuit filings), and wire content. The site also presents affiliated television station video and audio clips, and it offers graphics such as Flash presentations.
MSNBC MSNBC is the combined effort of Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington, and NBC News in New York. The joint product of the computer software giant and one of the major news networks in the United States created both a widely watched cable television network, MSNBC, and what has become the nation’s leading online news site (http://www.msnbc.com). In 2002, the site was independently rated as the leader in the general news category, according to Jupiter Media Metrix (MSNBC rated #1, 2002). Much of its recent popularity with online news users was due to its coverage of the 2002 Olympics, the war in Afghanistan, and coverage of terrorism threats during 2001–02. MSNBC is a leader in creation of content solely for the Web. MSNBC content producers do not offer users as much repurposed content as newspaper sites do, for example. MSNBC.com utilizes the resources of NBC’s network television and radio operation, its business-oriented channel CNBC, and NBC affiliate stations and news services. MSNBC on the Web provides content from the collection of NBC News news programs, MSNBC TV news programs, CNBC news programs, and NBC Sports broadcasts. CNBC offers extensive business content to the site, including live stock market coverage and frequent news updates that are included on the Web site. The site prepares coverage of major daily national and international stories, updates on breaking stories, and in-depth reports on issues. MSNBC is also partnered with Newsweek magazine and often shares information with readers on the site. The national award-winning site is searchable and keeps stories on the site for about a week. The site also offers webcasts featuring hourly video news updates and extensive streaming video. The site has a reputation as a leader in breaking news and original journalism on the Internet. MSNBC.com also has developed a
LEADING ONLINE NEWS SITES
series of partnerships that generate site content as well. These include arrangements with The Washington Post, Newsweek magazine, The Wall Street Journal, ZDNet, MSN Money Central, The Sporting News, Expedia, E! Online, Pencil News, FEED magazine, Science magazine, BET. com, inc.com, Space.com, Inside.com, The Motley Fool, RedHerring.com, Internet Broadcasting Systems, and Pioneer Newspapers. In addition, MSNBC.com programs interactive content for MSNBC TV and NBC News on WebTV Plus. The breadth and depth of the coverage is combined with high levels of personalization. MSNBC.com content is also available through wireless services. The site permits a large degree of user customization. These features include the ability to design a personal front page to display predetermined categories of headlines and news, current stock quotes, and sports scores. Users can also find NBC local affiliate stations’ local news content on a daily basis. Interactivity options include chat sessions and voting opinions on controversial topics and issues on specially produced “Dateline Interactive” programs. Results are shown live on-air. Readers may also use WebTV Plus to access MSNBC enhanced television via MSNBC TV 24-hours a day as well as NBC News programs:“Dateline NBC,” “Nightly News,” and the “Today” show.
San Jose Mercury News The San Jose Mercury News online edition is part of a larger portal site serving the San Francisco Bay region known as BayArea.com. The site went online in 1995, but its online roots of the early 1990s Mercury Center are even deeper. The Mercury News site is dependent on the printed edition of the newspaper. About 95% of the Mercury News online site’s text content comes from the newspaper, noted Rob Neill (personal communication, May 2, 2002), program manager for BayArea.com. Other content originates from wire services and newspapers such as The New York Times and Washington Post. The site does not have individuals devoted solely to reporting for the online edition. “I don’t think it makes sense having a specific team writing for online. It throws up a wall,” Neill explained. “The newsroom is best suited for producing news and online producers are best suited to put news online.” The recently redesigned site, which debuted in early 2002, does not require registration or subscription. It is searchable and information is easy to find, Neill (2002) says. To improve service to readers, the online production staff constantly refines site usability, Neill added. “You can always work on usability. I don’t think that’s something that’s ever perfect.” BayArea.com and the Mercury News managers and staff are searching for the right news model, Neill said. “Newsrooms have to redefine what they are, what a news story is,” he said. “I am a big fan of newspaper reporters. I used to be one. I don’t think we need to be sending other people to do their jobs.”
The New York Times The New York Times is one of the world’s preeminent newspapers. Its online edition, called New York Times on The
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Web (http://www.nytimes.com), debuted on January 20, 1996. The site truly serves the world. Its readers come from all over the globe. Editor Bernard Gwertzman, who is in charge of the entire editorial operation online, determines the home page content each day (personal communication, April 10, 2002). The site draws about one-quarter of its audience from outside the United States, another quarter of the audience from the New York metropolitan area, and the rest are from other parts of the United States. The site draws high audience numbers, partly because of its print edition content but also because of original content. There are about 1.5 million users per day visiting the site and about 300 million page views per month. All of which, of course, leads Gwertzman to be concerned about the servers’ capacities at the newspaper. The content of the site varies, but reflects the general news standards of the company, Gwertzman said. All of the newspaper’s National Edition is offered on the online site, although the Web site pays, Gwertzman said, “a little more attention to entertainment.” During the first two months of the war on terrorism in late 2001, for example, The Times’ site carried a photographer’s journal from Afghanistan narrated by photographer Vincent Laforet. The site relies on newspaper reporters and wire services for most of the online content, but content at any given moment is a function of the time of the day. The Times requires online users to register at no cost and it uses the demographic information it obtains to understand its market and attract advertisers. Users can subscribe to e-mail-based news alerts for major or breaking stories. These alerts were particularly valuable to readers in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Major stories are a way of life at the site. The site’s producers displayed the stories that won the newspaper a record seven Pulitzer Prizes in April 2002 for its coverage of the September 11, 2001, attacks, even though it is difficult to determine whether online coverage had any impact on the Pulitzers (Kramer, 2002). The newspaper’s Web site has also received considerable attention for coverage of the Enron scandals, the 2000 presidential election, the Monica Lewinski scandal and investigation, and the government’s seizure of Elian ´ Gonzalez ´ in Miami to return him to his father in Cuba.
The Washington Post The Washington Post (http://washingtonpost.com) has an international and national audience. Built upon the reputation of the print brand of the national capitol’s primary daily newspaper, the site has rapidly built a strong following since its debut in June of 1996. Douglas Feaver, executive editor of washingtonpost.com, oversees the content of the site. He said (personal communication, April 10, 2002) the site does well providing online news and information to the Washington metropolitan area, including suburban Virginia and Maryland, as well as a large international market. The Washington Post online, like The New York Times, has opted to present itself as a national and international online newspaper. The results have been impressive with 4 to 4.5 million unique visits a month and about seven
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million page views on a typical weekday and about half that amount on weekends. Approximately 20 to 25% of the site’s content is original. Feaver said (personal communication, April 10, 2002) about 60 to 75% of news content is original and about 33% of features are original to the site. Content is developed mostly by the newspaper’s extensive staff, but also from online staff writers and Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse wire services. Although about 240 persons are employed at washingtonpost.com, only five writers are devoted solely to developing online content. A number of other part-timers contribute news, features, business, health, and entertainment content. “We have the entire Washington Post and additional information that compose our content,” Feaver stated. “This includes wire services, exclusive Internet stories, restaurant reviews, and audio.” The Post’s online edition has attracted considerable international attention because of a number of Washingtonbased stories in recent years. Coverage of the September 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon is among the most recent. Despite the incredible demands for online news that day that crashed servers around the United States, The Post site remained online 95% of the time. Not only did the site develop its own content as the story unfolded throughout the day, but it also published the newspaper’s multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning stories throughout the fall. The site also drew attention with its coverage of the Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton scandal and investigations in 1998 and it was among the first online sites to provide coverage of the seizure of Elian ´ Gonzalez ´ in Miami-thanks to coverage from the newspaper’s Miami bureau chief.
USA Today Gannett Corporation is one of the world’s largest news businesses. It is the largest newspaper group in the United States with 95 newspapers and a combined daily circulation of about 7.7 million. It also owns and operates 22 television stations. Its flagship newspaper is USA Today, which has a daily circulation of 2.3 million and is available in 60 countries worldwide. The company also publishes USA Weekend, a weekly magazine of 24 million circulation in almost 600 newspapers (Gannett, 2002). The newspaper is internationally and nationally circulated five days per week and is one of the world’s largest. Gannett is known for its corporate sharing and this benefits all of its newspapers, broadcast stations, and online sites. The online edition of USA Today (http:// www.usatoday.com) has won numerous national awards for its online journalism (Accolades, 2002). The Web edition is organized similar to the newspaper, with main sections devoted to news, sports, money, and life. News includes daily coverage from the newspaper as well as columns, opinion pieces, U.S. Supreme Court decisions, health and science, and local city guides. One of the newspaper’s widely recognized strengths is sports and the online site mirrors that for Web readers. Baseball is one of the top attractions, drawing on Gannett’s Baseball Weekly, but all other professional and amateur sports are also covered and updated regularly. The Money section offers business and financial world news as well
as interactive opportunities to create and manage investment portfolios online. Small business tips are offered and consumers seeking information about automobiles find the site useful. The site’s Life section reflects celebrities, television news and listings, movies and reviews, arts news, travel information, and a collection of columnists. In addition to these sections, the site offers comprehensive and current weather information, a technology section, and a shopping section. Site visitors can take advantage of several interactive components of the site. These include “Talk Today,” a chance for readers to chat online with experts and to subscribe to e-mail newsletters. Readers can subscribe to five different e-mail newsletters. These focus on the daily news briefing, daily technology report, weekly book publishing news, weekly automobile news and reviews, and weekly retail shopping deals and special offers. USAToday.com, like many other online news sites today, also provides wireless Internet users access to news and information through wireless telephones, PDAs, and handheld devices, and with pagers. Site users may also search archives of the newspaper dating back to 1994.
The Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal introduced its online edition in 1995. It has been designed to serve the business and financial communities in the United States and abroad, but it also focuses on general news, says managing editor Bill Grueskin (personal communication, April 18, 2002). Most of its content originates in the printed edition of the newspaper, but 2 or 3%, he said, is original. The original content, Grueskin described, is mostly additional feature content. From the printed Journal, the site uses news from its various editions. While much comes from the U.S. edition, it also depends heavily on its European, Americas, and Asian editions. The site’s producers also place news from the Dow Jones news service and other wires on the site. Subscriptions include access to the site’s market news, research and charting, current and historical stock quotes, use of site personalization tools, e-mail and news alert services, access to the Barron’s online edition, and access to the most recent 30 days of news archives. The online site is organized somewhat differently from the print edition. For example, Marketplace, the second section of the printed edition, does not appear as an online section. Instead, articles from that section appear online by subject. The staff of about 80 full-time reporters and editors put the next day’s edition of the newspaper on the site at about midnight (ET) the evening before publication. Early looks at coming stories are available as early as 7 p.m. The site provides audio and video multimedia content and interactivity such as discussions and reader feedback. The site can also be personalized for users to select priorities and preferences for content display. Its ultimate strength, in the view of editor Grueskin, is the exclusive online content. Two years ago, the site gained attention for its coverage of the America Online-Time Warner merger. The site was the first news organization to break the story, posting it on its pages in the middle of the night.
ONLINE NEWS SERVICE MODELS
ONLINE NEWS SERVICE MODELS News media often follow a market model on the World Wide Web based on geography despite the fact that the Web and Internet have disposed of such limitations. This is often the case because the original print edition of a newspaper or television station is defined by a particular geographic orientation or signal limitation. There is much uncertainty about the economic and financial future of online news. At the least, the success or failure of online news depends on highly complex economics. Experts are unclear about whether online news, such as that from online newspapers, will become an economically viable business (Chyi & Sylvie, 2000). Some of this uncertainty and confusion is market related. What market does an online news organization serve? Is a particular online news site local? National? Global? There are four to five common levels of service: national/international (these may also be separated), regional, local, and specialized-niche (Chyi & Sylvie, 1999; Dibean & Garrison, 2001). These market models are summarized in Table 3. There are at least four models for online news functions. These include the 24-hours-a-day news model, the community bulletin board site model, the supplementary news site model, and the exclusive news site model: These models are neither distinct nor mutually exclusive and two or more of them are generally found to exist within a single news site. In fact, many news sites at the national and international level in particular often use all four models at a given time. For example, if a weather
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threat or other natural disaster occurs, many online news sites update constantly, offer interactivity such as bulletin boards and other outlets for flow of personal information, offer supplementary coverage and information as it becomes available, and even create specialized sites devoted to coverage of that news story. This certainly happened in many communities in the United States and other nations during the U.S. war against Iraq in 2003.
The 24-Hours-a-Day News Model Like the wire services and cable networks, online newspapers and broadcast television stations can be operated on an always-on-deadline or never on deadline circumstance (Farhi, 2000a, 2000b; Smith, 1999). Some authorities argue that for an online news operation, especially traditional newspapers that have gone online, to survive in the new century, they must adopt a twenty-four-hours-aday news radio or wire service approach. News organizations that offer constantly updated content must not only invest heavily in their Web sites, but provide both depth and ongoing effort to keep content current. They must be responsive to the peaks and valleys of their region (usually 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time) and update most intensely during the heaviest of traffic periods (Farhi, 2000a, 2000b). Some online news organizations take this approach only when there are major breaking news stories, such as when the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred.
Table 3 Online Markets Model
Description
Examples
National/International
Coverage focuses on national-international news and serves an international audience.
USA Today Washington Post New York Times
Regional
Coverage centers on large geographic region, such as a metropolitan area, with emphasis on local and regional news. Coverage includes substantial national and international news.
Chicago Tribune Miami Herald/Miami.com Boston Globe/boston.com Atlanta Journal-Constitution/ Access Atlanta Houston Chronicle Arizona Republic Indianapolis Star/News Minneapolis Star Tribune Newark Star-Ledger/New Jersey Online
Local-community
Serves small towns, communities or counties usually defined by smallest geographic area. Content is centered on local-area news, but other levels also.
Charlotte, Fla. Herald-Sun Fort Myers, Fla. News-Press Key West, Fla. Citizen Weekly newspapers Regional-city magazines
Specialized-niche
Coverage devoted to highly specialized or unique subjects and their audiences.
Wall Street Journal (business) Florida Today (space program) Financial Times (finance) Salon.com Subscription newsletters
Sources: Chyi & Sylvie, 1999; Dibean & Garrison, 2001; Grimes, 2002; Lasica, 2001; “Missed What the Top Analysts . . . ,” 2000; Shaw, 1997.
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The Community Bulletin Board Site Model Many online newspapers have done more than rehash their print copy. Some have opted for the community board site model. The Boston Globe (http://www.boston. com/globe/), for example, was among the first major newspapers to design its online version to provide community information about events, featuring news about Boston’s arts, weather, and commerce. University of Iowa online journalism scholar Jane B. Singer (2001) argues that, despite the Web’s worldwide reach, most online newspapers have their best chance to succeed by emphasizing local news content.
The Supplementary News Site Model Some print and broadcast outlets also take advantage of the limitless space on the Web to add additional material to online news stories that appeared in their print and broadcast versions. Many local newspapers have followed this model serving as local equivalents of CNN, taking advantage of online’s timeliness by reporting local breaking news stories which, if not covered online, would be reported on local radio or television before the newspapers (Heyboer, 2000).
The Exclusive News Site Model One model that print and broadcast news organizations have not adopted is the exclusive news site model. Exclusive news sites offer news not found in other forms, such as those other news media operated by the same news corporation or company. To date, however, few broadcasters, newspapers, or other news outlets have posted exclusives online and this model remains more a conceptual model than one commonly used on the Web.
GLOSSARY Alert Notification about a breaking news event or story by an online news service, usually by e-mail. Banner Form of advertising that usually contains a graphic product image or message on a Web site. The size of the ad may vary, but often spreads horizontally across the top or other part of the page. Some banner ads, however, are designed in a vertical shape. Brand The recognizable name of a news company that has been given to a news product on the World Wide Web or other forms of communication on the Internet. Convergence Implementation of multimedia combining text, graphics, audio, and video in online news presentation as well as the combination of divergent media technologies to produce a new medium, form, or method of communicating with audiences. Flash Software that produces animation and video for Web pages and browsers. Content producers can quickly and easily prepare special effects through animation and other techniques, interactivity, sound, and video. Headline For an online news site, brief one sentence or short phrase summaries of the news stories of the day, often with brief abstracts accompanying them. These
features are linked to longer stories and coverage elsewhere on the site. Hypermedia Links among any set of multimedia objects such as sound, animation, video, and virtual reality. Usually suggests higher levels of interactivity than in hypertext. Hypertext Organization of news and information into associations that a user can implement by clicking on the association with a mouse. The association is called a hypertext link. Independent An online news organization not grounded in traditional, branded news media and only found on the World Wide Web or Internet. Interactivity For online news services, features such as e-mail feedback, instant opinion polls, chat rooms, and message boards that involve the site user in some form. Market The audience served by an online news organization. The grouping may be determined by founding or originating media markets, by geographic boundaries, specializations, or defined in other ways. Online journalism News presentation on the World Wide Web or other Internet-based formats. This includes news offered by traditional news organizations (e.g., newspapers, television stations and networks, and magazines) as well as nontraditional sources such as Internet service providers (e.g., America Online and CompuServe) and bulletin board services, Web “zines,” and news groups. Online news Collection and presentation of current events information on the Web or other Internetbased formats, including traditional and nontraditional sources such as those discussed above under “online journalism.” Package The combination of audio, video, graphics, and hypertext components that create a news story on a Web site. Portal Entry points, or “doorways,” to the Internet that often serve as home pages for users. These are offered by online newspapers, radio stations, and television stations and provide much more than just news content. These sites provide activity and entertainment listings, community calendars, government reference material, online interactive features, and multimedia content. Producer For an online news site, this is an individual who develops news content for a Web site. These individuals work with all forms of news media to prepare the coverage for a story. Shovelware Software that produces content of an online news site taken from the published content of a newspaper, television broadcast, and/or wire services. Web edition The online edition of a traditional printed newspaper. These editions often include breaking news as well as extra, and often extended, content not found in printed editions. Webcast Live news broadcast or other video program distributed on the Web by an online news or media organization. Weblog Personal and noncommercial Web site prepared in dated log or diary format. The site is usually
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specialized and focuses on a single topic or subject area and offers information and observations from the author, contributors, or from other sites. The sites are often also called blogs. Zine Independent publication on the Web that often offer idiosyncratic themes, irregular frequency of publication, ephemeral duration, and a noncommercial financial base.
CROSS REFERENCES See Convergence of Data, Sound and Video; Internet Navigation (Basics, Services, and Portals); Multimedia; Webcasting.
REFERENCES ABC Newsroom (2001). Retrieved May 13, 2002, from http://disney.go.com/corporate/press/wdig/abcnews/ Accolades (2002). Retrieved April 15, 2002, from http:// www.usatoday.com/a/adindex/omk/accolades.htm Advertising opportunities (2002). Retrieved May 13, 2002, from http://abcnews.go.com/ad/sponsors.html An evolving medium (1999, April 26). Online Newshour. Retrieved April 28, 1999, from http://www.pbs.org/ newshour/bb/media/jan-june99/lasica qa.html Barringer, F. (2001, August 27). Growing. The New York Times, pp. C1, C6. Blankenhorn, D. (1999, March). Publishers seek ways to win the Web news war. Boardwatch Magazine, 13(3), 88–90. Burgess, J. (1993, February 14). Firms face questions of technology’s timing, cost. The Washington Post, p. H1. Chyi, H. I., & Sylvie, G. (1999, August). Opening the umbrella: An economic analysis of online newspaper geography. Paper presented to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, New Orleans, LA. Chyi, H. I., & Sylvie, G. (2000). Online newspapers in the U.S.: Perceptions of markets, products, revenue, and competition. Journal on Media Management, 2(11), 69– 77. Dibean, W., & Garrison, B. (2001). How six online newspapers use Web technologies. Newspaper Research Journal, 22(2), 79–93. Donatello, M. (2002, May). What consumers tell us about paying for news online. EContent, 25(5), 36–40. Farhi, P. (2000a). The dotcom brain drain. America Journalism Review, 22(2), 30. Farhi, P. (2000b). Surviving in cyberspace. America Journalism Review, 22(7), 22–27. Fee, F. (2002, March). New(s) players and new(s) values? A test of convergence in the newsroom. Paper presented to the Newspaper Division, Southeast Colloquium, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Gulfport, MI. Fouhy, E. (2000). Which way will it go? American Journalism Review, 22(4), 18–19. Fredin, E. S. (1997). Rethinking the news story for the Internet: Hyperstory prototypes and a model of the user. Journalism & Mass Communication Monographs, 163, 1– 47.
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Fredin, E. S., & Prabu, D. (1998). Browsing and the hypermedia interaction cycle: A model of self-efficacy and goal dynamics. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 75(1), 35–54. Gannett (2002). About Gannett: Company profile. Retrieved April 19, 2002, from http://www.gannett.com/ map/gan007.htm Gates, D. (2002, May 1). The future of news: Newspapers in the Digital Age. Online Journalism Review. Retrieved May 2, 2002, from http://www.ojr.org/ojr/ future/1020298748.php George, W. (2000, January 11). The AOL/Time Warner merger: What it really means to the markets and Apple. The Mac Observer. Retrieved August 21, 2002, from http://www.macobserver.com/news/00/january/000111/ aoltimewarner.shtml Grimes, C. (2002, February 6). Premium payments may boost Web revenues. Financial Times, p. 3. Heyboer, K. (2000). Going live. American Journalism Review, 22(1), 38– 43. Higgins, J. (2000, July 14). Staying afloat on WEBLOGS: Sites are water wings for surfers sinking in sea of cybermadness. Journal Sentinel Online. Retrieved August 11, 2002, from http://www.jsonline.com/enter/ netlife/jul00/weblogs16071400.asp Houston, F. (1999, July/August). What I saw in the Digital Sea. Columbia Journalism Review, 38(2), 34. Internet growing as news medium, at times exceeding traditional media usage. (2002, January 7). Global News Wire and Business Wire, Financial Times, n.p. Keefe, R. (1996, October 13). New Tribune president arrives during time of transition. St. Petersburg Times, p. 1H. Koerner, B. (2001, July/August). Click here for Britney! The Washington Monthly, 33(7/8), 25–30. Kramer, S. D. (2002, April 9). The elephant in the jury room: Maybe it’s time to be as visionary as Joseph Pulitzer. Online Journalism Review. Retrieved April 13, 2002, from http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/ 1018398261.php Langfield, A. (2001, December 21). Net news lethargy: Most sites fail to make use of the medium’s main strength-speed. Online Journalism Review. Retrieved January 2, 2002, from http://ojr.usc.edu/content/story. cfm?request = 676. Lasica, J. D. (1999). Online, papers can speak volumes. American Journalism Review, 21(2), 66. Lasica, J. D. (2001, September 20). A scorecard for net news ethics: Despite a lapse related to the terrorist attack, online media deserve high marks. Online Journalism Review. Retrieved January 7, 2002, from http://ojr. usc.edu/content/story.cfm?request = 643. Marlatt, A. (1999, July 15). Advice to newspapers: Stop the shoveling. Internet World. Retrieved from http://www.iw.com/print/current/content/ 19990515-shoveling.html McMillan, S. J. (1998, September). Who pays for content? Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 4(1). Retrieved December 6, 2001, from http://www.ascusc. org/jcmc/vol4/issue1/mcmillan.html Miller, R. (2001, September 14). From niche site to news portal: How Slashdot survived the attack. Online
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Journalism Review. Retrieved December 6, 2001, from http://ojr.usc.edu/content/story.cfm Missed what the top analysts are saying about our digital future? Catch up here. (2000, February 21). The Guardian, p. 62. MSNBC rated #1 online news provider for February 2002. (2002). Retrieved May 13, 2002, from http://www. msnbc.com/m/info/press/02/0319.asp Nicholas, D., & Huntington, P. (2000). Evaluating the use of newspaper Web sites logs. Journal on Media Management, 2(11), 78–88. Noack, D. (1998, May 1). Fees fail. Editor & Publisher, 132(28), 20. Outing, S. (Fall 2001). Crisis notes from the online media, Poynter Report (pp. 48– 49). St. Petersburg, FL: Poynter Institute for Media Studies. Palser, B. (2000). Not quite ready for prime time. American Journalism Review, 22(6), 84. Palser, B. (2001a). Retooling online news. American Journalism Review, 23(2), 70. Palser, B. (2001b). Pay-per-click. American Journalism Review, 23(8), 82. Perlman, J. (1999, May 6). Print sites still wary of chatting it up. Online Journalism Review. Retrieved April 12, 2002 from http://www.ojr.org/ojr/business/ 1017968634.php Picard, R. (2000). Changing business models of online content services: Their implications for multimedia and other content producers. Journal on Media Management, 2(11), 60–68. Pryor, L. (2000, June 30). Some guidelines from one of online news’ walking wounded. Online Journalism Review. Retrieved December 6, 2001, http://ojr.usc.edu/ content/story.cfm Quint, B. E. (November 1994). “Extra! Extra!” Wilson Library Bulletin, 69, 67–68. Rauch, J. (2002, August). Hands-on communication: The rituals of Web publishing in the alternative zine community. Unpublished paper, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Miami Beach, FL. Rich, C. (1999). Creating online media. Boston: McGrawHill College. Richardson, T. (2002, February 10). CJOnline nets two EPpy Awards; was finalist in four categories. CJOnline. Retrieved August 20, 2002, from http://www.cjonline. com/stories/021002/com eppies.shtml Rieder, R. (2001). At the crossroads. American Journalism Review, 23(2), 6.
Samoriski, J. (2002). Issues in cyberspace: Communication, technology, law, and society on the internet frontier. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Scasny, R. (2001, November 23). “Online news users have to pay: Change the product, give it more value and paid access will work,” Online Journalism Review, accessed December 6, 2001, http://ojr.usc.edu/content/ story.cfm?request = 663 Shaw, D. J. (1997, June 17). The media.com: Revolution in cyberspace. Los Angeles Times, Home edition, p. A1. Singer, J. B. (2001, Spring). The Metro Wide Web: Changes in Newspaper’s Gatekeeping Role Online, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 78(1), 65–80. Smith, S. (2002, February). The free lunch is over: Online content subscriptions on the rise. EContent, 25(2), 18–23. Smith, S. (2002, April). Content at your service. EContent, 25(4), 44 – 45. Smith, T. (1999, April 26). A new source of news. Online Newshour. Retrieved April 28, 1999, from http:// www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/jan-june99/inews 426.html South, J. (1999, June 11). Web staffs urge the print side to think ahead. Online Journalism Review. Retrieved April 12, 2002, from http://www.ojr.org/ojr/business/ 1017968570.php Stepp, C. S. (1996, April). The new journalist. American Journalism Review. Retrieved August 20, 2002, from http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=833 Stone, M. (2002, February 1). Breaking stories and breaking even. Online Journalism Review. Retrieved April 13, 2002, from http://www.ojr.org/orj/workplace/ 1015015509.php Strupp, J. (1999, July 3). Welcomed visitors. Editor & Publisher, 132(27), 22–28. The impact of the Internet. (2000). American Journalism Review, 22(2), 4–5. Trombly, M. (2002, May). Looking for online dollars: News providers are finding ways to make their Web sites profitable. Quill, 90(4), 18–21. Walker, L. (2001, June 24). Moving from logs to blogs: Technology and you. Spokane Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 10, 2002, from http://www. spokesmanreview.com/sections/sports/stateb/2002/stateb.asp?ID=2002/blog/blog-primer Weise, E. (1997). Does the Internet change news reporting? Not quite. Media Studies Journal, 11(2), 159–163. Whittaker, J. (2000). Producing for the Web. London: Routledge.
Online Public Relations Relations
Kirk Hallahan, Colorado State University
Introduction Nature of Public Relations Traditional Public Relations Online Public Relations Public Relations Web Sites Corporate Web Pages Consumer Promotion and Education Sites Employee Relations Sites and Intranets Supplier or Distributor Sites and Extranets Government and Political Sites Other Internet Applications E-mail Discussion Groups, Chats, Online Seminars File Transfers Remote Kiosks and CD-ROMs Organizational–Public Relationships Online Potential for Creating Relationships Online Factors Shaping Organization–Public Communications Online Processes of Building Relationships Online Outcomes of Relationship Building Online
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INTRODUCTION Online public relations involves the application of Internet technologies by organizations to communicate and build relationships with key publics: customers and consumers, employees, investors and donors, community members, government, and the news media. Beginning with the popularization of the Internet in the mid-1990s, public relations units within corporations, non-for-profit organizations, and public institutions have embraced the Internet widely. The result has been a dramatic change in how public relations is practiced.
Nature of Public Relations Public relations is a management staff function that facilitates communication between an organization and its key constituencies. Public relations can go by many names, including corporate communications, public affairs, development, and public information. Importantly, public relations is the not only the organizational unit responsible for managing communications between an organization and key publics because communication is the constitutive process of management. Nonetheless, public relations units facilitate organizational communication and relationship building two ways: through counsel and communications.
Counsel Public relations provides counsel to an organization on problems and opportunities that confront it. This counsel includes feedback based on formal and informal re-
Crisis Communications and Issues Management Crisis Communications Issues Management Managing Online Public Relations Content Control Branding and Promotion Message Quality Usability and User Satisfaction Integration Security Legal and Regulatory Compliance Assessment and Measurement Societal Issues User Concerns About the Internet—A Looming PR Issue Quality of Organizational–Public Relationships in the Internet Society Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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search about public opinion, as well as recommendations on communications strategies that can be pursued across the organization to respond to audience needs, concerns, and interests and to speak effectively with a “single voice.” Online technologies have enhanced the capability of PR practitioners to conduct research and counsel organizations. Environmental scanning is the generic term for the process used to identify relevant concerns being discussed in the public, media, or public policy arenas of opinion. Cyberscanning adapts this technique to the surveillance of topics being raised in Web sites, discussion groups and chat rooms on the Internet. Whereas scanning is a more general form of intelligence gathering, environmental monitoring and cybermonitoring involve tracking specific, searchable topics. Public relations professionals routinely review Internet content themselves by tracking specific sites or key terms using search engines. Organizations also hire professional Web monitoring services that compile daily reports about Web and discussion group content.
Communications Public relations also conducts strategically planned communications programs to reach key audiences. Today these programs integrate an array of both online and offline activities. These programs are grounded in clearly articulated organizational goals and communication objectives, involve carefully crafted strategy, and emphasize the objective evaluation of results. Some communications and relationship-building efforts are intended primarily to make audiences more knowledgeable about 769
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an organization, products and services, candidate(s), or causes. Other programs strive to shape, reinforce, or change attitudes among key publics about an organization’s policies or practices or to enhance an organization’s overall reputation. Finally, many public relations programs are intended to prompt specific actions—to influence how people buy, invest or donate, work, vote, or care for themselves or others by avoiding risks.
Traditional Public Relations Six principal specialties comprise the PR practice. These specializations are organized around the typical organization’s key constituencies and include employee relations, customer or consumer relations (sometimes referred to as marketing public relations), investor relations (corporations) or donor relations (not-for-profit organizations), community relations, and government relations. In addition, almost all public relations departments are responsible for media relations (incorporating publicity), which operates as a conduit to reach all of these constituencies. Some manufacturing organizations also have special programs directed to suppliers or vendors (supplier relations). Within each of these specializations, programs fall into four broad categories. Promotional programs are shortterm efforts to influence actions, such as purchasing a new product or voting for a particular candidate. Relationshipbuilding programs are longer term efforts undertaken to solidify patterns of behavior that benefit both the public and the organization. Crisis communications programs entail short-term responses to extraordinary triggering events that create uncertainty in an organization’s operating environment. Organizations strive to minimize such disruptions and assuage concerns by providing timely and factual information. Finally, issues management programs focus on anticipating trends in public opinion and on responding to disputes or challenges by activists to an organization’s philosophies or practices.
Online Public Relations The advent of the Internet has dramatically altered the composition of PR programs and the mix of communications tools used by practitioners. As a result, many practitioners have been required to quickly learn about Internet technologies. Online or interactive media now constitute one of five major groups of communications media used in public relations (Figure 1). Public relations traditionally relies on publicity coverage in the news and entertainment portions of public media (newspapers, magazines, radio and television) to communicate with the public-at-large and with businessto-business audiences (also known as trade audiences). Practitioners often augment these publicity-generating efforts with controlled media, which are tools manufactured and distributed to target audiences, such as brochures or annual reports. Public relations also depends heavily on events, or gatherings of key constituents such as speeches, conferences, awards ceremonies, and rallies. Finally, public relations practitioners employ one-on-one communications, where a representative of an organization interacts directly with individual members of key publics. Oneon-one communication is prevalent when comparatively
small numbers of people are important to reach. Examples include lobbying, fundraising among major donors, consumer affairs and customer relations, and community outreach. Online and interactive media fill a critical need in many public relations programs by providing the ability to respond to queries and by providing a potentially endless amount of information about an organization and its product and services, candidates, or causes. Online media also can enhance involvement with an organization through education and entertainment made possible by online media’s interactive character. Online information can be updated by organizations instantaneously and accessed by users 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from anywhere in the world where Internet access is available. In addition, information can be personalized to the inquirer using cookies, user profiling, and database technologies. Interactive media have reshaped the use of other public relations media as well. Online media allow organizations to be less dependent on public media to supply information to large audiences. Online media probably will not replace newspapers, magazines, radio, or television, however. Instead, public media will remain important tools when it is necessary for organizations to create broad public awareness, to communicate with the public quickly, or to respond to news events. Interactive media also make organizations less dependent on controlled media. Web sites, for example, have reduced the direct and incremental costs of distributing printed matter. These materials otherwise must be given out through literature racks, personal visits, postal mail, or package delivery services. Interactive media are not likely to replace these communications tools, however. Similar to public media, controlled media will continue to used in situations when it is necessary to “push” information into the hands of audiences instead of waiting for audiences to be “pulled” into a Web site, discussion group, or online chat. Online communications can replace some events by creating opportunities for people in remote locations to come together online. These include webcasts, seminars and workshops, bulletin boards, discussion groups, online chats, and Web conferencing (two-way video and audio online exchanges between participants). Such applications are not yet fully developed, however, and their potential is less understood. The Internet provides additional options for one-onone communications between organizational representatives and individual members of constituencies. In particular, personal e-mails can complement personal meetings, telephone calls and postal mail to facilitate and speed up exchanges. This might be especially important as more people adopt wireless phones and personal data appliances that can deliver Internet content.
PUBLIC RELATIONS WEB SITES Web sites represent the most visible and widely used Internet tool in public relations. When organizations first experimented with Web sites in the early 1990s, their first crude attempts were usually produced by “techies” in computer operations departments. Many computer
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Media Group Key Strategic Uses Special Challenges for Successful Use _________________________ _____________________ ________________________________ Public Media Newspapers, magazines, radio, television. Also out-of-home media, yellow pages and directory advertising, venue and specialized media
Competing for attention Build broad public awareness
Promoting newsworthiness
Interactive Media Web sites, CD-ROMs, automated telephone response systems, data bases (allowing file transfers), computerized bulletin boards, news groups and chat rooms, e-mail
Respond to inquiries Enhance involvement through education, entertainment.
Promoting access and use Facilitating easy navigation and location of information
Controlled Media Brochures, video brochures, annual reports, newsletters and other periodicals, books, direct response, point-ofpurchase displays, advertising specialties
Provide detailed, promotional information.
Designing attractive and engaging materials Assuring distribution to targeted audiences
Events Speeches, trade shows and expositions, exhibits, conferences and meetings, demonstrations, rallies and protests, sponsored events, observances, sweepstakes and contests, recognition and awards presentations
Reinforce existing beliefs and attitudes
Guaranteeing attendance by targeted audiences Heightening participation and involvement levels
One-on-One Communications Letters, telephone responses (inbound), telemarketing (outbound), soliciting and personal selling, consumer affairs, community outreach, lobbying
Negotiate disputes, resolve conflicts. Obtain commitments.
Delegating authority to negotiate on behalf of organization Fostering positive personal dynamics between parties
Figure 1: Five major groups of communication media. From Hallahan (2001a).
specialists—and their bosses—quickly realized that technical staffs were ill-equipped to deal with content issues. It was then that public relations units became involved. Many managers recognized it was important that online content be managed so that Web sites reflected the organization’s branding, positioning, and corporate identity. Many PR professionals approached the Internet without much knowledge but soon began to integrate online communications into PR program planning,
Most organizational Web sites have gone through several incarnations since the commercialization of the Web. Between 1994 and 1996, organizational Web sites were mostly informational sites. Web content resembled electronic brochures that provided descriptive information about the organization. Between about 1996 and 1998, organizations recognized the value of interactivity. Organizations added e-mail links, fill-in forms, interactive games, and the ability to conduct non-secured
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transactions. Finally, about 1998, the transactional potential of e-commerce was recognized. At that point, many organizational Web sites were transformed from primarily information channels to become dual-function channels that perform both communications and distribution functions. Organizational sites are sponsored Web sites that are dedicated to the interests to a single organization that underwrites the costs of operations in other to promote its own interests. Most sponsored sites do not accept thirdparty advertising but can use advertising space to promote the organization’s own products, services, or causes. Most organizational sites operate as communication utilities that that serve a variety of purposes, including the needs of marketing, human resources, and public relations.
Corporate Web Pages Today almost all large and medium-sized organizations operate Web sites to communicate and to build relationships with key external publics. Web sites are important platforms to establish corporate identity and to supply information to media, customers and consumers, and investors.
Online News Rooms One of the most important uses of the Internet in public relations is to allow journalists to access current news releases, background information, fact sheets, and other materials about the organization. Most major organizations now devote a special section of their public Internet sites to newsrooms containing these company announcements and other information. In addition, news archives can be outsourced on the sites of one of the major public relations news wire distribution services, such as Business Wire (http://www.businesswire.com) or PR Newswire (http://www.prnewswire.com). In the mid-1990s, many large organizations began to post news releases online on a regular basis. These announcements previously had been distributed by mail, messenger, facsimile, or private wire services. News releases previously were not archived electronically and were not conveniently available to the public-at-large. Today journalists routinely download Web-supplied releases (in addition to news received via e-mail and the private wire services). Journalists can quickly transfer materials to a newsroom’s word processing system, thus making it easier to incorporate supplied materials in stories. In addition to text, reporters and editors can download other types of files, including photos, audio, and video. Photos reproduced with 300 or more dots-per-inch (dpi) can be printed with sufficient resolution by most newspapers and magazines (600 dpi is preferred). Audio actualities or “sound bites” similarly meet ready-to-broadcast standards. Because of bandwidth restrictions, the use of video files is more limited, although streaming video is being used by organizations with increased frequency. Most editors and reporters now are limited to watching streaming video for their own education, or to preview available video footage that can be downloaded from a satellite. Direct broadcast-quality video downloads are likely to be
used extensively in the future as bandwidth availability increases. Journalists have adopted the Web and e-mail as basic reporting tools (Hallahan, 1994). Reporters today spend as many as three hours a day on the Internet accessing Web materials and processing e-mail. More than 90% of journalists use the Web regularly. Most larger media organizations provide news workers with online access, although Internet accessibility flags at some smaller media outlets. Significantly, little evidence suggests that the Web will replace traditional reporting tools. One study suggested that corporate Web sites ranked only fourth in preference as a news gathering tool—behind the telephone, personal interviews, and news releases (Hachigian & Hallahan, 2003). In part, this is because online newsrooms often still lack materials that journalists want, including basic contact and telephone information. One problem with online newsroom is that information is accessible to people other than journalists. Early efforts to restrict access by requiring journalists to register as users and to use a password met with resistance and subsequently have been abandoned. Notable exceptions are the newsrooms operated by large public relations agencies concerned about documenting usage for clients. One advantage of controlled access is to allow embargoed materials to be released selectively to reporters who confront early deadlines.
Investor Relations Sites Investor relations is a PR specialty that has especially benefited from the Internet’s ability to deliver large volumes of information on demand. Investor relations professionals produce detailed annual reports, quarterly reports, company profiles, and so on. These materials can be posted online then read or downloaded by investment professionals and individual investors in HTML (hypertext markup language) or .pdf formats. In addition, various government filings, such as 10-K, 10-Q, and other reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, can be posted online or made accessible with link to the SEC’s financial document site (http://www.edgar.gov). Investor relations practitioners also can link or post analysts’ research reports and electronic presentations before investment groups. Investors also can access scheduled live Webcasts or view them on-demand later, or participate in audio investment discussions (online versions of telephone conference calls) sponsored by organizations. Such participation is consistent with the SEC’s mandate in Regulation FD, adopted in 2000, that organizations make information more widely available to all investors. Organizations are experimenting with the distribution of proxy materials online, and with conducting annual meetings online. The traditional investment “road show” tour undertaken when an initial public stock offering is made is also being replaced with a “virtual road show” where regional analysts and registered representatives can learn about soon-to-be public companies through Webcasts.
Consumer Promotion and Education Sites Many organizations operate sites targeted to consumers. Not surprisingly, these sites often bear characteristics that
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that meld public relations (information and relationshipbuilding) and marketing (purely promotion).
Product Promotion Sites A growing number of PR- and marketing-sponsored customer sites promote the benefits of products and services by educating consumers about how products might be used. Food companies, for example, feature sites with recipes, cooking and other household tips. Other sites, such as for soft drink manufacturers, feature prize giveaways and redemptions, contests, and interactive entertainment. Many of these especially target young people. A particular genre of consumer sites is the fan site. Movie and other large media companies now routinely post sites about forthcoming productions. Fans can preview scenes or book chapters, download photos and music, read background about the performers or authors, play specially created games, send fan mail, or chat with others who share their infatuation. Some of these sites are grassroots sites created by fans themselves. Fan sites have become integral parts of promotional campaigns for movies, television shows, and books. The goal of most of these sites is to generate “buzz” or word-of-mouth promotion.
Education and Advocacy Sites Other public relations sites are intended to educate the public on topics of particular concern to organizations. Young people and adults alike can learn about current issues or problems, such as the dangerous of environmental pollution or the value of conservation, through games, exercises, quizzes, and streaming video and audio. Although these sites might provide a valuable learning experience in some instances, the motives of the sponsors are often self-serving. Thus the accuracy and objectivity of these sites are suspect.
Health Sites Web sites related to health issues are among the most popular types of consumer sites. Health-related sites are sponsored by a wide range of organizations—from commercial health care providers and pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to government and advocacy groups devoted to the eradication of particular maladies. Healthrelated sites have shown themselves to be effective tools for patient education and self-diagnosis, and for the delivery of social support from others through Web-based e-mail exchanges, discussion groups, chats, and so on. The accuracy and objectivity of information on many health sites has been challenged, however, leading to calls for self-regulation and possibly governmental oversight.
Fundraising/Development Sites Many not-for-profit organizations have incorporated Web sites in their promotional and fundraising efforts to solicit funds. These sites capitalize on the Internet’s secured transaction capabilities. Web sites, for example, allow disaster relief agencies to post information on “how to help” almost immediately after devastation occurs. Many advocacy groups also use their sites to promote their causes, enlist members and solicit contributions. Membership
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recruitment and fundraising represent two applications of e-commerce technology in traditional public relations functions.
Employee Relations Sites and Intranets Online communication has dramatically changed employee relations and internal communications, particularly within organizations in which large numbers of employees can access computers. Many employers begin by using the organization’s public Internet site as an employee recruitment tool. Once an employee is hired, organizations use closed-access Web-based systems or intranets to communicate a wide array of employee relations-related information. Typical public relations-oriented content on an Intranet includes employee newsletters and updates, memoranda, streaming audio and video clips on organizational developments, employee benefits materials, policies and procedures manuals, guides to employee counseling and assistance programs, employee Q&A bulletin boards, and promotional bulletins on recreational and social activities. Intranets clearly are not substitutes for one-on-one or group communications at work. But Web sites can provide employees with quick and easy access to frequently asked questions traditionally answered by public relations or human resource departments using other media. Organizations also use intranets as part of knowledge management programs to share organizational intelligence and thus improve productivity (Weitzel & Hallahan, 2003) The advantages are particularly important for organizations that operate in multiple locations (including global organizations) and for employees who travel frequently or telecommute.
Supplier or Distributor Sites and Extranets One of the newest forms of Web sites in public relations is specifically directed to vendors of materiel as well as wholesalers, distributors, and retailers in an organization’s channel of distribution. Extranets are extended controlled-access systems similar to an intranet. Most extranets began as outgrowths of earlier data-based inventory control systems intended to facilitate just-in-time deliveries and supply other operations-related information to suppliers or distributors. The advent of Web-interfaces, however, enables organizations to provide business partners with a broader range of content. Examples include information on corporate developments, recognition of performance, and other relationship-building messages.
Government and Political Sites Government institutions, individual lawmakers and candidates for political office have embraced Web sites as a way to communicate with constituents and prospective voters. Government institutions post a wide range of citizen information online to facilitate their work and to inform the public about government activities. Examples include agendas and minutes for public meetings; notices of impending hearings or rule making; enacted laws, regulations, and ordinances; forms and applications; and
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basic questions and answers about government operations. Many use feedback mechanisms, such as e-mail and fill-in forms, to monitor citizen feedback and help citizens resolve problems. Similarly, lawmakers and candidates have found the Web to be an effective tool to articulate their positions on political issues, to inform supporters about their activities, and to solicit public comments. Ironically, not all lawmakers or candidates necessarily relish their vulnerability to constant constituent challenges or criticisms. Lawmakers are often inundated with e-mail lobbying them to vote a particular way on legislation and often find it impossible to wade through the volume of e-mails received. Campaign organizers also have begun to use the Web as a fund-raising tool in the same way as not-forprofit organizations.
OTHER INTERNET APPLICATIONS In addition to Web sites, public relations uses a variety of other Internet tools to disseminate information and to build relationships.
E-mail E-mail allows organizations to send messages to key constituents, both individually and in groups. Broadcast email lists can be purchased from brokers, drawn from organizational databases, or developed through solicitations seeking permission to send information to prospective addressees (permission marketing). In addition to text and graphical messages, audio e-mail and video email allow recipients to link to Web sites to hear or view messages. Media relations specialists use e-mail to distribute news releases as well as story ideas or “pitches” to reporters and editors. Journalists similarly have found email a valuable way to seek information from sources and to conduct interviews where sources provide written responses to questions. An important new extension of basic e-mail are enewsletters, or compendia of news and information items distributed periodically to an e-mail list in lieu of a printed publication. Newsletters can be distributed in either text or HTML formats, with links that provide supplemental information. Recipients can scan the contents, select items of interest, and discard others. Listservs provide another useful group e-mail technology where organizations can send messages to a controlled-access list of recipients. An addressee then can respond to all other recipients.
Discussion Groups, Chats, Online Seminars Some organizations encourage the use of asynchronous bulletin boards and synchronous (real-time) chat rooms to facilitate discussions on topics relevant to the organization. Companies ranging from software manufacturers to motorcycle manufacturers encourage users and customers to come together online to discuss topics of common interest, to share experiences, and to solve problems collectively. Bulletin boards also are being employed in health communications to link sufferers of various
maladies or their caregivers. Some employers also sponsor chat sessions to solicit and encourage online discussions by employees about new ideas and suggestions for improvements and so on. Sponsored discussion groups and chats are supplemented by a huge number of useroriginated groups and chats without official sponsor sanction. About a dozen discussion groups serve the public relations community alone. An extension of sponsored and user-organized chats are chat tours on major Web portal or media sites, such as Yahoo!, AOL, ESPN.com, and MSNBC.com. PR representatives can arrange for clients to “appear” online in the same way clients might make guest appearances on television and radio talk shows. Publicists can book a client, then promote the appearance via online and traditional media. Clients are “trained” on how to conduct the tour and work with a ghost typist, who actually transcribes the guest’s oral responses. Alternatively, Web events, such as speeches, presentations, seminars, and workshops, are being used by public relations and marketing departments to educate targeted groups on selected topics. Many scheduled Webinars and online workshops employ real-time chats, combined with Webcasts and electronic presentations using software such as Microsoft PowerPoint. Such conferences are even used to train media spokespersons. Alternatively, events can be held at designated host sites, where participants use banks of computers in a room also equipped to receive video feeds via satellite or audio conference calls over phone lines.
File Transfers Public relations officers for government and other large institutions can supply large files of data, text, or graphics using file transfer protocols. FTP permits computer-tocomputer delivery of government agency databases, large reports, corporate financial information, photos and multimedia, and promotional games. Anonymous FTP sites (which do not require user identification) can be located by searching specialized search engines. Although traditional Internet and limited-access extranets allow viewing the information, FTP downloads provide savvy researchers with the ability to manipulate and analyze data to their specifications.
Remote Kiosks and CD-ROMs Organizations also can engage in online exchanges by stationing terminals in kiosks in public facilities. Kiosk terminals normally rely on phone or dedicated connections and allow users to interact with a central system by using a keyboard or touch screen. Kiosks also can operate as stand-alone personal computers. CD-ROMs allow organizations to circumvent the problems of slow Internet downloads by delivering large files of information on an easy-to-insert compact disk that can be played on a personal computer. Although CD-ROMs are not used extensively, CD-ROMs are ideal to deliver digital information that requires large storage capacity—books, directories and catalogs, annual reports, multimedia presentations, video clips, and interactive games. Although expanded bandwidth might reduce the need to rely on
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them in the future, CD-ROMs can be reproduced and delivered inexpensively to “push” information into the hands of users. Miniature CD-ROMs fit in a ordinary business envelope or coat pocket and substitute as electronic business cards for some organizations, complete with multimedia presentations.
ORGANIZATIONAL–PUBLIC RELATIONSHIPS ONLINE Although the distribution of information is important, the Internet’s more important contribution to public relations is its ability to establish relationships with users. An organizational–public relationship can be defined as a routinized, sustained pattern of behavior among individuals related to their involvement with an organization. Some people would argue that relationships established or maintained primarily online are less robust than relationships established through direct, personal contact. Nonetheless, online relationships can be strategically important to organizations. Many online relationships operate in tandem with offline relationships and thus are part of a total organizational–public relationship.
Potential for Creating Relationships Online Media research suggests that some users of computers (and other media) do not fully recognize that organizations are the ultimate sources of online communications, that is, people confuse the Internet or a Web site as the creator or source of information. Today’s increasingly sophisticated Internet user understands how the Internet operates, however, and that organizations of all types (in addition to individuals) produce Internet content. Online users constitute important new publics for organizations in cyberspace, and thus have redefined organizational–public relationships and the very nature of organizations themselves. Similarly the inherent interactive features of online communications can foster interaction. This makes online communications not merely a means toward an end (transmitting information), but an end in itself (a relationship builder). A central concept in the PR field today is the notion that public relations ideally is practiced as a dialogue involving two-way symmetrical communication between an organization and its publics. The Internet’s inherent interactivity provides the potential for balanced exchanges, the equalization of power relationships in society, and the development of a sense of community. This potential reciprocity is readily evident in online tools such as e-mail and discussion groups. Many organizational Web sites have yet to fully capitalize on online’s potential for feedback and two-way exchanges, however. In fact, organizations often fail to respond effectively to even the simplest online inquiry.
Factors Shaping Organization–Public Communications Online Figure 2 is a useful model for understanding how organizational–public relationships are created online.
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The antecedents in the left column represent factors that shape the process, particularly the motivation and ability of organizations and people to enter into organizational– public relationships online.
Organizational Factors These include the organization’s commitment to, purpose, and knowledge about using online media. Organizations have adopted online communications in varying degrees to perform different communications functions. They have also demonstrated varying degrees of expertise and sophistication in adopting new online techniques. More advanced organizations are more likely to use online communications to their advantage in building relationships.
Systems Factors These include the nature of the technologies used by organization and the hardware and software available to the user. User accessibility to online media is a particularly important factor. As of mid-2002, only about 60% of the U.S. population had access to the Internet. Meanwhile, access worldwide is limited for various political, economic, technological, and cultural reasons. The resulting “digital divide” suggests that online communications are not appropriate, nor effective, for organizations to reach all audiences. System usability also moderates the ability of online communications to nurture relationships. Systems with poor designs, poor navigation, or deficient content are less likely to be used effectively by members of key publics and thus dissuade relationship building.
User Factors These include a wide range of variables that users, as individuals, bring to the online communications experience. Among factors that moderate organizational–public relationship building online are a person’s r
Extent of use of online technology; Preexisting relationship, role, and identification with the organization; r Concurrent, offline communications with the organization; r Motivation sought and gratifications received (e.g., whether one’s purpose is to conduct transactions, interact with others, escape reality, or obtain social support, etc.); r Skill and confidence (computer expertise, computer selfefficacy, and lack of computer anxiety); r Knowledge of content (expert vs. novice); r Involvement in content (relevant vs. inconsequential); r Attitudes toward the Internet in general, including preference for and assessments of the Internet’s credibility as an information source; r Attitudes toward computing and computers in general; and r Personality, including but not limited to cognitive ability, cognitive style, personal innovativeness; also age and gender. r
Antecedents
Processes
Organizational Commitment to Web communications Strategic purposes/uses Communication functions performed
Awareness Recognition of online presence Trial use/adoption
Systems-Based Technologies Accessibility Design/ease of use
Cognitive learning Of content About source/organization
User-Specific Pre-existing relationships with organization Other communications with organization Identification with organization Motives/goals Knowledge of and involvement in content Attitudes toward online communications – Preference – Credibility Attitudes toward computing and computers in general Computer skills and self-efficacy Personality
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↓
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Consequences Knowledge of content, organization - Recognition/recall - Comprehension of key messages
↓
↓ Interaction System interactivity Verbal interactivity ↓ Impression formation Attitudes toward online content Attitudes toward the system/site
Attitudes toward the organization General - Liking - Relevance - Identity - Affinity - Intention Credibility Assessments of organizational relationship - Commitment - Trust - Satisfaction - Control mutuality - Communality of interests Communication activity Repeated Web site visits Other communications with organization Communications with others Behaviors beneficial to organization (and user) (Buying, investing/ donating, working, voting, self-care/risk avoidance)
Figure 2: Creating organizational-public relationships online. From Hallahan (2003a).
Processes of Building Relationships Online Awareness and Adoption Online relationships cannot be created until people recognize that an organization has an online presence and actually access or try the system. Relationship building thus begins by organizations’ promoting and attracting users. Importantly, many users have come to expect that organizations have an online presence. A person’s acceptance of a new technology such as online communications is determined by perceived usefulness and ease of use— two factors that organizations must promote. Other important factors include the relative advantage provided, simplicity, compatibility with other systems, ease of trial, and ready observability.
Cognitive Learning Cognitive learning involves processing a minimal level of content and making judgments about the content and the source. Content learning is facilitated by the simplicity and organization of content and the system itself—the simpler and more intuitive, the better. Source learning involves understanding who the source organization is and making attributions about the organization’s intent. For example, is the purpose to tell valuable information, or to sell a
product or service? Infusing messages with a strong sense of social presence, that is, the use of people’s faces and names, will facilitate learning and relationship-building processes. Media richness theory suggests that online communications tools vary considerably in the degree to which they contain nonverbal cues that facilitate understanding. Web sites containing explanatory text and graphics, for example, are comparatively rich media that provide contexts for content learning. By contrast, an FTP file containing only data would be considered lean because few cues for interpretation of meaning are provided. Users are posited to develop cognitive schemas or knowledge structures for how online communications should work, based on experience. As a result, users develop expectations about content and rules for how to process information. Violations of these rules by content originators diminish relationship building.
Interaction Interaction heightens levels of user involvement and can facilitate cognitive learning. System interactivity involves the ability of users to modify the format and content of online communications or messages. Hypertext and links on Web sites, for example, allow people to search for
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information, to play games, to take quizzes, to complete surveys, or to customize screen content. Similarly, customization features allow users to select and to focus on content of particular personal interest. Verbal interactivity involves the ability to create and send messages to others. Users thus are not merely receivers or manipulators of content but become full-fledged producers of content through e-mail, bulletin boards, and chats.
Impression Formation Affective responses involve physical arousal or emotional reactions. Affect is distinct from cognition but combines with beliefs to create attitudes or predispositions, including attitudes toward online content or attitudes toward on online system (such as a Web site). Considerable research in the advertising field suggests that attitudes toward messages (sometimes referred to as attitude toward the ad) moderate the attitudes formed about the topics or objects that constitute the subject of the message (attitude toward the brand). Moreover, users form attitudes toward the online system, such as Web site, referred to as attitude toward the system (site). These reactions or attitudes can moderate relationship formation. A positive experience, which also might be defined as user satisfaction, is critical to positive relationship building online.
Outcomes of Relationship Building Online How can online relationship building be measured?
Knowledge Successful relationship building online results in users becoming more knowledgeable about online information or the sponsoring organization. Evidence of learning effects can include rudimentary awareness and comprehension measures such as recognition and recall of content.
Attitudes Relationship building effectiveness alternatively can be measured in terms of positive attitudes toward the organization or content sponsor. Attitudes can be measured as the degree to which a user likes the organization, thinks the organization’s actions are relevant to them, identifies with the organization, feels an affinity (desire to belong), and intends to act in keeping with the organization’s suggestions. Organizational credibility is another important outcome, i.e., the degree to which the organization is perceived as expert, trustworthy or independent. Finally, attitudes can be measured in terms of perceptions about the relationship that exists between the user and the organization. These assessment measures used in public relations in recent years include perceptions about the organization’s commitment to people, trustworthiness, and willingness to share power (control mutuality). Relationship quality also can be measured as satisfaction and a sense of communality with the organization.
Communications Activities Other important indicators of successful relationship building online include repeated use of online sources (such as returning to a Web site because the information or experience is valuable). Effects can be measured
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in terms of a user’s willingness to communicate with the organization, whether through feedback online or offline. Finally, an important indicator of successful relationship building is the extent to which a person shares information or one’s experiences with others—as an advocate for the organization, whether online or offline.
Routinized Behaviors The ultimate measure of success in relationship building online is the degree to which users engage in routinized behaviors beneficial to the organization. In order words, do users’ actions help the organization meet its mission or goals? Do people buy, invest, donate, work, vote, or avoid risky behaviors consistent with the organization’s objectives for being online?
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS AND ISSUES MANAGEMENT Two special types of PR programs in which the Internet has become increasing important involve crisis communications and issues management. Both involve organizational responses to situations that originate outside the organization’s control and focus on preserving organizational-public relationships. A crisis is the uncertainty created following an extraordinary event. An event that could trigger a crisis be as inconsequential as a public official’s embarrassing criticism of an organization. By contrast, catastrophic occurrences could include product tamperings, industrial accidents, sabotage, terrorism, or natural disasters. Crises erupt suddenly and often involve concerns about personal safety or loss. In most cases, organizations must respond quickly. By contrast, an issue is a controversy or dispute that impugns an organization’s reputation and often involves calls for changes in organizational or public policy. Unlike many crises, issues originate with people or organizations that make claims and seek changes (and possibly restitution) on behalf of a group that claims to be victims of a situation. Most issues are not life threatening per se, although an issue might involve potentially hazardous situations. Issues usually take a long time to incubate before they burst onto the public, media, or public policy agendas.
Crisis Communications The Internet in Crisis Planning Crises cannot be predicted or prevented entirely. Organizations try to reduce the prospect of problems by maintaining quality standards in their operations. In addition, organizations develop contingency plans for how they would respond to unavoidable crisis situations that might be particularly probable or damaging. These plans include a detailed communications component for which public relations units are responsible. Online communications now play a central role in most crisis communications plans because Web sites and email are well suited to disseminate timely and consistent information to a wide range of audiences. Indeed, these
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publics now expect organizations to disseminate crisis information online.
Online Crisis Response Strategies Among the response actions now commonly found in online crisis communications plans are the following: r Create a crisis Web page template in advance and imme-
diately substitute it for the organization’s regular home page (which should remain accessible through a link on the crisis page). r Include both the organization’s content and technical webmasters on the organization’s crisis response team. r Post online the same information released to the press at the location of a crisis event so that announcements are accessible to other media as well as the public at large. r Create separate sections devoted to key audiences: employees, customers, investors and donors, neighbors and communities at large, and government officials. r Develop, in advance, a list of useful links to online resources. r Establish an employee bulletin board for staff to post information. Bulletin boards can be useful for locating missing employees, spotting rumors, and tracking incidents or problems. (This system should be on the public Internet, not on a restricted-access intranet, so that employees can communicate from any location.) r Make arrangements in advance to access or create e-mail lists to communicate with company offices or officials, as well as employees, customers, investors, community leaders, government officials, or media personnel. r Provide for increased processing capacity during peak periods of online queries, especially during the first 24 to 48 hours following a triggering event. Major disasters involving the loss of life or facilities pose particular problems. In such instances, communities often lose electricity or telephone or cable service, effectively disabling Internet use. Prudent organizations contract with disaster recovery services firms to operate a hot site, or backup computer facility. Even when loss of service is temporary, restoration of Web and e-mail capabilities should be given priority. In major disasters, an online victim resource center can be created online to provide information to survivors, as well as the immediate and extended families of all victims. Links can provide help from disaster relief agencies, medical facilities, insurance companies, employee benefit specialists, and posttrauma or grief counselors.
Issues Management Whereas crisis communications usually involves responses after a triggering event has occurred, public relations can use the Internet to monitor developments and manage its responses throughout the typically long life cycle of an issue. (For discussion of how issues originate and how organizations respond, see Hallahan, 2001b).
Uses of the Internet by Activists The Internet has been a boon to the creation of issues by activists and activist organizations. An activist is an individual who identifies a problem and then organizes others to seek its resolution. Remedies can include direct negotiations with an organization identified as the cause of a problem as well as indirect influence attempts such as boycotts or lobbying for legislative or regulatory changes. The Internet provides a pervasive, relatively low-cost forum for activist groups to access a worldwide audience. Indeed, almost any group can create a Web presence and obtain e-mail access for the cost of retaining a Web hosting service and registering a domain name–only a couple hundred dollars a year. Activists often use discussion groups and chats to advance their causes. They also can purchase or otherwise obtain e-mail lists of people who might be sympathetic to their cause. E-mails and e-newsletters pertaining to political issues have a somewhat higher rate of user acceptance than commercial messages. Nonetheless, unsolicited messages from activists generally are still considered junk email (spam) by unsympathetic recipients. Activists use Web sites to post position papers, notices of events, and reports on recent accomplishments in order to reinstill commitment and solidarity among existing members and to recruit new supporters and volunteers. Effective activists encourage online feedback from supporters. Activists also use Web sites to raise money for their cause. More sophisticated activist groups have mastered how to combine database technologies with the Web for grassroots organizing activities. Activist Web sites, for example, can feature maps showing legislative districts so that supporters and sympathizers, acting as voterconstituents, can write letters to appropriate government officials. Sample letters are frequently provided that can be sent as-is or adapted by the sender. E-mail links allow messages to be sent directly to lawmakers’ offices or to corporate officials who might be the targets of organizing efforts. In addition to e-mail addresses, smart organizers also provide postal mail addresses and telephone numbers.
Complaint, Attack, and Rogue Web Sites Activists use a variety of imaginative online techniques to press their causes. Many activist Web sites adroitly use emotionally charged graphics, audio, and video to dramatize the plight of victims and the need for action. Some activists create complaint sites or complaint domains that are intended to allow people with a gripe against an organization to air their frustrations. Complaints are posted for public viewing or forwarded to the targeted organizations. Most notable among these are various sucks.com sites (http://www.sucks500.com). Alternatively, disgruntled former customers, employees, or investors create attack sites intended to impugn the reputation of a targeted organization or political candidate. A special variation of an attack site is a rogue site in which the site sponsor obtains a domain name deliberately intended to be confused with a targeted organization’s site. For example, http://www.ford.org was once a thinly veiled and deceptively titled site that attacked Ford Motor Company (http://www.ford.com).
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The registration of names can be tracked by conducting whois searches on one of the major domain registration sites or domain name search engines (e.g., http://www.namedroppers.com).
Organization Responses Online Besides monitoring the development of an issue online, organizations can use the Internet and other technologies to communicate their positions on issues or controversies. One technique involves direct participation in discussion groups and chats, where an identified representative of an organization articulates an organization’s position. In some cases, the use of a moderated chat with a sysop might be appropriate, similar to a chat tour. Other techniques include the use of broadcast and individual e-mails. Broadcast e-mail involves the creation of a tailored list of opinion leaders and or others who have expressed an interest in an issue. E-mail provides a simple but effective way to maintain contact and to provide updates on a situation, such the status of negotiations or pending legislation. Individual e-mails can provide a valuable way for organizations to respond. Nonetheless, it is important to avoid ingenuine, formulaic answers or perfunctory automated response messages that only reinforce perceptions about organizational indifference. When confronted with an ongoing controversy or issue, many organizations use their corporate Web sites to articulate their position on issues, chronicle their record of performance, and solicit feedback or support. In addition to providing news releases and position statements in their online newsrooms, organizations address issues in separate, permanent sections of their Web sites devoted to specific topics (such as environmental protection) or to the broader subject of corporate responsibility. An increasing number of these pages invite and post public responses and comments.
MANAGING ONLINE PUBLIC RELATIONS Public relations managers face a variety of concerns in maximizing the effectiveness of online public relations.
Content Control One of the most difficult problems deals with the decentralized control of Internet and Web operations in many organizations. Responsibility for day-to-day operation of the system, including specification of hardware and software, usually rests with computer operations departments. This often results in the appointment of dual Webmasters with separate responsibilities for technical support (domiciled in computer operations) and content development (domiciled elsewhere, usually in a user department such as public relations). Meanwhile, content decisions are often shared by public relations, marketing, human resources, knowledge management and other units that rely on the Internet. These units often have different objectives and priorities, and the resulting competition often leads to conflicts over content control. In particular, what messages will appear in the precious space of organization’s front page?
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Public relations units must be vigilant to develop a good working relationship with the technical staff. Organizations must establish procedures to ensure timely updates of sites, preferably direct updating by the public relations department itself. Similarly, PR units must be vigilant to ensure that public relations needs and objectives are not relegated to secondary positions by other organizational priorities.
Branding and Promotion Effective Web sites need to reflect the organization’s branding and corporate identity and must be promoted effectively. Many public relations units assume responsibility for maintaining Web content standards as part of their oversight of corporate identity. In particular, public relations must ensure that elements of the corporate identity system—logos, logotypes, colors, type fonts an so on—are used properly and consistently in all online communications. Branding includes the selection of domain names when new sites are established and obtaining the rights to domain names through a site registration service. A good domain name should be short and easy to remember and to spell, and should communicate a key organizational message, if possible (e.g. www.flytoanywhere.com). To avoid problems of rogue sites or cybersquatting, organizations often purchase the variations of their domain names, including other suffixes (.org, .net, .info, .biz, etc.) and international extensions (.uk, .fr, .nz, .de, etc.). Organizations with frequently misspelled names also can purchase the misspelled names so errant inquirers are automatically forwarded to the correct Web address. Most organizations seek to maximize awareness of Web sites by including their Web addresses on printed materials and print ads. One advantage of a very simple address is that the domain name can be used in broadcast promotions and told to people orally without confusion. Effective promotion also includes registration of domain names with the major search engines and effective use of meta-tags in all Web documents. These imbedded site descriptors include key words likely be used by prospective users and search engine agent software to locate matching information.
Message Quality Beyond consistency of branding, PR units often must be concerned with the quality of materials that appear on organizational Web sites and standard e-mail correspondence, including materials generated by public relations and by other units. A systematic content review and control process is required to ensure consistency and accuracy of information, as well as conformity to organizational communication strategies. Other quality issues include assuring that content is well written and follows standards for writing for the Internet. Web and e-mail copy ought to be brief, precise, and vivid because much Web content is scanned, not read completely. Writers must also recognize the importance of linking and layering content to address the varying levels of interests of users. Other quality concerns include making sure that content is accessible by the disabled.
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Compliance with disability standards is required for Web sites supported by U.S. government funding. Organizations also need to be sensitive to multiculturalism. Many organizations should consider creating sites in more than one language and to make language options readily available. Using a domain name with a national extension (such as .uk, .fr, .de, etc.) enhances acceptance by users in those and other nearby nations. Similarly, many organizational Web sites created by American or European designers are not well suited for use worldwide because these sites fail to take into account important cultural nuances related to the use of images, page organization/layout, and color. To communicate effectively and to build effective relationships, Web sites must be culturally appropriate.
Usability and User Satisfaction In addition to content, PR units must be concerned with the functionality of organizational Web sites, discussion groups, and e-mail systems. Usability research, an extension of ergonomics, examines whether users can use technology to accomplish desired outcomes easily and with a minimum of errors. Simple design is a key to usability. Generally, organizations err by employing cutting-edge techniques, such as animations, that distract users or reduce download time. Users should be able to locate information on a Web site intuitively. Pages should be organized simply, logically, and hierarchically. Hypertext links should allow users to find related information quickly and with a minimum of click-throughs. A search function should be included on all sites. Among key usability concerns are ensuring that systems are compatible with the typical users’ systems, speed of use and decision making, ease of navigation, and accuracy-of-use and success-of-search rates. Users must have a positive experience using online technology or communications efforts will fail. Dysfunctional systems generate negative opinions about a site and the sponsor and can lead to abandonment of site use together (Hallahan, 2001c).
Integration The Internet represents one of many ways that organizations are deploying technology to manage relationships with important constituencies, particularly customers and employees. Database technologies allow organizations to track transactions and other information. Database interfaces enable organizations to tailor direct mail, e-mail, and Web-based communications using profiling information. As public relations practitioners examine future uses of Internet technologies, one of the greatest potentials is ability to provide personalized information that draws on organizational knowledge about the user’s characteristics and past interaction with the organization. Marketers have recognized the value of this kind of relationship building, but the concept of personalization is only beginning to be applied in public relations. Integration also includes the use of online communications in tandem with the full range of other communi-
cations tools available to an organization. For example, many organizations err by not prominently displaying email, postal address and telephone numbers that can be used by users to reach them. Effective communication cannot be limited to a particular technology. Indeed, public relations communicators must use interactive media in concert with public media, controlled media, events, and one-on-one communication. More needs to be known about how these various tools can be deployed in tandem with online communications. Finally, integration involves being prepared to adapt current Internet strategies as new devices are added to the personal computer in the online media mix. The advent of wireless telephones with Internet capabilities and other new personal data appliances (PDAs) will require that organizations adapt their online strategies and tactics. Indeed, the devices through which online public relations will be conducted in the second decade of the 21st century are only now in the development stage.
Security Enlightened public relations principles encourage frank and open communications by organizations. Similarly, the trend toward open-systems organizations emphasizes making information freely and widely available. Organizations run risks by making too information prominently available, however. Public Web sites, for example, are one of the major tools used in competitive intelligence gathering by other organizations. Similarly, release of corporate and personal data can encourage or facilitate corporate espionage and computer hacking. This is why a large portion of online corporate information is protected within the firewalls of private Intranet systems. Organizations must constantly balance the need for user access and openness with the protection of the organization’s digital assets (Hallahan, 2003b).
Legal and Regulatory Compliance The Internet poses various new wrinkles on the plethora of legal and regulatory concerns that already confront public relations practitioners. Examples include avoidance of defamation in cyberspace and of the electronic invasion of customer and employee privacy. Other problems include digital infringement of intellectual property (copyright and trademarks) and the electronic misappropriation of people’s images and words (in violation of the person’s right of publicity). Regulatory concerns include truth in advertising, compliance with rules related to political activities (contributions, lobbying, and representation of foreign clients), communications during labor disputes, and prompt and full disclosure of material financial information by publicly traded corporations. Government practitioners also must be concerned with the implications of new technology for making government records and meetings accessible to the public under freedom of information and “sunshine” laws, respectively. Although the Internet’s impact is far reaching, legislative, regulatory, and judicial mechanisms are slow to respond to changes. Online communicators must be sure their activities are in compliance with new regulations
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Table 1 Six levels for assessing effectiveness of public relations Web sites. 1. Production Qualitative assessments to judge compatibility with stated objectives; the adequacy of research or preparation, the appropriateness and completeness of content, and the production quality of messages (writing, design, visual appeal) 2. Usability Technical configuration of the system, speed of use and decision making by users, ease of navigation, accuracy of use and success-of-search rates. 3. Exposure Number of users impacted. System-generated data include the number of URLs or pages created, number of files accessed (hits), number of user sessions, click-through rates to secondary pages, number of unique visitors, and number of registered or potential users. Also can be assessed by examining user access logs or downloads based using domain name, domain type, or demographic data. 4. Awareness Users’ learning of content. Proxy measures of awareness might be imputed from tracking users, based on length of visits and downloads/transfers of content (presumably because of interest or value of content). Other measures include familiarity (recognition) with the existence of the site or of specific Web content, recall of use or specific content (user’s ability to retrieve information from memory), comprehension (user’s ability to explain meaning), and content retention (user’s recall of information over time). 5. Attitudes Changes in people’s predispositions toward a topic or organization. As with awareness, length of visits and numbers of downloads or transfers provide a rough measure of positive attitudes because few people return or download materials they do not like. Other measures include the number of people who recognize the importance of topic as relevant to them, who express positive attitudes toward the site, and whose attitudes are altered (formed, reinforced or changed). 6. Actions Effect on actual behaviors. Actions are relatively easy to measure in an e-commerce context because transactions are conducted online. Possible measures include assessing people’s past actions (based on self-reports), or stated intent to take a specific actions, or actual observation of buying, investing, donating, working or voting behavior.
and must be in a position to counsel clients when others engage in activities that might be questionable. Many other legal questions and regulatory questions need to be addressed. These include the ownership and regulation of content in private e-mail and other systems, electronic records retention requirements, the legal status of electronic messages and signatures, and efforts to assess taxes on online activities. These legal issues are particularly difficult because cyberspace crosses legislative and regulatory jurisdictions.
Assessment and Measurement Public relations must develop viable ways to measure the success of its Internet endeavors to ascertain the effectiveness of their work and understand the contribution of online activities to the organization. Unfortunately, particularly in an integrated campaign context, it is difficult to segregate measures and to isolate the impact of Internet and Web site activities from other organizational communications. Figure 2 and the section on organizational–public relationships online examine measures of relationship building. Alternatively, six possible measures of the effectiveness of public relations Web sites as a specific types of online communications are illustrated in Table 1. Three of these measures directly relate to the site’s content and use: qualitative assessments of the work product, usability of the system, and exposure generated. More sophisticated measures rely on surveys or otherwise obtaining measures
of user awareness, attitudes and actions (see Traditional Public Relations earlier in the chapter). Somewhat more difficult to compute, particularly when responses may occur offline instead of online is the return on investment (ROI) of conducting online public relations. Yet public relations must address the question of how online information and relationship-building efforts contribute to attainment of the organization’s goals (financial, sales, production, etc.). Practitioners must be able to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of such efforts and the consequences if these activities were not undertaken.
SOCIETAL ISSUES The advent of online public relations poses a variety of professional and societal concerns for contemporary public relations practitioners.
User Concerns About the Internet— A Looming PR Issue As the Internet becomes more pervasive and people become more dependent on online communications, people’s expectations about and dependence on Web sites, e-mail, and other Internet technologies will rise. Organizations need to make sure that their Internet support is both dependable and responsible. Dependability involves the system being accessible to users by providing sufficient system capacity and software and system reliability.
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Problems with downtime or reliability of information can create public relations crises in their own right. More broadly, however, users expect organizations that communicate and conduct business online to act in an ethical and socially responsible manner. Successful organizations need to be vigilant in observing cultural values, norms, and mores. Among key values are respect for the individual, truthfulness, and freedom of choice. Organizations must be sensitive to issues such as privacy, accuracy, security, and the importance of giving people options for how they interact with an organization. To do otherwise is to misuse online technology. In 2001, the Arthur Page Society, an organization of top corporate PR practitioners, outlined four principles for ethical communications online that have been endorsed by about a dozen professional organizations. These tenets include presenting factbased content,being an objective advocate,earning the public’s trust, and educating the profession on best practices.
Quality of Organizational–Public Relationships in the Internet Society Perhaps the bigger challenge is determining the right mix of tools for how organizations should interact with employees, customers, investors and donors, community leaders, government officials, and the media. Clearly, the Internet is a powerful and effective medium to communicate information, to respond to queries, to facilitate the exchange of ideas, and to build relationships. Some organizations view the Web and related technologies as cost-efficient channels that can reduce the costs of transactions and control exchanges with customers and others. Yet as the Web and other Internet tools gain prominence, organizations must carefully consider the proper use of online communications. For example, pressing people to interact only with organizations online is not prudent, witnessed by the failure of banks to force customers to use automated teller machines. Similarly, the Internet makes it clear that organizations, at least from the audience perspective, can no longer control communications. Rather, organizations now guide communications involving key constituents, who are increasingly empowered to be come active participants in the conversation. As suggested earlier (in the section titled Online Public Relations), the Internet is not a panacea for all communications or public relations needs of an organization. Organizations also run the risk of becoming slavishly committed to technology. Online communications must take its proper place in the communications activities of organizations. Misuse of the technology poses the risk of reducing, not enhancing, the quality of communication between an organization and its key publics. Advocates point to the ability of the online communications to build community and to collapse boundaries created by time and space. Yet critics suggest that the Internet has isolated individuals by making people content to interact with others in cyberspace while forgoing important social contacts. Although the debate will undoubtedly continue, online communications are changing both structural and functional relationships in modern society. Public relations professionals and their client organizations must be learn more about the process and effects of
online communications and be sensitive to these changes in order to nurture organization–public relationships and to take maximum advantage of online technology.
GLOSSARY Attack site A Web site set up by a disgruntled activist, employee, customer, or investor that features negative content about an organization, political figure, or cause. Branding Development of a unique identity that enables audiences to identify an organization, product, or Web site. A critical foundation for Web site promotion and traffic building. Cyberactivism Use of online communications by organized groups to effect changes in public or organizational policies or practices. Cyberscanning Process of environmental scanning applied to the Internet to identify potential concerns or controversies that might affect an organization. Cybersquatting Purchase of the domain name registration of a Web site by an opportunist who later seeks to sell the rights to a party willing to pay for the use of the name. Chat tour Use of public chat rooms to promote particular clients, such as book authors. Guests on tour answer questions from online participants. Crisis communications The response to an unexpected triggering event that interrupts an organization’s normal operations. Internet technology now plays a central role in crisis responses. Fan site Web sites that build consumer interest in cultural or recreational activities, such as movies, television programs, pop music, or professional sports. Sites can be sponsored by the producers or started by enthusiasts themselves. Typical content includes information, photos, multimedia, discussion groups and chats, and links. Interactivity Ability of users to make choices, select or customize content, play games, respond to surveys, or communicate actively with others while online in real time. Interactivity heightens levels of message processing. System interactivity involves interaction with the technology only; verbal interactivity involves producing and sending messages to others. Issues management Responses by an organization to disputes or controversies that challenge the organization’s principles or practices. Media richness The degree to which a communication provides nonverbal cues for understanding a message. Media that provide a lot of context for message understanding are deemed rich media; those with few cues to facilitate understanding are considered lean media. Online newsroom The section of an organization’s Web site intended for journalists. Typically contains news and feature stories, background information, and downloadable multimedia. Organizational-public relationship A routinized, sustained pattern of behavior among individuals related to their involvement with an organization. Public relations strives to build positive relationships between organizations and its publics.
FURTHER READING
Public relations Management staff function that facilitates communication between an organization and its key publics: employees, customers and consumers, investors and donors, community at large, and government. Rogue site A Web site with a domain name similar to the URL (uniform resource locator) of another entity intended to distract unwitting users; sometimes a special form of attack site. Usability The functionality of a Web site that enables users to find information quickly and accurately in a manner users find satisfying. Site usability is a necessary condition for messages to be effective. Sponsored Web site A site that is subsidized by an organization to provide information about the organization, its products, services, candidates, or causes, in contrast to a portal site, which is operated as a gateway to the Internet, and a news site that suppliers users with information from various services. Sponsored Web sites do not charge for access; portal and media sites can charge for their services. Webcasts Use of streaming video and audio to show a live presentation to online users in remote locations.
CROSS REFERENCES See Legal, Social and Ethical Issues; Online Dispute Resolution; Usability Testing: An Evaluation Process for Internet Communications; Webcasting.
REFERENCES Hachigian, D., & Hallahan, K. (2003). Perceptions of public relations Web sites by computer industry journalists. Public Relations Review, 291, 43–62. Hallahan, K. (1994, Summer). Public relations and circumvention of the press. Public Relations Quarterly, 38(2), 17–19. Hallahan, K. (2001a). Strategic media planning. Toward an integrated public relations media model. In R. L. Heath (Ed.), Handbook of public relations (pp. 461– 470). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hallahan, K. (2001b). The dynamics of issues activation and response. An issues processes model. Journal of Public Relations Research, 13, 27–59. Hallahan, K. (2001c). Improving public relations Web sites through usability research. Public Relations Review, 27, 223–240. Hallahan, K. (2003a, May). A model for assessing Web sites as tools in building organizational-public relationships. Paper presented to Public Relations Division, International Communication Association, San Diego. Hallahan, K. (2003b, August). Protecting an organization’s digital assets. Presentation to Public Relations Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Kansas City. Weitzel, D., & Hallahan, K. (2003, May). Adoption of an Intranet-based performance reporting system. Paper presented to Communication and Technology Division, International Communication Association, San Diego.
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FURTHER READING Web Sites PR-education.org (http://PR-education.org) A portal to public relations education on the Web. Includes several online guides to books, articles, Web sites, and other resources on all phases of public relations. Includes a comprehensive bibliography on Public Relations and Technology. Online Public Relations Course (http://www.onlinepr.com) An introductory online public relations course developed by James L. Horton of Robert Marston Associations, New York. The Institute for Public Relations (http://www. instituteforpr.com) A growing collection of research briefs and reports related to the Internet and management issues in public relations. Pew Internet & American Life Project Online (http:// www.pewinternet.org) Reports about Internet research, plus links other studies and Internet statistics.
Books Holtz, S. (2002). Public relations on the net (2nd ed.). New York: AMACOM. Horton, J. L. (2001). Online public relations: A handbook for practitioners. Westport, CT: Greenwood. Marlow, E. (1996). Electronic public relations. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Middleberg, D. (2001). Winning PR in the wired world. New York: McGraw-Hill. O’Keefe, S. (2002). Complete guide to internet publicity. Creating and launching successful online campaigns. New York: Wiley. Phillips, D. (2001). Online public relations. London: Kogen Poge. Sherwin, G. R. & Avila, E. N. (1997). Connecting online. Grants Pass, OR: Oasis Press. Shiva, V. A. (1997). The Internet publicity guide. New York: Allworth Press. Witmer, D. F. (2000). Spinning the Web. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman.
Reports and Monographs Middleberg, D., & Ross, S. S. (2002). The Middleberg/Ross media survey. Change and its impact on communications. Eighth annual national survey. New York: Middleberg+Associates. Retrieved September 2002 from http://www.middleberg.com Pavlik, J. V., & Dozier, D. M. (1996). Managing the information superhighway: A report on issues facing communications professionals. Gainesville, FL: Institute for Public Relations Research & Education. Wright, D. K. (1998). Corporate communications policy concerning the Internet: A survey of the nation’s seniorlevel corporate public relations officers. Gainesville, FL: Institute for Public Relations. Wright, D. K. (2001). The magic communication machine. Examining the Internet’s impact on public relations, journalism and the public. Gainesville, FL: Institute for Public Relations.
Online Publishing Publishing
Randy M. Brooks, Millikin University
Introduction Publishing Online Texts What Is an Online Text? Acquisition and Preparation of Digital Content Organizing Content for Flexible Online Use and Reuse Launching and Promoting the Online Publication Maintaining or Updating the Online Text Distributing Texts Online File Exchange Protocols Standard Digital Content Formats Electronic Books Formats of Electronic Books Virtual Libraries Variety of Electronic Display Devices
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INTRODUCTION Publishing is the process of preparing a text for public distribution. The traditional means of publishing is to design and print text on paper for physical distribution. Online publishing is the process of designing a text for public distribution and viewing on a computer screen. Whereas a printed newspaper arrives at your doorstep in the morning with a thud, the online newspaper arrives on your computer screen as a favorite link in your Web browser, a software program for displaying Web pages. In both cases, the publishing process includes (a) the design, (b) the public distribution, and (c) the reader’s interaction with a published text. This chapter examines how shifting from paper to the computer screen changes all three elements of publishing. Moving from paper pages to the computer screen significantly changes all elements of the publishing process— designing, distributing, and using texts. Online publishing changes the process of designing texts based on the limitations and new opportunities of the computer as a public display of information. Online publishing changes the process of distributing and acquiring texts to your computer screen—depending on standard formats, yet retaining the flexibility of being instantly reconfigured and displayed on a variety of electronic devices. Online publishing also changes the process of reading texts, transforming our habits of reading printed pages into multimedia habits of computer users. In fact, some would suggest that “computer user” is a more appropriate term than the concept of a reader, given the multiple opportunities and choices of control available to the reader of electronic texts. Online publishing builds on conventions and traditions of print media publishing, but it also creates new processes and new experiences of blending text, graphics, video, audio, and computer capabilities into multimedia experiences. In the book Remediation, Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin (1999) characterized this shift as a 784
Designing Online Texts for Effective Usability Remediation of Print Publishing Conventions Usability and User-Centered Design Rhetorical Purpose and Continuity of Online Publication Style Orientation Navigation and Layering Depth of Online Content Interactivity Designing for Dynamic Maintenance Conclusion: Possibilities for the Future of Online Publishing Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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remediation of print traditions into new approaches to online media. Online publishing remediates our habits as readers into new conventions and experiences only available through the electronic devices so common in our contemporary living and work space.
PUBLISHING ONLINE TEXTS Designing texts for the computer screen instead of paper changes most aspects of the publishing process, including (a) our conception of an online text, (b) the acquisition and preparation of digital content, (c) organizing content for flexible online use and reuse, (d) launching and promoting the online publication through online channels of search and distribution, and (e) maintaining or updating new versions of the text—not in new editions but through ongoing dynamic updates.
What Is an Online Text? A traditional publication is a string of words and graphics organized by arrangement on paper pages—usually bound with staples, thread, or glue in a protective cover. When we think of a book or a magazine, we conceive of these publications as fixed editions with static content and physical reality. When we pick up a traditional publication, we feel the texture of its bindings, we feel the weight of it in our hands, and we consider the size and scope of the text itself. Unlike a traditional paper text, an online text has no clear boundaries of size, scope, or weight based on the physical structure of bound pages. Instead of being conceived as a physical object that can be placed on a shelf, an online text is a collection of digital files organized into computer directories with invisible, embedded codes linking the files together for display on a screen of the user’s computer. Instead of receiving the entire publication at once, users pull only the files and information they need or want at the moment of viewing.
PUBLISHING ONLINE TEXTS
An online publication is an organization of computer files, with flexible means of arrangement on a variety of computer screens and devices. Instead of being fixed and arranged by placement on paper pages, the words, graphics, audio and video information in online publications are all organized as layers of available computer screen displays. The online text is a performance, designed by the online publisher but controlled or reconfigured by the readers (computer users). The online text offers guided access to the computer files and links available as part of the experience of the electronic publication. Online publications have a beginning screen (often referred to as a home page or index page), which serves multiple functions. The index page welcomes the user to the publication, often explains the primary purpose of the online text, establishes the overall tone of the publication, provides an overview of available content, and presents navigational links into various sections of the electronic text. Online publications that do not use common display software may need special instructions or “online guides” to help the beginning user start interacting with the publication. Once the user has entered into specific information screens, the online publication usually provides an ongoing means of navigation “back to the home page” or to other areas of the publication by means of additional links, “next” and “back” buttons, or a cluster of navigation links present on every screen. So what is an online text? To the publisher, an online text is a collection of digital files, prepared and packaged for delivery through the Internet. To the designer (or writer), an online text is a collection of information carefully organized and linked for a variety of users. To the user, an online text is an opportunity to explore and experience available information and to answer questions by following navigational links through the computer screen displays.
Acquisition and Preparation of Digital Content The acquisition of digital content has become extremely simple through recent technological innovation. Existing documents can be quickly scanned and converted into word-processing files. Graphics and photographs can be scanned and saved for online distribution. Music and video may be digitally recorded and edited for quick electronic distribution. Digital cameras and digital recording devices simplify the process of creating new content with the click of a button. Even children have learned how to create Web sites using various Web design editors or basic HTML (hypertext markup language) coded text files. Getting content is easy, whether it is coming from existing media or from original means. The difficult part is preparing digital content for effective distribution as an organized, well-designed online publication, and the sticky part is getting legal rights to that content for electronic distribution. Preparing digital content for online publications requires knowledge of standard formats, file-naming conventions, and the strategy of “modularization” of your information into small, discrete chunks. Breaking your digital information into small chunks (separate files) al-
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lows you to manipulate each chunk easily, modifying only small parts of the larger online publication and thus maintaining the quality of each separate piece of information. Many organizations attempt to reduce workload and text development efforts by establishing a “single source” system of breaking information into separate chunks, which can be repurposed into a variety of online or printed texts. Because an online publication is a compilation of these small chunks of digital data, it is important to establish clear file-naming conventions to manage these pieces easily. The users may never see these discrete chunks and their file names, but the publisher and designer will need to be able to understand the pieces as they continually modify and repackage them into new compilations. Universal access formats such as rich text format (RTF) and HTML provide better access to the information from a variety of computer platforms and software. Graphics need to be prepared and compressed in standard formats for high-quality but small file size—GIF format for highcontrast graphics and JPEG for photographs and shaded graphic files. Small chunks of digital information can be individually compressed, making each file small and quick to distribute through Internet connections. So there are several reasons for breaking online publications into a large number of small modularized chunks of information. Copyright law is currently under revision to address the ease of acquiring and redistribution of texts as online publications. The 1998 DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) attempts to address issues of intellectual property and new media. Through provisions concerning the circumvention of copyright protection systems, fair use in a digital environment, and online (Internet) service provider (ISP) liability, the DMCA addresses the technology of online distribution of content. Even in light of the new DMCA, existing copyright law assumes a more static, fixed publication or compilation of information in a dated public document. Under current law, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. After that time period, works are considered to be in the “public domain” and may be freely distributed. Current technology makes it easy to acquire digital content: If it is pulled to the user’s computer for display, it can easily be stored and modified by the user for future redistribution to others. For example, the current technology for playing music CDs on a computer also makes it easy to save the files in the compressed MP3 format for easy file sharing through the Internet. Illegal copies of new movies are recorded with digital cameras in theaters and distributed as digital video files before the industry releases DVD versions. Of course once the DVD versions are released, it is technically much easier to reproduce and distribute illegal copies. However, acquiring the necessary rights for electronic distribution is a responsibility of the online publisher. The copyright laws may be struggling with the concept of a text that is amorphous and dynamic in nature, but court cases and revisions to copyright law will eventually clarify the process of acquiring legal digital content. Attempts to employ technological means of restricting the distribution of digital information usually result in a crippled means of distribution, which violates one of the primary benefits of online publication (users get to
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pull the desired or needed information to their computer screens). Every technological attempt to restrict the ease of acquiring digital information is quickly “hacked” by determined users and often has resulted in a crippled experience for the average user. Users want easy access to desired information, and the best solutions to legal rights need to be addressed through better laws and social processes, not through proprietary formats or technological restraints. To acquire electronic rights legally for online publishing, publishers follow the conventions of asking permission and purchasing these rights from the creators of the information, even the smallest chunks of information included in the online publication.
ORGANIZING CONTENT FOR FLEXIBLE ONLINE USE AND REUSE With a large number of small modularized chunks in an online publication, users will be overwhelmed with too much information if they are simply given large lists of available files. Therefore, one of the essential elements of online design is to categorize information into related clusters and to provide an overview of the organizational strategy of available digital content. Users appreciate the added value of guides to content. The art and science of organizing content for online publications is referred to as information architecture, an analogy championed by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Moreville (1998), authors of Information Architecture for the Web: Designing Large-scale Web Sites. Information architecture is the process of ordering and structuring of your basic content to shape the user’s experience with the available information. Rosenfield and Moreville (1998) described two approaches: top-down and bottom-up information architecture. Top-down information architecture is the process of developing an information architecture based on an understanding of the context of the content and the user needs. This involves determining the scope of the site and the creation of blueprints and mockups detailing the grouping and labeling of content areas. Bottom-up information architecture is the process of developing an information architecture based on an understanding of the content and the tools used to leverage that content (e.g., search, indexes). This involves the creation of building blocks, the databases to contain them, and the procedures for their maintenance. Digital content may be organized in a multitude of organizational schemes (alphabetical, chronology, file type, content) depending on user needs, but organizational guides basically come in two options: (a) directories or (b) search engines. A directory is an organized listing of content and topics created by the author or editor, attempting to predict common questions and content information users are expected to seek. Directories take the form of table of contents, indexes, site maps, or graphical previews of information. The advantage of a directory is that it provides a conceptual preview of the entire online publication (although the view may be limited by the number of categories that can be displayed on the screen at one time).
Yahoo is an example of an online directory, which has been created and updated by humans categorizing the information available on the Web. Computer search engines provide the other type of organizational guidance. A database or “indexed” record of available files is quickly analyzed by the search engine to seek matches to the terms the user enters into the search field. The user does not get a preview of available information, so the results of the search depend more upon the user’s ability to anticipate useful key “subject words” for the search. Sometimes search engines offer a more restricted search through focused “content categories,” and many search engines provide additional tutorials and tips for “advanced searching,” which help the user find relevant information quickly. Some contemporary search engines organize results in a variety of ways, chosen by the user, but essentially this method of organizing the content of the online publication leaves the process entirely to the search strategies of the user. Search engines reduce the need to organize and structure the information available, allowing the user to reconfigure the related information quickly into a screen of links. Many online publications provide multiple means of searching for desired digital content—a search engine for key-word searches and an index of contents or a site map. With both directories and search engines, once you have found the desired content, you can pull it to your display by clicking on links to the information.
Launching and Promoting the Online Publication After the publisher has acquired, prepared, and organized the digital content for users, the next step in the process is to launch and promote the existence of the new online publication. Unlike traditional publications, which require prepublication copies to be sent to the major reviewers far in advance of the actual publication date, the online publication is launched quietly by becoming available to users through a unique Internet address, the publication’s URL. Once the online publication is launched, the publisher submits the URL to available search engines and directories. These search engines, such as Lycos, Altavista, and Google, automatically send a “spider” or “Web crawler” program to the Web site, which adds details about the pages and content from that publication to their database of available information online. In the case of directories, such as Yahoo, a person may check the existence of the online publication, consider the placement of the Web site in the appropriate directory category and send an indexing program to the URL for its database. The web designer may include an invisible code in the HTML file called a “meta-tag,” which provides indexing information for search engines and Web directories. The “key words” meta-tag includes a list of words users are likely to use to search for this particular publication or page. The “description” meta-tag is a descriptive sentence or short phrase about the online publication. Many of the search engines and directories will include the description from the “description” meta-tag in their listing of online publications or Web pages for the user.
DISTRIBUTING TEXTS ONLINE
In addition to the online means of promoting the existence of the online publication, some publishers advertise and promote their online publication through traditional means such as press releases, celebrations, e-mail notifications, print media advertisements, and inclusion of the URL on related products or public displays. The driving force behind online publications and the reason the web has become such a revolutionary approach to publishing, however, is the fact that users pull information when it is needed and desired. If the publisher pushes unwanted advertising and information at users, this violates the principle of user control of the online reading experience. Users have vigorously resisted previous attempts to build “push” technologies and automatic delivery of online publications. The best promotion of online publications is simply to be ready when the user comes to it and to have your online publication show up in the search engines and directories as soon as the user is looking for it.
Maintaining or Updating the Online Text Once users come to your online publication, they will not stay long unless there is rich, up-to-date content. If you launch a new online publication, but the content and design just sit there unchanging, users will assume it provides only old information, and there will be no reason to return to your site. Users will not return to your publication unless you maintain, update, and add to the content of the online text on a regular basis. An online publication is valuable because it offers rich layers of information that are continually being updated. The user can always get static, old information from books. From an online publication, the user expects dynamic, constantly improving information. Of course not all information goes stale instantly, so the publisher can design the online publication with a mixture of static and dynamic information. By targeting certain sections for scheduled, routine updates, users will quickly find the new information but also appreciate the depth of some of the static information, which retains its value even though it is not being reconfigured as often. For example, the Web version of the New York Times provides free access to daily news stories, but archives are only available for a fee. Academic online journals, such as Kairos, provide current and archived hypertexts as a means of distinguishing between dynamic and static areas of the publication. The dynamic nature of an online publication assumes an ongoing “Webmaster” or editor is watching over the publication and continually making adjustments and improvements to the compilation of information available. An online publication may continue for several years with this dynamic growth of content, but it requires periodic long-term revisions or “makeover designs” to keep it fresh after a few years. These makeover designs are rarely considered “new editions” as they would be in traditional books, and the old versions rarely remain available. The fact that earlier versions disappear as they are made over into new versions of the online publication is disturbing to some people, especially researchers who like the stability of traditional books that retain a permanent record of editions. Online publishers gather digital content and organize it for maximum user control of the reading experience of
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the electronic text. The online publisher prepares this information into small chunks, with each saved as a separate file with links and guides to the organization of the content. These online publications are valued for rich amounts of content, carefully organized so that the reader can quickly find particular data or answer specific questions by navigating to the needed content. Through the use of directories and search engines, the publisher gives the user access to the elements of the online publication. The online publisher promotes the electronic publication through existing computer search engines and Internet directories, adding their online texts to the millions of other documents on the Internet. One of the primary values or advantages of online texts is the ease of updates and edits. Current, up-to-date information is expected from quality online publications, so instead of publishing in editions, electronic texts are expected to be dynamic—to be maintained, updated, and changed as an ongoing, evolving publication.
DISTRIBUTING TEXTS ONLINE Distributing texts online depends on conventional Internet protocols and standard formats for file exchange and display. These file exchange protocols are essentially a means for two computers on the Internet to connect, “shake hands” to establish their identities, then share files based on the rules and restrictions of the server settings.
File Exchange Protocols Authors, editors, and publishers create digital information from a variety of local computers and then send this information to a “server” computer using a file transfer protocol (FTP) program. Most Web design software includes the FTP protocol for sending files to a remote server, and there are many programs dedicated to file transfer. Sometimes this process of transferring files to a server computer is referred to as “publishing” the files. Because FTP programs do not include content display functions, they are a fast means of simply moving files from one computer to another computer. A user finds the location of the desired online publication with an Internet browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer (software designed for both transfer and display functions). The user connects to the server computer using hypertextual transfer protocol (HTTP) to download a copy of the desired information to his or her own computer. The “server” offers access to available files, and the “client” computer pulls desired files to the user. These files are stored in a temporary cache for viewing on the local computer, or they may be downloaded and saved in a more permanent file format (such as PDF [portable document format], RTF, or HTML) for immediate and future use. Large computer files that will take longer to download are often compressed and saved as “zipped” or “stuffed” files for quicker downloads. These documents have to be “unzipped” or “unstuffed” to be viewed on the user’s computer. The Web is built primarily with HTML pages, so this is now the most common format for online publications.
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HTML is a convention for embedding invisible tags into a simple text file so that browsers may display the information according to the conventions of those tags. For example, a mark up tag for bold typeface will be a pair of tags for starting and ending the bold text—for example bold text. The characters between the tags would be displayed as bold by the browser software, such as Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer. Every HTML document must have certain tags, such as a beginning and ending tags to let the browser know that this document is an HTML document. Here is an example of the minimum HTML tags necessary for any Web page:
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ular graphic. JPEG graphics are usually photographs or graphics with a wide range of shades and colors. A color table does not contain enough colors to provide a quality display of these graphics, so they use the local computer’s color display system. JPEGs may be compressed with a sliding scale of compression that allows the artist to save the graphic at the most highly compressed level that is still acceptable for the required visual quality. A more recent graphic format is PNG, a format similar to the GIF format that allows for transparency and features an index table of colors for each graphic file. Animations, video, audio, and other types of digital content each have been developed with standard formats for exchange and activation on the user’s computer. Many of these elements require a special “plug-in” for the browser to extend the capabilities of the browser, but such software extensions tend to become standard features of browsers over time. The goal of each format is to provide high-quality files with maximum compression for quick downloading to the user’s computer.
Electronic Books Of course, additional tags can add display details such as tables, alignment, location of graphics, hypertext links to other files, and additional information in the HTML file. The user sees only the display of words and graphics on the computer screen, but the source code is always available for viewing if the user wishes to see the underlying HTML tags. HTML pages are often enhanced with JavaScript programming or other types of code that may be activated as users come to certain web pages. These scripts extend interaction with the user and provide special effects not available through standard markup tags. For example, a JavaScript might add a rollover effect to a graphic so that when the user’s cursor moves over the graphic it is swapped with another graphic.
Standard Digital Content Formats Other formats for distributing online information include database publishing, which employs Active Server Pages (ASP) technology to generate Web pages on the fly. Extensible markup language (XML) is a growing format language that allows content to be reformatted or reshaped quickly for a variety of output screens such as cell-phone displays, automobile computer screens, and computer monitors. Another format for designing Web sites as animated, scripted movies using Macromedia Flash has been created with Shockwave Format (SWF) movie files. These movies can be scripted for user control but are placed on a simple HTML page for compatibility with standard browsers. The most common formats for online content have been developed for quick downloads through Web browsers. Graphics are saved for the standard screen resolution of 72 pixels per inch. This reduces the file size considerably yet maintains a high-quality graphic if properly saved in the appropriate format. There are two main formats of graphics on the Web: GIF and JPEG formats. GIF graphics are high-contrast graphics compressed by saving a small index table of colors needed in that partic-
Although online publications often blend into Web sites without clear boundaries of a distinct text, traditional publishers have attempted to develop the concept of electronic books (often referred to as e-books) that represent a more limited notion of a complete text (with title pages, table of contents, chapters, page numbers, and illustrations) based on conventions of printed books. These ebooks are issued with a publication date and clearly designated author and are not usually updated with dynamic information in the same way expected of Web-based online publications. Often these are distributed for a fee as one complete downloaded file for viewing on an electronic device. An e-book is essentially a computer file tagged for display in a variety of electronic devices. Although electronic books are often marketed, sold, and distributed online, they may be displayed or read on an electronic device not connected to the Internet. E-books have been produced in several formats for display on a variety of electronic devices.
Formats of Electronic Books E-books come in several file formats, including HTML, PDF, RTF, Palm operating system-compatible, Windows CE-compatible, or other proprietary file formats for electronic reading devices. Windows CE is an embedded operating system for consumer electronic devices. E-book reading software is often available as a free download. Although e-books are not always available online, they are marketed as being designed for better on-screen reading quality (with improved anti-aliased typefaces), better management of your collection of e-books, special book marking and annotating capabilities, and better searching within the e-book file.
ASCII Format Books Although there are several libraries of text-only publications, an example of this approach is the Gutenberg project. Since 1971, Project Gutenberg has been saving public domain documents in ASCII text format. This
DISTRIBUTING TEXTS ONLINE
basic text-only format preserves only the letters, numbers and punctuation. All bolding, italics, and other formatting are lost. Any word processing software can read ASCII files, and the Project Gutenberg Reader Web site (http://pdreader.org/) allows people to read Gutenberg titles and other public domain titles online. With simple ASCII format, the user can easily search an entire library or online publication, without a proprietary software program. The library can be searched with an ordinary search command within the browser or using any word-processing program. The Project Gutenberg Library is organized into three large categories of online titles, described in the project overview as (a) light literature, such as Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, Peter Pan, and Aesop’s Fables; (b) heavy literature, such as the Bible or other religious documents, Shakespeare, Moby Dick, and Paradise Lost; (c) references, such as Roget’s Thesaurus, almanacs, and a set of encyclopedias and dictionaries. Like open-source software development, the Gutenberg project is a collaborative effort with thousands of contributors, so literary scholars have decried the production errors and varieties of editions found in many of the Gutenberg texts.
Rich Text Format (RTF) Books RTF preserves some of the text formatting such as bold and italics, tabs, indents, and typeface choices. These simple texts are read in word-processing software that displays the text formatting, and most browsers can display them, although they will lack the integration of text and graphics common in HTML documents.
CD-ROM Books CD-ROM books are published in a wide variety of formats, including proprietary software for specific computer systems. As a static collection of computer files, CD-ROM books tend to blend multimedia elements such as video, music, and text into a unified electronic interaction. Despite the popularity of certain CD-ROM books for children, such as the Living Books series by Random House/Broderbund, this format has not gained widespread acceptance because CD-ROM publications tend to alter the user’s computer automatically. To use a CD-ROM book, the user often has to “install” electronic resources such as fonts or viewer software so that the multimedia elements will function. If you install an old CDROM book’s resources on your new computer, you may accidentally downgrade your computer to old versions of video or audio output. As a static form of publishing, the CD-ROM book is not easily adjusted to the variety of computer systems without such installations. Although CDROM books were promising before the growth of the Web, a quick glance at one of the leading CD-ROM publishers, such as Voyager, reveals that most CD-ROMs were published in the early to mid-1990s and few new titles are being published or developed in this format.
Adobe Acrobat PDF Format Books Acrobat’s PDF displays e-text exactly the way it appears on printed pages, maintaining typeface choices, graphics, and arrangement of elements on a page. Many publishers like PDF because they can carefully control the way
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text looks. The user cannot resize the document nor easily display such files on a variety of electronic devices. The disadvantage is that a PDF document is designed for a particular-sized screen and doesn’t flow onto other sizes of screens. Like HTML, Acrobat PDF documents come in a simple format that allows easy access to the digital content. Readonly versions of files can be created, but like Web pages the content is readily available to the determined user. Customers download a PDF text and display it with free software called Acrobat Reader. Another variation of the PDF format, Modified PDF, can be displayed by a free Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader. This software is designed to make it easy to purchase and download Modified PDF electronic books to desktops, laptops, or notebook computers and eventually on Palm Pilots. This reader software displays e-books with the pictures, graphics, and rich fonts you’ve come to expect from printed books.
HTML Format Books HTML flows text on computer screens with an easy integration of visual and verbal elements. Using the common navigation system of the browser software, it is easy for users to navigate and orient to the information in these texts, especially if they have been designed with user control in mind. This “flow” gives flexibility for text to look tolerably well on any size computer screen based on the user’s preferred settings of text size, and display resolution. These e-texts can be read online or downloaded and read offline with any Web browser. HTML publications are the standard format for most free virtual libraries and for many publishers selling e-texts for downloading. Large collections of online publications are available on the Web in HTML format (or a combination of HTML, RTF, and ASCII formats).
Virtual Libraries Virtual libraries offer free books, including literature,
humanities, and social sciences texts, for reading on line in HTML format. Virtual libraries frequently provide
key-word searching of the full-text of entire collections.
Some providers of e-text offerings through the Web (as of
June 18, 2002) include the following:
r r r r r r r r r r
Bartleby.com (http://www.bartleby.com/)
Bibliomania (http://www.bibliomania.com/)
Black Mask (http://www.blackmask.com/)
Classic Bookshelf (http://www.classicbookshelf.com/)
Electronic Text Center (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/)
Internet Classics Archive (http://classics.mit.edu/)
Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/div/books/)
National Academy Press (http://www.nap.edu/)
On-line Books Page (http://digital.library.upenn.edu/
books/) WWW Virtual Library (http://www.vlib.org/)
Some publishers sell new e-texts on the Web for downloading and reading offline. Because the entire e-text is saved as a single file, downloading is quick. Some virtual
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libraries are building collections of online books available through the Web through subscription or library association memberships. For example, netLibrary licenses e-books to libraries and library consortia. Its e-books are current academic books from the top academic publishers in the country. The e-books are housed on netLibrary’s Web servers. Libraries and schools purchase access to entire books. Users can key-word search across the entire collection purchased by the library. Web access allows library patrons to see purchased books at home or on dispersed campuses. NetLibrary has numerous free e-book versions taken from Project Gutenberg and other public domain sources (http://www.netlibrary.com/). Other Web collections provide samples or portions of books for viewing, but payment is required for the entire publication; for example, ebrary provides an online business and economic book collection through the Web. Users can search the entire collection and browse its contents for free. Payment is required for copying or printing any amount of text (http://www.ebrary.com/). The ibooks Web collection provides e-book versions of books on computers, electrical engineering, and business. Users can key-word search the entire collection of books or continue to access those books electronically purchased by the user. The full text is only shown to those who have purchased a book (http://www.ibooksinc.com/). Books24X7 provides access to e-book versions of books about computers and related areas. Users can browse texts or key-word search full text. Only subscribers or those purchasing books can see the text (http://www.books24x7 .com/). Questia is a term-paper writing tool with a 250,000volume library of most used academic books attached. Questia selects the books most cited by other academic books and most used in undergraduate curriculums. Students can use key word searches of the full-text of the entire library for relevant passages and quickly cut and paste the text and automatically create citations and bibliographies into their term papers (http://www.questia.com/).
Variety of Electronic Display Devices E-books may be read on desktop and laptop computers, handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and specialized e-book reading devices, such as the REB1100 sold by RCA. As specialized electronic devices for reading electronic text offline, e-book readers feature portability, backlighting, and screen display customization by the user. These electronic devices are usually battery powered, with limited battery life given the demands of quality displays. Although the Web contains a vastly larger collection of text and online publications, these e-books and their special reading devices are marketed as better than the Web. Handheld readers are promoted by emphasizing design features such as providing more readable texts, including turning pages with a button, portrait orientation of text, high-resolution display of text and graphics, and lightweight portability. Online texts displayed with the Web tend to feature scrolling navigation, more often follow the landscape navigation of computer screens, may be limited by the computer’s display resolution, and are less portable than handheld readers.
Dedicated Electronic Reading Devices E-book reading devices are designed specifically for reading books and emulate the print book experience. Screens are backlit and usually about the size of a large paperback book. The devices use page-turning systems rather than scrolling and use touch screen technology for searching, book marking, highlighting, annotating, and font size changes. You can store approximately 10 to 20 e-books on most handheld readers, more if you upgrade the memory. Dedicated e-book reading devices need specific file formats. E-book readers have numerous parts (e.g., reader, stylus, screen cloth, AC adapter, and zippered container), so people buy additional cases to contain all the parts. Efforts to establish standards for e-book file formats are often modifications of HTML or XML and PDF with a variety of attempts to prevent illegal sharing of copies (but allowing for conversion between various devices).
Rocket E-Book. Although technically not the first e-book reading device, the discontinued Rocket eBook is responsible for creating the modern era of the e-book. It was the first device to gain widespread recognition and a fair amount of sales. A simple device with a bright, small display enticed readers to try taking e-books offline, allowing them to use the system on the train, in cars, and at the beach. The Rocket eBook’s manufacturer, NuvoMedia, was purchased by Gemstar-TV Guide in January 2000. Late that year, Gemstar and manufacturing partner Thomson Multimedia released the Rocket eBook’s successor, the RCA eBook REB1100.
RCA REB 1100 and 1200. The REB1100 and REB 1200 are handheld devices designed specifically for reading books and emulate the experience of reading a printed book. Screens are backlit and usually about the size of a paperback book. The devices use page-turning systems rather than scrolling, and use touch-screen technology for searches, bookmarks, and annotations. REBs read ebooks in their specific format and include a simplified modem to download e-books from online eBook stores. Hiebook. A third-generation e-book device, the hiebook is a multifunction device that features an e-book reader, MP3 player, PDA functions, audio recording and games. Made in Korea, the hiebook is similar to the Franklin eBookMan and combines an e-book reader (OeB-compliant) with personal information management applications, an MP3 player, and an open architecture for third-party development. Palm Computing Devices (PDAs). Using software to become e-book readers, PDAs can display e-books in addition to their other functions (address book, scheduler, calculator). Some users criticize PDA screens for being too small to display much e-text, making the reading experience frustrating or annoying. Others argue that PDAs are the future of e-book readers because people want to carry one device that does many things rather than carry many devices, each specializing in one task. Palm Pilots use software to turn them into e-book readers. AportisDoc and TealDoc are the best known e-book reader software for PDAs. Adobe is also creating software for displaying
DESIGNING ONLINE TEXTS FOR EFFECTIVE USABILITY
e-books in PDF format on Palm Pilots. Software, called conversion tools, is available to convert many files for display on Palm Pilots.
eBookman
From
Franklin
(PDA/eBook
Reader).
Franklin sells eBooks with content built in for various reference areas such as medicine or law with new content areas available as snap-in, domino-sized hardware cards. Or users can purchase a BOOKMAN Writer, which allows them to download titles and create their own portable Book Cards. The eBookMan can read aloud to the user with software called Audible.com. Audible has thousands of audio books available for download.
Audio Books. Audio books are available in a variety of formats including digital formats for handheld devices and laptop computers. For example, Audible Otis is a 64-MB digital audio player that plays audible content in several formats, including MP3 and Windows Media audio files. Audible ready players include all PocketPC makes and models, Handspring Visor with Audible Advisor Springboard Module, Audible Otis, Rio500, Rio600, and Rio800 MP3 players, Iomega HipZip, Digisette DuoAria MP3 player, and the Franklin eBookman PDA. Standards for digital audio books have been created for the Library of Congress program Talking Books, which creates editions for blind, visually impaired, physically handicapped, or otherwise print-disabled readers. Digital audio books provide users the ability to move to any part of the audio book including jumping to footnotes, the ability to highlight, bookmark, and annotate the original audio text and to synchronize the audio and text display so readers can read portions and listen to portions simultaneously. The vast majority of online publications are distributed as HTML pages employing the navigation and display advantages of a Web browser on desktop or laptop computers. Users have access to a vast library of interrelated information; they can quickly copy and recreate online publications for their own use with software simultaneously available on the display computer. They can bookmark Web pages for future use and create annotations in a favorite word processor. The Web-based online publication integrates graphics, video, and sound elements into a coherent unified experience. The user can adjust the display of the online publication on his or her own computer screen, setting the size of typeface, sometimes the choice of typeface, the size of the display window, the resolution of the monitor, and other elements of user control (such as the size of the browser cache and e-mail settings). Handheld electronic devices such as PDAs are simply too small and limiting for a majority of online publications. They are fine as electronic Post-it notes, providing access to extremely small chunks of text such as addresses, phone numbers, brief e-mails, and to-do lists, but when the user attempts to read a larger electronic file such as a newspaper, a report, a long e-mail, or an e-book, the small display limits the user to two or three sentences at a time. Graphics become so small that they are seldom more than icons representing content more than delivering visual content. The quality of the small display can be especially frustrating in sunlight or when the battery is
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running low. High-quality, anti-aliased type doesn’t matter when the screen goes dim. Clearly these devices are designed for brief bursts of looking for small, discrete bits of information. Specially designed electronic readers are better than PDAs because they are designed for displaying text, but they are still limited by the size of the screen, the small amount of memory in the device available for storing electronic texts, and battery life. They are the electronic equivalent of cheap paperbacks, which are viewed in the book design industry as low-cost, cheaply designed disposable editions. In other words, they do not include significant amounts of graphics, the information is crammed into the small display space available, and they are best suited for long, continuous reads such as novels, biographies, and some nonfiction works. Unlike Web-based online publications, the screen cannot be resized, and all hypertext links in the electronic text are limited to elements of the e-book currently stored in the user’s reading device. In addition, users do not have simultaneous access to other software on their computer while interacting with the electronic text. Like paperbacks, the idea of e-book readers is to download the computer file, read it anywhere with the portability of batteries, then dispose of the file (or at least get it off the reader to make room for new electronic texts). The file could be stored on a computer for future reloading into the reader, but it is not expected to have the dynamic rich content of truly online publications. Perhaps the best portable version of online texts is the audio book, which does make sense in a small handheld electronic device, because it does not depend on a large display. Adding more user controls for quickly navigating within the electronic audio file is a significant step beyond a simple cassette or CD recording that only allows the user to play, fast-forward, or rewind the entire text. These audio books seldom have the interactivity and dynamic content we have come to expect in Web-based online publications.
DESIGNING ONLINE TEXTS FOR EFFECTIVE USABILITY Online publishing changes the process of reading texts. Our habits of reading are primarily derived from experience with printed pages, but these habits are changed as users move to reading texts on the computer screen. New habits and conventions are emerging from the expectations and experiences of computer users, who are used to the multiple opportunities and choices of control available when interacting with an electronic text. Users of online publications bring existing strategies for reading to the electronic text but do not expect the online publication to behave the same as a conventional book. Therefore, creators of online publications need to understand how to design their electronic text for effective, high-quality usability, exploiting existing reading strategies while simultaneously providing the new interactive capabilities of the new media environment.
Remediation of Print Publishing Conventions Traditional printed publications include conventional elements such as folios (page numbering), headings,
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chapters, tables of contents, prefaces, and indexes that help orient and guide the reader through the text. Print media design conventions employ “white space” on the page to help frame information, suggest relative importance, and to help the reader understand the organization of information on the page. Moving from the printed page to the computer screen alters all of these design conventions. The transition from the printed page to the computer screen is not a complete replacement of conventions, but rather a remediation of existing print media conventions in the new publishing space of the computer screen. For example, printed publications usually include page numbers, but screens rarely have numbers, preferring a sense of scrolling or displaying multiple “windows” of information for access to additional content. Both pages in a book and “Web pages” in an online publication need headers and titles, however, to let the reader know where they are at any moment of the reading process. Even the concept of “Web pages” is a remediation of the idea of pages in a book, although an electronic window also has capabilities of scrolling and displaying moving or shifting content on the screen and usually includes ongoing links to other screens of information. The computer screen is not a page, and layered windows of digital information are not text columns. In general, printed pages are more vertical and computer screens more horizontal in design space. This “portrait” orientation of printed pages reinforces reading habits, such as the strategy of “top-down” scanning for significance and, for Western readers, the process of reading across columns of text from the left to right side of lines of text. The relative narrowness of printed pages has reinforced conventions of column length, so readers are most comfortable reading relatively short columns of text. Graphics are carefully integrated with text on the printed page because of their power to overtake the eye, becoming a focal point of attention and emphasis. Often graphics go beyond the boundaries of columns or across the gutter between pages in a print publication. The design space of the computer screen forces us to remediate our publication conventions into a horizontal orientation. Graphics and text are placed side by side, and readers look across the computer screen as well as from the top down for quick overviews of content. Columns of type stretching across the entire horizontal space are too wide for comfortable reading, so online publication designers usually break these columns into smaller chunks, or limit the width of columns into a set-width area of the page. The top of the computer screen continues to function as an important orientation space containing Web page titles and organizational identity logos. The computer screen is inherently more cluttered and busy with competing elements of interaction—the web browser’s navigation bars, the computer system menus, graphics and text on the Web page, and other elements all compete for the user’s attention. Whereas a print publication has a fixed position (branding and headlines on the cover, table of contents near the front, index in back, ads dispersed throughout), online publications require that each page includes all elements, as users may follow “deep-linking” and get to a page from a search engine.
So every Web page usually includes the logo, links, ads, and content. Links to related information and other Web sites attempt to draw the reader away from the information on the present page, so one of the main remediations from printed pages is to simplify the design space. Instead of white space, the online publication designer needs to manage available screen “real estate” carefully, leaving some areas of the screen empty or open for emphasis and communication of essential content. The prime real estate of the horizontal screen for orientation includes the top of the screen and the left-hand side (which is quickly becoming an area associated with navigation within the online publication). The prime area for content is the upper middle portion of the screen. Advertisements or extra information is, therefore, usually placed to the right side or bottom of online publications, where they are visible but less distracting to the user’s primary experience with the text. Graphics, video and animation have a powerful draw for the short-term attention, and therefore these must be used carefully to attract but not to disrupt the user’s experience with the content of the online publication. Every graphic has implied motion, so that inherent motion can be designed to lead the eye to important content or to appropriate starting points for more detailed verbal content. In the same way, animations and video have a powerful attraction and because of their inherent movement can help lead to significant content or possible navigation to desired content. If these run on nonstop loops and remain visible on the user’s screen, animations and videos become annoying distractions instead of helpful guides to meaning. Common tools for designing online publications have brought online publishing capabilities to a large number of people who have never been involved in publishing traditional print media documents. As readers, these novice designers know traditional publishing conventions only as subliminal reading habits, not as explicit strategies for designing publications for other readers. Novice online publishers attempt to use strategies for writing that they learned in schools—following manuscript conventions of double-spaced lines, indents before paragraphs, and two spaces between sentences. They employ school-based manuscript conventions of all caps and underlining for titles and headings while enjoying the wild choices of typeface now available on the computer. These beginners have no concept of an ideal column width for reading. The online publications they create employ the concept of 1-inch margins to the edges of the available space. These manuscript conventions open up space in the text for editors or teachers to add comments, annotations and notes to the typesetter. The novice designers do not realize that online publications are designed not for editors and teachers, but for readers. Instead of remediating their manuscript design strategies for the Web, beginning online designers merely transfer their text production habits. Web design software will not allow them to follow these manuscript conventions easily—for example, not allowing more than one space between characters and automatically adding space between paragraphs instead of employing indentation. Although these limits frustrate novice online designers because it
DESIGNING ONLINE TEXTS FOR EFFECTIVE USABILITY
forces them to give up certain habits, they still fail to remediate other elements such as column length, so their resulting pages are difficult to read and enjoy online. They do not understand that the goal of online publication design is to prepare an electronic text for users.
Usability and User-Centered Design An effective online publication is designed for its intended users—their needs, wishes, and expectations. Designing an online publication for users means that the design presents an established pattern of elements and options, especially for orientation and navigation. This online publication style consists of several elements of Web design, including a common background color or graphic, consistent use of typeface and headings, consistent placement of navigation elements, and options for interaction on different levels by different types of users. A user-centered design approach anticipates the range of user personalities and the variety of purposes they will bring to an online publication. Instead of expecting all users to conform to a set pattern of interaction (more common to print media), the online publication lets users interact with the publication according to their own preferences. There are several ways to anticipate and design for a variety of users. The development of complex online publications may call for user testing to observe a variety of users attempting to interact with the publication. User testing considers personality differences of users and their approaches to interacting with the online publication. Some users prefer a playful trial-and-error approach to interacting with a new online publication. Others prefer detailed guidance, Web site maps, prompted actions, and feedback to their choices. Some may simply want to find a specific bit of information as quickly as possible, with all other elements of the publication being merely a distraction to that goal. User-centered design also considers the variety of purposes users bring to the online publication. Is the user seeking quick information, an opportunity for thoughtful contemplation, an experience of goofy play, or a slightly interested learning opportunity? Each purpose may require a slightly different means of orienting and navigating in the online publication. How does an effective online publication design meet these usability needs? Instead of limiting users to one means of entering and interacting with the text, most online publications provide multiple means of orientation, navigation, and interaction with the text. Three online design strategies help provide these multiple means of interaction: (a) clear orientation labels of content, (b) consistent navigation prompts, and (c) careful layering of information from simple overviews to more detailed content. User testing attempts to observe a variety of users’ reactions and responses to a prototype design of the online publication, resulting in rapidly revised versions of the online publication (which can be further tested through repeated user testing). Often user testing is conducted with talk-aloud protocols of interaction. Users are asked to talk out loud about what they are doing as they make choices and use the online publication, sharing their thinking (or at least some of it) while viewing and using the text.
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Sometimes users are asked to respond to the opening screens of main sections. They describe anticipated content and share their expectations of the publication. This initial orientation process is important, especially given the invisible nature of the rest of the online publication. After the user has expressed initial responses and expectations, the user may be asked to perform a specific task with the online publication, such as looking up a particular fact or area of information. This prompted task helps test the effectiveness of the organization and navigation of the online publication. The user testing session usually closes with impressions about the publication’s overall orientation, ease of navigation, and the aesthetic value of its design.
Rhetorical Purpose and Continuity of Online Publication Style While designed for a variety of users, each online publication declares a primary rhetorical purpose through the publication style choices presented. The opening page sets the atmosphere or tone of the whole electronic document, announcing or suggesting the purpose and appropriate forms of interaction available. If the opening page contains flashy graphics, lots of animation, music, and gamelike navigation, it clearly announces that this is a space for playful relaxation. On the other hand, if the opening screen includes a mission statement, a list of questions, or an extensive table of contents, it clearly asserts that this is a space for seeking information. Most online publications can be placed on a continuum of competing rhetorical purposes, ranging from entertainment to information values. On the entertainment end of the continuum online publications become interactive games, with role-playing and a great deal of music, animation, and video included for the online experience of the publication. On the information end of the spectrum, graphics may disappear altogether, few colors may be employed, and key design elements become the search engine or lists and charts of available content. The opening “home” page is a preview of the rest of the online publication; therefore, it orients the user not only to the available content, but also to appropriate user attitudes for interaction with that content. The opening screen says “come play” or “here’s the information you are looking for.” The user anticipates the subject of the Web site and the expected type of user interaction available. Home pages are designed to meet the needs of several kinds of users and are most effective when they can direct each group to the right information. The home page provides a brief overview or a surface level version of the available content, instead of an in-depth immersion into the details of the publication. It is a preview of purpose, design, and appropriate user interaction. Online publication style is established through continuity of design elements on pages following the opening Web page. The continuity of page elements (backgrounds, consistency of headings, placement of navigation links, and consistency of typeface and type colors) provides an ongoing orientation and identity for the publication. Publication style maintains the image of the publication’s sponsoring organization. Users know that they are still
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using the same online publication (and haven’t moved to another online publication by accident). It maintains the overall attitude and purpose of the electronic document. Publication style helps maintain the appropriate user’s role of being a player or information seeker. Consistency in the use of design elements helps the user navigate forward and back through the available information and creates a pattern of expectations for future navigation. The continuity of publication style simplifies the design process because it allows the designer to make certain rhetorical choices in the development of a few key pages and then simply save versions of that page and change the content for new pages. This process of using one page as a template for other pages is a standard development process for building online publications and is rhetorically effective because it helps establish the publication style that will maintain a common attitude and purpose throughout the online publication. One additional benefit of following a publication style template is that it creates an expected norm for the reader, so if a designer wants to BREAK OUT of the pattern of expectation for EMPHASIS the user will immediately notice it. If every page were designed with different design elements, it would be difficult to provide that moment of surprising difference.
Orientation Orientation is an ongoing process of knowing where you are, what you are reading, how much is here, and where you can go from here. One of the complaints about early hypertext publications was that users could quickly follow hypertext links and connections to a point where they became disoriented. Users become lost in virtual space— they don’t know where they are, they don’t know how they got there, and they don’t know how to get back to a starting point. Current conventions of Web design are addressing this problem so users will be able to orient themselves immediately from the opening screen and maintain this sense of orientation throughout the online publication. With a traditional print publication, readers orient themselves to the book by considering its size, title, and table of contents; by reading the book chapter titles and headers; and locating bookmarks or dog-eared pages to maintain a sense of where they are in the process of reading the book. Online publications help the user orient to the publication’s scope by providing an overview of the whole book on opening screens or on site map pages. The primary principles for maintaining orientation are (a) label every page and chunk of information clearly and (b) provide a means of previewing things before viewing. The online publication orients the user to his or her current location within the book through page titles and variations in the navigation options. The design principle can be summarized as “context before details.” An example of previewing before viewing is the use of thumbnails of large photographs. The user sees the miniature preview before deciding to download the more detailed larger graphic. In the same fashion, navigational links should be descriptive enough that users anticipate what they will get before they actually visit the linked page. Maintaining orientation means allowing users to know where they are and allowing them to make intelligent choices before going to new places within the online publication.
Web browser features have also been designed to help with the problem of orientation in online publications. Browsers include backward and forward buttons, a history panel, favorites or bookmark pages, and titles of Web pages at the top of the browser’s window frame. Even if the publication does not contain internal orientation elements, these browser features help users maintain a sense of where they are, where they have been, and where they can go next during their online experience.
Navigation and Layering Depth of Online Content The design assumption of most printed publications is that the reader will become interested in the text and read from start to finish. Of course the reality is that readers start, jump around within the text, skim the graphics, and more often than not rarely finish reading a text completely, with the possible exception of novels. Traditional print media offers several means of aiding readers in the process of jumping around within the text—table of contents, chapter titles, page headings, indexes, or physical means of marking certain sections of text such as the letter tabs on the pages of some dictionaries. How do online publications allow readers to navigate to desired sections or specific information within the text? The primary means of navigation is through clearly labeled links that simultaneously orient the user to available categories of information as well as providing the means of going to that information. The default indication of links in Web browsers is to underline words that are links to other pages. Graphics, navigational image maps, and special buttons also may serve as navigational links. Web designers employ several strategies to help users notice navigational options, such as simple text prompts, guidelines or introductory tutorial pages suggesting paths of navigation, or rollover interaction with the user’s cursor. Once users have navigated to one or two pages, the navigational strategy of the online publication should be apparent by the continuity of links and repeated arrangement of navigational prompts. If users become disoriented, a navigational link back to the “home” page commonly lets them return to their starting point in the electronic file. Most online publications are designed to begin with overviews and brief samples of more in-depth content available. For example, an online newspaper may include only the headline and lead sentence to several news stories on the opening screen, with a closing navigational link for each story prompting the user to seek the complete story. This layering of content is the fundamental navigational strategy of reading online publications—a back-and-forth movement from overviews and introductions to detailed information. The user navigates out from familiar online pages such as the home page and back to start another search for information. Each major section of the online publication takes on the character of a home page for that section, presenting an overview with links to more in-depth coverage of its topics. Good Web designers let users know that they are leaving the main site by coding the link to spawn a new browser window for each outside link. As users move into deeper levels of content, the links may take them out of the original Web site into archived
CONCLUSION: POSSIBILITIES FOR THE FUTURE OF ONLINE PUBLISHING
information, databases, or other related Web sites, but most online publications retain a means of allowing the user to navigate quickly back to their starting point.
Interactivity The primary interaction with online publications is navigation to various available screens to read or obtain available information, but additional levels of interactivity are possible because online publications may use all of the available resources of the computer. The level of interactivity built into an online publication is closely related to its rhetorical purpose—entertainment publications are going to provide more opportunities to play with the text, whereas reference publications are more likely to emphasize searching for information as the primary user interaction available. Placing these levels of interaction on a continuum grid, the two axes of interactivity would consist of (a) the extent of user control of navigation and (b) the extent of reconfiguration of the text. If users have no control of navigation through the online publication, then they are merely passive receivers of the information. Like television, they can merely turn it on and watch the information as it appears on the screen or they can turn it off. Few online publications restrict the user to a limited linear presentation of the content. A middle level of interactivity would allow the user more control of navigation through the text, with multiple means of controlling the navigation. The user is allowed to shape the paths of interaction, although the content remains relatively unchanged. At the highest level of interaction, users not only choose their own paths of navigation through the online publication, but also reconfigure or change the content itself, essentially becoming a co-author of the text, which remains following the interaction. Each online publication establishes the parameters of interaction allowed—controlled presentation, multiple means of navigation, or “building block” approaches of altering the text in the process of interacting with it. The highest level of interactivity allows the user to add new content, to create new paths or navigational guides through the electronic text, or to remove and change existing content. Most online publications reside in the middle zone of interactivity, providing multiple means of navigational control and allowing users to reconfigure the display of the information on their own computer screen, but limiting the ability to reconstruct the online publication beyond feedback and threaded lists of responses to the publication. Online publications often include e-mail addresses and provide forms that generate e-mails from readers. A few online publications actually allow the reader to reshape or continuously change the existing publication in a collaborative spirit of co-creation.
Designing for Dynamic Maintenance Online publications are valued for up-to-date information, which suggests that someone is routinely maintaining and changing the pages. If someone e-mails the Webmaster with a complaint or correction, the prevailing assumption is that the online publication will be corrected immediately. The responsiveness of the online publication to its readers and to changes in knowledge depends on
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the dynamic maintenance provided by the Webmaster or Web editors watching over the information. To simplify the process of updating the information in online publications, certain areas need to be designed to feature these updates or new information links. Often the home page includes an area reserved for promoting new content and guiding returning users to the latest information and changes available. For rapid updates, these dynamic areas need to be designed for simple edits, that do not require complicated animation or graphic changes. The modularization of information into small chunks and discrete files also helps make changes to small parts of the online publication possible without having to revise the layout and design of the entire Web site. Quality online publications retain their value as reliable, up-to-date sources only if they are continually updated and changed. If they are simply designed and placed online, they soon resemble the ghosts of old texts printed on yellowed, brittle paper.
CONCLUSION: POSSIBILITIES FOR THE FUTURE OF ONLINE PUBLISHING Online publishing will continue to grow in scope and variety, especially through the simple standards of the Web such as HTML, graphic formats, and improved compression techniques that make multimedia more effective on the Web. Portable electronic devices will be more easily connected to the Web through wireless or satellite transmission, and the limitations of battery devices will be overcome as electronic books begin to resemble electronic sheets of paper. The real struggle will be intellectual property issues—the clash between dynamic, collaborative technology for easy distribution among users versus static, officially published documents controlled by information content owners. Database publishing will grow as owners of large bodies of content develop ways for users to create custom publications from the archived collections of available content. For example, Pearson Custom Publishing (http:// www.pearsoncustom.com/database/merc.html) now offers The Mercury Reader, an anthology of literature based on nearly 500 classic and contemporary essays and works of literature that professors can customize to meet the needs of a particular course. The content industry will continue to seek ways to constrain the technology, but the only lasting means of competing is to provide the added value of quality production. Users will enjoy, appreciate, and pay for quality online productions, especially as they have more and more access to a large quantity of choices. On a more personal note, the individual writer continues to gain the increased ability to become a publisher with online technology. In 2002, computer magazines and the news media celebrated the explosion of interest in blogs—personal journals and commentaries updated on a daily basis. In terms of structure, blogs are a sequential series of Web site entries arranged in reverse chronological order. Blogs can be updated easily through access to a Web browser, and they have the voyeuristic appeal of reading someone’s personal diary. Through individually published blogs, the writer can reach a broad readership, especially if that writer has a special area of expertise or a
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unique perspective of interest to a group of readers. Those who understand the technology of online publishing can become their own publishers with daily editions and updates to their own blogs. Effective online publishers will know how to gather digital content and organize that content into effective information architectures and how to design interactive experiences for a wide range of users. They will know how to maintain publications for immediate use and archive valuable static information for future use. And they will understand strategies for distributing these texts online with the conventions and standards of the global network, the World Wide Web.
GLOSSARY ASCII A standard text-only format used since the earliest days of personal computing, with minimal text format beyond characters spaces and punctuation. Audio books Publications designed to be listened to, through digital or online devices. Blog or weblog A personal journal of commentaries published online with frequent updates organized in a sequential series of Web site entries arranged in reverse chronological order. Cache An area of the user’s computer memory in which downloaded files are temporarily stored for viewing in a Web browser. Directories Lists of available information, traditionally organized as guides to large categories of information. Digital content Text, graphics or other information prepared and stored as a computer file. Dynamic content Information that frequently changes. Dynamic maintenance Updating or changing information on a regular basis. Electronic book (e-book) An electronic file (a complete text equivalent to a paperback book) that can be downloaded from the Internet and viewed on a variety of electronic devices. Electronic-book reader (e-book reader) A hand-held portable electronic device designed to display electronic books. Extensible markup language (XML) A file format containing tags for marking content for display on a variety of browsers, with the ability to be quickly reconfigured for different viewing devices, such as a cell phone, PDA, or desktop computer monitor. File transfer protocol (FTP) A standardized procedure for exchanging computer files from one computer to another through the Internet. Hypertext A type of electronic text characterized by links within sections of the text or between related chunks of text. Hypertext markup language (HTML) A text-only file format containing tags for marking content for display by a variety of web browsers. Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) A procedure for exchanging computer files from a server computer to a user’s computer through the Internet for viewing in a Web browser. Index or home page The opening page or screen of an online publication.
Information architecture The art and science of organizing information to help people effectively fulfill their information needs. Interactivity Refers to the range of interaction available within an online text—the extent of control of navigation and reconfiguration of the text by the user’s actions. Landscape view The horizontal orientation of most computer screens (and most online pages). Layering content The design strategy of providing overviews or condensed versions of information with underlying rich layers of in-depth details. Meta-tags Hidden content, within an HTML document, often used by search engines to help target the document to appropriate readers with key words or a description of the text. Modularization The process of breaking information into small modules of text and separate computer files. Navigation The process of moving within the available content of a publication and selecting alternative paths through an online publication. Online publication style The continuity of design choices (typeface, arrangement, graphic treatments, backgrounds) carried from page to page throughout an online publication. Online publishing The process of preparing a text for public distribution through the Internet for viewing on a computer screen. Optimizing A process of compressing files (especially images) to download more quickly. Orientation ‘Users’ understanding of the scope and structure of a publication, allowing them to know where they are within the document and where they can go from there. Personal digital assistant (PDA) A small handheld electronic device for storing small amounts of information, often also used as electronic book readers. Portable document format (PDF) A format developed by Adobe Corporation to let users download or view carefully formatted documents online without losing the typeface and graphic formatting of the original. Portrait view The vertical orientation of most books and printed pages. Project Gutenberg An extensive, collaborative effort to build an online library of shared texts of public domain publications available in simple text-file format. Publishing The process of preparing a text for public distribution, traditionally on paper. Pulling content The process of bringing selected information to the user’s computer screen. Pushing content The process of sending information to the user’s computer even though it was not requested. Remediation of print The process of transforming existing technologies and strategies of printing and publishing into new approaches for the computer screen. Rhetorical purpose The global aim of a publication— to entertain, persuade, or inform. Rich text format (RTF) A universal text format that allows files to be shared between a variety of systems and word-processing programs, with limited paragraphing, tabs and typeface options.
FURTHER READING
Search engine A software program that compares content in a database with parameters of a user’s requested search. Standard generalized markup language (SGML) A markup language for coding various elements of text including styles and formats. Single-source publishing The strategy of developing and storing only one copy of small modules of information that may be used and reused for a variety of publications instead of re-creating it within each document. Site architecture The design of a Web site; not referring to the layout of pages, but to the structure of the entire site. Site map A listing of available pages in a Web site, providing a visual representation of the online publication with links to all content. Static content Information or publications that remain unchanged with multiple uses (such as a traditional print media publication). Thumbnails Small graphical representations of larger graphics or pages available for viewing. Uniform resource locator (URL) The address of any file on the Internet. User A person interacting with an online publication. User-centered design The process of designing for the known needs of intended users. User testing The process of testing the usability of a publication with intended users. Usability The goal of designing an online publication for maximum effectiveness for its users—matching rhetorical purpose with functional operations of the electronic text. Virtual libraries Collections of electronic texts available only through the Internet. Web site A collection of Web pages and files connected by navigational links.
CROSS REFERENCES See Digital Libraries; Extensible Markup Language (XML); File Types; Multimedia.
REFERENCES Bolter, J. D., & Grusin, R. (1999). Remediation: Understanding new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
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Rosenfeld, L., & Moreville, P. (1998). Information architecture for the Web: Designing large-scale Web sites. Sebastapol, CA: O’Reilly.
FURTHER READING Aarseth, E. J. (1997). Cybertext: Perspectives on ergodic literature. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Birkerts, S. (1994). The Gutenberg elegies: The fate of reading in an electronic age. Boston: Faber and Faber. Bolter, J. D. (1991). Writing space: The computer, hypertext, and the history of writing. Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum. Deibert, R. J. (1997). Parchment, printing, and hypermedia. New York: Columbia University Press. Dvorak, J. C. (2002, February 5). The blog phenomenon. PC Magazine. Retrieved October 2, 2002, from http://www.pcmag.com/print article/O,3048,a = 21865,00.asp Fidler, R. F. (1997). Mediamorphosis: Understanding new media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Fidler, R. F. (1998). Life after 2001: Redefining print media in the cyber age. The Future of Print Media. Retrieved May 15, 2002, from http://www.futureprint.kent.edu/ articles/fidler02.htm Landow, G. P. (1997). Hypertext 2.0. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press. Lanham, R. A. (1993). The electronic word: Democracy, technology and the arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Marcus, A. (1992). Graphic design for electronic documents and user interfaces. New York: ACM Press. O’Donnell, J. J. (1998). Avatars of the word: From papyrus to cyberspace. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Stim, R. (2000). Getting permission: How to license and clear copyrighted material online and off. Berkeley, CA: Nolo Press. Sutherland, K. (Ed.). (1997). Electronic Text: Investigations in Method and Theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Thurston, T. (1999). New questions for new media: scholarly writing and online publishing. American Quarterly, 51, 250–253. Wearden, S. (1998). Landscape versus portrait formats: assessing consumer preferences. The Future of Print Media. Retrieved June 13, 2002, from http://www. futureprint.kent.edu/articles/wearden01.htm
Online Religion Religion
T. Matthew Ciolek, The Australian National University, Australia
Introduction The Internet and Religion—Early Developments Establishment of the First Religious “Communities” and Discussion Groups Notable Religious Online Firsts Stages in the Development of Religious Uses of the Internet Phase 1: Computerized Information Phase 2: Networked Interchanges Phase 3: Networked Documents Phase 4: Seamless Uses Factors Influencing Online Presence Number of Users Internet Infrastructure and Wealth Technical Skills and Training Administrative Regulations Attitudes Toward Global Communications Elementary Structures of Religious Cyberspace The Offline and Online Contexts of Networked Religion The Structure of the Religious Informational Archipelago
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INTRODUCTION Since the late 1970s religion has entered and colonized even the newest of all frontiers: the Internet and its information services. Over the last quarter of the century, the link between religion—that is, people’s “relation to that which [they] regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1987, p. 1016)—and digital communications technology became well established and, according to statistical indices, becomes stronger with every month. Around 2000, there were more than 1 million online religion Web sites in operation worldwide (Brasher, 2001, p. 6). Furthermore, a U.S. survey from 2001 reveals that no less than 25% of the studied Internet users (i.e., 28 million people) had accessed the Net in search of spiritual information and to liaise with others about religious issues. This is a marked increase from the figure of 21% the studied users (i.e., 19.5 million) that was recorded a year earlier (Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2001). Other sources expect that 90% of North American churches are likely to be connected to the Net before the end of the decade (Thumma, 2002). Accordingly, experts predict that by 2010 more than “100 million Americans will rely upon the Internet to deliver some aspects of their religious experience” (Barna Research Online, 2001b). This chapter reviews the last 25 years of major electronic developments among religions and spiritual communities from all parts of the world. By doing so, it will 798
Types of Online Religious Activity Information Gathering Electronic Transactions Online Communication Online Participation Expression of Religious Feelings and Affiliations The Impact of the Internet on Organized Religion Grassroots Rapprochement Among Faiths Fragmentation of Locality-Based Communities Shifts in Institutional Power Structures Challenges to Orthodoxy and Authority The Emergence of Two-Way Communication in Churches Altered Styles of Spiritual Interaction Changes to Institutional Self-Image Conclusion Gradual Progress and Adjustments Into the Near Future Glossary Cross References References
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extend and complement the more detailed, and culturally and geographically localized studies of Barna (2001), Barna Research Online (1998, 2001a, 2001b, 2002), Bedell (2000), Hayes (1999), Bunt (2000a, 2000b), Miller and Slater (2000), and the Pew Project (2001). Because of the Net’s most uneven distribution and accessibility across the globe, however, it is unavoidable that the majority of the cited examples—although being selected from both the core and fringes of major spiritual traditions as well as from the realm of “New Religions” and fledgling cults—will be derived from networks situated in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Should any of the electronic resources mentioned be relocated or closed down, they may be retrievable from the Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org). This chapter only examines spiritual and social uses of computer-mediated communications, and it will tackle “religions-that-have-moved-online” as well as the emerging universe of the “religions-that-were-born-online” (see also Hadden & Cowan, 2000b, pp. 8–9; Helland, 2000, p. 207; Herring, n.d.). Because of the lack of space, I refrain from commenting on the connections between online religion and contemporary politics, construction of ethnic and cultural identities, or the intercommunal conflicts. Finally, although the chapter focuses on the world of Internet resources, it also covers aspects of ARPANET (the first computer network in the world), as well as Usenet,
THE INTERNET AND RELIGION—EARLY DEVELOPMENTS
Fidonet, bulletin boards systems (BBSs), and Bitnet systems, because it takes a macroscopic and long-range point of view.
THE INTERNET AND RELIGION—EARLY DEVELOPMENTS Establishment of the First Religious “Communities” and Discussion Groups The meeting of the Net and religion has been a complex and protracted affair. Digital computers, which have been in use since 1944, were first put together in the form of a network in October 1969. Slowly at first, then more energetically, the network grew in size and capability. In addition to its original computational uses, the Net unexpectedly became a handy tool for long-distance communicational exchanges via e-mail (since 1971), Usenet (since 1979), and mailing lists (since 1981). Additional innovative software—such as BBSs (since February 1978)—in which messages are distributed over phone lines between users with personal computers equipped with modems (invented in 1977)—and the file transfer protocol (FTP; since 1985) were also conceived and constructed. These enabled the online storage and dissemination of large volumes of software, numeric data sets, and text files. In the hands of hundreds and then thousands of enthusiastic users scattered across North America and Northern Europe, the Net has evolved into a rich medium suitable for purposes ranging from the strictly technical and professional, to the more private, more informal, and more emotional social encounters. In June 1978, all these gradual changes culminated in sections of the CommuniTree BBS forming a vibrant virtual community (Rheingold, 1994, p. 134), or more accurately, a virtual special interest group designed and built around a religious practice. Independently, the everincreasing sophistication of the networking technologies, combined with the rapidly growing number of people with access to the Net led to the creation, in March 1983, of a Usenet discussion group called net.religion. In retrospect, these two parallel and pioneering online developments proved to be highly seminal. In addition to serving the immediate needs of their members, they were also the first working (and replicable) examples of free public access electronic environments supporting: (a) regular online social interactions between likeminded strangers, (b) spontaneous sharing of digital offerings (e.g., texts, images, software), and (c) vigorous discussions of the religious, ethical, and philosophical issues.
Notable Religious Online Firsts Soon several other notable “religious online firsts,” both online resources and related events, took place in various parts of the world. A select sample of these happenings is listed here in a short time line, starting with the experiments of the “CommuniTree” group and ending in 1996 with the first scholarly conference on religion and the Internet.
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Early Online Religious Developments 1978–1996—a Time Line 1978 188 Internet hosts, a handful of BBS systems, and introduction of CompuServe dial-up services. June: CommuniTree#2 BBS in Santa Cruz, California, forms the “Origins” group, an experimental “online community” focused on observance of a syncretic, “post-Enlightenment” spiritual practice. This pioneering project was abandoned in 1982 when it was trashed and vandalized by a sudden influx of aggressive outsiders (Allucquere, 1991). 1983 562 hosts, 10 million personal computers (PCs) in the United States. February: First religion-orientated, general purpose Usenet discussion group, net.religion. In September 1986, following the Great Renaming of the Usenet, the original group was split into several groups forming the alt.philosophy, alt.religion, soc.culture, soc.religion, and talk .religion hierarchies. May: First e-mail religious newsletter “United Methodist Information,” http://www.ecunet.org/ history. html. Initial use by 14 subscribers. 1984 1,040 hosts. February: First Usenet discussion group dedicated to a specific religion, net.religion.jewish. 1986 5,089 hosts; 241 Usenet groups. January: First online religious ritual: the memorial service for the late crew of NASA’s Challenger spaceship. March: First conference dealing with religion and computers, “CAMCON: Computer Applications for Ministry Conference,” Los Angeles, California. April: Establishment of the first religious network— Ecunet, now at http://www.ecunet.org. Initial online access to 15 Christian communication groups. 1989 80,000 hosts; 40 Internet chat-room (IRC) servers; 44 million PCs in the United States. February: First scholarly mailing list for the study of a specific religion—Judaica/He’Asif, now H-Judaic at http://www2.h-net.msu.edu. 1990 313,000 hosts; 1,300 Usenet groups. Establishment of the first FTP archive with religious (Tibetan Buddhism) scriptures, “Asian Classics Input Project,” now at acip.princeton.edu. 1991 376,000 hosts; 1,850 Usenet groups; Gopher, Wide Area Information Server (WAIS), and World Wide Web technologies introduced. Establishment of the first scholarly mailing list dedicated to the study of all religions, [email protected]. 1992 727,000 hosts; 20 Web servers; 4,300 Usenet groups. Establishment of BuddhaNet, the first BBS ever run by a monk, now at http://www.buddhanet.net. June: Publication of the first guide to religion and spirituality online—“An Electric Mystic’s Guide to the Internet” by M. Strangelove, now at wings. 2buffalo.edu/sa/muslim/isl/dirs/elmystic.guide3.txt. December: Establishment of the first virtual congregation, “The First Church of Cyberspace,” a nondenominational, untraditional church with an emphasis on the virtual aspects of its belief
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system, http://www.godweb.org and www.afn.org/ ∼fcoc/. 1993 1,313,000 hosts; more than 60,000 BBSs in the United States; more than 200 Web servers; 8,300 Usenet groups; “Mosaic” graphic Web browser introduced. Publication of the first electronic journal dedicated to the study of religions, Discus—Religious Studies Journal. The periodical was produced on stand-alone computers and distributed by hand and mail on computer disks. May: First mention of a parody site, “The Church of the SubGenius,” “a for-profit cult that believes in the pursuit of Slack,” now at http://www.subgenius. com. September: Establishment of “Nurel-L,” an e-mail group discussing new religious movements, now at http://www.ucalgary.ca/∼nurelweb/. 1994 2.2 million hosts; 850 Web servers; 750 WAIS servers; 10,700 Usenet groups; “Labyrinth” graphic three-dimensional virtual reality Web browser introduced. Establishment of the first Islamic Web site, The Mosque of the Internet, http://www.mosque.com. Establishment of a “comedic sin” site, EvilPeople, INC., http://www.gaijin.com/EvilPeople/. The site tests religious commitment of its visitors by explicitly inviting them to betray their core spiritual principles. January: The Benedictine order establishes the first monastic mailing list, [email protected]. March: Web publication of electronic text files of the Bible and Qur’an, at http://www.hti.umich.edu. April: Establishment of the first monastic Web site, the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, http://www. christdesert.org. 1995 5.8 million hosts; 23,500 Web servers; 16.5 million Usenet users; more than 950 FTP archive sites. June: Publication of the first Islamic e-periodical, Renaissance: A Monthly Islamic Journal, http://www. renaissance.com.pk. Establishment of Virtual Memorial Garden, http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/vmg/, with tributes to people and pets. September: Establishment of the first European network dedicated to online pastoral care, “Die Internet Seelsorge/Parrocchia Internet,” http://www. seelsorge.net. 1996 14.3 million hosts; 100,000 Web servers; “Hotmail,” free Web-based e-mail, introduced. Establishment of the first Zoroastrian cybertemple, http://www. zarathushtra.com. Islamic use of computers are officially approved by the Qom (Qum) Seminary in Iran. April: First CyberSeder is held during Passover by Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York (http://www.emanuelnyc.org). September: An electronic magazine, Mediamatic Magazine, http://www.mediamatic.net, publishes a special issue dedicated to religion online. November: First annual European Christian Internet Conference (ECIC), http://www.ecic.info, Frankfurt, Germany.
December: Time magazine publishes, in a special issue dedicated to religion online, an article “Finding God on the Web” by J. Chama (1996). Following these pioneering developments (see also Ciolek, 2003), further religion-focused resources and communication channels have been established all over the world. The Internet, unlike the five more costly and more centralized traditional media (i.e., film, books, newspapers, radio, and television) has become freely used by both the mainstream and formalized traditions, as well as by their countless doctrinal and organizational offshoots. Simultaneously, there emerged a lively redundancy and replication of online efforts. Tens and dozens of sometimes parallel and sometimes successive e-mail and news groups, chat rooms, FTP sites, weblogs, and Web sites can be seen to cover exactly the same areas of interest.
STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGIOUS USES OF THE INTERNET Networked religions in all parts of the world seem to follow a basic, four-part developmental sequence that parallels the technological milestones of the Internet itself as well as the skills acquired by members of religious communities:
Phase 1: Computerized Information This phase predates the use of computer networks and involves first experimental and then subsequently more confident uses of standalone computers. This phase is driven by intellectual enthusiasm about possibilities of new technology. The religious uses of that stage are modest and revolve around (a) textual analyses of key religious documents and (b) the creation of detailed help and how-to files that are shared on diskettes. Throughout, (c) long-distance contacts with other people are maintained through phones, faxes, traditional mail, and exchange of computer disks. Limitations in this phase are many and relate to inadequate computer memory, processing speed, storage, fonts, resolution, graphics, as well as low interoperability of various computers. The target audience of these efforts is one’s immediate circle of colleagues and friends. Information is created by independently operating individuals and their loose coalitions.
Phase 2: Networked Interchanges This phase is marked by the use of long distance computer communications (e.g., e-mail, BBS, Usenet). New behaviors emerge, such as frequent, one-to-one and oneto-many exchanges that may be traceable or anonymous. Fresh challenges also arise, such as the never-ending influx of inexperienced users; the dire lack of netiquette; and the growth of malicious spamming and flaming. Simultaneously, (d) intellectual contacts among strangers flourish online and (e) virtual communities and groups of like-minded people start to coalesce, while (f) files with FAQs (frequently asked questions) for major topics are established and recommended to new participants. These ad hoc activities are directed to an anonymous, amorphous,
FACTORS INFLUENCING ONLINE PRESENCE
global, and borderless audience. Information resources are developed by small collaborative groups.
Phase 3: Networked Documents This phase is marked by the increased production of electronic publications. In the third phase, innovative religious uses of the Net include the following: (g) translation of earlier paper resources into digital online formats, (h) proliferation of online and printed directories and guides to the emerging religious cyberspace, (i) a flurry of papers (for instance, a 2000 paper titled “The Internet as a Metaphor for God,” http://www.crosscurrents.org/ henderson.htm) displaying an awareness of the planetwide cyberspace and its possible metaphysical implications. ( j) Critical analyses of online religious developments appear in print, journals, and conference papers. Also, (k) official statements regarding the institutional attitude of a religion to the Internet are formulated and released. The gap between the moment a religious activity is introduced to the Net, and the time that such a development is noticed, accepted, and doctrinally justified by the respective religious authorities can be lengthy. It took the Catholic Church no less than 15 years, from 1983 to 1998, and Islam no less than 8 years, from 1988 to 1996, to assess and accept officially the new medium. At the same time, (l) ambitious e-publishing operations are launched by an interest group or a task force. These target a global audience of co-religionists and like-minded individuals.
Phase 4: Seamless Uses In this phase technical innovations cater to the growing dependency on speedy creation and gathering of information. Texts and hypertexts can now be freely combined with images, videos, numbers, and sound. Documents and records of e-mail communications can be crosslinked; full-text indexing of Web documents becomes a norm. Massive, the planetwide cyberspace operates on a 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year basis. Weblogs proliferate. The Internet officially becomes accepted as the sixth branch of mass communication. Simultaneously, additional religious applications arise: (m) pastoral contacts flourish online, (n) electronic participation in live- and cyber-rituals becomes commonplace, (o) online hubs for specific religious communities are created and used, (p) portals offer customized access to multiple spiritual resources, (q) systematic sociological and demographic studies on the religious uses of the new medium are undertaken, (r) books with ethnographies as well as theoretical accounts of the online religion and religion online are published (e.g., Brasher, 2001; Hadden & Cowan, 2000a; Lochhead, 1997; Zaleski, 1997). Also, (s) religious and commercial organizations start underwriting costly, complex, and long-term online projects. These projects court attention of specific target audiences (e.g., youth only or individual lifestyle or language groups) from the pool of online users worldwide. This sequence of phases describes past developments. With the arrival of additional technologies, content, and uses for the religious Internet, it will be possible to distinguish further phases in a few years time.
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FACTORS INFLUENCING ONLINE PRESENCE Certainly, not all religions make similarly intensive uses of the Net or have similar impacts on their online associates and neighbors, sometimes even when they operate within identical socioeconomic contexts. Also, not all religious communities are likely to progress at the same time or with the same speed through the four phases of development just described. It has been suggested (Ciolek, 2000) that the maturity and ease with which a given group of people uses the Internet is, in fact, an outcome of multiple, concurrent variables. The major factors are the following:
Number of Users Bigger online populations create and evolve resources more readily than smaller ones. This is because they are able to draw on larger pools of knowledgeable electronic authors and publishers and interested readers. Also they are more likely to keep such online resources alive after the enthusiasm of their initial creators has dissipated.
Internet Infrastructure and Wealth Not surprisingly, access to a reliable source of electricity, to computer hardware and software, to appropriate font sets, to modems, permanent or dial-up lines, reliable telephone and radio links, and connectivity providers varies widely between locations. For example, the Internet has been in use in North America since the late 1969, yet as late as June 2002 it still has not reached Haiti, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Zaire (Internet Software Consortium [ISC], 2002). Money is also an important factor— not only because access to networked communications infrastructure must be purchased but also because wealth is positively correlated to use of the Net. Church ministers with higher incomes (and better education) were found to make more intensive use of the Internet than their less affluent and less educated brothers (Barna Research Online, 2001a).
Technical Skills and Training Fluency in computer skills, Net navigation, online traffic rules (netiquette) and effective e-publishing are distributed unevenly across geographies, cultures and socioeconomic classes. Where these skills are not kept up to date, the online presence of a given congregation becomes meager and ineffectual.
Administrative Regulations Administrative regulations also exert a powerful influence. Islamic Saudi Arabia hesitantly allowed the Internet into its country only in January 1999 (ISC, 2002), and as late as February 2002 the military government of Myanmar (Burma), a Buddhist country, continued to treat personal use of the Net as a criminal offense (U.S. Department of State, 2002). The existence of other government strategies can also be noted. For instance, in places such as the predominantly Christian nations of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, all types of religious information (and misinformation) are
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freely accessible online. The agnostic Communist China, on the other hand, although it promotes the Internet in its country, relies heavily on police, censors, and automated content filtering (Zittrain & Edelman, 2002) to limit their citizens’ exposure to any type of religious information, especially that associated with the Falun Gong/Dafa (http://www.falundafa.org) movement or Tibet’s Dalai Lama (http://www.tibet.com).
Attitudes Toward Global Communications In addition, the degree of online presence is influenced by doctrinal attitudes. Some traditions (e.g., Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam) have already declared their strong interest in and approval of educational and pastoral uses of online communication (Azzi, 1999; Fajardo, 2002; Kadous and Al-Wassiti, 1996; Pannyavaro, 1998, 2002; Pontifical Council for Social Communications, 2002a, 2002b). Moreover, new opportunities for the proactive uses of the Net for evangelism, mission work, and other ministry pursuits are also noted and welcomed. At the same time, thoughtful reservations are also being voiced. Islam is clearly worried (Bunt, 2000a, p. 9) about the corrosive impact that misguided, heretical, or indecent electronic messages (and the processes of modernization and secularization as such) may have on the minds of the online and offline “umma” (i.e., community of Muslims). The Church of Scientology (2000) is apprehensive about unauthorized and malicious online circulation of its copyrighted religious texts and leakedout internal documents. Finally, Christian authorities are chiefly concerned that “we [do not become] directed by the [electronic] tools themselves, become addicted to their use, or use them inappropriately [. . . and that they do not] become a divisive force in our communities or make us elitist, dividing us from those without the same access” (Benedictine Internet Commission, 1998).
ELEMENTARY STRUCTURES OF RELIGIOUS CYBERSPACE The Offline and Online Contexts of Networked Religion Individuals and groups conduct their online religious activities in the context of two concentric information ecologies. The first and broadest is the world of nondigital and nonnetworked information—both lay and religious— that is produced and distributed through the five traditional media, as well as face-to-face contacts, letters, written notes, telephones, and faxes. The nonnetworked world is immense. For example, the British Library (http://blpc.bl.uk) alone contains nearly 38,500 books on the subject of religion, an equivalent of 38.5 gigabytes of text, and this is but one library among many. Within that physical world nests the realm of networked information. It forms massive archipelagos of thematic ‘cyberspaces.’ The religious cyberspace—the body of electronic documents and communication channels that directly and indirectly deal with religion as a whole, or its specific manifestations—is dominant among these. For instance, in February 2001 an online study
(Dawson, 2001) of the contents of Web pages indexed by altavista.com found, in a sample of 46.6 million Englishlanguage documents, that 17% of them dealt with religion. In comparison, 50% dealt with cars, 25% with sex, and 8% with investments. Twenty months later, in October 2002, a similar query by this author showed that the topic of religion had maintained a strong presence in the altavista.com database (religion 15%, cars 40%, sex 40%, investments 5%) in a sample of 45.7 million Englishlanguage documents. At that time, it had a much greater presence in google.com database (religion 24%, sex 35%, cars 23%, investments 18%, a sample of 18.6 million). In other words, at the time of writing, the Net contains at least 200 gigabytes of electronic English-language materials that address religion, that is, more than 5 times the equivalent holdings of the British Library.
The Structure of the Religious Informational Archipelago The religious informational archipelago is strongly fragmented along doctrinal, cultural, linguistic, and organizational lines. In addition, special interests (e.g., being gay, feminist, or vegetarian) also give rise to distinct clusters of documents and servers. Some of these resources stay resolutely aloof and rarely exchange hyperlinks or data with their spiritual cyberneighbors. Others form loosely structured constellations of sites and are more open to casual contacts, exchanges of information, or even exchanges of ideas. Their online visibility varies widely also. Nearly all of them, however, can be in principle, found on the Net through the judicious use of multiple key words applied to intelligent search engines such as google.com or wisenut.com. The overall number of nodes in religious cyberspace is several million strong, but the overall repertoire is surprisingly small. There appear to be only 10 major categories of online religious structures, as follows.
Community Hubs These are electronic environments maintained by a particular congregation. An example is the Sri Ventakeswara Hindu Temple in Chicago (http://www.balaji.org), which offers information about the activities and facilities of the temple. Another is the Web site of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (http://www.obcon.org). These mediumsized environments typically offer local-interest information, including (a) a brief history of the community and its objectives; (b) a page with postal and e-mail addresses, contact details, and instructions on how to get there by train, bus, or car; (c) schedules of regular internal activities; (d) details of events, training courses, and spiritual retreats open to the public; and (e) information on schools and colleges that the community operates. In addition, community hubs often include (f) documents with biographies of their founders or spiritual leader, (g) links to or pages containing collections of their religious writings, and (h) pages providing general spiritual advice and religious outreach. Community hubs can also facilitate (i) local discussion groups. Sometimes they support (j) an online bookshop or the sale of religious artifacts and mementos or offer (k) online samples of the written and visual artistic expressions of congregation members. The
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inner organization of community Web sites, regardless their actual spiritual provenance, tends to be strikingly similar (Ciolek, 2000, pp. 652–653).
Establishment Hubs These are online environments created by an organization formally claiming custodianship of a given spiritual tradition. Establishment hubs are typically aimed at the global community of the faithful. They specialize in the provision of general purpose factual information (often in several languages) such as official documents, news, and corporate details, as well as galleries of electronic images depicting the key artistic works influenced by a given religious tradition. An early example of such a hub is the 1995 “Vatican: The Holy See” (http://www. vatican.va) Web site. Establishment hubs are not only built by institutionalized religions. For instance, “The Celtic Connection” represents “a complete source for Wiccan, Witchcraft and Pagan knowledge & supplies” and is a place “where followers of Wicca, Witchcraft, Shamanism, Druidry and Pagan beliefs meet to celebrate the magickal life” (http://www.wicca.com).
Supporter Sites These are electronic resources maintained by private individuals who sympathize with a given congregation or tradition (e.g., “Unification Home Page,” http://www. unification.net, dedicated to the “presentation of the life, teachings, and public work of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his wife Mrs. Hak Ja Han Moon”). Such quasi-official sites often provide additional communicational services, especially in the area of anonymous-use public access discussion groups. In addition, they offer congenial places for informal experiments with computer-mediated rituals and art. Also, despite their small sizes, they publish lists of annotated links to related congregations, and, importantly, to other, unrelated spiritual beliefs.
Commemorative Sites These are electronic environments that tend to “close the gap between religion and popular culture” (Brasher, 2001, p. 20). Typically, they commence their operations without any previously existing constituency but, with the passage of time, they accrue a retinue of followers. For instance, there are “virtual shrines,” such as “Flowers for People’s Princess! A Virtual Memorial Site for the Everlasting Memory of Diana & Dodi” (http://www.interlog. com/∼3mowchuk/kbasket/dflower02.html) or the “John Lennon Memorial”(http://rwbeatles.tripod.com/johnform. html). Virtual shrines idolize celebrities and organize scattered fans into lasting congregations of contributors and electronic pilgrims (Brasher, 2001, pp. 120–139). Other commemorative sites are more ordinary, more democratic and more pensive. For example,“Virtual Memorial Garden” (http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/vmg/) publishes tributes to those who passed away: people (e.g., a dedication to “Daniel Herbert J[. . .], 16 Oct 1913–14 Mar 1996, ‘To my Grandpa who was my best friend, I miss you so much’ ”) and pets (e.g., “Pallina, Jun 1994–Jul 1995, ‘She was a little white kitten so sweet so happy so . . . Rest in peace!’ ”). Another and more recent example of a popular commemorative site is “A Virtual Memorial Remembering September 11, 2001” (http://www.xgmc.
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com/911/hall.htm), a site opened “to all who love and believe in Peace and Freedom.”
Challenger Sites These are electronic resources created by individuals and groups in opposition to the official beliefs and practices of one or more mainstream religious communities. This category is formed by at least four distinct subgroups: (a) heretic/dissident sites for example,“Partenia: Diocese Without Borders” (http://www.partenia.org) or “Ahmadiyya Muslim Community” (http:// www.alislam.org); (b) Opinion sites, for example, “Religious Fundamentalism” (http://rwendell.blogspot.com) with public reflections on excesses of spiritual and moral zealots or the communally run “Esoter@Life” (http://esotera life.blig.ig.com.br) focused on Eastern Esoterism, Alchemy, Nudism, Perfumes, Dakshina Tantra Yoga, and Secret Societies; (c) Parody sites, for example, the thoughtfully irreverent “Virtual Church of the Blind Chihuahua” (http://www. dogchurch.org), the contentious “SuraLikeIt” (http:// dspace.dial.pipex.com/suralikeit) that satirizes the Qur’an, or over-the-top “Landover Baptist Church” (http:// www.landoverbaptist.org), which strives (with tongue-incheek) to keep “the temple of the living God a clean vessel, untarnished by even a hint of fellowship with the unrighteous”; (d) Comedic Sin sites (a term coined by Brasher, 2001, p. 109), for example, “EvilPeople, INC.” (http://www. gaijin.com/EvilPeople/), where visitors can help to “bring about the apocalypse as forseen [sic] in the Book of Revelations,” sacrifice virtual goats to the Evil One, and (a feature introduced October 3, 1995) sell their immortal souls. The latter opportunity, according to the site, is not too outlandish because you, the visitor “aren’t really using it [i.e. your soul] and probably never will. It’s such a tiny thing.” As a rule, all such sites address a global audience. Heretic sites earnestly question—as well as undermine— dominant doctrines and organizational structures and provide means for “alternative” communication, chiefly in the area of online ministry and interorganizational exchanges. Similarly, authors of commentary sites open logbooks of their religion-centered musings to public scrutiny. By availing themselves to responses by total strangers, they hope to engage and influence their visitors. The parody sites are far less earnest and far more manipulative. They know that the outrageous information they present will not fail to tease (and make think) members of the targeted tradition while entertaining visitors. Similar goals motivate the existence of comedic sin sites. There, again, reverse psychology is ruthlessly applied to shake visitors out of spiritual complacency.
Agorae These are nondenominational environments that support online communications with a religious focus. For example, in October 2002 Yahoo (dir.groups.yahoo.com) reported the existence of 101,371 public access religious online discussion groups. The groups were formed around 49 wide-ranging topics, such as philosophy (3,668 groups), religious education (1,038), interfaith relations (695), atheism (536), meditation (524), and parody religions (514). It also included groups focusing on religion
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and youth (341), church–state issues (308), women (270), or the creation versus evolution dispute (130). The majority of discussion groups, however, dealt with intrareligious issues arising within Christianity (45,271 groups, 57.5%), Paganism (11,577, 14.7%), Islam (9,256, 11.8%), Judaism (3,101, 3.9%), Buddhism (1,580, 2.0%), New Age religions (1,575, 2.0%), Hinduism (1,467, 1.9%), occult practices (1,222, 1.6%), Satanism (882, 1.1%), UnitarianUniversalism (801, 1.%), Sikhism (386 groups), Shamanism (331), Baha’i (317), Jainism (205), Voodoo (201), Vedism (173), Taoism (117), Zoroastrianism (94), Scientology (68), Santeria (59), Cao Dai (56), and Shinto (17). In other words, at the time of writing 80% of religious communication channels listed by Yahoo revolved around no more than eight spiritual traditions.
Portals These are large-scale online environments providing a multipurpose access point to specific parts of religious cyberspace. For instance, “Zlabia.com: le rendez-vous des Juifs d’Algerie” offers three chat rooms, three e-shops, announcements and classifieds, and a gallery of historical photographs of the rabbis and synagogues of Algeria. A much larger online venture is run by “Islamicity.com: Islam and the Global Muslim eCommunity.” The portal has 10 major zones: (a) Bazaar & Shopping with Islamic products, Islamic books and artwork and Islamic audio and video; (b) Communications; (c) Community & Social; (d) Education Center; (e) Business & Finance; (f) News & Media Center; (g) Mosque & Religious (Scripture & Prophets, Islam Explained, The Five Pillars of Islam, The Islamic Society, References, Related Products and Links); (h) Multimedia Center; (i) Travel Center; and ( j) World ePort Center. Similarly, the eponymous “CrossWalk.com,” a Christian site, has several cross-linked sections: (a) Bible study tools: dictionaries, encyclopedias, ministry articles, (b) Devotionals: guided prayer, reading, and contemplation; (c) Ministry Audio: commentaries and opinions in the Internet’s RealAudio format; (d) Worship Center, or an e-shop selling DVDs with images and music; (e) Newsletters; (f) Family, Fun & Community; (g) News; and (h) Shopping & Resources: singles’ area, e-cards, and music. Portals are run as commercial ventures; they use religion as an attractant to large volumes of online visitors, and generate income from advertisements and e-commerce.
Propagator Sites These are environments dedicated to a mix of specialist tasks: (a) strengthening the faith among believers (e.g., http://www.e-vangelism.com); (b) gaining converts from other faiths (or poaching members from another congregation); (c) managing public relations and providing rebuttals in online contacts with members of other, possibly unfriendly groups. “Jews for Jesus” (http:// www.jewsforjesus.org), for instance, is published in two editions: one for believers and one for seekers. The latter offers several facilities, including Evidence for Jesus and Objections, Essays for the Thinking Jew, Downloadable E-books, Multimedia Gallery, Opinions, as well as Message Boards & Chat Room. The activities of that site are skillfully neutralized by another propagator site called “Outreach Judaism” (http://www.outreachjudaism.org),
an international organization that offers countermissionary and countercult services and explores Judaism in contradistinction to fundamentalist Christianity. Sometimes, networked missionary activities try to be more subtle and disguise themselves as bona fide educational services. For instance, Bogdanyi (1997) suggested that for the Lutheran church in Hungary, the shortage of quality online material might present “a great opportunity for the church-owned schools . . . By creatively designing information services a ‘gentle smuggling in’ of Christian values may be accomplished.” This pragmatic sentiment is shared by members of other religions as well (e.g., Azzi, 1999; Pannyavaro, 2002).
Bridge-Builders These are environments dedicated to the promotion of understanding and good will between different traditions. “Islam and the Baha’i Faith,” for example, hopes to promote “a better understanding of the relationship between the Baha’i Faith and Islam, and to dispel some of the misconceptions which may have led to feelings of mistrust and suspicion” (bci.org/islam-bahai). Similarly, “The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance” (http://www.religioustolerance.org) insist that “to be tolerant does not require that we accept other beliefs as true. . . . [However, everyone] should be able to follow their own religious beliefs and practices freely . . . [if we do not want to head] for disaster.” The bridge-builders amicably offer handy guides to the Internet, as well as multilingual documents, such as those published by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (Arinze, 2001). The council sends messages of good will to representatives of traditional (i.e., so-called primitive or native) religions as well as to Muslims (for the end of Ramadan), Hindus (on the Feast of Diwali), and Buddhists on the occasion of Vesakh (i.e., commemoration of Buddha’s birthday). The spirit of these declarations is also complemented by the work of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (http://www.monasticdialog.org), a task group established offline in 1978, which now uses the Internet to document emerging conversations, encounters, and mutual exchanges between monastics of different institutions and faiths.
Analysts These are online environments built by universities, libraries, research institutes, and scholarly conferences. Such sites tend to provide materials and disciplined overviews and analyses not readily available elsewhere and address a global audience. Although they may offer electronic forums for public exchanges, they tend to focus primarily on the publication of factual information such as historical documents, research data and studies, as well as university course outlines (including that on “Computer applications that can be used in Ministry,” http://www.ovc.edu/terry/sylcs290.htm) and topical guides to the Internet (e.g., “Matrics: A scholarly resource for the study of women’s religious communities from 400 to 1600 CE,” matrix.bc.edu; “Finding God in Cyberspace: A Guide to Religious Studies Resources on the Internet,” facultyweb.fontbonne.edu/∼jgresham/fgic/; or the “Cybertheology” pages, maintained online as an
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up-to-date resource for “those interested in the study of theology in cyberspace, theology of cyberspace and theology for cyberspace” (http://www.cybertheology.net). Analytical sites are also formed by electronic journals (e.g., “The Journal of Buddhist Ethics,” jbe.gold.ac.uk, a pioneering peer-reviewed e-journal established in 1994) and special issues of online magazines, such as March 1997 “Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine” (http:// www.december.com) and September 1999 “Cybersociology” (http://www.cybersociology.com), which discuss emerging connections between religion and the Internet.
TYPES OF ONLINE RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY Several complementary ways to use the religious Net have evolved to date. The following sections provide an overview of these.
Information Gathering The first and most important among online religious activities is searching for and consulting networked information. A recent American interview of people who use online religious resources (Pew, 2001) revealed that such “religious surfers” have a great hunger for factual information: 67% of the interviewed people looked for information about their own faith and 50% for information about another faith. Also, people went online to get ideas about the best ways to celebrate religious holidays (22%), to find a new church (14%), or to take a religious course online (3%). There are several formats of online factual religious information: 1. Summaries and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) offered by discussion groups (e.g., Alt.Pagan FAQ, http:// www.faqs.org/faqs/paganism-faq/, or Shamanism FAQ, http://www.faqs.org/faqs/shamanism/overview). 2. Tools, such as Orthodox Judaism’s pages that “Find a Chabad Center near you” and “Check the Candle Lighting Times for any Friday or holiday eve—for any location in the world” (http://www.chabad.org); “CyberSalat,” a multimedia computer program to teach Islamic Prayer (http://www.ummah.org.uk/software/ cyber); “Moon Calculator” (http://www.starlight. demon.co.uk/mooncalc); and “Qibla Calculator” used to establish the correct direction of the holy city of Makkah (http://www.starlight.demon.co.uk/qibla). An example drawn from another tradition is the “Rapture Index,” a fundamental Christian prophetic speedometer, which analyses and counts world developments to estimate the likelihood of Judgment Day (http://www. raptureready.com/rap2.html). 3. Documents and canonical texts, as well as a body of associated commentaries, sermons, and public statements. For instance, “The Internet Sacred Text Archive” (http://www.sacred-texts.com) covers 53 thematic groups, ranging from African Religions, Alchemy, Americana, through I Ching, Sacred Sexuality, Tolkien [sic], UFOs, Women and Religion, and Zoroastrianism.
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4. Online collections of music and images. For instance, “The Cyber Hymnal—Dedicated To The Glory Of God” (http://www.cyberhymnal.org) boasts lyrics, scores, and sound files of more than 3,700 Christian hymns and Gospel songs from many denominations, and the “Huntington Archive of Buddhist and Related Art” (http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu) has an online collection of tens of thousand of annotated highresolution research photographs from South and East Asia. 5. News, announcements, and press releases (e.g., “Clergy Abuse Tracker,” http://www.poynter.org/clergyabuse/ ca.htm, or “Religion News Service (RNS),” http://www. religionnews.com). 6. Corporate details of community and establishment hubs. 7. Research analyses and directories of online resources. 8. Popular education trivia (e.g., religious crosswords, comics, and “Quote of The Day” at http://www. buddhanet.net). Naturally, not all information is in equal demand: Pew (2001) finds, for example, that religious music is downloaded by more people (38%) than are sermons (25%).
Electronic Transactions According to Pew’s survey in 2001 34% of “religious surfers” bought religious items online, 5% played spiritual computer games, and 3% used a faith-oriented matchmaking services. Nevertheless, in the case of commercial activities, their overall frequency and volume seems to be strong enough to support operations of related portal sites.
Online Communication This is a two-way exchange which can take complementary several forms. Communication between the faithful is the most common activity. For example, since its establishment in April 1995 a Web site of the Order of St. Benedict in Collegeville, Minnesota (http://www.osb.org) has invited electronic visitors to “send or leave a message in the ‘Pilgrims’ Parlor’ ” or join the discussion about lectio divina at the “Tabula” (an electronic message board). This is not an isolated case. Throughout the Internet, countless discussions involving tens of thousands of people, co-religionists as well as people representing different traditions, are regularly conducted via e-mail lists, Usenet groups, and Internet relay chat channels. Regular communication among members of online religious communities and groups generates a significant amount of online traffic. The Pew study (2001) finds that no less than 27% of respondents subscribed to a religious listserv and 10% participated in religious chat rooms. Online ministry (e.g., the multilingual “Pastoral Care on Internet,” http://www.seelsorge.net, aimed at the Danish, Dutch, English, Hungarian, Italian, French, and German faithful). The exchanges of this type are sometimes conducted by means of a public-access bulletin board and sometimes via one-to-one e-mail. Here the spiritual
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leaders help members of their congregation with matters of spiritual and personal well-being. There is also scope for lay people to offer each other counsel and solace. Provision of advice seems to be more common than its receipt. The Pew report (2001) notes that 21% of the respondents sought spiritual guidance via e-mail, although 37% of them had tried to give such advice. There is a great variety of styles for online ministry. Sometimes the pastoral care is firmly focused on the needs of the faithful, and conducted in an atmosphere of strict privacy (e.g., Chabad-Lubavitch’s “Ask the Rabbi” service at http://www.chabad.org or the Zen Mountain Monastery’s “Cybermonk” service, http://www.zenmtn.org, where a senior monastic uses private e-mail to answer privately posed Dharma questions). It can also be conducted in full public view and serve as a vehicle for advertising the depth of religious insight (and compassion) on the part of the counselor (e.g., Question: “How to experiment zazen with a cancer?” Answer: “The nose vertical and the eyes horizontal,” http://www.zendeshimaru.com/EN/teaching/online/online-tous.html). Other type of contacts also flourish. Miller and Slater (2000) and Bogdanyi (1997) also noted examples of online exchanges between church and society in form of official statements and public relations releases, business and technical contacts, and communication among churches and church-sponsored communication between diasporas and their homeland. To quote a Lutheran minister, “Churches play traditionally a great role in preserving the national identity of minorities. Internet contacts between minority and mother country may be initiated by the churches of both countries which have contacts with one another” (Bogdanyi, 1997).
Online Participation Participation in computer-mediated worship and ritual is another important type of online activity. This is not in any sense a new development because it simply elaborates on earlier technical arrangements. These include realtime radio and TV broadcasts of religious ceremonies and teachings or telephone-based prayer services (now also on the Web, e.g., http://www.dialaprayer.com). In most of these situations, the Net has became a medium that is fully “transparent” to its skilled users. For example, The Pew study suggests (2001) that those who send and receive e-mail prayers, consider their devotions no different from those who have been aided in their prayers by means of books and leaflets. Networked environments are used to emulate, with varying degrees of realism, a wide range of activities such as:
Live Services For example, the Monks of Adoration, also known as The Order of St. Augustine (http://www.monksofadoration. org) use RealAudio narrowcasting software to publish an online edition of Chanted Rosary and use webcams to provide a real-time view of their chapel. Similarly, Islami City.com invites visitors to take part in “Ramadan Special! Watch Live Taraweeh and all the other daily prayers from Makkah . . . and much more for only 68 cents a day!” The numbers of virtual participants can be large. In 1996,
the first CyberSeder organized by Emanu-El synagogue in New York (http://www.emanuelnyc.org) was joined online by more than 32,000 people (both Jews and non-Jews) in 21 countries. Two years later, in 1998, the religious event drew more than 1 million online participants from 71 countries;
Pilgrimages HolyLand Network, Christian Information Center, operates “A Virtual Pilgrimage to the Land of Jesus” (http://www.holylandnetwork.com), where readers can “visit” Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Jordan River, Tiberias, and Jerusalem and explore their respective histories, videos, sounds, churches, sites (including Via Dolorosa and the Temple) and, finally, photo galleries (followed by a quick visit to an online shop with “Holy Land Christian and Jewish gifts, and international Christian gifts”). Virtual Islamic and Hindu pilgrimages are also available. For their specific spiritual benefits, see respectively “The Holy Shrine of Imam Rida” (http://www.aqrazavi. org/vrml/english/v001.htm) and “Virtual Puja to Ahmedabad for Lord Ganesha” (http://www.ahmedabadcity.com/ Ganeshchaturthi/);
Prayers Praying is conducted in the form of data packets routed by a computer around a long-distance international network (Glasner, 1999), regular weekly meetings of electronic avatars near the “altar” of a “church” in a three-dimensional virtual reality environment (Schroeder, Heather, & Lee, 1998), or, more commonly, in form of texts posted by readers. For example, in July 2002 http://www.explorefaith.org presented a plea: “Please pray for my family. My husband lost his job 6 months ago when the company he was working for went out of business. He has been unable to find a job in his field and even a lesser paying job. We will lose our house and everything if a door is not opened for a new job. He has been a Network Technician for 10 years. Thanks!”
Confessions One site, http://www.managingdesire.org, invites readers to “Unburden yourself to our virtual priest. . . . Your confession is completely anonymous, unlike [some of the] test sites in California.”
Funerals The site http://www.online-funeral.com invites family members and friends to “Buy flowers, tell a friend” and to view a real-time live (webcam) Internet recording of a visit to the funeral home. It also provides access to stored video recording of the funeral service at the cemetery, a memorial photo album, and a condolence-message center. In addition to being an efficient conduit for dissemination of information about the death of a friend, the Internet can also be used a special place where the deceased himself is honored. For example, according to Slashdot.com, in early September 2002 a group of online wargamers staged a virtual funeral in honor of a player, nicknamed “Warsinger,” who had died of a heart attack. All hostilities were briefly suspended while avatars of his peers from the
THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON ORGANIZED RELIGION
“Dark Age of Camelot” wargame “formed a heart on one of the game screens.”
Weddings and Ordinations These and other emotionally and socially potent, although—depending on circumstances—not always legally binding ceremonies take place on the Internet. Several activities of this type are conducted in appropriate multiuser and avatar-populated graphical virtual worlds (for example, http://www.ccon.org/events/ wedding.html), whereas others (for example, http://www. spiritualhumanism.org) are more simple, depending on text typed into Web input pages and updates to a participants’ database. Again, the popularity of such facilities varies. The Pew study (2001), for example, found that whereas 38% of respondents had e-mailed prayer requests, only 4% had taken part in online worship. In the next few years, this ratio may dramatically change. Barna Research Online (2001b) suggested that by 2010 approximately 50% of American religious surfers “will seek to have their spiritual experience solely through the Internet, rather than at a church.”
Expression of Religious Feelings and Affiliations Religious expression, the last category of online behaviors, ranges widely. Mostly, it takes the form of collections of personal drawings, photographs, digital collages (e.g., http://www.buddhanet.net/mag art.htm), computer clipart (e.g., Jewish Clipart Database, http://www.j.co.il), and recordings of original, religiously inspired music and poetry. On the other hand, it can also be succinct, consisting of brief invocations or declarations placed on an opening page of a Web site, for example, a line exclaiming, “In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful” (wings.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim) or Zen inspired e-mail signatures (e.g., “Before Enlightenment: chop wood and carry water. After Enlightenment: chop wood and carry water”).
THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON ORGANIZED RELIGION Like other technologies before it, the Internet is far from being a neutral medium. Since the emergence of religious cyberspace, several long-term effects have already become noticeable, especially for institutionalized religions:
Grassroots Rapprochement Among Faiths The flow of information about religions across tens of thousands of informal publications and venues tends to encourage grassroots rapprochement between members of different denominations and traditions. Such exchanges happen spontaneously and bypass the formal channels of communication between institutions. In consequence, as Brasher (2001, pp. 6–7) noted, for all the risks entailed, the wisdom pages and holy hyperlinks that are the stuff of online religion possess the potential to make a unique
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contribution to global fellowship. . . . As it widens the social foundations of religious life, cyberspace erodes the basis from which religion contributes to the destructive dynamics of xenophobia. In the process, it lessens potential interreligious hatred.
Fragmentation of Locality-Based Communities Thumma (2002) signals the emergence of the “digital religious divide” between, as well as within, congregations. This is so, because even within well-wired, culturally open, and comparatively affluent North America, the Internet has been adopted more widely in those groups that are (a) large and wealthy (up to 85% uptake), (b) whose leader is better educated, and (c) who represent mainstream nonfundamentalist Christian groups or non-Christian traditions, such as Tibetan or Zen Buddhism. Moreover, even within such technically savvy congregations, 30 to 40% of members may still be unable to get online because they are older, less affluent, or less educated than their “techie” coreligionists. This would suggest that contrary to the hopes of the Benedictine Internet Commission (1998), the Net could, in fact, turn into an additional source of divergence and tensions within faiths.
Shifts in Institutional Power Structures Although Net-based communications have in general strengthened the triangular web of contacts between religious establishments, community spiritual leaders, and the faithful, such communications are also responsible for subtle changes in the nature and substance of those contacts. Miller and Slater (2000, p. 180) noted, for instance, that the borderless nature of the Net means that high-ranking religious officials may now easily bypass all intermediate echelons and communicate directly with the faithful. By doing so, they may render lower ranking officials redundant or irrelevant. If this is the case, then the centuries-long tradition of careful harmonization of authority and jurisdiction could be disrupted. In addition, localized microchanges in the distribution of power within religious congregations also start to take place. Some religious leaders have had to compete for the time, attention, and affection of those who stay in electronic touch with teachers who have moved elsewhere, retired, or been dismissed from their religious duties. It has also been observed that people with good information technology skills and the time to work on the community’s Web hub tend to get higher social ranking that those without those assets (Thumma, 2002).
Challenges to Orthodoxy and Authority Unless they are firmly moderated, online religious discussions tend to be undisciplined, impatient, inadequately informed, and repetitive. As Hayes (1999, p. 169) observed, however, all such discussions share a common semantic thread. Although they raise many topics and use many styles, they tend to revolve around key questions of who exercises spiritual or moral authority over followers of a given tradition, and why this should be
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so. Simultaneously, online agorae also provide convenient forums for posing anonymous yet passionate questions (see Bunt, 2000a, pp. 115–122) concerning personal religious and ethical issues that are in conflict with the prevailing doctrine (e.g., views on contraception, abortion, suicide, “immoral” sexual practices, “experiments” with other faiths, or consuming “prohibited” foods and substances). In other words, the Internet provides a unique and revolutionary vehicle for the public and ample exploration of themes that traditionally were never voiced nor discussed publicly because of the fear of ridicule or the wrath of enforcers of orthodox thought. The advent of the Internet has changed the rules. As Miller and Slater (2000) observed in the context of Trinidad’s online Christian communities “no longer can a church be held back by merely a leader. . . . now anybody who could read, and has semipermanent access to a computer can check and ask questions about doctrine” (2000, p. 181).
The Emergence of Two-Way Communication in Churches Historically, information in the institutionalized religious traditions flowed from the top down. The Internet and especially its potential for anonymous communication provides hitherto unavailable means for a publicly visible flow of messages from the grassroots level up.
Altered Styles of Spiritual Interaction While bulletin boards and e-mail bridge physical distance, their use also reduces the number of actual physical meetings. This is a boon in technical contexts; in several religious traditions, however, such as mystical Islam and contemplative Buddhism, frequent one-to-one personal encounters between teacher and disciple are indispensable to the spiritual growth of both parties. In this sense, the reduction in face-to-face contact is an unwelcome consequence of new communication media. For example, it has been found that the streamlined and often greatly abstracted electronic exchanges between a leader and a person in his or her pastoral care may lead to feelings of ill ease and disenchantment when the two interact face-to-face (Miller & Slater, 2000, p. 183). In addition, styles of pastoral interaction are also altered by the awareness of the risks of electronic messages being intercepted by, or accidentally forwarded to, the wrong parties or being subpoenaed by courts. These factors make online pastoral communications more circumspect, more deliberate, and more ritualized than they would be in the context of a more private, because undocumented, verbal encounter.
Changes to Institutional Self-Image As Thumma (2002) observed, posting sermons, newsletters, bulletins, and prayer requests on Web sites or e-mail lists inevitably exposes the inner workings of a congregation to outside scrutiny and comments. As a result, religious organizations with an online presence inevitably develop a particular “digital persona,” a stylish self-image,
which is then energetically defended and protected for the sake of consistent public relations, even if it is costly or disruptive to the group’s internal dynamics. Also, increasingly often, faithful get tempted “to adapt offline religious practices to the tastes and assumptions cultivated by online experience” (Brasher, 2001, p. 23).
CONCLUSION Gradual Progress and Adjustments Since its initially hesitant start in the late 1970s, religion online has undergone a succession of cumulative experiments and transformations. As a result, for many people the Internet—an initially confusing and exotic medium— has become a thoroughly familiar and transparent feature of their lives, including their spiritual life. The focus of one’s beliefs is not necessarily realigned, nor are its sincerity and strength are altered through exposure to the Net. The range of opportunities for religious experience, however, is greatly widened, for the Internet provides additional and customized means of access to faith and for its expression. To most of those involved this happens step-by-step and almost imperceptibly. This is clearly affirmed by a middle-age Buddhist monk: after some years of intensive meditation practice and study in Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka [I] returned home to Australia and established a meditation centre in Sydney about six years ago, without the traditional support. I started to use computers for word processing and simple desktop publishing, then, acquiring a modem started the first bulletin board service (BBS) ever run by a monk, called BuddhaNet. Naturally as the technology developed I moved with it. I progressed to the net. . . , hand-cutting simple HTML code . . . , growing naturally with the new medium. I must confess I was [also] a betatester for Windows 95. . . . [Nowdays] as a teaching monk, I give regular meditation classes and talks during the week—perhaps up to sixty people or more. But on BuddhaNet’s web site [now at www.buddhanet.net], there are over 50,000 visitors per day, and a plethora of e-mail inquires on Buddhism as well. (Pannyavaro, 1998) There is a reason to believe, therefore, that each of the forthcoming technological advances (such as the provision of a high-speed, wireless and completely ubiquitous Internet or of complex immersive cyberarchitectures) will spawn a similar sequence of personal experiments and adjustments, before the new tools become “tamed” and “domesticated.” Ultimately, these tools and environments will be made to work completely in the background, exactly the same as electricity, motorcars, and the telephone do today.
Into the Near Future Designers of postmodern ministry (Couchenour, 2002) already invite us to imagine “High Tech, High Touch,
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Hi Jesus” religious experience centers. These are hybrid environments, which skillfully combine the most potent elements of real life, virtual reality, and cyberspace. In such places computer kiosks and wireless hookups will provide access to the best of the Christian Net and online corporate and reference materials. Communication centers, touch-screen art galleries, and multimedia verses from the Scriptures will be tastefully scattered throughout lush indoor gardens. Moreover, strategically placed plasma screens will give “the opportunity for friends to meet and experience a church service or seminar while seated at a table drinking coffee from the Higher Ground coffee shop.” Also, The faithful will also have a personal choice of inspirational music ranging “from a single acoustic guitar player to an alternative Christian rock band” while they listen to larger-than-life preachers and life-size holograms of prophets and have their offerings collected via a debit card and validated through biometric technologies. There is no doubt that from a technical point of view, these are already perfectly feasible projects (“MegaChurch Goes High Tech,” 2000). There is also no doubt that religiously minded people, after a period of initial bewilderment and playful experimentation, will make everyday use of them—and that they will do so with social and organizational consequences that will be more lasting, and more pervasive, than the specific technical inventions that triggered them.
GLOSSARY Agora In ancient Greece, an outdoor place used for public meetings. In the context of the Internet, an online place used for electronic discussion forums. Avatar In Hindu mythology, the incarnation of a god. Within the language of cyberspace, a schematic yet unique visual representation (e.g., an animal, a human being, a mythological character) of a user operating in a shared virtual environment. Bulletin board system (BBS) An early form of computerized “meeting” and announcement system that bypassed the Internet by using modems to dial-up select computers directly to upload and download messages and files. File transfer protocol (FTP) An early, pre–World Wide Web method of moving electronic files between two Internet sites. Flaming An online exchange of deliberately inflammatory arguments and opinions. “Flame wars,” as well as spams and viruses, are commonly used by vandals to wreck normal operation of Usenet discussion groups and unmoderated mailing lists. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) An electronic document summarizing the main points of a body of knowledge shared by a group of people, such as members of a discussion group. Internet relay chat (IRC) A type of an online channel of communication that is a large-scale multiuser live chat facility. Usenet A decentralized worldwide archipelago of electronic discussion areas, called newsgroups. Not all Usenet servers reside on the Internet.
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Weblogs (“blogs”) Personal Web sites that, similar to journals and diaries, use a time and date format to organize and publish their authors’ (bloggers’) private reflections, commentaries on current issues, polemics with readers, and other forms of written selfexpression.
CROSS REFERENCES See Internet Etiquette (Netiquette); Internet Navigation (Basics, Services, and Portals); Internet Relay Chat (IRC); Online Communities.
REFERENCES Allucquere, R. S. (1991). Will the real body please stand up? In M. Benedikt (Ed.), Cyberspace: First Steps (pp. 81–118). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Retrieved January 11, 2003, from http://www.rochester.edu/ College/FS/Publications/StoneBody.html Arinze, F. (2001). Promoting human values in an era of technology. Message for the end of Ramadan Id Al-Fitr 1422 A.H./2001 A.D. Vatican: Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Retrieved September 30, 2002, from http://www.vatican.va/roman curia/pontifical councils/interelg/ Azzi, A. R. (1999). Islam in cyberspace: Muslim presence on the Internet. Renaissance: A Monthly Islamic Journal, 9. Retrieved October 7, 2002, from http:// www.renaissance.com.pk/julnevi99.html Barna, G. (2001). The Cyberchurch: A study by the Barna Institute. Ventura, CA: Barna Research Group. Barna Research Online (1998, March). The cyberchurch is coming: National Survey of Teenagers shows expectation of substituting Internet for corner church [press release]. Oxnard, CA: Barna Research Group. Retrieved September 16, 2002, from http://web.archive. org/web/*/www.barna.org/PressCyberChurch.htm Barna Research Online (2001a, March 29). Pastors paid better, but attendance unchanged [press release]. Ventura, CA: Barna Research Group. Retrieved September 16, 2002, from http://www.barna.org Barna Research Online (2001b, December 17). The year’s most intriguing findings, from Barna Research Studies [press release]. Ventura, CA: Barna Research Group. Retrieved September 16, 2002, from http://www.barna.org Barna Research Online (2002, January 29). American faith is diverse, as shown among five faith-based segments [press release]. Ventura, CA: Barna Research Group. Retrieved September 16, 2002, from http://www.barna.org/ Bedell, K. (2000). Dispatches from the electronic frontier: Explorations of mainline Protestant uses of the Internet. In J. K. Hadden & D. E. Cowan (Eds.), Religion on the Internet: Research prospects and promises (pp. 183–203). New York: JAI Press. Benedictine Internet Commission (1998, January 15). Report of the Benedictine Internet Commission, final report. Retrieved September 17, 2002, from http:// www.osb.org/bic/report.html Bogdanyi, G. (1997, July). The role of Internet in the East European churches today. Presentation for the
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2nd European Christian Internet Conference (ECIC 2), Lancaster. Retrieved October 20, 2002, from http:// www.lutheran.hu/infochurch/ecic2pap.htm Brasher, B. E. (2001). Give me that online religion. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bunt, G. (2000a). Virtually Islamic: Computer-mediated communication and cyber Islamic environments. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. Bunt, G. (2000b). Surfing Islam: Ayatollahs, shayks and hajjis on the superhighway. In J. K. Hadden & D. E. Cowan (Eds.), Religion on the Internet: Research prospects and promises (pp. 127–151). New York: JAI Press. Chama, J. C. R. (1996, December 16). Finding God on the Web: Across the Internet, believers are re-examining their ideas of faith, religion and spirituality. Time, 149, 52–59. Retrieved September 17, 2002, from http:// www.nextscribe.org/background/time/timecover.htm Church of Scientology International (2000, June 30). Briefing re: The Church of Scientology and the Internet. Retrieved January 3, 2002, from http:// religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/scientology briefing.html Ciolek, T. M. (2000). Internet, Buddhist and Christian. In W. M. Johnston (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Monasticism, Volume 1 (pp. 650–655). Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. Retrieved October 6, 2002, from http://www.ciolek.com/PAPERS/fitzroydearborn2000. html Ciolek, T. M. (2003). Global networking: A timeline. Asia-Pacific Research Online, Canberra. Retrieved January 9, 2003, from http://www.ciolek.com/PAPERS/ milestones.html Couchenour, J. (2002). Practical Ministry Innovations home page. Aristotle Institute. Retrieved October 12, 2002, from http://www.affinitycommerce.com/Aristotle/ upload/issue 091002/article 0274.html Dawson, L. L. (2001, April). Cyberspace and religious life: Conceptualizing the concerns and consequences. Paper presented at the 2001 INFORM, CESNUR, and ISAR Conference “The Spiritual Supermarket: Religious Pluralism in the 21st Century,” London. Retrieved October 3, 2002, from http://www.cesnur. org/2001/london2001/dawson.htm Encyclopaedia Britannica (1987). Religion. In The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 9 (15th ed.). Chicago: Author. Fajardo, A. G. (2002, March). Internet in the documents of the Church. Vatican, Rome. Retrieved January 8, 2003, from http://nuntia.cs.depaul.edu/webmissiology/ church%20and%20internet.htm Glasner, J. (1999, June 21). Spamming God. Wired News. Retrieved October 29, 2002, from http://www. wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,20313,00.html Hadden, J. K., & Cowan, D. E. (Eds.). (2000a). Religion and the Internet: Research prospects and promises. New York: JAI Press. Hadden, J. K., & Cowan, D. E. (2000b). The promised land or electronic chaos? Toward understanding religion on the Internet. In Hadden, J. K., & Cowan, D. E. (Eds.), Religion on the Internet: Research prospects and promises (pp. 3–21). New York: JAI Press.
Hayes, R. P. (1999). The Internet as window onto American Buddhism. In D. R. Williams & C. S. Queen (Eds.), American Buddhism: Methods and findings in recent scholarship (pp. 168–179). Richmond, UK: Curzon Press. Helland, C. (2000). Online-religion/religion-online and virtual communitas. In J. K. Hadden & D. E. Cowan (Eds.), Religion on the Internet: Research prospects and promises (pp. 205–223). New York: JAI Press. Herring, D. (n.d.). Cybertheology: Theology in, of and for cyberspace. Retrieved October 20, 2002, from http:// www.cybertheology.net/ Internet Software Consortium (2002). Internet domain survey. Retrieved October 24, 2002, from http://www. isc.org/ds/ Kadous, M. W, Br., & Al-Wassiti, A. Br. (1996, October). Islam on the Internet—Internet: Gimmick or tool? Islamic resources & activities on the Internet. Nida’ul Islam magazine, 15 (Sydney, Australia). Retrieved September 4, 2002, from http://www.islam.org. au/articles/15/INTERNET.HTM Lochhead, D. (1997). Shifting realities: Information technology and the Church. Geneva: World Council of Churches (Risk Book Series). Mega-church goes high tech to aid worshipers. (2002, October 28). The Holland Sentinel. Retrieved October 29, 2002, from http://www.thehollandsentinel. net/stories/102800/rel 32.html Miller, D., & Slater, D. (2000). The Internet: An ethnographic approach. Oxford: Berg. Pannyavaro, Ven. (1998?). Should monks surf the Internet? Buddhazine—BuddhaNet’s online magazine. Buddha Dharma Education Association. Retrieved September 12, 2002, from http://www.buddhanet.net/ mag surf.htm Pannyavaro, Ven. (2002). E-learning Buddhism on the Internet. Buddhazine—BuddhaNet’s online magazine. Buddha Dharma Education Association. Retrieved September 12, 2002, from http://www.buddhanet.net/ gds-speech.htm Pew Internet and American Life Project (2001, December 23). CyberFaith: How Americans pursue religion online. Retrieved September 23, 2002, from http:// www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=53 Pontifical Council for Social Communications (2002a, May 12). Message of the Holy Father for the 36th World Communications Day Theme: “Internet: A New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel.” Retrieved October 20, 2002, from http://www.vatican.va/holy father/ john paul ii/messages/communications/documents/hf jp-ii mes 20020122 world-communications-day en. html Pontifical Council for Social Communications (2002b, February 22). The Church and Internet. Retrieved October 20, 2002, from http://www.vatican.va/roman curia/pontifical councils/pccs/documents/rc pc pccs doc 20020228 church-internet en.html Rheingold, H. (1994). The virtual community: Finding connection in a computerized world. London: Secker & Warburg. Schroeder, R., Heather, N., & Lee, R. M. (1998). The sacred and the virtual: Religion in multi-user virtual reality.
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Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, JCMC 4(2). Retrieved January 10, 2003, from http://www. ascusc.org/jcmc/vol4/issue2/schroeder.html Thumma, S. (2002, April 18). Religion and the Internet. Communications forum lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved September 19, 2002, from http://hirr.hartsem.edu/bookshelf/ thumma article6.html U.S. Department of State (2002, May 6). Burma (Myanmar). Consular information sheet. Retrieved
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October 12, 2002, from http://travel.state.gov/burma. html Zaleski, J. P. (1997). The soul of cyberspace: How new technology is changing our spiritual lives. New York: HarperCollins. Zittrain, J., & Edelman, B. (2002). Documentation of Internet filtering worldwide. Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard Law School. Retrieved October 20, 2002, from http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/ filtering/
Online Stalking Stalking
David J. Loundy, DePaul University
What Is Online Stalking? Definition What Is “Traditional” Stalking? How Does Online Stalking Differ from Traditional Stalking? Why Does the Definition Matter? Who Is a Stalker? How Much of a Problem is Online Stalking? Examples of Online Stalking
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WHAT IS ONLINE STALKING? Definition What is online stalking, often referred to as “cyberstalking”? The answer depends on whom you ask—there is no definitive definition. The term is usually defined based on an analogy to the crime of traditional stalking. Traditional stalking involves a form of repeated harassment that generally involves following the victim. It is harassment that leaves the victim with the fear that he or she will be physically harmed. Because “stalking” is an emotionally charged term, and one that often has specific legal implications, it is important to define the term properly. “Cyberstalking” does not refer to annoying e-mail. It does not apply to irritating instant messages. It does not refer to defamatory message-board posts. It does not refer to identity theft. All of these types of behavior, however, may fit into an overall pattern of conduct exhibited by stalkers. Online stalking is conduct similar to traditional stalking but carried out online. For instance, sending e-mail messages detailing the recipient’s day-to-day activities and implying or threatening harm to the recipient may be a case of online stalking. Various countries and states may have laws against stalking specifically or against various actions that may be part of a stalker’s course of conduct. Service providers also may be willing to help customers who are being stalked online, or they may be willing to terminate service to their own customers who are stalking others. Conduct that is merely irritating, however, may simply be seen as a natural part of life, and complaints about such conduct often will not be taken seriously by the law or a service provider.
What Is “Traditional” Stalking? “Stalking” as a distinctly defined crime is fairly new, first appearing in the statute books in the early 1990s. It generally involves repeated contact with the victim—contact that makes the victim fear for his or her physical safety. An example of a stalking statute (California Civil Code, 2001) provides the following: (a) A person is liable for the tort of stalking when the plaintiff proves all of the following elements of the tort: 812
What Can You Do If You are a Victim? Service Providers and Technical Fixes The Law Conclusion Glossary Cross References References Further Reading
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(1) The defendant engaged in a pattern of conduct the intent of which was to follow, alarm, or harass the plaintiff. In order to establish this element, the plaintiff shall be required to support his or her allegations with independent corroborating evidence. (2) As a result of that pattern of conduct, the plaintiff reasonably feared for his or her safety, or the safety of an immediate family member. For purposes of this paragraph, “immediate family” means a spouse, parent, child, any person related by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree, or any person who regularly resides, or, within the six months preceding any portion of the pattern of conduct, regularly resided, in the plaintiff’s household. (3) One of the following: (A) The defendant, as a part of the pattern of conduct specified in paragraph (1), made a credible threat with the intent to place the plaintiff in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of an immediate family member and, on at least one occasion, the plaintiff clearly and definitively demanded that the defendant cease and abate his or her pattern of conduct and the defendant persisted in his or her pattern of conduct. (B) The defendant violated a restraining order, including, but not limited to, any order issued pursuant to Section 527.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure, prohibiting any act described in subdivision (a). Stalkers are generally motivated by a desire to control their victims. Stalking is seen as a problem because it implies an intentional and concerted effort to place the victim in fear of bodily harm, rather than mere casual but unwelcome contact. Thus, accidentally running into a former boyfriend at a restaurant may be an annoyance but such an encounter by itself would not constitute stalking.
WHAT IS ONLINE STALKING?
On the other hand, running into a former boyfriend every night in the parking lot of a different restaurant, as if he is following the woman around waiting in the dark, could indicate conduct venturing into the realm of stalking. Stalking laws generally will not provide a remedy for the accidental encounter, but they will assist where there is a pattern of activity intended to instill a sense of fear in the victim. (Check with local legal authorities to determine what conduct is prohibited and what remedies are available in your local area.)
How Does Online Stalking Differ from Traditional Stalking? Online stalking is a form of harassment, but it is more pointed, as is traditional stalking. It occurs through the use of a computer, and it may have more specific motivations than other forms of harassment. One way in which traditional stalking differs from online stalking is in some jurisdictions’ specific requirement that the stalker “follow” the victim. How do you follow someone around in cyberspace? Such a spatial requirement may preclude the application of a specific stalking statute to online-only conduct. Second, because stalking statutes generally require a fear of bodily harm, it is less likely that an e-mail message will convey the same fear that a personal encounter would create. With an e-mail message, there is no way to know if the sender is even on the same continent as the recipient, much less a legitimate threat. Online stalking may lack the immediacy that is present with “real-world” encounters. For electronically received communications, a threat of harm may be more remote or less reasonable than, for example, a personal encounter. Additionally, online stalking adds a level of anonymity that may be missing in a real-life encounter. This anonymity also may have the side effect of emboldening stalkers who are more willing to attack or harass than they would be if their conduct was more readily traceable.
Why Does the Definition Matter? Harassing conduct may be annoying, but it is conduct for which there are only limited remedies available under the law. Although the extent or availability of any remedy varies depending on applicable laws in your country or state of residence, as a general rule you have no right to be protected from being annoyed—especially when the source of your annoyance is someone else’s protected speech. Stalking, on the other hand, may be a criminal offense in many jurisdictions for which there are specific legal remedies. The law does not punish the speech per se, but punishes the use of speech as a weapon intended to cause harm in much the same way as hate speech or defamation may be outlawed because of the harm it causes. Stalking is essentially seen as a form of assault rather than an attempt to communicate. The law is slow to keep up in many areas with changing technology, including in the area of addressing aspects of online harassment. Traditional stalking law may not help a victim if the online conduct does not fit within a particular statute’s definition of stalking. Thus a statutory definition of stalking affects whether a particular stalking
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law applies to the unwelcome conduct. An example of an online-specific law is Illinois’ Cyberstalking (2001) law, which reads as follows: Sec. 12–7.5. Cyberstalking. (a) A person commits cyberstalking when he or she, knowingly and without lawful justification, on at least 2 separate occasions, harasses another person through the use of electronic communication and: (1) at any time transmits a threat of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint and the threat is directed towards that person or a family member of that person, or (2) places that person or a family member of that person in reasonable apprehension of immediate or future bodily harm, sexual assault, confinement, or restraint. (b) As used in this Section: “Harass” means to engage in a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that alarms, torments, or terrorizes that person. “Electronic communication” means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photooptical system. “Electronic communication” includes transmissions by a computer through the Internet to another computer. (c) Sentence. Cyberstalking is a Class 4 felony. A second or subsequent conviction for cyberstalking is a Class 3 felony. However, even in the absence of a specific online stalking law, there may be other less obvious laws that provide a remedy, as well as technical options that also provide an adequate remedy to online harassment. Defining conduct as stalking is also important because it provides a means to frame the discussion. Stalking is a concept that many people have encountered, at least via the media, and can therefore understand. By framing the online conduct in terms of traditional stalking, it may produce greater sensitivity to the effects of the unwelcome conduct. Merely calling the police and telling them that you are “receiving unwelcome instant messages” may be greeted with the suggestion that you simply turn off your computer. Obviously, such a dismissive reaction will not be of much comfort to a victim, because it shows no acknowledgment of the real harm that can result from a stalker’s interests. If the police do not understand what an instant message is, at least they can be educated to the point that they understand the message sender could be a legitimate stalker intent on causing the same harm that any other stalker sending the same message via a more traditional medium could intend.
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Who Is a Stalker? A 2001 unscientific study done by Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA), an organization started by a former online stalking victim, describes the profile of an online stalker as follows: r 83.58% of cases reported to WHOA involved female vic-
tims, although there is no indication if women are harassed more frequently or are instead more likely to seek help with harassment. r 44.53% of people who contacted WHOA for help reported their ages as between 18 and 30. r 63.88% of cases reported to WHOA involved harassment by a male, 29.23% of the harassers were female, and 6.9% were of unknown gender. r 46.31% of those reporting to WHOA had some previous contact with their harassers, 49.26% of victims reported no prior relationship or contact with their harassers, 4.43% were unsure of the identity of their harassers. r 39.57% of all online harassment (as distinguished from other contact) began via e-mail. r 26.44% percent of online stalking cases reported to WHOA included some form of offline harassment as well. The study is unscientific because the responses are selfselected responses of those who decided to contact the organization. In the absence of scientifically valid survey data, however, it provides useful anecdotal information that helps define the problem. What motivates a stalker? As discussed by Howard (1999) in Cyber-Stalking: Obsessional Pursuit and the Digital Criminal, there are four basic types of cyberstalkers: Simple Obsessional: The largest category; typically involves a victim and a perpetrator who have a prior relationship. This group also poses the biggest threat to the victim. The motivation behind the stalking is often to restart a relationship—or seek revenge for the ending of a relationship—through the inducement of fear. Love Obsessional: Such stalkers generally have no prior relationship with the victim. Victims are often encountered through the media or the Internet. A large percentage of such stalkers may be suffering from a mental disorder. A typical example of a love obsessional stalker is the “obsessed fan” of a celebrity. Erotomanic: Similar to the love obessional category, these stalkers go a step further and possess the delusion that their target is in love with them. False Victimization Syndrome: This group accuses another person of stalking, either real or imaginary, to foster sympathy and support from those around them.
HOW MUCH OF A PROBLEM IS ONLINE STALKING? Online stalking earns media attention, but how serious is the problem? This question is open to debate. A 1999
report prepared by the U.S. Department of Justice (1999), and later reports that merely respun the same content, stated that the problem is pervasive and, using “back of the envelope” calculations, theorized that online stalking could be a crime with tens or hundreds of thousands of victims. The report, however, is sparse in actual support for these claims. In fact, it even cites to a study conducted at the University of Cincinnati, of which the authors have stated does not measure the statistics that the Department of Justice cites the study to support (Koch, 2000). Essentially, there are no empirical scientific studies or data as to the scope of the problem. Although the media, legislatures, and other interested groups may provide more than a fair amount of hype for the topic, online stalking and other forms of online harassment are a legitimate concern, especially for victims. As more and more daily activities move online, a statistical analysis isn’t required to see that more harassing conduct likely will move online as well—an assumption supported at least by anecdotal evidence.
Examples of Online Stalking Andrew Archambeau has the distinction of being the first person convicted of “cyberstalking,” although his actions extended into the “real world” as well (Eckenweiler, 1996). The real-world aspects of his conduct are rarely mentioned in discussions of online stalking, however; only the fact that he harassed his victim by e-mail is discussed at any length. Archambeau had met a woman through a video dating service in early 1994, and they went out on two dates. Apparently he thought more of the relationship than she did, because she sent him an e-mail message saying that she did not want to see him again. Over the next few weeks, he sent her approximately 20 e-mail messages and also left her telephone messages (including one saying, “I stalked you for the first time today”). Requests to leave her alone were ignored. Unfortunately for him, he lived across the street from the school where she worked, thus making it appear that he was waiting outside her workplace. After he ignored a police warning to leave her alone, criminal charges were filed against him for violating Michigan’s stalking law. After mounting an unsuccessful challenge to the statute’s constitutionality, he finally pleaded no contest (Ellison & Akdeniz, 1998). Archambeau’s conduct was obviously objectionable, and even absent the e-mail messages sent to his victim, he may have run afoul of the stalking law because of his real-world actions. Another incident that had a much stronger online component, yet still included a variety of real-world contact, involved two law students at the University of Dayton who had begun dating. The woman decided to end the relationship, but the man wasn’t willing to accept this proposition. Over winter break, he began sending his former love interest notes about how he was starving himself to death, including the details of the pain he was to suffer in the process. The two reconciled—briefly. After recovering from a suicide attempt provoked when the woman broke off the relationship a second time, Mr. Davis, the former boyfriend, sent the woman numerous e-mail messages stating that he had been researching her hometown
WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU ARE A VICTIM?
and regularly spending time in a park near her apartment. The notes did not contain explicit threats of harm, but Davis’s tone “fluctuated between despair over the breakup, anger, threats to commit suicide, a desire to see [the woman] in pain, and blaming [her] for ruining Davis’s life” (Dayton v. Davis, 1999). Davis also included in his e-mail messages information that lead to the belief that he had been watching the woman, such as knowing what she had watched on television, as well as a link to the Web site he had created. Davis’s Web site “portrayed, among other things, the image of [her] head transforming into a skull amidst flames, dripping blood, and charging horses ridden by robed skeletons. Interspersed with these images were quotations from the Bible and other sources in which the common theme was love, death, and destruction. On another Web page, Davis had posted pictures of [her] home town . . . although when questioned . . . Davis denied ever having been to the town” (Dayton v. Davis). Davis was charged by the authorities with violating the Ohio State law against menacing by stalking (R.C. 2903.211) and aggravated menacing [R.C.G.O. 135.05(A)]. He defended himself by arguing that he had never actually threatened the woman. The court found that he had still succeeded in knowingly placing her in fear of serious physical harm, as evidenced in part by her moving out of her apartment and eventually transferring schools. Intentionally creating such fear, rather than making threats, is what the statutes prohibited. Davis was convicted and sentenced to 180 days in detention. The first person convicted under the California state online stalking statute was Gary S. Dellapenta (Miller & Maharaj, 1999), a 50-year-old security guard who decided to generate some unwanted notoriety for his former girlfriend. In this case, the stalker’s conduct was purely online, although it generated real-world consequences. Dellapenta posted messages on America Online and sent e-mail messages purportedly from the woman stating that she had “rape fantasies”—and soliciting assistance in living out those fantasies. The messages included her home telephone number, address, and instructions on how to disable her home security system. Six people decided to take up “her” offer and dropped by her apartment (she was not physically harmed by these visitors). Criminal charges were brought against Dellapenta for stalking, computer fraud, and solicitation of sexual assault, and he was sentenced to six years of incarceration (Brenner, 2001). A similar false impersonation case in Korea that involved the culprit forging offers of sexual services in the name of the victim resulted in a warrant for the arrest of a man on criminal slander charges (Soh-Jung, 2001). People v. Kochanowski (2000), involved a man who asked a coworker to help set up a Web site. The site contained suggestive photographs of his former girlfriend, along with her address and telephone numbers. The page also contained what the court described as “express references to intimate body parts and attributed to [the girlfriend] an infatuation with sex” (People v. Kochanowski, p. 462). The woman then began receiving disturbing calls at work. The court found that the former boyfriend was guilty of violating the New York statute prohibiting “aggravated harassment” (New York State Penal Law §240.30(1)) that prohibited certain intentionally annoying
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or alarming communications. Kochanowski argued in his defense that he had not made the alarming calls, which would have been a violation of a protective order the woman had obtained prohibiting the man from communicating with her. The court found it sufficient under the aggravated harassment statute, however, that he had intentionally caused such alarming communications to be made by others (although the court did not find the specific terms of the protection order violated by Kochanowski’s Web site). Other examples demonstrate the international reach of online harassment—it may be just as easy to stalk someone on the other side of the planet as it is to stalk someone up the street. In the case of Rhonda Bartle, international online harassment did lead to an attempted real-world encounter (Hubbard, 2001). Bartle, a New Zealand author, started exchanging e-mail messages with Peggy Phillips, an American writer living in California. When the 84-yearold Phillips showed that she was interested in a deeper relationship than Ms. Bartle wanted, Ms. Bartle decided to end the relationship. Ms. Phillips commented about feeling suicidal and then took a plane to New Zealand. Bartle told the local taxi company not to take anyone to her house. When Phillips attempted to order a cab, the taxi company called the police, who then served Phillips with a trespass notice. After returning home, Phillips continued sending her unwanted e-mail messages (which, for the most part, were automatically filtered out of Bartle’s e-mail). Because New Zealand did not have online stalking laws at the time, Bartle contacted the Orange County, California, police in an effort to have them enforce the California law against Phillips. (Unfortunately, news accounts did not state whether this proved productive.) Australian courts have also been faced with a jurisdictional fight over where an online stalking case can be heard against an Australian man who stalked a Canadian actress by e-mail (Cant, 2001).
WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU ARE A VICTIM? According to information provided to members of the CyberAngels, who may assist victims of online stalking, The victim is often embarrassed and does not seek help till the situation becomes out of hand. Why do you think this happens? They often know the stalker in some way. May even have had a relationship with them to some degree. Maybe online boyfriend and girlfriend. Maybe the victim had sought out the person first. Maybe they have given personal identifying information that has come back to haunt them. So they are embarrassed and ashamed and don’t know what to do. The victim naturally will try to reason with the stalker, to get them to back off. It rarely works. Any attention given to a stalker is still attention and empowers them. If they can’t have your love they will take your hate, anger and fear. (CyberAngels, n.d.)
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In other words, asking a stalker to stop is not likely to be effective—although it is the first place to start. One of the most important things a victim can do is to document the situation. Save e-mail messages. Capture chat sessions. Document everything. Although the details on how to capture this information are beyond the scope of this article, the need is clear. This information is what allows you to make a case—be it with a service provider, law enforcement, or in court. Beyond this basic record keeping, there are a few places to seek help.
Service Providers and Technical Fixes One remedy that may be available is to have the Internet access of a stalker eliminated. According to WHOA’s statistics, 35.87% of all of the cases reported to the organization were resolved after complaints to the sender’s Internet service provider (ISP; WHOA, 2001). The vast majority of ISPs have some sort of “terms of service” agreement or “acceptable use policy.” These are generally contracts with the service providers and their users that restrict the use of the service providers’ systems. Although these policies generally do not create a legal remedy on behalf of a victim, they do provide a means for the service provider to terminate someone who is abusing people via the service provider’s system. A service provider is often willing to terminate “problem users” because it does not want to be seen as contributing to the continuation of abusive activities, it actively wants such conduct removed from the Internet, or it simply does not want the hassle of dealing with a user who generates complaints and the possibility of (expensive) legal hassles. As a result, if a victim can trace a stalker back to his or her Internet service provider, it is always sensible to look at the service provider’s Web site to see if the provider has an acceptable use policy or terms of service agreement that is being violated by the stalker’s actions. This policy then can be brought to the service provider’s attention when describing the actions of the provider’s user. In the course of dealing with a stalker, however, although this line of action may be effective, having his or her Internet access shut down is likely to provoke anger, possibly producing more harmful behavior in the end (either through a different service provider or through real-world contacts) rather than eliminating the threat altogether. Tracing the source of online harassment may be straightforward, or it may be almost impossible. A harasser may make no effort to hide his or her identity or the service provider being used to originate harassing messages. In such a case, contacting a service provider is a fairly simple process. In addition to looking to see if the provider has a Web site with contact information, many providers maintain an e-mail account intended for abuse complaints—generally in the form of “abuse@[serviceprovider.com]” or the like. In addition, the domain name registration for a service provider will usually have contact information. Domain name registration information can be checked from a Web site such as http://www.allwhois.com/. It may not be easy to track the source of harassing communications because of the ease of anonymously communicating on the Internet. In addition to services that
specifically provide for anonymous communication by stripping identifying information from e-mail messages and other public posts, it is also possible to forge routing information. Although tracing such forgeries is beyond the scope of this article and techniques change with advances in the technology involved, good resources can be found online. (For e-mail, see the SPAM-L FAQ in the Further Reading section.) Of course, even if you can trace a message back to its source, it may be the case that the originating account was opened with false information. If one can identify a service provider but not the real name of the user, the provider is not likely to be helpful in turning over its user’s identity. Often a service provider will insist on some sort of subpoena or court order before turning over identity or contact information about one of its users, even in a case where it is willing to cancel that same user’s account. (Some jurisdictions make it relatively easy to file a suit or otherwise compel the release of information possessed by an ISP that identifies a harasser. Some jurisdictions will allow the filing of a “John Doe” lawsuit for the purpose of discovering who the true target of the suit should be.) Without resorting to help from a service provider, there are some steps that victims can take for themselves. The most obvious is to avoid unwanted contact. Delete or “kill file” messages from the stalker, either manually or through an automatic filter that most popular e-mail programs and newsreaders allow users to establish. Avoid logging on to chat rooms at times when the stalker is likely to be logged on as well.
The Law If you are being stalked, a typical response is to call the police. For traditional stalking, this may result in gaining the assistance one needs to stop the stalker’s conduct. According to WHOA’s (2001) statistics, 14.91% of all of the cases reported to the organization were addressed by referring the matter to law enforcement. Unfortunately, in the case of online stalking, the response from the police may not be as useful. Many people who call the police are unable to obtain redress for their problem. As the Department of Justice (1999) report found, training of law enforcement officers to handle online stalking is erratic and, in large measure, insufficient. Depending on location, the type of law enforcement to contact may vary—for instance, are state or federal authorities the best resource? In the United States, a victim could try contacting the local or state police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the Secret Service—all of which may handle some types of online crimes. The amount of coordination and awareness between law enforcement groups appears to be growing. The level of technical sophistication and resources devoted to computer crime–related issues is also improving. In some cases, such improvements are required by legislation. Often the agency contacted may not know how to help but will know to whom the victim should be referred. Victims who do not get a knowledgeable response may want to try a different law enforcement entity. Another concern with contacting law enforcement is a matter of resource allocation. Simply put, law enforcement resources are limited, and there may not be anyone
GLOSSARY
capable of taking time to help a victim of online harassment if other matters that affect more than a single victim or that appear likely to result in more immediate harm are consuming available resources. There may also be a lack of investigative tools with which to pursue a matter even if there is sufficient interest in the case. Finally, contacting law enforcement may result in either a very public or a very private investigation. The fact that a police report has been filed, for instance, is a matter of public record in many jurisdictions and may attract media attention. On the other hand, the details of an investigation undertaken by law enforcement may be confidential, even from the victim who reported the incident and stands to benefit from the results of any investigation. An investigation by law enforcement is generally out of the hands of the victim because it becomes the government’s rather than the victim’s case. Another means of using the law to provide a remedy is through the hiring of a private attorney. The ability of an attorney to provide assistance will be dictated by where the victim and the stalker are located. This will determine, in part, the applicable laws, which will determine if a “private cause of action” exists. In other words, an individual generally cannot sue someone for violating a criminal law. Generally, only the government can sue someone to enforce the criminal law. Some statutes do, however, provide a private cause of action or some other civil remedy that will allow a victim to go after a stalker directly, without assistance from the government. The results of such a suit could include injunctive relief which, for example, would require the stalker to leave the victim alone, or provide for recovery of monetary damages. What kinds of laws are there? As mentioned, traditional stalking laws may apply to cyberstalking cases. These are generally criminal statutes that require law enforcement assistance. These statutes generally require multiple incidents of harassment that cause the victim to fear for his or her physical safety. Sometimes the safety of family members is also covered under these statutes. The statute may also dictate a specific behavioral requirement, such as the stalker’s having physically followed the victim. Some jurisdictions have expanded or clarified their laws in recent years to provide a remedy specific to online stalking. These laws may acknowledge certain harmful uses of technology in defining the offense or merely serve to remove obstacles contained in traditional stalking statutes containing physical requirements that do not apply in the online world. Some jurisdictions address stalking-like behavior with traditional harassment law or laws prohibiting intimidation. Harassment and intimidation laws may cover a broader range of conduct than traditional stalking laws, but they may have other sorts of obstacles to overcome to ensure that only egregious conduct is prohibited as unlawful harassment. Hurdles, for example, may include requirements that a harasser has the intent to cause harm, or they may require a certain level of damage before providing a remedy. These statutes may be technologydependent, such as harassing telephone call statutes, although use of modems to connect to the Internet may fit within the statutes’ coverage. If messages from a stalker contain actual threats, many jurisdictions have statutes that provide a remedy for
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the transmission of credible threats. One famous online “stalking” case, the “Jake Baker” case (U.S. v. Alkhabaz, 1997), involved a student at the University of Michigan who posted to Usenet news a piece of “erotic fiction” describing the sexual torture of a woman, a woman who was given the name of one of his classmates. The man was arrested and initially held in jail as a threat to society pending a psychiatric evaluation. The court held that the man’s actions were not criminal, because no evidence was presented that his actions were anything more than a sick fantasy. Because there was no evidence that he would really act out his fantasy, there was no credible threat, and thus the federal statute at issue was not violated. Some jurisdictions may have different standards for threats made to certain types of people, such as the U.S. prohibition of threats made against the president (18 U.S.C. §871). Statutes that address specific conduct such as identity theft, false attribution of origin of the messages, or eavesdropping may also come to bear in a cyberstalking case. Some “common law” concepts—traditional legal concepts that have evolved through court decisions and for which there may be no statute—may also provide a mechanism for legally attacking a stalker. For instance, assault (where a victim is placed in fear of bodily injury); intentional infliction of emotional distress; or, depending on the particular actions, defamation, trespass, or fraud-type arguments may also allow for a remedy. Depending on the law of a particular jurisdiction, “family law” remedies such as restraining orders and orders of protection, often aimed at keeping away ex-spouses or love interests, may be relevant.
CONCLUSION Online stalking is a problem of unknown proportions. Just as traditional stalking is a concern for its victims, however, so, too is the online equivalent. As more people live more of their lives online, all forms of online crime are likely to increase. Although this will produce more claims of online stalking and other forms of online harassment, it will also force law enforcement to be more prepared to address the needs of victims. In the case of legislators, they will also be required to ensure that the laws have evolved to address the concerns of victims—without having undue impact on legitimate, but perhaps heated, interactions. Because of the international nature of the Internet, cooperation between governments will be essential to address foreign harassers. Efforts are already being put into place to aid in the international enforcement of criminal laws, as evidenced by the Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Convention (Howard, 1999) that requires all signing countries to outlaw certain types of objectionable conduct and to provide international assistance in enforcing other countries’ laws that prohibit this minimum level of criminal conduct. It is reasonable to expect that the more egregious forms of online stalking are likely to be sufficient to result in some degree of international cooperation.
GLOSSARY Acceptable use policy An Internet service provider’s rules describing what one of its customers may and
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may not do with or through the provider’s computer system. Criminal lawsuit A lawsuit brought by the government against an individual. Unlike a private or civil lawsuit, a criminal lawsuit could involve jail time or other more serious sanctions depending on what remedies are contained in the applicable law. Cyberstalking Another name for online stalking (see below). Harass To engage in an intentional course of conduct directed at a specific person that alarms, torments, or terrorizes that person. Injunctive relief Relief granted by a court to a victim that generally orders another person not to do something, such as ordering a stalker to stay away from a victim, or to do something, such as remove objectionable material from a Web site. John Doe lawsuits Lawsuits filed against an unknown person. Once the lawsuit is filed, the party filing the suit can try to obtain more information on the person being sued. Kill files Filters in many e-mail programs that are used to block messages sent from people or addresses listed in the kill file (also called bozo filters). These are used so that e-mail or other electronic communications from a harasser can be deleted by the victim before they appear in the inbox. Online stalking A form of computer-mediated harassment analogous to traditional stalking. Private cause of action or private right of action The ability to sue a person engaging in objectionable conduct without the need for government involvement to enforce the law. Restraining orders Orders issued by a judge that may prohibit someone from contacting another person. What these orders may cover varies by jurisdiction. Stalking A form of harassment generally targeted at a specific individual that causes fear of physical harm. As a legal term, this definition varies by jurisdiction.
CROSS REFERENCES See Cybercrime and Cyberfraud; Cyberlaw: The Major Areas, Development, and Provisions; Legal, Social and Ethical Issues; Privacy Law.
REFERENCES Brenner, S. (2001, June). “Cybercrime investigation and prosecution: The role of penal and procedural law. E Law—Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law, 8. Retrieved March 23, 2003, from http://www.murdoch. edu.au/elaw/issues/v8n2/brenner82text.html California Civil Code §1708.7—Stalking (2001). Cant, S. (2001, March 27). Courts wrangle over cyberstalking. The Age, p. 3. Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (2001, November 23). Retrieved March 23, 2003, from http:// conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/185.htm
Cyberstalking [Illinois Criminal Statute] 720 ILCS 5/12–7.5 (2001). CyberAngels (n.d.). Retrieved prior to June 1, 2002, from the CyberAngels Web site (no longer available). Dayton v. Davis, 735 N.E.2d 939 (Ohio App. 2 Dist., Nov. 24, 1999). Eckenweiler, M. (1996, February 1). NetGuide, p. 35. Ellison, L., & Akdeniz, Y. (1998, December). Cyberstalking: The regulation of harassment on the internet. Criminal Law Review [Special Edition: Crime, criminal justice and the Internet], 29–48. Howard, C. (1999). Cyber-stalking: Obsessional pursuit and the digital criminal. Stalking typologies and pathologies. Retrieved March 23, 2003, from http://www. crimelibrary.com/criminal mind/psychology/ cyberstalking/3.html?sect=19 Hubbard, A. (2001, June 24). When truth is stranger than fiction. Sunday Star-Times, p. A7. Humphreys, L. (2001, June 20). NP author won’t give in to stalker. Daily News (New Zealand). Koch, L. (2000, May 25). Cyberstalking hype. Interactive Week. Miller, G., & Maharaj, D. (1999, January 22). N. Hollywood man charged in 1st cyberstalking case. Los Angeles Times. People v. Kochanowski, 719 N.Y.S.2d 461 (Sup. Ct. App. Term, NY, Oct. 18, 2000). Soh-Jung, Y. (2001, July 6). Internet stalker punishable for libel. The Korea Herald. U.S. v. Alkhabaz, 104 F.3d 1492 (6th Cir. 1997). U.S. Department of Justice. (1999, August). Report on cyberstalking: A new challenge for law enforcement and industry. A report from the Attorney General to the Vice President. Retrieved March 23, 2003, from http://www. usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/cyberstalking.htm Working to Halt Online Abuse. (2001). http://www. haltabuse.org/resources/index.shtml
FURTHER READING CyberAngels (Initially a project of the Guardian Angels neighborhood watch organization, on June 1, 2002, the group splintered and divided into the CyberAngels and WiredPatrol.org): http://www.CyberAngels.org/ 1999 Report on Cyberstalking: A New Challenge for Law Enforcement and Industry: http://www.usdoj. gov/criminal/cybercrime/cyberstalking.htm Findlaw Cyberstalking and E-Mail Threats Resource Page: http://cyber.findlaw.com/criminal/cyberstalk.html Working to Halt Online Abuse: http://www.haltabuse. org/ Lucke, K., Reading E-Mail Headers: http://www. stopspam.org/email/headers/headers.html The Stalking Assistance Site: http://www. stalkingassistance.com/index.htm The SPAM-L FAQ: http://www.claws-and-paws.com/ spam-l/tracking.html WiredPatrol.org Cyberstalking Index: http://www. wiredpatrol.org/stalking/index.html
Open Source Development and Licensing Licensing
Steven J. Henry, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
Open Source: What Is It? What Is It Not? What Are the Origins of Open Source? The Free Software Movement and the GNU Operating System The GNU Public License From “Free” Unix to Open Source and Linux Departing From the Free Source Culture The Birth of Open Source Open Source Development Open Source Economics The Economic Case for Acquiring Open Source Software
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OPEN SOURCE: WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS IT NOT? Computer programs are now accepted in most countries as copyrightable works and are explicitly so recognized in Section 106 of the U.S. Copyright Act, Title 17, U.S. Code, Sections 101-810. Actually, computer programs have been recognized as “literary works” under the Copyright Act since at least the 1970s. In 1978, it was decided by a Congressional study (the report by CONTU, the Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works) that no amendment of the Act was needed to cover programs per se (CONTU, 1978). In most other countries, copyright is considered a “natural” right of the author and (unlike the United States) no registration is required, but statutes and treaties do exist to circumscribe the nature of copyrightable works (some expressly naming programs, others accepting them under a broader category, as in the United States), the rights encompassed by copyright, the term of protection, and so on. In many important respects, these laws are similar to those in the United States, and no distinction is necessary within the context of this chapter. As such, the law provides that the “author” of a program (be that the programmer or his or her employer) has a certain bundle of rights. Among these are the exclusive right to copy, distribute copies of, and prepare derivative works from the copyrighted program code. In addition to the rights that copyright law provides, software authors who commercialize their work product often wish to condition their grant of rights in the distributed copies and to establish contractual terms with their customers, such as warranty terms, covenants to keep the software secret, support and maintenance terms, and so forth. The grant of rights can be established in a unilateral declaration wherein the owner (author) states the scope of permission it is granting. This is called a “license.” A license gives the receiver (grantee) permission to do something that otherwise would subject it to liability as an infringer. The practice most commonly employed is to include the grant within a contract, usually called a license agreement,
Non-Open Source “Alternatives” Is the Open Standards Movement Related to the Open Source Movement? Open Source and Intellectual Property Competition versus Coopetition Third-Party Rights Management Choices Choosing an Open Source License The Future of Open Source Glossary Cross References References
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which spells out the grant and additional rights, promises, and obligations between the customer (licensee) and author (licensor). Thus, when one acquires a copy of a program, the transaction may appear to be a sale (i.e., one party makes a payment and the other party delivers a CD in a box), but it normally is (a) a license to use the program subject to certain promises and conditions and (b) sale of the medium (i.e., the CD). The “buyer” gets only the rights spelled out in the license grant (which is displayed on the package or provided on screen as part of the installation process). Most non–open source software licenses prohibit copying and modification of the software. Keeping in mind that the distinction between a license grant (unilateral from the grantor) and an agreement (to which two or more parties bind themselves) is important. A licensee cannot give to a downstream party more rights than it acquired in the license grant. Consumer software is normally licensed with a restrictive grant that permits use but not copying or redistribution, so even without an enforceable contract with the licensee, the licensor expects to be able to enforce the grant limitations. The case law is mixed as to whether the conventionally used “shrinkwrap” and “clickwrap” documents styled as license agreements between the copyright owner and the customer are, indeed, enforceable contracts. Nonetheless, the licensor may maintain that it can impose unilateral restrictions on the license granted even without securing express “agreement” from the customer. If, however, the transaction is considered a sale, rather than a license, the copyright owner cannot, at least in the United States under the “first sale” doctrine of copyright law, control subsequent use or resale of the copy sold (although copying of the copy is prohibited as copyright infringement). Care is needed in drafting and implementing license terms. “Open source” licensing (OSL) is a distinctly contrasting set of licensing policies or terms under which some parties have, it has been said, created a revolution in software distribution (i.e., license agreement terms and practices). With apologies to the reader, it will take a few paragraphs to describe and define these policies and terms 819
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so as to answer the opening question. The short answer, however, is that open source software is not given away but rather is made available in accordance with an open source license characterized by the following: 1. Delivery of source code and granting the licensee not only the right to use the software, but also the right to access and study the source code; 2. Granting the licensee the right to modify the software; 3. Granting the licensee the right to redistribute the software; and 4. Obligating the licensee to distribute its modifications under the same terms 1–3. In part, one must understand OSL by comparison to what it is not: a limited grant of rights to use but not examine, probe, or modify, as in conventional software licenses. OSL is a model for software development and distribution that defies the historical practice of most software developers to (a) develop proprietary products; (b) only distribute object code or machine code versions of their software products; (c) prohibit, in their software license agreements, any copying or other reproduction, reverse engineering, decompilation, disassembly, or modification of the proprietary software product; and (d) allow only as-is use of a program on a single computer. Neither nirvana nor the end of the world, although proponents and opponents, respectively, might disagree, OSL has been called many things, including disruptive (in the sense economists use that word) and communistic, as well as the only socially responsible way for software developers to behave. One point on which virtually all agree, however, is that OSL has been controversial and thought provoking and now is entering mainstream usage.
WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF OPEN SOURCE? Although often thought of in the context of the licensing of Internet software, the open source movement actually arose out of work on operating systems, not Internet transactions. Moreover, “open source” embraces not just a set of license terms but also, importantly, an approach to software development, inherently affecting software distribution, that is partly manifested in those license terms (Pavlicek, 2002, pp. 7–9). As discussed below, conventionally developed products also sometimes are distributed under open source licensing terms, so it is important to distinguish open source development and open source licensing. OSL started as somewhat of a grassroots movement among a small group of software engineers, but open source development and licensing have now been embraced by some major software developers, including IBM, to at least some degree. More important, corporate information technology (IT) departments that a few years ago treated open source products as unworthy of their attention now regularly acquire and use open source products, for their low cost, for their quality, and for the availability of support. An open source Web server package, Apache, is among the most popular products—and is the
most popular product in its class (Pavlicek, 2002, pp. 23– 24). Before the open source movement and its immediate predecessor, the free software movement, most commercial software developers (and many “freelance” developers, as well) sought to control their products and their code as tightly as possible. The developers’ goals included preventing competitors from freely copying their products and forcing customers who desired modifications to commission the developer (for a sizeable fee) to make the desired modifications or enhancements. The (higher level) source code, in which the program originally was written, became a closely guarded trade secret of the company; only machine-readable object code was released to customers. Putting aside issues of copyright infringement and the software licensing agreement prohibiting such activity, a competitor or a customer desiring to fix a bug or enhance a software product obtained from a third party was at a serious disadvantage. Without access to the source code, it was a formidable task for a software engineer to determine precisely how a program operated and figure out how to fix or change it. This certainly had (most of the time) the desired impact of forcing competitors to write their own competitive programs from scratch, rather than trying to copy or build on the original developer’s program. The new code would have to be developed under the same labor-intensive process as produced the first code, and it would have to go through the same sort of testing and debugging process. The objective of the first company was achieved: the second company did not get a running start by capitalizing on the first company’s work (at least not to much extent). Customers needing modifications, however, often were (and still are) stymied by the costs and delays in obtaining corrections or modifications. Even worse, there was (and is, in current closed source, object-only distribution) no guarantee the developer would be willing to address the customer’s needs, at all; sometimes, the developer has decided not to support a customer’s request, and the customer has had no recourse. For example, a developer may limit the time it will support a particular version of its code. Thereafter, the customer has to pay for upgrades to receive support. That may not only be expensive, but there also are instances in which the upgraded product is not satisfactory for a particular user (who then must face the unenviable task of migrating to a different product instead of simply tweaking the version in use to deal with a particular issue). Note, however, that in the early microcomputer era, some programmers, both commercial and hobbyist, shared much of their code, pursuing success through support and documentation. The open source movement rejected the concept of developer control, re-birthed the lost approach of the early microcomputer era, and established itself on the joint premises that (a) software development should be collaborative, rather than competitive, and (b) the user should be free to address its problems and needs. Because collaboration is difficult to legislate, open source agreements (as opposed to the development projects) typically focus on the user freedom aspect. In outline, the idea behind the open source movement is that Company A should distribute not only its object code but also, more importantly, its source code, and that
WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF OPEN SOURCE?
it should do so while giving permission to its customer (licensee), Company B (or anyone else who acquires a lawful copy of the source code through Company B), the right to modify and enhance the source code. However, Company A may—indeed, should—impose a condition that Company B accept an obligation to distribute its resulting products on the same basis. In other words, everything derived from an open source starting point is “tainted” and becomes an open source product, itself. (This approach is taken in the GNU General Public License [GPL] discussed later. However, the open source definition used by Open Source Initiative, also discussed later, has backed off from the “Midas touch” requirement which makes the use of the GPL “viral”.) In this way, say the proponents, the number of individuals developing and improving a software product can be greatly enlarged and all developers can build on the shoulders of those before them. As both a goal and a consequence, a “community” of users can develop. The members of that community share the benefit of all of the bug fixes to and enhancements of the base code, as they mutate. Through online bulletin boards, listservs, and the like, developers and users interact with respect to ideas, problems, improvements, and so on. Even if the original developer or distributor were to go out of business, the community would still be there to support one another. Notice that not once has a licensee fee been mentioned. Nonetheless, OSL does not mean the code must be distributed without charge; rather, the exchange of funds is irrelevant to the licensing so long as it does not thwart the previously stated objectives. Contrary to the belief of some, the “open” in open source licensing does not mean “free.” It merely means the opposite of a “closed,” secret source code. (In fact, some of those who chose the “open source” nomenclature did so expressly to avoid the confusion created by the term “free software” [History of the OSI, n.d.]). An open source developer may charge for its product. (It may not impose fees further downstream than its immediate customer, however. Otherwise, such “tolls” might inhibit expansion of the open source community.) Where did this new OSL creature come from? Did someone go insane? Give away the fruits of creative effort and ingenuity and the investments of time and money? It reminds some of communism, not capitalism, and communism does not work, right? How could anyone decide to “give away” control over the fruits of his or her creative work? Isn’t this like the Coca-Cola Company publishing the formula for Coke on the front page of the New York Times? Mistakenly, many people believe that the open source movement is an outgrowth of the shareware and freeware movements. In the latter, software developers allow others to copy, use, and redistribute their products without paying for them. In the former, developers put personal computer users on their honor to pay a fee to the programmer (developer) if, after trying out the program, they find they like it. It is true that on a time line, OSL was born after the advent of both shareware and freeware, but it was not born “of ” them. Typically, neither shareware nor freeware is distributed in source code form, and most frequently they are distributed with full claims of copyright protection. Moreover, the shareware and free software models were developed in the personal computer industry
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whereas the open source model and its direct antecedent, the “free source” movement, were born in the Unix industry and academic world. In many ways, however, OSL benefited from observation of the problems inherent in shareware and free software distribution models. Turning the clock back to the 1960s, computer platforms—both hardware and operating system—were pretty much proprietary creations. “Standardization” occurred only at the level of programming languages. This meant that a platform-specific compiler (or interpreter) had to be written for each proprietary operating system to be run on that platform. Often, not only the compiler but also individual application software had to be rewritten to work on a new machine. This resulted in lengthy development times and high development expenses. Against this background, computer scientists and engineers at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories in New Jersey decided in about 1969–1970 to create an operating system that would be portable between hardware architectures (Raymond, 1999). That would facilitate movement of computer programs—software—from one hardware platform to another and minimize the time and expense required to reengineer application software each time a new computer was built. The Bell Labs team decided to build its operating system in a modular fashion to facilitate portability. This was a distinct departure from prior OS development projects, prior operating systems being created as unitary products. The major motivator was to allow users to install only those modules they required, so that unnecessary software would not have to be installed and the required computer resources, particularly memory, would be reduced, thereby speeding up the operating system. The resulting product was the first Unix operating system. It was designed for internal use at Bell Labs, not to be a commercial product. Soon, AT&T began to license Unix inexpensively, and in doing so, AT&T provided users its source code, which they could then use to analyze the operating system and fix problems as they occurred (that way, AT&T did not have to support them). As time went on, however, AT&T’s licensing practices changed. As with the rest of the industry, their license fee became much more expensive, and they stopped providing source code. For many years, this left a void for people who desired an operating system that was robust, documented, and accessible to them in source code. But note that limits on the use of creative works are commonplace in other fields such as art, music, theater, and literature, so this is not to suggest that AT&T was doing anything improper or unusual. It was merely exercising its rights and options. In the early 1980s, Unix versions proliferated, partly as a result of AT&T’s changing position and partly as a result of a striving for improvement. The Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD) of Unix was developed at the University of California at Berkeley and made popular at this time. Aside from its technical merits, BSD was noteworthy for being published under a license permitting use, copying and redistribution of the software. The license, however, was silent as to imposing terms on subsequent publication of derivative works. Consequently, numerous derivative versions proliferated, some open source and some not, some free and some not. Much was learned
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about the impact of unconstrained licensing of derivative works. In a real sense, one result of the unconstrained licensing of Unix derivatives was the loss of interoperability. That spawned a desire for a return to interoperability and spawned, in part, Linux. Space does not permit a detailed elucidation of the BSD and other licenses of the era. Several sources cited herein provide useful detail. Also see Wayner, P. (n.d.).
The Free Software Movement and the GNU Operating System In the 1980s, Richard Stallman, a software engineer in MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab, took the next steps. In 1971, when Stallman joined the AI Lab, he used an MIT-developed time-sharing operating system called ITS (the Incompatible Time-Sharing System) written in assembler language for the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-10 computer. The source code was available to Stallman and others, and he modified or enhanced the source code from time to time. The same was true with respect to a printer in the lab and other resources. A critical juncture occurred in the early 1980s. DEC discontinued the PDP-10 computer family. This immediately obsolesced nearly all the programs composing the ITS operating system. New replacement computers would use their own proprietary operating systems which, by the way, would carry significant price tags. Worse, those operating systems were protected by copyright law and restrictive licenses. Now he could not develop bug fixes or enhancements to the operating system and could not share them with others or receive such work from others. Stallman’s view was that such licenses had the effect of forbidding the user community from helping one another. He concluded that this was antisocial and unethical. This presented him with a choice. He would either have to join the ranks of those developing proprietary software released under restrictive agreements, leave the computer field, or figure out a way that he could do something “for the good” (Stallman, 2002). Frustrated, Stallman came to the conclusion that restrictive licensing was improper and that all software should be “free.” By that, he meant that software should be treated as an expression of free speech and not as a proprietary engineering development or product. Stallman’s concept was that source code is merely knowledge and knowledge should be free so that it cannot be dominated by a few powerful people. (“Free as in speech, not as in beer.”) No monetary connotation was intended to be attached to the word “free,” just the suggestion of freedom. All Stallman wanted was for everyone to be able, without restriction, to use, copy, share, and modify software. Free software was to have these attributes, which obviously means that the resulting modifications of free software also had to be treated as free software, no matter how many hands it passed through. Stallman was vocal and his beliefs attracted a following. He advocated that software be distributed under a “copyleft” license or policy, which essentially was a 180degree swing on copyright and amounted to a disclaimer of the author’s copyright (Stallman, 2002).
Many viewed Stallman and his adherents as a group of antibusiness extremists and troublemakers. In an era during which the cost of developing commercial software products easily could run into millions of dollars, the suggestion that the power should be in the hand of the software user (or others—including competitors—who might fix, enhance, or modify the code for the user) rather than in the hand of the developer was a radical notion not readily embraced by established software companies. This opposition group was strong, well-financed, and powerful. Eventually, some of those involved in the “movement” realized they needed a platform the business community would find more acceptable. This led to the founding of the Free Software Foundation, which still exists and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. (The Free Software Foundation Web site may be found at http://www.fsf.org.) The basic credo of the FSF is that software is a form of digital information technology that contributes to the world by making it easier to copy and modify information. According to the FSF, the copyright system grew up with mechanical printing and fit in well with that technology because it did not take freedom away from readers of books. An ordinary reader, who did not own a printing press, could copy books only with pen and ink, and few readers were sued for that. Digital technology is more flexible than the printing press, however: When information is in digital form, it can be easily copied for sharing with others. Easy copying makes a bad fit with a system such as copyright, they hold. The interests of users in having the ability to use and change digital information (i.e., programs) outweighs any interest of the creator, they suggest. The FSF advocates that society needs information to be truly available to its citizens—for example, programs that people can read, fix, adapt, and improve, not just operate (see the FSF Web site). They assert that software owners typically deliver a black box that can’t be studied or changed. According to the FSF, as stated on its Web site, “Free software is a matter of the users’ freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software: r
The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (Freedom 0). r The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (Freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. r The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (Freedom 2). r The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits. (Freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms.” (Emphasis added; see The Free Software Definition, n.d., at http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/free-sw.html.) In 1984, with the BSD experience as a precursor, Stallman started the GNU (standing for “GNU’s Not Unix,” a clever, recursive acronym) project under the FSF umbrella, to put into practice his beliefs (see the GNU project
FROM “FREE” UNIX TO OPEN SOURCE AND LINUX
Web site: www.gnu.org). The goal of the GNU project was, essentially, to make an operating system that would be and remain (economically and legally) free and open. He chose to make the operating system Unix-compatible so that it would be portable and to attract converts to it.
The GNU Public License How can this “ideal” be effectuated? Having a freedom is one thing, what one does with it is another. Note that Freedom 2 is expressed as a permission, not as a mandate. If a developer distributes software into the public arena and includes the source code, nothing in Freedom 2 prevents enhancements from being kept private or from being restrictively licensed. They could be treated as proprietary, thwarting the idea of creating a free software community, or constraining the community and its freedom. Needed was both the development of a successful free software product as well as an agreement that would ensure the maintenance of downstream freedom. Ironically, in the past when source code was made freely available, without the protection of copyright laws or trade secret laws, commercial developers were free to incorporate free source code into their proprietary products for their own profit motive and close off much of the freedom Stallman advocated. This, of course, is what happened in some instances under the BSD license; BSD source code found its way into proprietary products. To enforce continuing “freeness,” Stallman developed a new legal construct that came to be known as the GNU Public License or the GNU General Public License, or more commonly, the GPL. The GPL creates obligatory “non-proprietariness” via a concept he called “copyleft.” “Copyleft uses copyright law, but flips it over to serve the opposite of its usual purpose: instead of a means of privatizing software, it becomes a means of [making and] keeping software free” (Stallman, 2002, p. 59). That is, it indicates that the licensee may copy and distribute source code provided it does not impose restrictions on the sublicensees that would prevent them from doing likewise. Thus, there may be no extra charge for the source code and no restrictions on further licensing. Moreover, works created from the licensed code also must be distributed under the GPL terms (Stallman, 2002) to the extent they constitute “derivative works” under the U.S. Copyright Act. Section 101 of the Copyright Act defines a “derivative work” as “a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. A work consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications, which, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship, is a ‘derivative work’.” If part of the work is not a “derivative work” from the original GPL-distributed work, then under the GPL “Terms and Conditions for Copying, Distribution and Modification,” subsection 2.c, it is not required to be (re-)distributed under the GPL. The GPL established the legal foundation for the free software movement and eventually led to what we now
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call OSL. The following four principles were embodied in the GPL: 1. The right to use the software and have access to its source code, 2. The right to modify the software, 3. The right to redistribute the software, and 4. The obligation to distribute modifications under the same “free” terms. By coupling the obligation of Point 4 with the rights of Points 1–3, the GPL broke new ground and induced new behavior requirements. Essentially, the GPL provided a new framework for software development and licensing.
FROM “FREE” UNIX TO OPEN SOURCE AND LINUX The GNU project took off and garnered a significant participation, particularly in the academic world where Unix had taken hold and where experimentation and lack of funds were the norm. Even as of the 1990 timeframe, however, it had not crossed the bridge into the personal computing world. So it was still of interest to only a relative few. Then, in Finland, in 1991, this all changed. A college student named Linus Torvalds grew dissatisfied with the performance of his personal computer (PC) and its MS-DOS operating system. His dissatisfaction became the crossover point. He was experienced in the world of Unix operating systems and wanted a similar operating system for his computer as well as one that would be available generally for PC users. (Among the relative advantages of Unix, it need only load into memory a small kernel and utilities it needs at a particular time. This would allow Linus’s PC to operate faster and more efficiently that would its manufacturer’s operating system.) Torvalds initiated an OS development project and invited others to join him, via postings on an Internet Usenet newsgroup. He posted the code he was developing, inviting others to offer comments and improvements. As a group formed, he took on some assignments himself to lead the writing of different parts of the operating system for different parts of the PC hardware and allowed others to lead the development of other parts (Pavlicek, 2002). The project took on the name Linux (a contraction of Linus and Unix). However, it was not Torvalds’ ego that named the project but the host of the server that held the source code. Although Linus focused his effort on writing the kernel for the operating system, there is a lot more to Linux than its kernel. Many of the other components of Linux came directly from the GNU utilities, thanks to the porting of the GNU C compiler to the Linux system. Arguably more significant than Linus’s initiation of the project and his code-writing leadership was his enthusiastic encouragement of others to make contributions and his public acknowledgement of those contributions. (For an excellent exposition of the development of Linux and, in particular, Torvalds’s leadership role, see Raymond, E. [2001]). Because most individuals yearn for recognition, this aspect of Linus’s leadership generated a great deal
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of positive reaction and brought others on to the team. All were volunteers. Had they not felt their contributions were recognized by their peers, perhaps many would have left the project. Torvalds both showed leadership behavior and demonstrated that a community of capable individuals with dedication and shared values and objectives was capable of creating an end product equal to or better than would normally have been produced by a company investing millions of dollars. He also substantiated the hope that collaborative development could produce rapid solutions to design problems and reduce the number of bugs in the end product. The success of the Linux project was perhaps the first real indicator that the open source movement could have more than de minimus impact. Linux initially was adopted by a large number of computer professionals and researchers, academics, and students. It required knowledge and skill to install. To broaden the appeal of Linux, one obstacle that had to be overcome was the complexity of putting Unix on a personal computer. The various components to a complete Linux operating system were not nicely integrated in one place. A user often had to download the kernel from one site, various drivers, and other components from others, for example. Then the user had to configure those components to work together. After a few short years, the demand for Linux was sufficient to justify the creation of a business to pull together and integrate the components in one branded package, a so-called Linux “distribution” (Raymond, 2001). Companies such as Red Hat Software realized that users would pay for the convenience of having the components assembled and integrated, as well as for documentation and support. Computers running Linux, as of 2002, probably number several million, and the number is rising fast. The most popular search engine, Google, runs on a Linux “farm,” as does Amazon, the most popular e-commerce site. Linux also has become popular in the world of embedded systems because a scaled-down, limited functionality kernel can be built that runs on just one megabyte of memory (Fink, 2003, pp. 33–34). Also, the lack of royalty obligations makes it desirable for use in products that will be manufactured in large volume.
Departing From the Free Source Culture The culture of the group (often referred to as a “community” for its shared bond, mutual support, and other community-like attributes) developing Linux was, interestingly, different from that of the free software movement from which it evolved. The free software movement was motivated by a view of moralism and a rejection of the notion of intellectual property as applied to software. Their mantra was that all software should be free and unprotected by intellectual property laws or other constraints. This principle was embodied in the “copyleft” expression. Software distributed under a copyleft notice was, in contrast to copyrighted software, free for anyone to do with as they please. In general, this was, in the 1980s, a point of view that the business community could not accept as viable. In fact, it may be safe to say that a major segment of the business community was repulsed by the idea. A company that has invested millions of dollars in developing a software product hardly wishes to have others be
able to copy the product freely with impunity, because that completely undercuts their ability to obtain a return on their investment. Consequently, there is no motivation for anyone to invest in a project to develop free software unless there is some way other than the direct sale of that software to obtain profitable revenue.
The Birth of Open Source Many saw the GPL as going too far, even advocates of source code freedom. They judged this arrangement antibusiness. That concerned some in the leadership of the free software community. In the winter of 1998 (long after the Linux project started as a free software project), several of them assembled in California to address this concern, because they wished to obtain broader adoption of the ideas underlying their movement for collaborative development and “no handcuffs” licensing. They believed that free software was a powerful concept and the perception of the free software movement as antibusiness was hampering its expansion. This discussion percolated the idea that a marketing campaign was necessary and that new terminology was needed to facilitate the marketing effort. The terminology that came to be adopted is that the kind of software they promoted should be called “Open Source” to get away from the loaded and misunderstood word “free.” Along with this new term, they developed criteria for its use. One participant, Bruce Perens, previously had headed an effort called the Debian Project. The Debian Project managed a Linux distribution (i.e., a coordinated collection of a Linux kernel and utilities provided as a package) that included only software furnished under GNU principles. Perens wrote up this approach in a document called the “Debian Social Contract” (see http://www.debian.org/social contract.html). Essentially, the group accepted the “Debian Social Contract” as defining the construct for open source software. Without a controlling regulatory framework, however, individuals were free to state they were using an open source license even if their terms deviated from those of Perens. An organization known as the Open Source Initiative (OSI) therefore was formed to provide an “official” definition and certify licenses as complying with the definition. This “official” definition is formally titled the Open Source Definition, or OSD, and can be found at http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition plain.php. The OSD permits more licensing freedom than the GPL, particularly as to mixing proprietary and open source code. One could, for example, add proprietary code to an open source Linux distribution and not have to notify or secure permission from the various programmers or organizations that had developed the Linux code; and there is no requirement to give them credit. OSD terms have been embraced by companies seeking to open their source code to achieve wide distribution. For example, Netscape did not use the GPL when it decided to open its source code. Instead, it fashioned its own unique Open Source License, complying with the OSD requirements. This license became widely used as the Mozilla Public License, which can be found at the OSD site. If a license has been approved by OSI as meeting the OSD requirements, the licensed software may be identified as “OSI Certified Open Source Software” and an OSI
OPEN SOURCE ECONOMICS
certification design trademark may be displayed on the license, product screen, and package. A variety of licenses are certified as meeting the open source definition. Some of them will be explored later. In many ways, the fact that there exists the flexibility to craft a license to meet different circumstances is a hallmark of the Open Source Definition. It does not require a “one size fits all” approach. Version 1.9 of the OSD lays out the following 10 principles for certification of a license: 1. Free Redistribution. The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale. 2. Source Code. The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. . . . Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. 3. Derived Works. The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software. 4. Integrity of the Author’s Source Code. The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of “patch files” with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software. 5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups. The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons. 6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor. The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. 7. Distribution of License. The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties. 8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product. The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program’s being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extracted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program’s license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution. 9. The License Must Not Restrict Other Software. The license must not place restrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.
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10. The License must be technology-neutral. No provision of the license may be predicated on any individual technology or style of interface.
Open Source Development The development of program code for an open source project proceeds in a different way from the development of closed source code. A closed source project typically runs according to a traditional corporate product development model. There is a hierarchy to the development team and communication tends to run in the vertical direction. By contrast, an open source development community is self-organizing, with little hierarchy and a great deal of communication horizontally. It is a relatively flat structure. There generally are individuals who are nominally responsible for managing different pieces of a project and for making final decisions among competing code offerings, there is no true captain at the helm of the ship. Any member of the community may contact any other member of the community and direct contact to a code developer is encouraged as the most efficient way to communicate bugs, desires for modification and suggestions. Mechanisms may be established to formalize some of this communication to track the development process, but there is generally no hierarchy presenting an obstacle for one member of the community to communicate with another. One of the driving motivations behind the open source movement is the concept that two heads are better than one and that more is to be gained from cooperating than from competing. That is, the larger the team, the better the result. The collaborative development of source code is expected to result in a high-quality product, produced in a shorter development cycle. Open source developers have an expression: “Given enough eyes, all bugs are shallow.” The meaning of this expression is simply that an open source code approach to development enlarges the development team for the project. Many users will be developers with appropriate expertise to both identify bugs and fix the source code to remove them. If one person does not recognize the fix, then another one will. Furthermore, companies that develop computer software typically commit to support only a given version or a few recent given versions of their products. Earlier versions are unsupported. However, source code distributed through OSL has a team of developers that is available for support so long as the product is in use.
OPEN SOURCE ECONOMICS Some have called the open source movement “disruptive” in an economic sense. That is, a point of departure from the past that creates a marked change in direction. In fact, it may well be that the open source movement has taken hold in large part because a sufficient number of students who had experienced in college and graduate school the benefits of software developed under free and open source principles. Since becoming employed in industry, many have sought ways to incorporate open source approaches into their software development and marketing. The central question arises: “How does a company make money if it is making its software products available under an open
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source license?” The answer, of course, is that something other than the code has to have value to users. This may, for example, include support, customization, and training. As of this writing, the prototypical example of a success story is probably Red Hat Software, which markets its flagship product, Red Hat Linux, under an open source license. Red Hat packages a complete Linux distribution with a manual. To a large degree, it is selling convenience and documentation, as well as service. The Linux kernel and Linux utilities can be downloaded for free from various sources and can then be configured to work together if one has the expertise. By marketing a complete Linux distribution, Red Hat relieves its customers of the timeconsuming effort of finding and downloading the various components of a Linux operating system from a variety of source and eliminates the need for them to take time to integrate the various components. In addition to convenience, Red Hat is selling a trusted brand name and a known commitment to its product and customers. The pricing for its product is such that the benefit of paying for something that actually is freely available makes a great deal of sense. Now, one might say that Red Hat owns a large share of the Linux market by virtue of having seized the opportunity at an early stage and as a result of having managed that position well, to the point of developing brand recognition. Red Hat also develops, and supports the development of, new code to enhance its Linux product on an ongoing basis. Customers appear to be willing to pay a modest price to support those efforts and the convenience of a packaged Linux distribution. But Red Hat has only recently become profitable. One may ask whether there is an opportunity for a second, third, or fourth profit-making company in the Linux space. IBM makes substantial revenue from Linux-related services and equipment sales and UnitedLinux (the merger of a number of other companies) has significant market share. The open source nature of the software product appears to establish a very low entry barrier; however, it limits the price the market will support for the product (although not necessarily for service), and effective brand management by Red Hat (and maybe others) may create another entry barrier that could prove even more difficult to overcome. There are strong reasons to believe that service revenue may be the key to profitability for an open source software company. One successful model in the open source arena is that of virtually giving away the product and selling support, training, and customization. Companies following this model include not only Red Hat (although it does generate revenue from selling the product as well), but also VA Research, Penguin Computing, LinuxCare, Send Mail, and MySQL AB. In some cases (e.g., that of Send Mail), an “enhanced” proprietary version of a free, open source product is available for a fee. How does IBM profit from open source software? One way is by providing service and support. For example, IBM installs and supports open source Apache Web server software. Apache is an open source Web server product that is widely recognized as having very stable code. IBM gets all the profit from installation and support activities without incurring full development costs. Moreover, its engineers are kept in the communication stream on the Apache development community. Other companies
are open sourcing their code to enlist the aid of the programming community to make their products more robust while achieving larger market penetration. IBM has also been porting its “DB2” database program, its Websphere line of e-business solutions and other mainframe products to the Linux operating system, has ported Apache to platforms including the popular AS 400, and is developing new Linux applications. IBM has a Linux portal on its Web site highlighting its Linux products and commitment. About one third of the Web servers currently in use are Linux-based machines; in the overall server market, Apache owns greater than 50% market share. In the eyes of advocates, everyone benefits. This is not always a businessperson’s perspective, however. In particular, if a product has been developed with proprietary investment and expectations by a business, pressure from the open source community to distribute the product under open source terms is sometimes greeted as an attempt at mob-supported theft. Some efforts have been made at hybrid licenses, part being open source and part being restrictively licensed under copyright or patent protection. Examples will be discussed subsequently. The latest approach is so-called “dual” licensing programs. Dual licensing allows a licensee to choose between (a) a free or very inexpensive open source license and (b) a more expensive license which does not impose open source obligations. The second choice permits the program code to be included in a proprietary product.
The Economic Case for Acquiring Open Source Software To an individual, saving $50 to $100 on a personal computer system by using an open source operating system (OS) instead of a proprietary OS may not provide much motivation in the selection decision. Corporate customers, however, may have many thousands of PCs. A savings of $50 to $100 per machine for an OS license can translate into a substantial savings. Moreover, there are also cost savings on compilers, application software, servers, databases, for example. Additional cost savings may flow from the absence of license restrictions. The user can configure the system to its own needs, simplifying usage. Utilities can be written inexpensively for special situations, owning to the open code base. Consequently, the total cost differential between an open source approach and a closed source approach can be substantial. Some users particularly value not being held hostage to software companies that are constantly pushing upgrades and improvements for additional revenue or that provide bloated code requiring newer and more costly machines when the user will never require many of the features of the bloated code. Additionally, although there is perhaps no inherent reason for this result, there is evidence that the OS code for Linux is, indeed, better and more efficient and requires a lesser machine (i.e., one with a slower, less advanced central processing unit and less memory) than commercial, proprietary OSs such as Microsoft’s Windows family. One may speculate that the commercial motivation to get a proprietary product completed at a minimum
IS THE OPEN STANDARDS MOVEMENT RELATED TO THE OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT?
of expense militates against investing additional time to optimize and minimize program code, providing an inherent (although not inherently realized) potential advantage to open source rivals. A 2002 survey by TheOpenEnterprise.com of more than 200 IT managers at major corporations showed that 86% of IT departments now use open source software (OSS), and about 30% use it for 40% or more of their applications. Of those surveyed, 90% expected to be using OSS in 2003, and 35% expected it to amount to 40% or more of their applications. Two thirds reported a savings of at least 25% in total cost of ownership over proprietary software. Three quarters characterized OSS as important to their corporate IT strategy, and only one in seven complained about the quality of OSS (TheOpenEnterprise.com, 2002). Additionally, government initiatives, regulations, and even legislation have been promulgated or are under consideration in a number or states and countries including California, the Republic of Korea, Germany, and Peru, as well as the U.S. Government, authorizing or approving acquisition of open source software.
Non-Open Source “Alternatives” It may be instructive, in contemplating the impact and economics of open source licenses, also to consider, from the side of the licensor, some arguable near-open alternatives reflecting a desire to capture much of the value of OSL but not all of its strictures. The most prominent of these alternatives is probably the license available from Microsoft under its Shared Source Initiative (SSI). Examples may be found, for example, at http://msdn.microsoft. com / msdn - files / 027 / 001/901/ShSourceCLIbetaLicense. htm and http://www.microsoft.com/windows/Embedded/ ce.NET/evaluation/sharedsource/eula.asp, both retrieved April 27, 2003. In Microsoft’s words, its Shared Source philosophy is “a balanced approach that enables commercial firms to share source code with their customers and partners while preserving intellectual property rights” (http://www.microsoft.com/licensing). Although it does provide source code to the licensee, largely for the purpose of studying integration issues and debugging the licensee’s product, a license under the SSI does not permit commercial product to be redistributed from the source code. Neither does it permit modification of the code. Some versions of shared source licenses Microsoft has announced will allow modification of code provided the rights to the modifications are transferred back to Microsoft. The Shared Source Initiative is in its infancy but Microsoft is pressing forward with it. Arguably, the SSI is an anti–open source effort. Microsoft, in some of its license agreements, forbids the introduction, commingling, or use of its products with open source code and fears the inclusion of open source code into its own products by its developers, intentionally or accidentally. Other noteworthy near-open source licenses include the Netscape Public License and the SUN Community Source License (Fink, 2003, pp. 50–51). The former was used by Netscape before the Mozilla open source code base, for its browser, and the latter requires, among other things, royalty payments to Sun Microsystems upon redistribution of source code.
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IS THE OPEN STANDARDS MOVEMENT RELATED TO THE OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT? The open standards movement is probably an even more recent phenomenon than the open source movement and is directly related to the Internet. To take a 30,000-foot view, all communications is, of necessity, based on a priori agreement on standards. Otherwise, one party or device would not be able to be understood by another party or device. To take an elementary example, the fact that we can buy a new telephone (wired or wireless) and send or receive calls is made possible by adoption of standards and manufacture of telephones so that all can send and receive the same signals. The Internet, being a communications medium, is a physical network and a set of standards for communicating information over that network. The evolving development of standards is controlled by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and, in the case of the World Wide Web, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Both organizations have expressed a preference that Internet-related standards be “open.” There is, however, a different meaning they apply to “openness” than that used in the “open source” context, although an overlap exists. No organization controls the definition of the term “open standard.” (Although it is certainly beyond the scope of this article to expound in detail, an “open standard” is to be distinguished from a more common “industry standard.” The latter may or may not involve software, may be free or royalty-bearing, usually pertains to selecting among competing pre-existing technologies rather than developing a new technology, and may (usually are) not open-specified. The significant shared trait is vendor-neutrality.) Industry literature suggests that a good place to start the effort to define an open standard is the definition of “open system” used by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), as the goal of an open system is the establishment of an open standard. According to that definition, an open system is one that “provides capabilities that enable properly implemented [software] applications to run on a variety of platforms from multiple vendors, interoperate with other applications, and present a consistent style of interaction with the user.” Various authors have identified the points they believe to characterize an open standard, overlapping with this definition of an open system. (See, for example, http://perens.com/OpenStandards/Definition.html.) I conclude that there are four identifying characteristics. A standard is open provided it r
Is royalty-free, Is vendor neutral, r Is open-specified, and r Excludes predatory practices. r
The royalty-free requirement means that there can be no use-related tolls. There may, however, be charges imposed for copies of the standard and for certification that software or hardware complies with the standard. The requirement of vendor neutrality means that a proprietary
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(e.g., patented) scheme normally will not be adopted unless licenses are made available royalty-free by the proprietor. It also means that no single-source material or product can be required. “Open-specified” means that the standard is not closed; extensions can be added and subsets may even be possible. Finally, the prohibition of predatory practices means that a license to the standard cannot require, for example, nonuse of other, competing technology or forced grant-back of rights to modifications. Thus far, the only examples of open standards development known to the author have been in the Internet sphere. Likely this is because open standards development is focused on new technologies (whereas more common industrial standards most often address the harmonization of, and selection from among, existing technologies). Most recently and prominently, the W3C has had a Patent Policy Working Group addressing the issue of what W3C policy should be with respect to inclusion of patented technology in WWW standards. The current draft policy requires patented technology to be royalty-free if it is to be knowingly incorporated into a W3C standard. (Further details of the policy are beyond the scope of this chapter and may be read at http://www.w3.org/2001/ ppwg/.)
OPEN SOURCE AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY The relationship between OSL and the developers’ intellectual property rights is widely misunderstood. A common, first-level understanding is that all intellectual property rights—be they patent, copyright, or trade secret— must be relinquished to have one’s code distributed “open source.” This is not quite correct. One must consider each type of right separately to understand the compatibilities and incompatibilities. Copyright confers on the “author” of the code the exclusive right to copy, modify, and so on. Consequently, it allows the owner of the copyright to control whether—and under what conditions—others may copy, modify, and so on. the copyrighted work (e.g., program code). The freedom to copy and modify, of course, is at the heart of OSL. So it would appear that the author must relinquish copyright rights in code distributed under an open source license. This need not be an all or nothing proposition. If the author or developer wishes to charge for the code, or to impose other conditions such as obtaining a reciprocal license, it is the grant of permission to exploit the underlying copyright that provides the basis for making those conditions enforceable, for imposing a fee on the licensee, and supplies the consideration needed for an enforceable contract. Others, who do not agree to the conditions, do not receive the permissions. So a copyright still has value in allowing the owner to control and enforce his or its open source plan. Trade secrets and OSL, by contrast, are essentially antithetical. The sine qua non of trade secret status is the factual predicate of secrecy. No secrecy, no trade secret. Except in the rarest circumstances, however, source code is analyzable to derive from it any trade secret embodied therein. Object code, by contrast, often is used as a
distribution medium, in the hope of hiding trade secret algorithms from disclosure. So at least an instance or example of the application of a trade secret will be discoverable from open source code; only a higher level trade secret that was used in generating, but not apparent from the end product code, will remain undisclosed. Patents pose a far more complicated situation because there usually is not a one-to-one correspondence between a patent’s scope and particular program code. For example, a patent may have dozens of claims defining islands of protection for an invention. A program product might embody the invention of only a few of those claims. Conversely, a patented invention often will be useful beyond the instantiation of a specific program. So the owner will want to be cautious about the scope of any license granted and the impact of that license on other opportunities. This “caution” may manifest itself in the source code for an open source distribution or an open standard implementing a base technology which the entire industry and user community is free to practice, whereas the patent owner reserves a proprietary position with respect to certain enhancements.
Competition versus Coopetition Even more fundamentally, intellectual property is, at its core, a vehicle supporting a competitive market. The overriding objective of the patent and copyright systems is to benefit society by encouraging and rewarding innovation. That is, to put the innovator in a better position to introduce new technology, products, and so on. Depending on the scope of protection that copyrights and patents afford the innovator, others may or may not be able to compete (without infringing), so in this sense the innovator is placed in a favorable competitive position. By contrast, the open source movement relies on cooperation rather than competition among the product developers in a market. To create open source software, the developers must cooperate with one another, including competitors. Thus, concurrent cooperation and competition are employed, a concept that has been labeled “coopetition.” They compete for customers (through price, unique features, or additions to their code, service, etc.) and cooperate in developing program code they all may use. Doesn’t such cooperation mean giving up the intellectual property tools of competitive advantage which are so necessary when competing for customers? The answer is both yes and no. Yes, some intellectual property rights must be relinquished or licensed freely. But this code, by definition, will not be the code that gives competitive advantage. By prior agreement, the code developed in an open source project will be available to all. So each party will only give up what it has agreed to give up. Nothing precludes the development of additional code for enhanced features not required as part of the open source. In contrast with the GPL, the additional code will not, under a typical open source license, also be forced to be open source. Consequently, the “coopetive” approach allows a company to distinguish between work product not relying on intellectual property protection and work product that maybe kept under the intellectual property umbrella.
CHOOSING AN OPEN SOURCE LICENSE
At least arguably, coopetition helps reduce development cost and time, lowers development cost to each participant, and allows the participants to influence the final product design. There are, however, other laws that are called into play by coopetition arrangements—most notably the antitrust laws. Agreements that restrict the freedoms of competitors may be considered to have monopolistic or other anticompetitive effects, violating, for example, the venerable Sherman Act. Both open source and open standards projects pose challenges under antitrust law. Those involved require counsel from the beginning of their involvement. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice have a major investigation in process, looking into the interplay between the intellectual property laws and the competition (antitrust) laws. The outcome of this investigation may result in new rulemaking or even legislation and certainly will be of great importance to the future of open source and open standard development.
Third-Party Rights A discussion of the relationship between intellectual property and the open source movement would not be complete without noting two other situations. First, although open source software development was initially a group effort, there are now several examples of a single company developing a program and then deciding to distribute it under the terms of an open source license. The first major company to do so was probably Netscape Communications, which decided to employ an open source approach with respect to its Netscape browser in order to attract the developer community and better compete with Microsoft. Others have followed suit. Naturally, there is expected to be a business model fostered by this approach. Second, if a third party owns intellectual property rights infringed by a particular open source software, the situation is more complex than a simple two-party dispute. Most likely, the intellectual property will be a patent, because a copyright only rarely can be innocently or unknowingly infringed. (In general, copyright infringement is established by showing that the accused infringer had access to the protected work and that the accused work is substantially similar to the protected aspects of the copyrighted work. Independent creation, which means there was no access, is a defense to the charge of copying.) If the patent owner does not dedicate its rights to the public, then either the open source development team must design around the rights or the owner has the right to insist on payment from each user (or an injunction against all use). The leader of the open source project usually will try to negotiate a resolution with the patent owner. In short, source code can only be distributed openly if the developer(s) has(have) the right to do so.
MANAGEMENT CHOICES Although the initial reactions of most management to participation in open source projects and to the use of open source products were mostly strongly negative, those
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reactions have been changing and becoming both more favorable and more nuanced. Of potentially greater importance than smaller companies such as Red Hat developing profitable business models based around sales of open source products is the fact that larger companies, including IBM, Oracle, and others, have embraced the open source model. A substantial percentage of certain IBM computers now are shipped with the Linux OS, for example. Indeed, in 2001 approximately 11% of mainframe computing power sold by IBM was Linux-based, and this number is increasing. IBM is now offering Linux on everything from PCs to mainframes (Bray, 2002). This allows IBM to sell computer hardware for a lower price than would be the case if they had to develop and deliver a proprietary OS. IBM is reputed to be spending more than $1 billion on open source initiatives. Here, attention is again drawn to the distinction between the open source development process and the open source distribution (licensing) process. Some software products have been developed within the closed confines of a company only to then be distributed under OSL terms. That means the original development work was done in a closed source environment but post-release development can continue in an open source framework. Is open source the way to go for all software? Clearly not. For example, there is a real danger that open source development, even its community or committee nature, can become a distortion of the originator’s viewpoint. The Linux project, as noteworthy as it is, has benefited enormously from having strong leadership. Absent strong leadership, an open source development team could become quite dysfunctional. That is one reason an organization may choose to develop code in a closed environment and then distribute the “finished” product as open source. Why develop code only to give it away? For recognition. For the altruistic purpose of sharing. For personal empowerment. To fulfill a personal need for code that has not yet been written. To facilitate completion of a larger project and secure its benefits. To improve the quality of the product and reduce its development cost and time, as well as subsequent maintenance cost. Also, to assure users of the continued availability of support. Perhaps to seed a market for, and generate interest in, a dual licensing agreement.
CHOOSING AN OPEN SOURCE LICENSE As explained, or at least implied, here, any license that meets the open source criteria may be considered an open source license, whether it complies with the OSI Open Source Definition or not. To state the obvious, owning to its importance, note that the OSD is not a license in itself. It is only a definition with which a license does or does not comply. If it complies with the OSD, a license may be so certified. At this writing, there are more than three dozen OSI certified open source licenses. As part of the certification process is a requirement to show why a previously certified license will not satisfy the proponent’s needs, it is immediately apparent that the OSD allows a considerable range of variation in licensing terms.
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The GNU library of C program utilities is made available under a special kind of open source agreement called the GNU Library General Public License (LGPL). The LGPL allows the user to link proprietary software to its library. According to OSI, until early 1998, the GPL, LGPL, BSD, and MIT agreements were the most commonly used for open source software. At that time, Netscape’s efforts to develop an open source license led to the release of the Mozilla Public License. It has since joined the list and might have become the most widely used. Many other licenses have been submitted for review and approval by OSI, and the list of approved licenses is growing. Full text of certified open source licenses is available at http://www. opensource.org/licenses. Following are a few brief observations about some of the licenses published there: r
The Sun Industry Standards Source License (SISSL) may be used, for example, to delineate the limits of a patent license in the open source code and establish that no license is provided apart from the source code. r The IBM Public License Version 1.0 addresses more fully issues of downstream liability, grants a license under all IBM patents, and requires contributors to grant similar patent rights. r The Ricoh Source Code Public License includes provisions allowing distribution of code in executable (object code) form. r The Apple Public Source License requires notice to Apple of modifications, license to Apple of those modifications, and revocability in case of infringement. r The full text of these licenses and numerous commentaries on them may be found on the World Wide Web.
THE FUTURE OF OPEN SOURCE The forces behind conventional, “closed” source software cannot be counted out quite yet, despite advances made by the open source community and by Linux in particular. Microsoft remains ardently antiopen. Jim Allchin, Microsoft’s Platforms Group vice president, has stated that open source destroys intellectual property and stifles innovation (Holland & Coffee, 2001). In addition to the direct threat to its operating system market posed by Linux, Microsoft is concerned about the possible insidious impact of the GPL forcing others to open their software; it sees this as a threat to innovation. As well, Microsoft is concerned that it could be trapped by the GPL to open source some of its own software if its developers inadvertently combined Linux or another GPL-licensed program with a Microsoft program (Bulkeley & Buckman, 2002). In the past year, Microsoft has waged war on open source software, particularly challenging government agencies in the U.S. and around the world, in an effort to stop them from embracing Linux and other open source products (Bulkeley & Buckman, 2002). Nevertheless, from the survey discussed earlier, there appears to be little doubt that the open source movement is gaining momentum. In fact, there are efforts to extend the open source model beyond software, toward other forms of creative expression (see, e.g., http://www.
creativecommons.org). The OSI, via its promulgation of a useful Open Source definition and certification process, has fostered both adherence to open source principles and adaptability to the licensor’s needs. The corporate world has accepted open source products in increasing numbers and is adopting the open source Linux operating system on servers and other computers. Open source is not appropriate for every software project, but it appears to work well in a cooperative development situation, returning high-quality, rapid development, and low cost.
GLOSSARY Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD) A Unix distribution from the University of California at Berkeley, licensed under terms that were a precursor to open source licensing (OSL). Debian Social Contract or Debian Free Software Guidelines A document authored by Bruce Perens that laid down the principles of OSL. Distribution A package of components comprising a complete version of an operating system (e.g., a Linux distribution) or other software. Free Sometimes, no cost. In the Open Source context, it equates with “freedom,” as in free speech. Free Software Foundation (FSF) An organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, that is the “successor” to the League for Programming Freedom. The FSF advocates that society needs information to be truly available to its citizens—for example, programs that people can read, fix, adapt, and improve, not just operate. GNU An operating system project founded by Richard Stallman with the objective of creating a Unix-like OS that would be “free”. GNU Public License or GNU General Public License (GPL) The GPL, designed by Richard Stallman, established the legal foundation for the free software movement and eventually led to what is now called open source licensing. It embodied the four principles of (a) the right to use the software and have access to its source code, (b) the right to modify the software, (c) the right to redistribute the software, and (d) the obligation to distribute modifications under the same “free” terms. Intellectual property (IP) An umbrella term for patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret rights. League for Programming Freedom (LPF) An organization founded by Richard Stallman and others and dedicated to the proposition that software should be IP-free. Predecessor of the Free Software Foundation. License A legal grant of permission by the owner of property rights (including intellectual property rights) to some other person or entity (the grantee), allowing the grantee to use the property or perform some act that otherwise would infringe the owner’s rights. A license grant may be included within a contract, often called a “license agreement,” wherein the parties make promises or provide things to each other in relation to the grant (e.g., the grantee promises to pay royalties). The distinction between a license and a license agreement, in the open source distribution context, is discussed in the text.
REFERENCES
Linux An open source Unix-like operating system developed under the initiative and leadership of Linus Torvalds. Mozilla Public License An open source license promulgated by Netscape Communications for its Netscape browser, which includes bundled components. Now one of the more popular models for open source licenses. Open Source Definition (OSD) A quasi-official definition of the requirements for an open source license, maintained and promulgated by the Open Source Initiative. Open Source Initiative A California public benefit (notfor-profit) corporation that maintains the OSD, certifies open source licenses, and maintains a Web site of certified open source licenses. Open Source License In context, may mean a software license conforming to the OSD, certified by OSI as conforming to the OSD. Some may use the term even in the absence to strict adherence to the OSD. Red Hat Software A public company that markets an open source licensed Linux distribution, complete with documentation, as well as service and support. Stallman, Richard Founder, member of the League for Programming Freedom and Free Software Foundation; initiator of the GNU OS project and creator of the GPL, one of the first open source licenses. (Stallman does not endorse the term “open source.”) Tor valds, Linus Father of the Linux OS project that some view as establishing the viability of open source licensing. Unix An operating system that had its origins at AT&T Bell Laboratories and was the basis for Linux.
CROSS REFERENCES See Copyright Law; Linux Operating System; Patent Law; Trademark Law; Unix Operating System.
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REFERENCES Bray, H. (2002, December 9). Linux is no longer just an upstart. Boston Globe, p. C1. Bulkeley, W. M., & Buckman, R. (2002, December 9). Microsoft wages quiet campaign against free software. The Wall Street Journal, p. B1. CONTU (1978, July 31). Final report of the National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works. Chicago, IL: Commerce Clearing House, Inc. Copyright Act of the United States, Title 17, U.S. Code, Sections 101–810. Fink, M. (2003). The business and economics of R and open source. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Linux Prentice Hall PTR. History of the OSI (n.d.). Retrieved April 27, 2003, from http://www.opensource.org/docs/history.php Holland, R., & Coffee, P. (2001, February 26). Microsoft puts more heat on open source. eWeek, p. 17. Pavlicek, R. (2002). Embracing insanity: Open software development. Indianapolis, IN: Sams. Raymond, E. S. (1999). A brief history of hackerdom. In C. DiBona et al. (Eds.), Open sources: Voices from the Internet revolution. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly & Associates. Raymond, E. (2001). The cathedral and the bazaar. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly & Associates. Retrieved April 27, 2003, from the O’Reilly and Associates Web site: http:// www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue3 3/raymond/ Stallman, R. (2002). The GNU operating system and the free software movement. In Embracing insanity: Open software development. Indianapolis, IN: Sams. The free software definition (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2003, from http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/free-sw.html TheOpenEnterprise.com (2002). Open Enterprise Research Results. Retrieved April 27, 2003, from http:// www.theopenenterprise.com/pages/allcharts. Wayner, P. (n.d.). Free for all: How Linux and the free software movement undercut the high-tech titans. Retrieved April 27, 2003, from http://www.wayner.org/ books/ffa
Organizational Impact Impact
John A. Mendonca, Purdue University
Introduction Embracing the Digital Economy Expectations: Realized and Unrealized Not Business as Usual Managing E-commerce Management: Control and Planning Managing Operations: Value Chain Integration Managing the Transition Organizational Redesign The Competitive Environment Competitive Forces in the Digital Economy
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INTRODUCTION Embracing the Digital Economy Two primary components of the digital economy are the Internet and e-commerce. The Internet is the backbone and enabler of the network-based business models and processes that are e-commerce; both have impacted and, with their rapid development, continue to impact organizations in a myriad of ways. The rapid development of the Internet and e-commerce has caused significant changes in organizational management and design, businesses processes, the competitive environment and the ways in which companies compete and adapt new business and revenue models, new products and product delivery channels, marketing processes, customer relations, the characteristics of work and workers, and the ethical and social environment in which companies operate. Netcentric organizations are finding that business-to-consumer, business-to-business, and other applications and business models are converging to form the e-enterprise, in which the entire value chain, from procurement to customer service, is fully digitally integrated. Technological, economic, and societal factors have contributed to create the Internet, e-commerce, and the modern netcentric organization. The technical capabilities of the Internet, combined with intranets and extranets, make possible new ways to communicate and exchange information at any time, in any place, in a variety of ways. The rapid and continuing decline in technology costs relative to productivity encourages the adoption of these technologies. Economic pressures that support the creation of network-based organizations include the development of the global economy, a competitive environment that demands better, faster, cheaper products and processes, business-to-business alliances, the fast pace of market change, and the increased power of consumers. Societal pressures include changes in the expectations of consumers and workers regarding access to information about commercial goods and commercial and government services. More and more, consumers expect 24 –7 service levels accessible via the Internet. As the technology 832
From Marketplace to Marketspace Alternative Business Models Customer Care Innovation The Impact on Work and the Workforce Organizational Responsibility: The Social Context The Future Conclusion Glossary Cross References References
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matures, mobile commerce will become an expectation as well. The extent to which organizations are impacted by the Internet and e-commerce is, of course, a function of how much and how quickly they adopt the netcentric model and embrace its capabilities. Companies that are culturally open to change and that have leaders who understand the digital economy will be affected most. A company that uses the Internet merely to post an online catalog (an early, first-stage implementation of e-commerce) is not as extensively impacted as an organization that participates in enterprise e-commerce. The following discussion assumes the latter. Regardless of the extent of adoption, two major themes form the base of this discussion on organizational impact: first, the Internet is a disruptive technology, primarily via its capability to reduce time and space limitations, thus eliminating traditional boundaries to commerce; and second, e-commerce is a disruptive business paradigm, which forces organizations to change and adapt to new business realities.
Expectations: Realized and Unrealized Companies that adopt e-commerce seek three basic types of benefits—economic benefits, relational benefits, and strategic benefits. Economic benefits are achieved by creating better, faster, cheaper products through better, faster, cheaper processes that contribute directly to profitability and market success. Relational benefits focus on enhanced, sustained customer, supplier, and other partner relationships that help organizations to grow and maintain stability. Both these contribute directly to longterm strategic benefits, including survival, profitability, and competitive advantages in the marketplace. It is very important to note that e-commerce is not an end in itself, but rather a means to an end. That is, it is ultimately measured by value contributed. The Internet and e-commerce processes and infrastructure are enablers of beneficial organizational attributes, but they are not guarantors of organizational and commercial success. Although e-commerce is a recent phenomenon, it already has a history. The first period of e-commerce, from
MANAGING E-COMMERCE
the mid-1990s to 2000, was characterized by the explosive growth of dot-com companies and application of the Web to a myriad of existing and new commercial functions. The reality was that decisions often were made too hastily and were poorly designed and implemented. Valuations of pure e-commerce companies were artificially high. There were serious problems in integrating online sales into existing organizational infrastructures, as highlighted by problems with order fulfillment by retailers during the Christmas period of 1999–2000. History may mark the collapse of dot-com companies in 2000 to 2001 as the end of the first era and the beginning of a second era of e-commerce. Although early e-commerce, through its exploitation of the Internet and the Web, was a strong technological success, from a business perspective it was a mixed bag of success and failure. The current era of e-commerce, just now beginning, is one tempered by experience. It is business-driven, rather than technology-driven. Organizations will be more cautious in embracing the opportunities and capabilities provided by these new technologies and new business models. CEOs and managers will likely evaluate adoption more from a business perspective, considering carefully the business value added, the return on investment, and the true costs and benefits to the organization.
NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL Historically, technology has been an enabler of business transformation, and the Internet is certainly not an exception. It is a disruptive technology that changes, sometimes radically, the way people and organizations behave, govern themselves, and interact with external agents. At the core of the value of the Internet is its capability to “collapse” time and space, allowing organizations to dissolve boundaries to better, faster, cheaper commerce (Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick, & Kerr, 1995). The Internet reduces, and sometimes eliminates, time boundaries by enabling fast, instantaneous, or simultaneous communication and sharing of information. It lessens geographic boundaries that physically separate employees and organizations from one another and from their customers. The organizational impact of the collapse of time and space that is enabled by Internet-based technologies is extensive. E-mail is a speedy, flexible, and economic method for exchanging text and multimedia files between geographically dispersed individuals or between an individual and a group. Instant messaging technology approaches conversation-like simultaneous communication. Streaming media have the capability of delivering news and information, employee training, and entertainment in real-time mode whenever the viewer is ready, wherever the technology is implemented. Networkbased collaborative software allows synchronous or asynchronous communication. Search engines and intelligent agents (“bots” for short) scour Web-enabled files and deliver current information and resources for research and commercial purposes. The Internet is also a disruptive technology in relation to the balance of power between companies and their customers. Fingar, Kumar, and Sharma (2000) suggest that because of access to information, the Internet “turns the
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producer–consumer relationship upside down, with the balance of power going to the customer.” This is very different from the Industrial Age, when information was tightly controlled by companies. Just as the Internet is a disruptive technology, ecommerce is a disruptive business paradigm. Several key characteristics of e-commerce have a direct and significant impact on organizations. These characteristics include the following: Ubiquity. Traditional commerce is limited by place. The e-marketspace is available to consumers nearly everywhere, at times and in locations convenient to them. Reach. Most traditional commerce is local or regional, concentrated in geographically accessible merchants. E-commerce’s reach is extensive, with a potential market size limited only by online access. The Internet is a chief enabler of global reach. Richness. This refers to complexity and content of a message or product. In traditional commerce there is a tradeoff between richness and reach—in order to provide rich content a seller needed to be face-to-face with a customer. The larger the customer reach, the less rich the content. Through mass customization, e-commerce can dispel that tradeoff. Interactivity. Internet-enabled e-commerce supports twoway synchronous or asynchronous communication between sellers and buyers. Via access to product databases and digitized mediation mechanisms, customers can easily collect information and communicate their desires. Personalization/customization. With e-commerce, sellers can target their products or services specifically to smaller groups of potential customers and can personalize products and services based on prior behavior or customer preferences. Information transparency. This refers to the ease, efficiency, and effectiveness of information collection, distribution, and exchange made possible by the Internet. The varieties of e-commerce, such as businessto-consumer, business-to-business, and consumer-toconsumer, embrace these characteristics and fundamentally alter the competitive environment. To survive, organizations must adapt to these characteristics of digital business. (See Table 1.)
MANAGING E-COMMERCE Management: Control and Planning The fundamental challenge to management from ecommerce is implementing the processes and infrastructure that support information management, rather than product management. The introduction of a disruptive technology and a disruptive business paradigm cannot help but significantly (and appropriately) impact the management structure, management processes, and the need for effective change management. Through the deployment of the Internet, intranets, and extranets, information quality and richness have
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ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT
Table 1 Organizational Impact: A Summary BENEFITS Decreased costs of creating, distributing, storing, and retrieving information for customers, employees, suppliers, and other business partners Expansion of markets for products and services, including global commerce New business models; new ways to compete Increased communication channels for customers and suppliers Always open for business (24–7 commerce) New products and services and innovative ways to deliver them Faster, better quality, and less costly transactional processing with suppliers and other business partners Reduced customer transaction costs via disintermediation Mass customization Electronic payment Ease of alliance building (via communications and information exchange) Reduced time to market Collaborative work is facilitated Reduced telecommunications costs (for example, through use of virtual private networks) CHALLENGES Organizational redesign for effective e-commerce Developing and managing the e-commerce infrastructure Managing the transition to e-commerce Identifying, evaluating, selecting, and implementing new business models Cost of implementing fully integrated e-commerce business solutions Measuring e-commerce as a business proposition and strategic decision Power shift to customers via efficient and speedy information gathering 24–7 business support Managing geographically distributed knowledge workers Security for netcentered transaction Reduced barriers to market entry by competitors New set of ethical, political, and social issues must be addressed
improved, and its facile and rapid movement throughout the organization has been greatly enhanced. Information transparency, made possible by networks, can provide lower-level workers the information they need to make decisions with less direction from upper management. Managers and workers who previously merely served as conduits of information will be eliminated. This facility of knowledge transfer, overcoming time and space barriers, tends toward less structural formality, decentralization of decision-making authority, and greater reliance on skills. It therefore promotes a flatter managerial hierarchy because employees have greater independence and managers have a wider span of control. The increased customer focus of e-commerce, customization, and high expectations of flexibility and responsiveness also support a flatter management architecture. Technological innovations themselves introduce new managerial challenges. The infrastructure of e-commerce is complex, requires high levels of consistency and reliability, and often is globally implemented. For example, managers must develop or acquire new employee skill sets for development and implementation. They need to understand the capabilities and limitations of new technologies and develop strategies for integration into existing processes and systems. Managing the interfaces and relationships in interorganizational systems and networks is particularly challenging.
In planning for e-commerce, organizations need to carefully evaluate their own current capabilities and identify new capabilities required for e-commerce. Selecting an appropriate business model that will be effective and successful is critical. In the rapidly changing digital environment, traditional top-down planning is often viewed as too cumbersome and inflexible. Because of this, the insights of front-line employees have increased significance and tend to support a more bottomup strategy. Unfortunately, the “just do it” approach, which deemphasizes planning and delivers products more quickly, also has a high level of risk. Arguably, dissatisfaction with early implementations of e-commerce applications is a result of poor planning and design. These applications, primarily front-end sales applications, were poorly integrated with back-office systems such as order fulfillment, product distribution, and customer service applications. A more successful approach may be continuous planning, in which planning cycles are shortened and there is ongoing performance measurement and feedback. Also effective are trigger-point planning techniques, in which companies devise multiple scenarios for future direction and identify market actions or characteristics that activate a particular scenario plan. Most important is flexibility and speed in responding to changes in the business environment.
MANAGING E-COMMERCE
To better control the transformation, companies can adopt e-commerce in stages. One schema (Turban, King, Lee, Warkentin, & Chung, 2002) suggests four implementation levels. At the first level, companies establish a presence on the Web with static online brochures. Online ordering and basic customer service are added at the second level. The third level introduces additional transaction capabilities, including customization and personalization. The fourth level exploits fuller capabilities of business transformation, such as supply chain integration and customer relationship management.
Managing Operations: Value Chain Integration The value chain concept, proposed by Michael Porter, describes organizations as having primary sets of activities—inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing/sales, and service. These add value to products and services as they are created and delivered and therefore set the base of value for sales to customers. Porter’s examination of the impact of the Internet on these activities (Porter, 2001) shows that each of these can be altered significantly, primarily through information transparency and speed of information transfer. Just as significant, however, is the impact of the Internet on the relationships between these functions, specifically the enabling of the enterprise-wide and industry-wide integrative systems that are the commercial backbone of e-commerce. Arguably, functional integration is the key to e-commerce and the enabler of enterprise e-commerce systems (Kalakota & Robinson, 2001). With these systems, ordering, inventory, invoicing, and delivery processes can be completed or triggered simultaneously with a sales event. These systems include enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), and customer relationship management (CRM). ERP systems, the grandfather of integrative systems, is an enterprise-wide, network-based transaction framework that links front-office and back-office processes, including sales, inventory management, production planning, distribution planning and control, finance, and accounting. ERP has been a major player in the replacement of legacy systems characterized by stand-alone file and process structures. They allow organizations to gain better control of their processes through better quality, timely, about-the-business information. They also enable the coordination of operations over widely dispersed geographic areas. SCM systems, a component of collaborative commerce, integrate supply chain activities in the organization, including purchasing, materials handling, production planning and control, warehousing, inventory control, and distribution. The goals of SCM are greater efficiency and effectiveness through reduction in inventory levels and cycle time, better quality processes, and improved customer service. It reduces organizational uncertainty and therefore risk. Global supply chains allow companies to uncover resources in other countries and take advantage of lower costs, greater availability of materials and labor, and advanced technology or skills not locally available.
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CRM systems integrate the marketing, sales, and service activities of the organization. They provide the infrastructure support for the evolution of an organization from a product-centric business approach toward a customercentric one. The goal is a stronger, more informed relationship with customers through tracking product purchases and usage, providing contact history, and building customer profiles. The expected benefits to organizations include improved identification of customer needs, reduced marketing costs through target marketing, greater customer retention and enhanced capabilities for product personalization and customization. The fully integrated e-enterprise is moving toward the integration of the above systems, with the addition of collaborative commerce with industry partners (Hoque, 2000).
Managing the Transition A major concern of corporate leaders and managers is how to effectively and efficiently transform an organization from an older business design and model to one that is competitive and fully operational in the digital world. They must function as change agents, anticipating the need for transformation and carefully guiding the organization through planning and implementation of all the facets of new business paradigms. The transformation may be gradual or quick, narrowly or widely focused, involve only internal components or extensively involve customers and suppliers and other external entities. To fully exploit the capabilities of e-commerce, interorganizational relationships must be developed, new alliances constructed, and processes and physical networks implemented. Supply chain management systems, for example, contribute value through the sharing of data and processes and require a high level of trust among participants. In order to be effective, organizations that choose to participate in e-commerce must adopt new technologies, change existing business processes, and transition workers to new roles and skills. Major characteristics and processes for successfully managing the transition to enterprise e-commerce include the following: Vision building. An interenterprise, customer-focused e-commerce vision that is shared by organizational leaders, workers, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders is necessary for exploiting the capabilities of digital commerce. Process re-engineering. Paper-based and functionally oriented processes must be redesigned to be digitally based, cross-functional, and interorganizational. Architecture redesign. A fully functional digital enterprise requires an overarching design to support integrated internal functions and interorganizational commerce processes. An effective architecture is comprehensive, flexible, and scaleable. Infrastructure implementation strategy. There must be a thorough and accurate assessment of required technology. An interenterprise architecture, which fits together the pieces or hardware and software into a network, is complex, is costly to build, and is a high-risk endeavor.
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A capable strategy for transition will identify and develop all the human resources needed for implementation.
Organizational Redesign Full exploitation of the capabilities of the Internet and e-commerce requires organizational redesign. Generally, information technology facilitates “radical changes to old organizational structures” (Wang & Shouhong, 1997). Embracing e-commerce accelerates required adaptive change and there is evidence that this change is occurring at the fundamental infrastructure level (Carr, 2001). One way companies redesign themselves is through globalization, which is enabled by the Internet and is a feature of fully implemented digital commerce. At the simplest level of implementation, companies can compete by establishing a Web presence that is accessible throughout the world, wherever there is Internet access. At its most sophisticated level, companies can more easily form international alliances that extend market presence and facilitate acquisition of resources at internationally competitive prices. As an example, the Global Trading Web, established by Commerce One, connects global emarketplaces to provide partners with information, products, and services and to deliver economic advantages. Alliance building for e-commerce is becoming a dominant model for large, medium-sized, and even small, companies. Because of the facility of communication and the lowering of coordination costs, companies can more easily exchange information as a resource and as a commodity. The result is increased value-added partnering, such as for supply chain management systems. The e-enterprise includes organizations in the same and other industries that work together through complex processes that bring together customers, suppliers, distributors, and others. An interesting phenomenon is the cooperation of competitors, for example in establishing industry exchanges that facilitate purchasing. The ease and low cost of communication via the Internet has also facilitated further growth in outsourcing. As an example, application service providers sell access to Internet based software applications. Organizations that contract for these services can reduce costs and eliminate the difficulties of developing and maintaining complex systems, particularly those systems that are fundamentally operational and do not deliver competitive advantage. The virtual organization extends the outsourcing facility to its maximum capability.
THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT Competitive Forces in the Digital Economy The digital economy, through the Internet and ecommerce, has had a major impact on the competitive environment for organizations. Porter’s classic model of competition (Porter, 2001) posits five forces that compose that arena: (1) potential entrants; (2) buyers; (3) suppliers; (4) substitutes; and (5) rivalry among existing firms. Digital commerce not only significantly alters these forces, but in addition introduces several new ones that lead to intensified competition.
Historically, the large investment required for marketing and distribution channels, which provide geographic proximity, has served as an entry barrier to new competitors. The Internet makes it possible for new entrants to establish a presence in the marketplace via creation of relatively inexpensive Web sites, thus breaking down the economic barriers of time and space. Hundreds of thousands of storefronts are on the Web. With the organizational infrastructure functionally “invisible” to the customer, companies of vastly different sizes and complexity compete equally, differentiated only by the quality and price of their products and services and their abilities to market. The reduction in the need for sales and customer service forces (via disintermediation) also reduces these barriers. E-commerce enhances the bargaining power of organizational buyers in business-to-business transactions and the alternatives for the individual buyer in business-toconsumer transactions. Through Web searching, potential customers can efficiently collect product information, including pricing and availability. Customers come to expect 24–7 sales and service. Because of information transparency, they can more easily monitor processes such as product fulfillment. Due to increased information and lower switching costs, brand loyalty may be impacted. The result of this is a tendency to push prices downward and enhance competition via quality, differentiation and personalization in customer service. On the other hand, variable cost per unit (such as for order fulfillment and distribution) for digitized products and services is very low and tends toward a fixed cost even as quantity sold increases. On the positive side, organizations that participate in Internet-enabled procurement, particularly in emarketplaces, can gain increased bargaining power over suppliers. On the other hand, suppliers are able to reach more customers, tending to neutralize the advantage of purchasers. Overall the net effect is to give all companies, regardless of size or geographic location, equal access to suppliers. Through the Internet, companies can greatly increase their product reach (product information disbursed over space and time) and richness (depth of information and customization). Companies can, for example, provide detailed descriptions of their products online, including user manuals and technical specifications. Thus the threat of “substitutes” is increased because potential customers have more information about the availability and characteristics of products. In this environment, a “first mover” advantage, in which a company is first in a market, is magnified. New competitive forces introduced into the environment include the elimination of national barriers and innovation in technology-based products. In addition to increasing their markets, organizations that have the resources and skills to go global can gain competitive advantage via reduced costs of global procurement. Innovative technology-rich products, for example those that integrate communications and media on personal devices, provide strong competitive advantages for organizations. Overall, the rivalry among existing competitors in a market is increased, with a rich mix of exclusively online
CUSTOMER CARE INNOVATION
and exclusively nononline companies and those that have both traditional and online components. Viewed from this perspective, the impact to organizations is negative—that is, they are forced to compete in nontraditional ways in an altered and uncertain environment. However, the positive economic effects of e-commerce, such as reduced capital investment and reduced transaction and administration costs, counterbalance the negative impact. Despite the changes in the competitive environment, companies continue to compete via three generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, and niche specialization. Successful companies can use the capabilities of the Internet and e-commerce to enhance these strategies. For example, a company that exclusively uses the Internet for sales and marketing can reduce capital expenses and thus reduce costs. Mass customization and target marketing capabilities of the Internet can provide effective differentiation and niche specialization. Personalization, in which customers build their own profiles and companies provide information based on them, is a common differentiation strategy that distinguishes online services.
From Marketplace to Marketspace Unlike traditional markets, in which physical goods are created and distributed, digital marketspaces deal with gathering, evaluating, packaging, and distributing information. These virtual marketplaces are characterized by new products and services, new ways of marketing and distributing them, and new business models. A major difference in operating in a marketspace, as opposed to the marketplace, is the ability to digitize existing products and create new digital ones. Companies can separate information content (the real value-added product) from delivery medium and establish new distribution channels. Newspapers and magazines sell online versions of paper products. Music, video, and software are separated from storage/delivery media for packaging and delivery via the Web. Examples of digitized services include airline and hotel reservations, auctions, and remote education. Intermediation activity, or the lack of it, has played an important role in the ways e-commerce companies relate to customers and operate competitively. Service intermediaries, particularly those providing search and purchase services, may be eliminated via direct customer interfaces. Disintermediation characterizes automated online environments in which customers conduct their own searches for products, collect product information, place orders, and conduct simple service activities such as monitoring and inquiry. It is the primary factor in reducing transaction costs. The Web offers many new opportunities for companies to participate in reintermediation by offering valueadded digital infomediation services. In the business-tobusiness e-commerce environment, infomediaries enable the creation of e-marketplaces and exchanges in which many buyers and sellers can interact, negotiate, and sell products and services. The concept extends into businessto-consumer and other types of e-commerce as well. Common examples include search services, in which companies search multiple Web sites to collect and deliver
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product and service information; broker services, in which companies provide transaction-enabling services such as payment clearing; evaluation services, in which companies collect and distribute evaluative information about products and services; Internet portal services, in which companies serve as gateways to information seekers by collecting, evaluating, and organizing resources; and peer-to-peer contact services for individual transactions (such as auctions) or just social interaction.
Alternative Business Models There are many e-commerce business models that companies can adopt. Smaller, narrowly focused companies may choose one model, but others may adopt several, with a multitude of variations. New ones are created and abandoned regularly. The basic components of a business model are the same for traditional commerce as for e-commerce. These components include a value proposition (the product or service purchased by a customer), a revenue model (how revenue is earned, assessed, and collected), market opportunity (the market intended to be served), and competitive advantage (how advantage is gained over competitors in the market). Of the above components, e-commerce revenue models are arguably the most differentiated from traditional revenue models. Laudon and Traver (2001) suggest these types of revenue models: Advertising revenue. A company receives fees for providing an online forum for advertisers. Subscription/membership revenue. A company charges subscription fees for online content access. Service revenue. A company receives a fee for providing an online service, such as payment clearing. Transaction fee revenue. A company receives a fee for brokering a transaction. Direct sales revenue. Companies sell products, information, or services directly to consumers. Affiliate revenue. A company receives a fee for online referrals. Models may be characterized in a variety of ways— for example, by the type and role of the agents participating in a transaction, or by the nature of the transaction itself. Some models directly support revenue enhancement; others are enablers of better, faster, cheaper products and services and directly or indirectly support organizational goals. Table 2 summarizes some common models and variations.
CUSTOMER CARE INNOVATION An innovative feature of e-commerce is the ability to conduct one-to-one marketing. With this approach, a company changes its behavior toward a customer based on what it knows about that customer, recognizing that no two customers will have identical needs, profiles, or customer histories. In traditional commerce, being customeroriented meant focusing on the perceived needs of a typical customer, not the actual one. E-commerce can
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Table 2 E-commerce Business Models Business to business (B2B) E-marketplace (exchange): Brings buyers and sellers together E-tailer: Online sales to companies Service provider: Provides online business services, such as e-procurement Infomediary: Information broker Business to consumer (B2C) Portal: Packages common online services, such as search, news, e-mail. E-tailer: Online sales to consumers Clicks and mortar: Combination of online and traditional retailer Content provider: Entertainment and other online information Service provider: Provides consumer-oriented services, such as electronic payment Consumer to consumer (C2C) Online auctions
Direct sales
Online communities
Peer to peer (for example, file sharing)
Intraorganizational (Intranets for supporting employees, such as for human resources and training)
M-commerce (mobile, wireless commerce)
Collaborative commerce (interorganizational collaboration)
change that. Personalization is the process of collecting the user preferences and behaviors used to build profiles and the matching of products and services to customers via their profiles. From the customer perspective not all personalization is perceived as favorable. Personalization is appreciated by customers when it is perceived to contribute to greater control and facility in future transactions. They sometimes see it as negative, however, when it results in unsolicited offers or is perceived to breach privacy. Personalization that misses the mark can lead to customer dissatisfaction. Products and services are suitable for individualized marketing where they can be easily produced in multiple, sometimes complex, variations and where customer preferences are easily determined. When applied correctly, expected benefits to the company include customer loyalty, trust, and referrals of new customers. The Internet has made possible a set of innovative e-services that expand the “when,” “where,” and “how” of providing customer service. Many of these services adopt disintermediation approaches and are primarily self-service oriented. They include the following:
24/7 services. Online sales and service support all day, every day. E-mail. Asynchronous communication that eliminates telephone wait time. FAQ lists. Frequently asked questions, with search capability, an inexpensive way to help customers resolve their own problems and answer questions. Chat systems. Real-time online chat with customer service representatives. Online documentation. Customer access to thorough upto-date documentation to resolve problems.
Automated response systems. Customers receiving emailed automatic responses, such as order confirmation, order status, or acknowledgment of e-mailed queries. Tracking tools. Online resources for tracking transaction status, such as those provided by shippers. Trouble-shooting tools. Tools that help customers to identify and assess problems.
THE IMPACT ON WORK AND THE WORKFORCE The Internet and e-commerce merely allow some of the changes in the way people work, but force other changes. Efficient and effective communications, access to a wealth of various types of information, and the automation of processes encompassed by e-commerce inevitably lead to work redesign and an increase in virtual work. In fact, to fully exploit the capabilities of these technologies and processes, an organization must redesign what tasks workers must perform, where and when they perform them, who does the work, and what kinds of skills are needed. Some tasks are best done by people, but many others within the e-commerce realm can be done effectively by computers. As more and more organizations adopt e-commerce and its functionality expands, more and more processes will be automated. Disintermediation efforts replace workers who once performed basic sales and customer service tasks and introduce knowledge workers who are capable of collecting, analyzing, and integrating information. They handle the more complex transactions and queries that require more integrated complex skills and cannot be easily automated. Where and when people work is also changing. Virtual work, which is netcentric and information- and
THE FUTURE
knowledge-based, is less tied to restrictive time and place parameters (Hitt & Brynolfsson, 1997). Mobile e-commerce delivers real-time information to remote locations and enables many types of commercial transactions to be executed outside the traditional work environment and work hours, creating a mobile workforce. Webenabled personal devices will greatly extend functionality and mobility and VPNs will provide the flexibility and security workers need. Organizations will more frequently face the challenges of managing, evaluating, and rewarding virtual workers who are globally dispersed. As noted earlier, the changing communication patterns of workers lead to a flatter organizational structure. They also lead to more collaborative work. Cross-functional integration, interorganizational and intraorganizational, is an essential component of e-commerce that is facilitated by collaboration. Task-oriented work teams are not limited by geographic proximity. Virtual communities, uniting managers, workers, and professionals within and across organizations and even across industries, can be more easily developed and maintained for supporting knowledge-sharing and learning. There are several major negatives in this environment from the worker point of view, with which organizations must deal. One is the worker stress that is an inevitable result of extending work into leisure time and into homes and cars and other traditionally nonwork spaces. The fast pace of change, the need to adopt new skills quickly, and independence in knowledge work are also stress factors. Another concern to workers is the ease with which processes can be outsourced. Once an infrastructure for virtual work is established, work can be accomplished abroad as easily as it can be done domestically. Whereas easier access to less costly human resources is a financial benefit to companies, “electronic immigration” results in job loss.
ORGANIZATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY: THE SOCIAL CONTEXT Organizations that use the Internet and e-commerce to conduct business are faced with new social, ethical, and political issues. Because we live in an “information society,” information and knowledge are powerful assets and the control, access, collection, and dissemination of information cannot be viewed outside a social context. The collection and storage of vast quantities of data are becoming easier and more cost-effective. Companies that benefit from commercial development of the Internet have a responsibility to use information technologies ethically and responsibly. Expected and acceptable corporate behavior in this regard is just now being defined and determined by new laws and court decisions. These types of issues facing e-commerce companies include the following: Privacy. What information about customers and customer behavior can appropriately be collected? What information about employee behavior can appropriately be collected? Information ownership. Who owns the information collected about customers and to what extent can it be treated as a salable asset?
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Usage. What are appropriate and inappropriate uses of information? Security. How can transactions be made secure from unauthorized viewing and from fraud? Accessibility. As more and more information and services are digitized, what segments of the population become separated from resources and the availability of commerce? Accuracy. Who ensures the accuracy of information? Content. What commercial content is not socially appropriate for delivery over the Internet? How can children be protected from offensive material? Trust. How can companies build trust among actual and potential customers? Product portfolio. What products or services should be legally banned from online sales? Content ownership. What are the most effective means for protecting intellectual property, both works that are subsequently digitized and original digital work? Patents. What e-commerce business methods and techniques are patentable? Governance. How can distributed content and commercial transactions be appropriately governed by traditional political entities? Taxation. Should business-to-consumer transactions be taxed like in-store sales, and how can that be accomplished?
THE FUTURE From a business perspective, two major determinants of the organizational impact of e-commerce in the near future are (1) the failure of the dot-coms at the end of the first era and (2) the slowdown in the U.S. economy at the beginning of the second era. Instead of the near-frantic pace at which new online companies and new business models were designed and implemented, companies will more carefully consider the business value of e-commerce and adopt its capabilities only when justified. E-commerce must be viewed from the perspective of strategic value, not just technological advancement. Benefits and risks must be analyzed. Traditional business processes must be adapted and integrated with netcentric business processes. As research is conducted into successes and failures, new predictive models will assist organizations in making more informed investment decisions. A particular challenge for managers is to identify, apply, and validate sets of metrics that will assist in evaluation of expected benefits and risks and support ongoing assessment mechanisms. An interesting phenomenon is that the distinction between Internet-based companies and more traditional ones seems to be lessening. Online companies are creating distribution centers and even opening physical storefronts. Organizations with traditional infrastructures build websites that complement traditional commerce and extend their market reach. Ultimately, e-commerce may be viewed less as a radical new paradigm and embraced as a gradual extension into new capabilities enabled by the Internet.
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Technologically, the future of e-commerce is strong. The number of Internet users and the number of products and services available via e-commerce continue to increase. The capabilities of mobile personal devices are just beginning to be exploited and will provide a new frontier for digital business. New systems to support electronic payments are being more widely implemented. The capabilities for rich multimedia content are becoming realized as new broadband technologies are introduced and now separate media are converging. Security and trust issues are being addressed—although more slowly than desired by most participants.
CONCLUSION The boundary-expanding capabilities of the Internet and e-commerce are gateways to new frontiers for all organizations that choose to embrace them. The potential benefits are great and are available across a myriad of organizational activities. But embracing new ways of doing business means fundamental change—sometimes radical change—that impacts how an organization operates, what it produces, and how it is organized and managed. Indeed, a change in culture and values may very well be needed to exploit those capabilities. Undoubtedly, technological, market, and societal pressures will continue to increase and organizations will be forced to adapt to survive and thrive in the new digital environment.
GLOSSARY Collaborative commerce Network-based cooperation and information exchange between partners in commerce, for example, partners in a supply chain or in product engineering. Collaborative work Cooperation and information exchange between individual workers. Digital economy Economic activity based on digital technologies, including digitally based transactions and all enabling infrastructure. Also called the “new economy” and the “Internet economy.” Disintermediation The removal of intermediaries in commercial transactions, such as elimination of sales order agents in Web-based ordering. E-enterprise Interorganizational and cross-industry alliance structure for conducting digital commerce. Electronic marketspace A digitally based market where products, services, and payments are exchanged. Particularly used to emphasize lack of a physical marketplace. Also called an “electronic market” or “e-market.” Infomediary A broker of information services for ecommerce transactions. Knowledge worker A worker who deals primarily with network-based information and complex information relationships.
Mass customization The use of e-commerce to mass produce products and services that can be tailored to individual wants and needs. Netcentric organization Organizations that conduct business via networks, including the Internet, intranets, and extranets. Reintermediation The creation of new ways to provide Web-based intermediation services between sellers and buyers (a characteristic of some business models). Revenue model Within the context of a business model, a submodel of how a company earns, assesses and collects revenue. Examples include online advertising and subscription service fees. Virtual organization A company that exploits the communication capabilities of the Internet to the point of outsourcing all but core business functions and minimizing physical location assets. Virtual work Network-based work not typically tied to location and time restrictions.
CROSS REFERENCES See Collaborative Commerce (C-commerce); Digital Economy; E-marketplaces; GroupWare; Virtual Enterprises; Virtual Teams.
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