Chapter 6 Social Networking, Mobile Commerce, and Online Auctions

bulletin board systems (BBSs)

computers that allows users to connect through modems (using dial-up connections through telephone lines) to read and post messages in a common area

virtual community

an electronic gathering place for people with common interests

usenet newsgroup

message posting areas on Usenet computers in which interested persons (primarily from the education and research communities) can discuss those topic areas

social networking

a Web site designed to facilitate interaction among a community of users

social networking site

a Web site that individuals and businesses can use to conduct social interactions online

microblog

a Web site such as Twitter that functions as a very informal blog site with entries (messages, or tweets) that are limited to 140 characters in length

meetup

an in-person meeting between people who are acquainted through a blog

participatory journalism

the practice of inviting readers to help write an online newspaper

location-aware services

customized services or advertising that are based on the location information transmitted by a user's mobile device

social shopping

the practice of bringing buyers and sellers together in a social network to facilitate retail sales

idea-based social media

a Web site that creates communities based on the connections between ideas

virtual learning network

a virtual community used for distance learning

massive open online courses (MOOCs)

an online course often offered at no or very low cost and can attract hundreds of thousands of students

open-source software

software that is developed by a community of programmers who make the software available for download and use at no cost

monetizing

the conversion of existing regular site visitors seeking free information or services into fee-paying subscribers or purchases of services

microlending

the practice of lending very small amounts of money to people who are starting or operating small businesses, especially in developing countries

crowdfunding site

Also called a crowdsourcing site, a social networking site that allows users to solicit investments or contributions from other users

reward-based crowdfunding

a type of crowdfunding in which the investors pay in advance for products (or services) to be delivered when the company makes them using the invested funds

short messaging service (SMS)

a protocol used to transmit short text messages to cell phones and other wireless devices

texting

the practice of users sending short text messages to one another via a mobile phone network or the Internet

mobile commerce (m-commerce)

resources accessed using devices that have wireless connections, such as stock quotes, directions, weather forecasts, and airline flight schedules

tablet devices

a small computing device with wireless connectivity that is larger than a mobile phone but smaller than most laptop and notebook computers

phablets

a very large smartphone with a high resolution screen

wireless application protocol (WAP)

a protocol that allows Web pages formatted in HTML to be displayed on devices with small screens, such as PDAs and mobile phones

jailbreaking

modifying an Apple iPhone's operating system

rooting

modifying an Android smartphone's operating system

bid

an offer of a certain price made on an item that is up for auction

bidder

a potential buyer at an auction; one who places bids

private valuation

the amount a bidder is willing to pay for an item that is up for auction

auctioneer

the person who manages an auction

shill bidders

an individual employed by a seller or auctioneer who makes bids on behalf of the seller, sometimes artificially inflating an item's price. They may be prohibited by the rules of a particular auction

english auction or ascending-price auction

a type of auction in which bidders publicly announce their successively higher bids until no higher bid is forthcoming

open auction (open-outcry auction)

an auction in which bids are publicly announced (such as an English auction)

minimum bid

in an english auction, the price for an item at which the auctioning begins

reserve price (reserve)

the minimum price a seller will accept for an item sold at auction

yankee auctions

a type of english auction that offers multiple units of an item for sale and allows bidders to specify the quantity of items they want to buy

winner's curse

a psychological phenomenon that causes bidders to become caught up in the excitement of competitive bidding and bid more than their private valuation

dutch auction (descending-price auction)

a form of open auction in which bidding starts at a high price and drops until a bidder accepts the price

sealed-bid auctions

an auction in which bidders submit their bids independently and are usually prohibited from sharing information with each other

first-price sealed-bid auction

a type of auction in which bidders submit their bids independently and privately, with the highest bidder winning the auction

second-price sealed-bid auction

a type of auction in which bidders submit their bids independently and privately; the highest bidder wins the auction but pays only the amount bid by the second-highest bidder

vickrey auction

synonymous with second-price sealed-bid auction. named for William Vickrey, who won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Economics for his studies of the properties of this auction type

open-outcry double auctions

a double auction in which buy and sell offers are announced publicly. typically conducted in exchange floor or trading pit environments for items of known quality, such as securities or graded agricultural products, that are regularly traded in large quantities

double auction

a type of auction in which buyers and sellers each submit combined price-quantity bids to an auctioneer. the auctioneer matches the sellers' offers (starting with the lowest price, then going up) to the buyers' offers (starting with the highest price, then going down) until all of the quantities are sold.

reverse auction (seller-bid auction)

a type of auction in which sellers bid prices for which they are willing to sell items or services

consumer-to-business

an industry term for electronic commerce that occurs in general consumer auctions; bidders at a general consumer auction might be businesses

minimum bid increment

the amount by which one bid must exceed the previous bid

proxy bid

in an electronic auction, a predetermined maximum bid submitted by a bidder

lock-in effect

the inherent greater value to customers of existing companies than new sites

reverse bid

the process in which an auction customer seeks products by describing an item or service in which he or she is interested, and then entertains responses from merchants who offer to supply the item at a particular price

group purchasing site (group shopping site)

a type of auction Web site that negotiates with a seller to obtain lower prices on an item as individual buyers enter bids on that item

liquidation broker

an agent that finds buyers for unusable and excess inventory

auction consignment services

companies that take an item and create an online auction for that item, handle the transaction, and remit the balance of the proceeds after deducting a fee. These services are performed on behalf of people and small businesses who want to use an online auction but do not have the skills or the time to become a seller

escrow service

an independent third party who holds an auction buyer's payment until the buyer receives the purchased item and is satisfied that it is what the seller represented it to be

sniping software

auction software that observes auction progress until the last second or two of the auction clock, and then places a bid high enough to win the auction

snipe

the act of placing a winning bid in an online auction at the last possible moment

mobile wallets

a mobile phone that operates as a credit card

apps

application software that is sold for use on mobile phones