Social Computing or Social Commerce – Part 3

In part 3 of this article, we will explain about the other form of social computing. There are several models of social computing, as follows :

1. Social shopping is a method of electronic commerce that takes all of the key aspects of social networks—friends, groups, voting, comments, discussions, reviews, etc.—and focuses them on shopping. Social shopping helps shoppers connect with one another based on tastes, location, age, gender, and other selected attributes.
2. Social advertising refers to advertising formats that make use of the social context of the user viewing the ad. Social advertising is the first form of advertising to leverage user dynamics such as peer pressure, friend recommendations and likes, and other forms of social influence.
3. Mobile computing refers to a real-time connection between a mobile device and other computing environments, such as the Internet or an intranet. This innovation is revolutionizing how people use computers. It is spreading at work and at home; in education, healthcare, and entertainment; and in many other areas.Mobile computing has two major characteristics that differentiate it from other forms of computing: mobility and broad reach. Mobility means that users carry a device with them and can initiate a real-time contact with other systems from wherever they happen to be. Broad reach refers to the fact that when users carry an open mobile device, they can be reached instantly, even across great distances.These two characteristics, mobility and broad reach, create five value-added attributes that break the barriers of geography and time: ubiquity, convenience, instant connectivity, personalization, and localization of products and services. A mobile device can provide information and communication regardless of the user’s location (ubiquity). With an Internet-enabled mobile device, users can access the Web, intranets, and other mobile devices quickly and easily, without booting up a PC or placing a call via a modem (convenience and instant connectivity). A company can customize information and send it to individual consumers as a short message service (SMS) (customization). And, knowing a user’s physical location helps a company advertise its products and services (localization). Mobile computing provides the foundation for mobile commerce (m-commerce).

4. Mobile commerce. In addition to affecting our everyday lives, mobile computing is also transforming the way organizations conduct business by allowing businesses and individuals to engage in mobile commerce. mobile commerce (or m-commerce) refers to electronic commerce (EC) transactions that are conducted in a wireless environment, especially via the Internet. Like regular EC applications, m-commerce can be transacted via the Internet, private communication lines, smart cards, and other infrastructures. M-commerce creates opportunities for businesses to deliver new services to existing customers and to attract new customers.

That’s all our explanation about Social Computing or Social Commerce, and the next part of our article will be the explanation of m-commerce.

References :

1. https://edugen.wileyplus.com/edugen/student/mainfr.uni
2. Rainer, Prince, Cegielski (2014).Introduction to Information Systems. 5^th John Willey & Sons, Inc. Michigan. ISBN: 978-1-118-80855-9