Corporate Blogging : A new marketing communication tools for companies (Week 6)

The corporate blog is a published and used by an organization to reach its organizational goals. The useful of blogs is that posts and comments are easy to reach and follow due to centralized hosting and generally structured conversation threads. All current browsers like the Firefox, Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer 7 support RSS technology, which enables readers to easily read recent posts without actually visiting the blog, which is very useful for low-volume blogs. There are many types of blogs, commonly can be categorized as either internal or external blog.

Internal Blog
The internal blog is accessed through the corporation's Intranet, is a weblog that any employee can view. Many blogs are also communal, allowing anyone to post to them. It can encourage the direct communication between various layers of an organization. Beside, it was useful in different place of meetings and e-mail discussions, and can be especially useful when the people involved are in different locations, or have conflicting schedules.

External Blog
The external blog is a publicly available weblog where company employees, teams, or spokespersons share their views. It is often used to promote the new products and services (or the end of old products), to explain and clarify policies, or to react on public criticism on certain issues. There are few blogs that allow comments to be made to the posts.

Pros and cons of corporate blogs
The corporate blogs may require lots of time because blogging’s biggest cost isn’t money, it’s time. When this comes to executives, the cost per hour radically increases from a support technician or a line marketing manager. The blog most don't receive a lot of traffic. The same applies to blogs, while there are millions out there, only a few rises to the top of their marketplace and really stand out. It was hard to measure success. The problem with blogs is that social software success could take the form of comments, trackbacks, and qualitative intangibles.In marketing terms, a blog can bring a human personality to a faceless company, which can create a connection between the corporation and the client. This can lead to deeper loyalty and richer feedback.

Thing To Take Note To Prevent E-auction Fraud When A Consumer Participating In An-auction

E-Auction, is a tool used in industrial business-to-business procurement. It is a type of auction in which the role of the buyer and seller are reversed, with the primary objective to drive purchase prices downward. It is consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. In an ordinary auction (also known as a forward auction), buyers compete to obtain a good or service. In e- auction, sellers compete to obtain business.

To protecting against an e- auction fraud for a consumer;

To guard against the e-auction fraud, to be certain that you placed the product a verification email will be forwarded to the user. Upon receipt of this email, you must respond to ebay so that they may complete your bidder. Without this confirmation from user, the product will not be deliver. ebay are not liable for fraud committed against user , and ebay will be unable to help user if ones do not follow proper prevention measures.

Deliveries Procedures

• On average, almost all deliveries are completed in 7 to 14 business days.
• All items are Ground Delivery and you must provide a telephone number for the delivery address.
• To help you Track an Order, we will forward you tracking numbers via email within 3-5 business days of placing the order.
  Authorized Returns

• Authorization for any return merchandise must be approved by our Return Center.
• Once you receive authorization from our return department, we will also forward an e-mail with instructions on how and where to send your return.
• Return the item to the address given to you by our return department in that e-mail.

User identity verification

• Uses the services of Equifax to verify user identities for a $5 fee.
• Verified the user, a voluntary program, encourages users to supply with information for online verification.
• By offering their Social Security number, driver’s license number, and date of birth, users can qualify for the highest level of verification.

Authentication service

• Product authentication is a way of determining whether an item is genuine and described appropriately.
• Authentication is very difficult to perform because it relies on the expertise of the authenticators.

Feedback Forum

• The Feedback Forum allows registered buyers and sellers to build up their online trading reputations.

Insurance policy

• The offers insurance underwritten by Lloyd’s of London.
• Users are covered up to $200, with a $25 deductible.

Physical inspection

• When the seller and buyer are in the same location, it is easy to arrange for such inspections.

Escrow services

• For items valued at more than $200 or when either a buyer or seller feels the need for additional security.
• With an easy-to-access link to a third-party escrow service, both partners in a deal are protected.
• The buyer mails the payment to the escrow service, which verifies the payment and alerts the seller when everything checks out.

Verification

• One way of confirming the identity and evaluating the condition of an item is through verification.

If you have conducted internet purchase transactions and have used eBay, then we would also recommend that you review the information contained in the eBay Trust and Safety Centre at http://www.ebay.com/ concerning the use of payment services Western Union also provide guidance on consumer fraud awareness.

E-Government in Malaysia: Its implementation so far and citizen's adoption strategies

The Electronic Government initiative was launched to lead the country into the Information Age. It will improve how the government operates internally, as well as how it delivers services to the people of Malaysia. It seeks to improve the convenience, accessibility and quality of interactions with citizens and businesses. At the same time, it will improve information flows and processes within government to improve the speed and quality of policy development, coordination and enforcement.

The Government wants to make e-government more customer-oriented to complement the large infrastructure build-up that has been the primary focus of its efforts.

The 7 pilot projects of the Electronic Government Flagship Application are as follows;

1. Project Monitoring System (SPP II)
2. Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS)
3. Generic Office Environment (GOE)
4. Electronic Procurement (EP)
5. Electronic Services (E-Services)
6. Electronic Labour Exchange (ELX)
7. E-Syariah

The main goals of e-Government are to improve the quality of public services and the efficiency of administrative work. However, it does not allow citizen participation in local government administration such as policy making and implementation processes using ICT.

The implementation of e-Government in Malaysia heralds the beginning of a journey of reinventing the government by transforming the way it operates, modernising and enhancing its service delivery. E-Government seeks to enhance the convenience, accessibility and quality of interactions with the public and businesses at large. Citizens and businesses are also able to transact with the government anywhere and anytime at their convenience. Realising the vision of the Electronic Government, this maiden edition of the Public Sector ICT Management Review focuses on the implementation of several e-Government projects at the Federal and State Governments.


Firstly, it aims to search for the best practices of e-government services through exchange of professional experiences across EU countries.

Secondly. It aims to understand the perceived challenges of the project transformation process while identifying the best strategies adoption in developing, e-government projects which integrate with EU standards.

Thirdly, it aims to analyse e-administration trends of e-government in Europe and develop recommendations for the implementations of relevant applications for e-city portal in the form of policy framework, standards, models of executions and strategic plans for the reference of national government.

Finally, its aims to stimulate and coordinate / promote international collaboration in e-government services in dual ways between Ipoh and cities in Europe as well as facilitating relevant European / local SMEs who have the technological expertise and knowledge models to work together under the agenda of e-government in Malaysia.

A review on a post on Legal from My E-Commerce blog - How to lose your ID easily to fraudsters at home?

This post help me aware about the threads. With the awareness that i have now, everytime i throw something which i think useless into the dustbin i will make sure all my personal information contain inside the letter or mail is not cleary see then only i throw it away.

I remember last time i was filling an application form to apply for a bank draft in the bank, when i plan to do the identity card verification i then only realise the CHIP on my IC is not functioning! but the form i already filled in, so at that time i was decided to "COLOUR" it till i can't see what i wrote then only i tear off the form and throw it into the dustbin.

I'm very scare of my personal belonging or information get known by others. Sometimes, a stranger that ask me to fill in the form in order to register something on the side of the road especially outside the institution that i study currently, i will try to give them FAKE information about myself. I believe that this could help me to avoid my personal information get use by others to register on something that may cause harm to me. Of course, this is provided that i know the existence of the company or event then i will provide my personal information to them. Most of the time, being a CAREFUL person we will not lose anything. so,

DO REMEMBER NOT TO SIMPLY GIVE OUT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION TO OTHERS AND KEEP IT CONFIDENTIAL ALL THE TIME! PROVIDE IT WHEN IT IS NECCESSARY! AND BE CAREFUL!

Mobile payment system in Malaysia: Its potentials and consumers' adoption strategies

Mobile payment (also referred to as mobile web payment or WAP billing) is the collection of money from a consumer via a mobile device such as their mobile phone, SmartPhone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or other such device.



Mobile Money is a PIN-based Mobile Payment Solution designed by Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd to address the limitations and bottlenecks created by cash, cheques and credit cards. It unlocks the power of the mobile phone to make payments, allowing registered users to pay for goods and services at anytime, anywhere using only a mobile phone coupled with a 6-digit security PIN (Personal Identification Number) via SMS (Short Messaging Service).

There are two primary models for mobile payments:

• Premium SMS based transactional payments
• Mobile web payments (WAP)

Mobile Money is to provide Merchants and consumers with a convenient and secure Mobile Payment and Mobile Commerce platform.

Mobile Money (MM) payment system complies with the regulator's stringent requirements. MM Mobile Payment platform allows everyone to pay anyone, at anytime from anywhere with just one SMS. It also allows one to receive money from anyone, from anywhere, at anytime. MM Mobile Payment system is very secure and it is a closed loop payment system.

Wide enough acceptance and adoption of mobile payment technologies and systems is a prerequisite for consumer adoption of many, if not most, mobile commerce services. Based on the innovation diffusion theory of Rogers (1995) we present results from two, concurrent sets of empirical data on merchant adoption of mobile payment systems. In addition to the potential advantages of mobile payments we also identified several barriers to their adoption, most clearly in four categories: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity and costs.

Credit Card Debts : Causes and Prevention (Week 5)

A credit card is a system of payment named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. For the case of credit cards, the issuer lends money to the consumer (or the user) to be paid later to the merchant. It is different from a charge card, which requires the balance to be paid in full each month. In contrast, a credit card allows the consumer to 'revolve' their balance, at the cost of having interest charged. Most credit cards are issued by local banks or credit unions, and are the same shape and size, as specified by the ISO 7810 standard.

Credit card debt is an example of unsecured consumer debts, accessed through ISO 7810 plastic credit cards. Debt results when a client of a credit card company purchases an item or service through the card system. Debt accumulates and increases via interest and penalties when the consumer does not pay or late payment the company for the money he or she has spent. When a consumer has been late on a payment, it is possible that other creditors, even creditors the consumer was not late in paying, may increase the interest rates the consumer is paying. This practice is called universal default.

Causes
Sometimes the late fees, high annual percentage rates (APRs), and universal default overcome consumers who frequently not pay off their debt and the customer declare bankruptcy. If a customer files for bankruptcy, the credit card companies are required to forgive all or much of the debt, unless such discharge of debt is successfully challenged by one or more creditors, or blocked by a bankruptcy judge on legal grounds irrespective of creditors' challenges. Another negative consequence of using credit card is that you will never feel like you are spending the real money.

Prevention
There are 3 steps to prevention the bankrupt for the customers. Firstly, pay more than the minimum payment each month. The customers must also pay on time or a finance charge will be added onto the total and creating a larger minimum payment for the next month. Secondly, get a system for credit card debt reduction. The customers must have their deadline each month for paying bills. There are great software programs for keeping track of the financial records. Lastly, if you have a limited budget for debt repayment, write down what you can pay each creditor each month to avoid financial difficulty. Beside, the customers can negotiate with the credit cards companies to set the limit for their monthly credits.

The application of prepaid cash card to consumer

Nowadays, card is one important thing in our life. Lets introduce what is a pre-paid cash card. A pre-paid cash card is a plastic card which provides an alternative payment method to cash when making purchases. It is functionality is more similar to writing a cheque as the funds are withdrawn directly from either the bank account or from the remaining balance on the card.

Pre-paid cash cards offer a perfect way to keep track of our spending, ensuring that you won't overspend each month. Pre-paid cash card is for those consumer with poor credit, they should not give up. The consumer gets many chances to repair their credit record. Eventually the credit record is wiped and the consumer ends up being able to get whatever financial product they want.

The pre-paid cash cards are a wonderful way for parents to control what their kids spend when they are away at college. With the ability to load and reload the balance through automatic deposits from your own bank account, it is easy to send college students their spending money. Unlike a traditional credit card, a pre-paid card can never go over its limit, so parents are never surprised with a high balance to pay at the end of the month

As far as where to find pre-paid cash cards, you need to shop around and ask the credit card companies whether they offer the product. The pre-paid credit cards are advertised on the internet, or in the newspapers. There are now has a lot of banks offering the prepaid card, such as, Maybank Bank, Public Bank and others.

This is how prepaid cash card work and it is obvious really. You put money on the card, which you can do over the phone or online, and then you use the card to make purchases. You can continually put money onto the card if you want, but you cannot spend more than the balance you have left.