In terms of opportunities, there are a wide variety of novel ways of generating traffic to a destination Web site. There is also the potential to model the diffusion of site visitors as a function of the location from which the consumer entered the site. Recently, search-agent sites have shown potential as high-traffic vehicles for advertising sponsorship. Web-traffic-control sites face a number of challenges. The proliferation of commercial Web sites means that it is increasingly difficult to find anything on the Web, especially if one is not looking for it! Therefore, identifying pivotal cross-linking opportunities will be critical.
Predictor: Hoffman, Donna L.
Prediction, in context:In the December 1995 issue of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Special Issue on Electronic Commerce, Donna L. Hoffman, Thomas P. Novak, and Patrali Chatterjee propose a structural framework for examining the explosion in commercial activity on the Web. They are with Project 2000: Research Program on Marketing in Computer-Mediated Environments, Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. They write:ÒThe purpose of search-agent sites is to identify other Web sites through keyword search of a database that extends throughout the Web. Software agents are used to generate and/or assist the search through the database. A recent trend in such sites is the emergence of fee-based (e.g., InfoSeek) or advertiser-sponsored (e.g. Yahoo) search agents … In terms of opportunities, there are a wide variety of novel ways of generating traffic to a destination Web site. There is also the potential to model the diffusion of site visitors as a function of the location from which the consumer entered the site. Recently, search-agent sites have shown potential as high-traffic vehicles for advertising sponsorship. Web-traffic-control sites face a number of challenges. The proliferation of commercial Web sites means that it is increasingly difficult to find anything on the Web, especially if one is not looking for it! Therefore, identifying pivotal cross-linking opportunities will be critical.Ó
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Getting, Sharing Information
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Title, headline, chapter name: Commercial Scenarios for the Web: Opportunities and Challenges
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol1/issue3/hoffman.doc
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne