The primary barrier to consumer adoption of the Web as a commercial medium is ease of access … Ease of access is a multidimensional construct and includes high-speed access (the “bandwidth” problem), ease of finding a service provider, and the diffusion of the computer hardware/software/modem bundle into the home. The secondary barriers are ease of use, price, and risk, including such factors as privacy and security. Ease of use includes issues such as the user-friendliness of the software, ease of software installation, and the like. The marketplace will weed out even technically feasible Web applications if they prove too complicated for the average consumer to use. Hence attempts to develop technology that is user-friendly are as important as the development of the technology itself.
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: ”The primary barrier to consumer adoption of the Web as a commercial medium is ease of access … Ease of access is a multidimensional construct and includes high-speed access (the “bandwidth” problem), ease of finding a service provider, and the diffusion of the computer hardware/software/modem bundle into the home. The secondary barriers are ease of use, price, and risk, including such factors as privacy and security. Ease of use includes issues such as the user-friendliness of the software, ease of software installation, and the like. The marketplace will weed out even technically feasible Web applications if they prove too complicated for the average consumer to use. Hence attempts to develop technology that is user-friendly are as important as the development of the technology itself.Ó
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
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