Several leaders in the Internet world, such as Yahoo! CEO Timothy Koogle, will be at the University for the e-summit@virginia conference tomorrow and Saturday to discuss possibilities for and concerns about this growing communication medium.
Many advantages of the Internet are obvious. Information of almost any type is available at just the click of the mouse. Students can write research papers without setting foot in the library. Investors easily can access up-to-date information on stocks and bonds.With the growth of such e-commerce companies as Amazon.com and Ebay.com, the Internet has begun to transform the business world.
"The Internet has a great potential for making information about a product available, [allowing consumers to] find the lowest price very quickly," Darden School Prof. Randall Smith said.
From a company's perspective, the Internet allows access to a larger clientele.
"The global reach [of the Internet] can bring in customers anywhere the Internet goes," Smith said.
The Internet-enabled business-to-business interactions are even more important than the business-consumer interactions in terms of transaction dollars, he said.
"Online marketplaces are where businesses in a part of an industry can buy and sell products and keep transaction costs low," he added.
In both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer interactions, the Internet provides an effective medium for bringing people together.
"With Internet technology it's much easier to bring new customers, suppliers and venders into a relationship with a firm," Smith said.
However, in spite of its many advantages, the growth of the Internet also has resulted in new complications and problems.
In e-commerce, there are concerns about the security of financial transactions and hacker infiltration. For example, a consumer may worry about the protection of his credit card.
In the broader spectrum, such hackers have the potential to impact the critical infrastructures of the nation.
"Society now relies on information systems, which are integrated into the whole way of life," University Prof. Anita Jones said.
Critical infrastructures, including electrical utilities, banking and telecommunications, are all dependent on information systems.
The Internet provides access to those wanting to harm such crucial systems and, therefore, creates vulnerability.
"They're vulnerable, and so society needs to address that vulnerability because it is a problem," Jones said.
In addition to security problems, new privacy concerns arise because of the Internet communication medium.
These problems and concerns must be addressed as the Internet continues to play an increasing role in our society.
(Tracy Barger is an Associate Editor for The Cavalier Daily.)
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