Enterprise IT

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Searching for Online Customer Service

No one pops out of the womb thinking in Boolean terms.In fact, surfing the Web contributes to an attention span so short that it precludes thinking of any sort. (Uh...hmmm, now where was I? Oh, yeah...) No matter how hard you try, you will never get that site design just right. The amount of real feedback from customers and potential customers is minuscule compared to the number of users and general traffic. All your bright ideas about increasing interactivity have become entries in that great Web dictionary in the sky under the definition of "broken link." These realities make life miserable for site designers and the people who fund them.

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E-Commerce Seeks Wider Audience

For all the media hype and the flood of investment money, e-commerce is still in its infancy. A motivated and technically advanced consumer can buy uncomplicated products online. And though it's possible to purchase sophisticated products that require online configuration or comparison shopping, doing so usually means negotiating a difficult learning curve. Merchants are finding that unless they're wedded to a given portal, establishing an independent e-commerce site is liable to take more time and money than they expected. To succeed, they will not only have to publish a "buy now" button, but also carefully consider the economics, merchandise selection and technology choices associated with e-commerce.

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