04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 1

Module 1 'The Electronic World'

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 2

Introduction

• In the previous section you were introduced to some examples of how IT is used in everyday life.

• This next section will cover 'The Electronic World'. This includes why we communicate using email and how we are able to shop online from the comfort of our own homes.

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 3

E-mail

• Electronic mail is a form of communication where text based messages are exchanged between people by using computers attached to a network

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 4

Email

In order to use email the following things are needed:• The sender and recipient need an email address which

will be provided by an e-mail service such as Microsoft Hotmail, Google mail, Eircon etc.

• Both parties need access a computer or device which can send and receive emails

• Both parties need access to email software such as Microsoft Outlook

• Messages sent from one person will be sent to the 'mailbox' of the recipient. They will be stored there until the person to whom the message is addressed to logs on to retrieve their 'mail'.

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 5

Uses of Email There are lots of reasons why email is so commonly used. Here

are a few uses, see if you can think of any more: • - Keeping in touch with friends for a chat • - Contacting a fellow worker about a business related matter or to

arrange a meeting • - Sending a document or file as an attachment to other people • - Contact a customer to tell them about a delivery or about a special

offer• - Contacting large groups of people very quickly by just sending out

one mail • - Sending a newsletter to people who have signed up on your site to

receive them • - Keeping a record that you have told somebody about something. If

you tell someone in person or on the telephone you have no proof if they say, 'you never told me'. But with emails, a copy is kept in your 'sent box'.

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 6

Email - pros and cons Advantages

• Sending an email to someone is very easy, people need little training to learn how to do this

• Emails are free to send -so long as you have an email account and a connection to the Internet.

• Emails are usually received fairly quickly, most of the time a couple of seconds after they are sent

• People don't have to be present to receive the email • Emails can be sent any time of the day or night, 365 days a year • Files and images can be attached to an email

• Multiple copies of a message can be sent to a group of people • A carbon copy of an email can be sent to other people • Messages can be encrypted making it possible to send confidential

information

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 7

Email - pros and consDisadvantages

• Both you and the person receiving the email must have an email address and access to a computer and the Internet

• If you don't know the email address of the other person then you can't send them a message

• Some people change their email addresses fairly often as they switch ISPs or jobs • Email attachments can contain viruses • Some companies won't allow email attachments to be received • Spam is a big problem, up to two-thirds of mails sent are spam • People can waste company time at work by sending emails to friends instead of

working • When you are on holiday, your email box can become full and extra messages might

not get stored • You may have to wait a long time to get a reply

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 8

Ecommerce • Not that long ago if you wanted to

buy something then you would have to go to the local shops. If they didn't have what you wanted then you would either have to do without or buy a substitute.

• With the development of the Internet a phenomenon known as 'electronic commerce' or 'ecommerce' for short, has been growing.

• Ecommerce has now grown to such an extent that it is starting to become the way to shop for many people.

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 9

What is ecommerce?• Ecommerce means the sale and purchase of goods and services

over electronic systems such as the internet.

• This can mean businesses selling to customers or businesses selling to other businesses or a new trend with the growth of sites like ebay, ordinary people selling to other people.

• Although ecommerce tends to be thought of mainly to do with shops it actually covers a whole range of other things. It can also be things like ordering concert tickets online, booking a last minute holiday, reserving and paying for a movie at your local video store.

• Some ecommerce is entirely electronic from start to finish, for example paying for access to premium content on a website. There are no physical items involved.

• But for most people, ecommerce does involve physical goods

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 10

What can you buy?

Almost anything that you could think about is now available for purchase using ecommerce. Here are a few examples.

Thickets for a concertAir line travel ticketsBook a hotelAmazon.co uk Books, Music, CD,s

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 11

How do you buy something? • In order to purchase something using

ecommerce you will need access to the internet. This can be using a computer, a PDA, a mobile phone etc.

• You then need to find the site from which you wish to buy an item. This might involve going straight to a particular site or browsing through a number of sites until you have made your decision.

• Once you have chosen an item you 'add it to your basket'. This acts like an electronic shopping basket and it keeps a record of all of the things that you intend to buy. This means that you can choose one item and then continue shopping for more.

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 12

• Once you have chosen all of your items, you will 'proceed to the checkout'. This is where you will pay for your goods.

• However before you can pay, you need to tell the company who you are. If this is the first time that you have visited the site then you will need to create an account for yourself. This involves filling in a form with your name, address, telephone number, email address and then choosing a user name and password.

• Each time you revisit the site to buy more items, you log in using your user name and password and the site (through the use of cookies) will remember who you are and will already have your name and address stored.

How do you buy something?

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 13

• Once you have created an account or logged in, then you can continue through the checkout process. You need to confirm your order and then enter details of how you wish to pay. If you are going to use a credit card then you need to enter the details on the card. If you have used this site before then it will remember these details for you also.

How do you buy something?

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 14

• Once you have paid for your goods you will get an electronic confirmation on the screen that your order has been accepted. You will usually also get a confirmation via email. This acts as a security measure in case someone got hold of your user name and password and tried to buy goods by pretending to be you. By sending you a separate email, this would alert you that something wasn't right.

• Your order is then processed by the ecommerce store and sent to you by post. You usually need to be at home in order to receive your parcel.

• If you are not happy with the items that you have bought then you have the right to return them just like you would if you bought something from a store in town.

How do you buy something?

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 15

Advantages for customers

• -You can shop any time, night or day, 365 days a year • - There is no need to travel - saving time and money

spent on fuel• - You can shop from the comfort of your own home• - You can buy from shops that you wouldn't have access

to normally e.g. in other countries• - You can easily compare prices between different shops• - There are no heavy bags to carry• - There are no crowds to deal with• - It can mean that the elderly, the disabled and mothers

with young children are able to purchase with ease.• - You can often get discounts on prices when compared

to normal shop prices

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 16

Advantages for Businesses

• -Don't need expensive shop premises perhaps in a high street

• - Don't have to pay so many costs from running a shop such as insurance, electricity

• - Usually need less staff with an online business than compared to a shop so large savings

• - Customers from all over the world can access your products

• - Customers often impulse buy when online or add extra items

• - Can easily keep track of competitors and quickly change prices to match

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 17

Disadvantages for customers

• - Security concerns with personal and credit card details • - You can't check the quality when purchasing like you could in a shop• - Things might look different online to what you get e.g. slightly different

colours• - The shop might not send exactly what you ordered, you might get a substitute• - You need to be at home to receive large or valuable parcels• - If the item doesn't arrive, you might still get charged for it.• - It can be expensive to return goods• - The item might get damaged in the post and you would have to arrange a

replacement • - Loss of social contact and the 'buzz' of shopping with friends • - Might have to pay for the postage for delivery which can counteract any

discounts on the item itself. • - Don't always feel like you are spending real money so it is easy to spend

more than you would in a shop.

04/08/23 Denis Reynor Fás 18

Disadvantages for businesses

• Need to pay a lot of money to have a professionally designed website developed

• - Need staff with expertise to keep the website maintained

• - If the website goes down then no one can purchase things

• - No personal contact with customers so repeat orders might be harder to get

• - A lot of online fraud, risk of losing money on sales