Tag Archives: web

Do you take care of your daily hygiene? Did you take care of your hygiene online?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

First of all, have you ever been thinking about, how many “fingerprints” you left in the Internet? I can ensure you that there are more than you think. No matter what you do on your device which is connected to the internet, it leaves data. By using the word “data” I mean all the activities you do on the Web, or on the device which will be connected to the Web in the future, and which can be scaled into information.  Data is also the moment when your and your friend’s smartphone are present during meetings. It is also some kind of information. The another info from your one meeting is that how much time you spend together, for how long you spend it without each other, even where do you spend it (as long as you allow the device to track you). That data is used by all of the companies connected somehow with the advertising market. (eg. Facebook, Google, Yahoo).

Here are some examples of how to avoid sharing information that concerns you.:

THE FIRST, THE EASIEST.

Find in the settings of your net browser, the history of the browser and cookies tab, and clear it. If you use smartphone check out in the settings of the phone, all the permissions that the apps have. Sometimes when you install for example, a flashlight, it asks you to allow the app to use your contacts or messages, microphone, or even access to camera (not the led light). Feels strange, isn’t it? You can always disallow it in the settings of the app or just uninstall an app from your smartphone.

THE SECOND, YOU WILL NEED A TAPE.


Sometimes it happens that your device is infected by some kind of spy malware.

According to Wikipedia:

“Malware is any software intentionally designed to cause damage to a computer, server, client, or computer network. Malware does the damage after it is implanted or introduced in some way into a target’s computer and can take the form of executable code, scripts, active content, and other software.”

But what about this tape. One kind of malware is the spy malware, it is using the cameras, microphones in your laptops. As it is difficult to fight with eavesdroppers, it’s so easy to fight with voyeurs by taping by the sticker on the camera of your device. This method is really good idea of fighting with malware is the first step of being “healthy” in the Web.

THE THIRD, PAY BY CASH.

The credit/debit cards since they exist are really hot products. In Poland, there is a trend to pay for everything by credit/debit cards. Now in connection with what I wrote above, think about how much data you leave on one Friday evening. Your bank knows how much you spend the money, for what you spend, is it just one night or it is your week rhythm. Thanks to that info in someday your loan request can be rejected because Bank will not give the loan to the person who provides that type of lifestyle. They will not say strict in that way, but people who were working in that field says about it. The way how to avoid this data scalping process is really easy, pay by cash.

THE FOURTH, JUST BE A KIND PERSON.

Whenever you go for a party there is a moment when people grab their smartphones and take the photos of themselves or of the other people. Remember that sometimes metadata is scalped even by your default app camera on your smartphone. By using word “metadata” I mean the time or the location, where the photo was taken. You can easily turn it off. But what about that kindness which I was writing about above. After or during the party some people feel a real need to share it on some social media. Predominantly on the photo, there are more people than the person who uploads it. The first, I mean the obligatory, step is to ask these people for the permission of uploading it online. You will be treated better in the future by them, because they will see that you care about their safety in the Web and that you are kind person.

On the other hand, some people are agreeing for all of these things, that I was warning you from. That because of the self-comfort. We need to accept it. But for all others, keep trying to abide by the principles of the self-hygiene on the Web.

What is my view about this?

We don’t have to be scared of using devices that are connected to the Internet, but always remember, that these products can scalp data in a way that we never wanted. Just try to be more hygienic online and your life can be better.

Sources:

https://bit.ly/2rtm4oR
https://bit.ly/1H3VhDh
https://bit.ly/1wxXjmA
https://bit.ly/2B1HpNd

Photos:

https://bit.ly/2MzTspN
https://bit.ly/2B7KDik
https://bit.ly/2ThQzwa
https://bit.ly/2H60aEp
https://bit.ly/2RgF3zu

author: Michał Żelazo

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A farewell to the Middleman

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The typical business model, supply chain used to be quite straight forward; There is a manufacturer that sources the materials and creates a product. A wholesaler would buy the product from the manufacturer and resell it for a small margin to the retailer, which the again sells the product to the end customer. On every step of the way, a little extra margin is added to the original price of the item so that everybody gets its share. The internet has changed that.

middlemanFrom TechCrunch, to New York Times or WSJ, everybody has proclaimed “The Death of The Middleman”. The internet has made it possible for manufacturers to reach customers directly via a website. Thus creating a better offer for both ends as the intermediary does not receive its share anymore. The supply chain is getting shorter, as manufacturers started to sell directly to costumer, at times even via their own mobile application, which even allows customers to personalize their purchased goods according to their needs.

The middleman is redefining itself and we see him again as concierge service and the like. Offering that extra service the modern customer of today is asking for. But how sustainable is that? In a highly technologized world, will it not be only a question of time until manufacturers than again are able to offer state of the art service by themselves via an App for example?

Amazon may be one of the most extreme examples. Not only does amazon.com offer the largest product range on the web for the end consumer, they increasingly start to offer own products. We see products like “amazon basics”, which are sold under the amazon brand and cover products all across the categories. Amazon knows its customers and it knows them well. How can any concierge service compete with amazon offering tailor made products?

Amazon does it, Netflix does it too. Increasingly becoming a competition to Hollywood, by offering their customers their own productions, often financed with gigantic budgets that make Hollywood productions seem small.

What’s the value of a middleman in modern eCommerce?

 

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eCommerce Certificates

Reading Time: 4 minutes

For years, decades we have been going online to purchase, music, electronics, books and literally anything you can imagine. We should be quite familiar with shopping online, however, in this so familiar environment, trust is still an issue, if not, the issue in the e-commerce sphere.

I will be looking at the German and Polish e-commerce market. One of the most developed e-commerce market in the EU and Poland, the fastest growing e-commerce market in the EU. Both markets full of opportunities. What can the Polish market learn from the more developed and established e-commerce market in Germany? A lot, but let’s look at the issue of trust that I mentioned earlier.

A representative study sponsored by the D21 Initiative and the “Federation of German E-commerce and Mail-Order-Companies” reveals that 96% of people questioned already ordered something online. Furthermore, customers prefer shops that have been rated by other users positively, the companies are based in Germany, they are certified shops and customers do not have to pay in advance. Another interesting fact, 47% of people that have never purchased online before or rarely said that the fear of misuse of their private data is the reason why they have not made purchases online.

All these facts point towards one issue – trust. Trust is the conversion rate booster and literally the only thing that stops your users from becoming loyal customers. Trust is a rather complex construction of the human mind, usually established over longer periods of time and repetitive interaction between the parties involved. However, this will not work for first time customers. Providing excellent service and constant communication with your existing customers will help to build a loyal customer base, users that have not been customers previously will need some extra convincing to make their initial purchase in your shop.

How do we convince these potential clients that we are a trustworthy shop with excellent customer service and an uncomplicated and well-designed customer experience? First things first, the e-shop itself should be clearly structured, transparent and the order process should be as easy and uncomplicated as possible. There is a variety of elements to look at, starting with product presentation, pricing, legal representation of the shop, contact center, customer data required and last but not least an FAQ and terms of service section. Interesting fact, only about 30% of German online buyers claim to not read the “AGB” or terms of service, which is usually a very long and boring document written in legal German. This shows once again, people want to be assured that in case things go south, they are safe and backed by a legal framework and they can deal with a “real” company, with an office, hopefully located in the same country.

Customers at this point are looking to build a trustworthy picture of a shop themselves; the shop has to just facilitate that process. Let the customer find what he is looking for, offer a world-class return policy and easy shipping. Certificates like “Trusted Shops” and SSL security can help to build the image of a safe shopping environment.

Certificates as trust builder

ts-trustmark_220

Certificates like Trusted Shops try to offer a guarantee for the reliability and trustworthiness of shops. People do actually look for this kind of reference on a webpage in order to build trust. A trusted shop and SSL certificate are therefore highly recommended and relatively affordable in their implementation.
Even though trusted shops tries to provide a European certificate, I think there is still room for improvement. The European E-Commerce and Mail Order Trade Association (EMOTA) is working on an own certificate, however, personally, I see here a lot of room for improvement and a stronger image and reputation, as well as higher level of recognition are required to give these certificates the desired effect. Internationalization of e-commerce seems to be still developing, as customers are highly suspicious of foreign companies on the e-commerce market. Even though, we imagine the internet as borderless space. This is especially challenging for foreign E-commerce shops that would like to enter e.g. the German market.
This is also a call out to European law makers to facilitate the development in e-commerce and provide a truly international e-commerce marketplace with a common set of rules, regulations and customer protection acts.

What does this mean for the Polish Market?

 

The Polish e-commerce market is not mature yet, which provides a lot of opportunities for e-commerce, as well as supporting functions like Logistics to benefit of the developments in the fastest growing e-commerce market in Europe. Trust is in fact a major issue in Poland, since there is still a large amount of the population unfamiliar with e-shops or even the internet in general. The market will have to educate and build trust to the customer. Certificates are not as widely spread and do not have the recognition, even though trusted shops entered the Polish market a while ago. As a lot of people are not online yet, especially in the older demographics, it is crucial to use a combination of online and offline tools to give people a feeling of trust in companies that do not have a physical shop. E-commerce leaders are so far almost without exception a combination of online and brick-and-mortar stores. This will certainly be one of the biggest challenges for the Polish e-commerce market in the future.

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