By:

The Web technology has changed our lives, allowing us not just to buy
life’s necessities online but also opening entire realms of knowledge,
as well as completely new shopping experience. In addition, the Web
technology has also changed the way marketers approach marketing.
Historically, marketers built brands slowly, over time by investing in
mass-media advertising, e.g., TV, print, radio, and transit
advertisements such as billboards and bus shelter posters, etc. But the
internet is changing the meaning of a brand, the nature of brand loyalty
and the effectiveness of traditional branding investments made by
marketers. It has ushered the concept of borderless markets. Bookseller
Amazon.com, Inc., a Seattle-based company, introduced to the world as
the first well-known Web retailer, offering educational and informative
products, and book selling business, was first established in July 1995
with a mission to use the Internet to transform book buying and shopping
an enjoyable experience, as merchandizes are conveniently available at
our fingertips. Amazon.com, one of the premier merchants on the
Internet, first started with around 400 square feet of space, and today
has a floor of 3 million square feet (in both United States and Europe).
Amazon.com devised a multimedia marketing push that became overnight the
blueprint for internet retailing, first it was books, then music and
video, and followed by gifts. Amazon.com has established a everywhere
presence on Web sites, both big and small to attract Web shoppers, and
give consumers a satisfying, convenient shopping experience,
unparalleled online or off. In fact, Amazon.com offers a selection of
over 9 million titles, which are currently in print, as well as
everything listed in the “Books Out of Print”. That is about more than
225 to 450 times the 20,000 to 40,000 titles one might expect at a
typical neighborhood bookstore. This paper attempts to analyze the
online book-buying experience and the secrets behind Amazon.com’s success.

Stream: Human Technologies and Usability, Technology in Community, Knowledge and Technology

Paper: Amazon.com

Mr. Patrick Lo currently a candidate of Doctor of Education (EdD), at Bristol University (UK). He has a Master of Arts in Design Management (MA) from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2004), a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from McGill University (Canada; 1994), and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Mount Allison University, (Canada; 1992). Mr Lo is efficient in: Cantonese Chinese, Mandarin Chinese (Putunghua), English and German. Mr Lo's professional affiliations include: secretary of JULAC-HKCAN (Hong Kong Chinese Name Authority) Workgroup, representative of Lingnan University Library (Hong Kong) for the Hong Kong JULAC-BSC (Bibliographic Services Committee), member of CALIS (China Academic Library and Information System) Unicat Expert Group. Mr. Lo has presented close to 20 research papers and project reports focusing on cataloguing and name authority control at different local and international workgroup meetings, seminars, conferences, including: Mainland China, Hong Kong, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Japan, and United States.

Mr. Lo's research interests include: latest developments of Metadata, Chinese authority works, and cataloguing among Chinese libraries in Asia and North America; exploring potentials for resources sharing among Chinese libraries in Asia; future development and enhancement of bibliographic records; users’ interaction with the online catalogue.

Awards: One of the Most Active Presenters Award of HKIUG (Hong Kong Innovative Users Group) Annual Meeting in December 2006.