Virtual Community and Web Portal Strategies

NIMISHA.T13MCA11030

Virtual Community

Also called a Web community or an Online community. It is a gathering place for people and businesses that

does not have a physical existence.

Exist on the Internet in various forms

– Usenet newsgroups

– Chat rooms

– Web sites

Offer people a way to connect with each other and discuss common issues and interests

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Virtual Communities (Continue…)

Helps companies, customers, and suppliers interact in a mutually beneficial way .

Three key elements are required to make up a virtual community: Cellular-satellite communication technology Intelligent software agents Electronic marketplaces

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Cellular-satellite communications technology

Can be packaged with

• Notebook computers

• Personal digital assistants (PDAs)

• Mobile phones

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)

Allows Web pages formatted in HTML to be displayed on devices with small screens

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Web Page Displayed on a PDA(Personal Digital Assistant)

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Electronic Marketplaces

Marketplaces

– Can serve people who want to buy and sell a wide range of products and services

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Intelligent Software Agents

Programs that search the Web and find items for sale that meet a buyer’s specifications

Some software agents focus on a particular category of product

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Virtual Communities (continued)

Virtual learning community

One form of a virtual community

Can help companies, their customers, and their suppliers plan, collaborate, and transact business

Google Answers

Gives people a place to ask questions that are answered by an expert for a fee

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Google Answers Page

Virtual Communities (continued)

Most web communities are Business-to-Consumer Business-to-Business community also emerged E.g: Milacron’s Milpro site

They manufactures machine tools and sells

them to a wide variety of industrial customers.

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Milpro virtual community site

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Early Web Communities

The WELL ( “whole earth ’lectronic link”)

• One of the first Web communities

• Founded in 1985• Began as a series of dialogs among San

Francisco authors and readers.• Members pay monthly fee to participate in its

forums and conference.• Purchased by Salon.com

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Early Web Communities(continue…) GeoCities

• Free web space for members• Sells advertising to generate revenue• Owned by Yahoo!

Tripod

• Founded in 1995

• Offered its participants free Web page space, chat rooms, news and weather updates, and health information pages.

• Purchased by Lycos (search engine site)

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Web Portal Strategies Combinations of virtual communities, search

engines, and Web directories.

Provide a high degree of “stickiness” that is extremely attractive to advertisers.

Top 10 most-visited web sites included 7 web portals.

Examples include AOL, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, MSN, Netscape Netcenter, Snap, and Yahoo!

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Stickiness of Popular Web Sites

homebid.com

Smaller business that create a portal site Conducting online auctions of residential real

estate But plan to become an all-purpose real estate

web portal by allowing• Buy home• Finance it• Register for electricity• Telephone• Other necessary services

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homebid.com home page

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Mixed Revenue Portals

Time Warner’s AOL unit

• One of the most successful Web portals

• Charges a fee to users and has always run advertising on its site

Yahoo!

• Now charges for the Internet phone service originally offered at no cost.

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Internal Web Portals

Run on intranets

Can save significant amounts of money by replacing the printing and distribution of paper memos, newsletters, and other correspondence

Can become a good way of creating a virtual community among employees

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