Alibaba.com is a Hong Kong based online business-to-business commerce and auction company that has developed into a substantial resource for both Asian businesses and Western corporations. Originally designed to connect Chinese businessmen with Western buyers, Alibaba manages a bilingual format that both Chinese businessmen and English speaking businesses can use to execute trades.
It is a straightforward wholesale marketplace, where member vendors can display wares and prices. It also operates the premiere Chinese auction site, an Asian version of eBay called TaoBao.com. Alibaba dominates the Chinese ecommerce market and is a major player for some import-export markets on an international scale.
In recent years, the company has aggressively expanded its sophistication and service array. In 2005 Yahoo bought 40% of Alibaba for one billion dollars plus all of Yahoo's Chinese assets. Alibaba founder and entrepreneur Jack Ma has since then redesigned Yahoo's Chinese portal and attempted to market it as the definitive Chinese search engine. Alibaba has also developed an online funds transfer system with a Hong Kong bank, attempting to establish a tool similar to PayPal.
Recently the firm released a survey claiming to prove that product sourcing online through Alibaba.com can cut the normal sourcing cycle by 75 percent. Alibaba.com members say it takes about three weeks to find the right trading partner and negotiate a deal through the Web site, compared to the average sourcing cycle of 3.3 to 4.2 months.
The survey found that 56 percent of Alibaba.com members take two to four weeks to negotiate the terms of a purchase or sale from first contact to finalized contract agreement, while 17 percent say it takes them no more than a week. The survey was conducted from June 19 to July 9, 2006, and included responses from more than 1,100 Alibaba.com members.
Alibaba claims that it is the simplest and most effective way to find products and resources. Their membership base has reached the point (1.2 million members) that both Chinese and Western entrepreneurs wishing to engage in product sales can no longer ignore this enormous marketplace. ''We reduce the sourcing time by bridging geographies and time zones and putting thousands of products and suppliers in one easy-to-use location," said an Alibaba VP for operations.
Both Alibaba and TaoBao currently do not charge fees from buyers or sellers. That has force eBay to change its business model in China as well. Alibaba has a "premium" service that it provides to members who wish to sign on; indications are that TaoBao will adopt a fee structure at some point.
It appears that partnership with an indigenous corporation is important. Google's efforts in China are relatively recent. Yahoo has made its presence there a success by effectively turning its operations over to Alibaba. They won the battle with eBay in Japan by partnering with Softbank, a Japanese conglomerate. So while the Yahoo auction site is inconsequential in the U.S. it forced eBay out of the market before they could get started.
These are critical times for the major web players in China. Less than ten percent of China's populace has web access - however those early adopters amount to one hundred million people and many of them are businessmen. In ten years, China may be the biggest economy - online and otherwise - in the world. Alibaba has done an excellent job of staking out its domestic turf and joining forces with the entrenched Yahoo in America and Europe. They'll give Google and eBay a run for their yen.
星期一, 十二月 18, 2006
historically
Arcade games, historically, emerged as early as the late 1920's where you could find theme parks which combined mechanical form of gaming machines and a great fun atmosphere. This was the beginning of modern gaming. The first pinball machines appeared in the and were mainly coin-operated. To play the game, you sloted in your coin or token and when that run out the game ended. You then had to purchase further tokens if so desired. Now, most pinball machines use solid state electronics to operate. Scores and bonuses are all electronically controlled.
In the seventies, one of the major arcade games manufacturers Atari, which was started by Ted Dabney and Nolan Busnell dominated the arcade games industry. With viral marketing and the sheer addictive nature of these games, - including The Pacman series, Donkey Kong, Pong and Space Invaders - many video arcade game machines sprouted up all over cities especially popular social hangouts such as bars, college campuses, supermarkets, movie theaters and gambling houses. In fact, te presence of these machines in seedier places rather led to a dip in its popularity as increasing people perception of it changed. The advanced gaming console technology also contributed to the decline in the popularity of these slot machines.
With this decline in fortunes, dedicated arcade games businesses started to suffer and many had to close down or diversify. Diversification involved offering other attractions such as rides with arcade games being only a small part of the business and at least offering arcade lovers to still indulge in their passion. Most of these centers are so different, they are no longer what they used to be.
These days, playing arcade games has moved on even further and they are readily available on many internet platforms. If you get fed up sitting at home with your xbox360 as your only comfort, you can decide to surf the net not only for free arcade games but also for the fantastic social interaction that a good gaming platform offers. With these free internet games, there is no need to slot coins, neither do you need to physically get to the appropriate venue. All you need is an web connection - preferably a broadband connection - and a penchant for arcade games. You will discover that you are spoilt for choice, with so many new games beckoning.
The progress of the genre and quality of arcade games has been fantastic. However, the basic theme which makes an arcade game what it is, is still present in even modern games. The gamer is generally offerd different levels with each next level progressively more difficult than the previous one. There is also more interaction with the user these days and newer games such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter I and II offer two player fighting themes. Other type of arcade games include dance games - such as Dance Dance Revolution and DrumMania - and rail shooting games such as Time Crisis and House Of The Dead.
Arcade games have changed through the years to be widely available on good gaming platforms. If you love immersing yourself in arcade games, there are many choices available today.
In the seventies, one of the major arcade games manufacturers Atari, which was started by Ted Dabney and Nolan Busnell dominated the arcade games industry. With viral marketing and the sheer addictive nature of these games, - including The Pacman series, Donkey Kong, Pong and Space Invaders - many video arcade game machines sprouted up all over cities especially popular social hangouts such as bars, college campuses, supermarkets, movie theaters and gambling houses. In fact, te presence of these machines in seedier places rather led to a dip in its popularity as increasing people perception of it changed. The advanced gaming console technology also contributed to the decline in the popularity of these slot machines.
With this decline in fortunes, dedicated arcade games businesses started to suffer and many had to close down or diversify. Diversification involved offering other attractions such as rides with arcade games being only a small part of the business and at least offering arcade lovers to still indulge in their passion. Most of these centers are so different, they are no longer what they used to be.
These days, playing arcade games has moved on even further and they are readily available on many internet platforms. If you get fed up sitting at home with your xbox360 as your only comfort, you can decide to surf the net not only for free arcade games but also for the fantastic social interaction that a good gaming platform offers. With these free internet games, there is no need to slot coins, neither do you need to physically get to the appropriate venue. All you need is an web connection - preferably a broadband connection - and a penchant for arcade games. You will discover that you are spoilt for choice, with so many new games beckoning.
The progress of the genre and quality of arcade games has been fantastic. However, the basic theme which makes an arcade game what it is, is still present in even modern games. The gamer is generally offerd different levels with each next level progressively more difficult than the previous one. There is also more interaction with the user these days and newer games such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter I and II offer two player fighting themes. Other type of arcade games include dance games - such as Dance Dance Revolution and DrumMania - and rail shooting games such as Time Crisis and House Of The Dead.
Arcade games have changed through the years to be widely available on good gaming platforms. If you love immersing yourself in arcade games, there are many choices available today.
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