Spotlight Features

In August, women became a majority of Web users in the U.S. for the first time in history, a milestone for an Internet once considered to be a male-oriented environment.

In anticipation of the predicted boom in online sales, Internet companies are updating their Web sites and double-checking their fulfillment processes. Everyone is talking about enhancing Web-based customer support and creating online experiences that increase site loyalty and drive sales. The goal ...

When dot-coms and other high-tech companies exploded on the world stage several years ago, a new entrepreneurial class thumbed its collective nose at staid corporate culture by offering a bevy of workplace perks and redefining the conventional work environment. Meanwhile, "Old Economy" businesses j...

Not so long ago, the dot-com startup myth held that a young entrepreneur with great ideas, access to the Internet and not much else could step into a world of venture capital. A company would make or sell or provide something, and then hold a much-publicized IPO or, better yet, be acquired by a larg...

"Consumers don't think they want the wireless Web yet, but they will." So said Forrester analyst Patrick Callinan, explaining his firm's recent conclusion that there is "latent demand" for Internet-enabled mobile phones in the United States.

Problems facing e-commerce seem to turn up as often as eggs on Easter Sunday.

Last year's holiday season exposed some troubling weaknesses in e-commerce fulfillment infrastructure. Frustrated consumers levied blame on overwhelmed e-tailers who found much criticism in their outside vendors and distributors, as well as overworked carriers.

Internet auctions have become a place for businesses of all sizes to make money -- to the tune of nearly $55 billion (US$) in sales a year. Still, the leading auction sites have retained something of their original flair as a place for passionate collectors of odds and ends to exchange prized posses...

The shakeout shark may not be finished gobbling up little dot-coms just yet, but for reasonably cautious investors, the news is good: It's safe to go back into the water.

People all over the world travel to see the tombstones of celebrities, from Marilyn Monroe in Los Angeles to Jim Morrison in Paris. Why should online businesses be treated any differently?