CS99I Meeting 02 Notes: Business and Information

Started by Gio Wiederhold, 16 January 2000, updated  Jan 16 2002..

Course Info

Final: a web page report that could be actionable information for someone who wants to do business on the Internet:

1.      A specific business plan

2.      A general analysis, but not so broad that it has no depth

3.      An exposition of current or expected technology, laws, social changes, ...  that will affect such businesses

All of the grade depends on it, so think about now, give me a draft at midterm time.

We'll discuss proposals in class; on Thursdays.

What is needed to have a business:

  1. Having goods or services -- Real stuff vs Actionable Information, fungible, copyable
  2. Getting the information about yoyr products to potential purchasers - advertising, demonstration, ...  Pay?  Consider focusing on the community that can (1) benefit from your product -- and that can (2) afford and is (3) willing to pay for it.  (examples: Fun Information (when did Stanford hospital move from San Francisco to Campus (bonus question - which department did not move), information to write a paper, information to run a better business (pig food mixes)
  3. Closing the sale -- how to make the contract -- more on that soon --
  4. Assuring delivery -- great deal of variation and cost - real goods versus information
  5. Getting paid
  6. After sales service
  7. Ability to return unwanted goods. (non-actionable information?)

An element is all of these considerations: trust, perhaps backed by guarantees

Types of Information

  1. Data -- Observation, perhaps edited for correctness
  2. Information -- processed data
  3. Actionable information -- helps you select, make actions among choices
  4. Knowledge -- input that controls processing, often human, sometimes encoded into programs or rules in a computer

 

 

Data -- + knowledge --> Selected data + knowledge --> information + ability to make descisions --> actions

Actions change the world

Knowledge gained by you is a byproduct of the experiences you undergo.

((why are you at school instead of perfrming actions?))

What information consumes is rather obvious, it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it. [Herbert Simon]

Getting paid

Alternatives for cost reimbursement are:

    1. Receiver pays: Voluntary subscription. Example: Public TV - PBS.
    2. Receiver pays: Required subscription, controlled access. Example: Stanford SITN.
    3. Receiver pays: Government levies taxes or fees. Example: British, Dutch TV.
    4. Sender pays: Corporate or organizational support. Example: churches.
    5. Sender pays: Government supports sender. Example: Voice of America.
    6. Sender pays: Commercial tax on sales. Example:.
    7. Sender pays: Advertising. Example:.
    8. Manufacturer of receiving equipment is taxed: Example: attempted with VCRs, as in ( France).
    9. Manufacturer of receiving supplies: Example: DAT tapes.
    10. others?

Problems of being reimbursed for information.

Theft of IP

Fair use -- not a right - but a valid defense to one-time, not redistributed use of modest amount of material

Who should get paid: the broadcast service, the contents supplier, the distributor ? [Napster]. More discussion needed.