Members of our nominating committee explain why they chose e-commerce and online shopping to be among their personal “7 Wonders of the Internet.”
Jim Albright: E-Commerce – Catalogue and mail order have been around since the 19th century. Phone orders have been around almost as long as the telephone itself. So online ordering in and of itself is not quite revolutionary. But real-time inventory status and order tracking without human assistance are tasks that are only possible with the Internet. In addition, the multitude of price comparison sites in existence today have brought us as close to the economic theory of “Perfect Competition” as we may ever get.
Jack Miller: Amazon – The first real proof that the Internet was truly a retail giant. … eBay – The second site that proved the power of the Internet – The world’s largest garage sale.
Johna Till Johnson: FreshDirect. Reason: First widespread example of an activity online being better and more effective than in real life.
Yes, I know only New Yorkers use FreshDirect, but I think the advantage of FD is that it illustrates the potential richness of online interaction versus live (which I think is going to be the theme of the future).
Greg Martin: The long tail online: Stores like Amazon give us access to out-of-print resources that would have required the visit to many used book stores in the past with no guarantee of success.
Liam Noonan: Tech review and comparison Web sites – shop smarter and save money.
John Gog: Online shopping – This past Christmas, I did almost all my shopping on line. I haven’t bought a computer component at a store in two years. Convenient, yes, but it’s the ability to locate hard-to-find items (thanks in large part to Google, of course) and compare prices and service in a way we never could before that has made it so successful. And don’t call it eCommerce or any such thing. I hate those cutesy “e” terms.
George Grenley: iTunes. OK, maybe not an Internet app in the strictest sense, but the way in which technology is busting up the media monopolies is wonderful. I buy the songs I want and listen on my schedule. I buy the TV programs and movies I want and listen on my schedule. I can much more easily find, and support, the artists I like. Try the Wicked Tinkers sometime.
E-Bay, and all the other sites that make commercial markets in things you just couldn’t find or buy, or even know existed to solve some problem you had. As Stewart Brand put it 35 years ago, “Access to Tools.”
Derek Rainwater: ebay/PayPal/half.com (Internet commerce, in general, is something I take for granted, now.)
Alan Portman: Expedia, Orbitz and all of the other travel sites. The ability of just about anyone to create a complete travel itinerary and book it all on your own has changed the travel industry. Just as the automobile drove the blacksmiths and saddle makers out of business, travel web sites (aided by airlines seeing a way to make an extra nickel) have all but killed travel agents.
Tim Greene: Online shopping – It saves time, offers variety, avoids malls, and stuff just arrives in the mail. Barring an identity theft that will ruin my life, this makes it better.
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