Glossary of e-marketing terms
ATM automatic teller machine, also known
as ‘bank machine’ or ‘cash point’
Blog derived from Web log, the term ‘blog’
serves to identify websites that allow
users to make journal style entries as
straight text, or even by adding images,
sounds and/or interactive links. A Vlog
is a Blog that features a video or video
link
Bluetooth similar to a Local Area Network (LAN)
but for personal use. Portable devices
such as mobile phones, PDAs, laptops
and gaming consoles can communicate
with each other without wires
Broadband a method for communicating at very
high speed across telephone lines,
thanks to the use of a modem attached
to a special Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line (ADSL)
Chat room an Internet site that facilitates online
discussions for users with shared
interests
Digital of/or relating to a device that can read,
write or store information that is
represented in numerical form
E-business an individual organisation conducting
commerce electronically
E-commerce short for electronic commerce. Involves
conducting business electronically. Any
form of business transactions or
information exchange executed using
information and communication
technology, between companies,
between companies and their
customers, or between companies and
public administrations
EDI electronic data interchange. Pre-
Internet technology allowing linked
corporate computers to exchange
information electronically
E-mail messages sent and received
electronically via telecommunication
links, such as between microcomputers
or terminals
E-marketing stands for either electronic or online
marketing
ERP system enterprise resource planning system
E-sourcing using the Net to manage all
procurement activities
E-tail electronic retail. Online marketing
specifically targeted to consumers
Extranet a corporate website with restricted
access. Frequently used in value chain
management
FAQs frequently asked questions
FTP file transfer protocol
Home page a website’s welcome page
HTML hypertext mediated language
ICTs information and communication
technologies (what used to be simply
IT). The study of the technology used
to handle information and aid
communication
Intelligent agent a program that performs functions
such as information gathering,
information filtering, or mediation
running in the background on behalf
of a person or entity
Intranet a website for use strictly within an
organisation
ISDN stands for integrated services digital
network. A set of protocols enabling
the simultaneous transmission of voice,
video and text information over
standard copper telephone lines
ISP Internet service provider
iTV interactive digital television
Link a segment of text or a graphical item
that serves as a cross-reference between
parts of a hypertext document or
between files or hypertext documents.
Also called hotlink or hyperlink
Marketspace(s) electronic markets in which sellers offer
their products and services
electronically, and buyers search for
information, identify what they want
and place orders using a credit card or
other means of electronic payment
M-commerce stands for mobile (wireless) ecommerce
Netizen a person who is a frequent or habitual
user of the Internet
Phishing fraudulent activity often involving
e-mail messages designed to extract
sensitive information from
unsuspecting netizens (bank account
details, credit card numbers etc.)
Podcast involves the automatic downloading or
‘streaming’ of electronic content over
the Internet to large numbers of
recipients
Pop-up ads also known as ‘interstitials’. Ads that
pop up as you wait for your webpage to
load
Portals/Vortals these provide entry points to the
WWW and usually feature instructions,
search capabilities and menus of
selected links. Vortals tend to offer
highly specialised links
RFID radio frequency identification is
currently under development as an
alternative to barcoding. A product’s
tag is fitted with a silicone chip and
tiny transponder; this enables a
manufacturer or retailer to accurately
track such a product with radio waves
SMS short message service allows e-marketers
to send brief commercial text messages
to customers who have signed up to the
service
Software Agent software program used to simplify
(or Bot) repetitive tasks. A shop bot (or buyer
agent) has the ability to comb the
entire Internet to locate available goods
and services by price, feature, location
and so forth, thus saving the online
shopper time and money
SPAM unsolicited bulk e-mail messages sent
by irresponsible vendors (also known as
junk mail)
Spychips see also RFID. A term used by privacy
advocates around the world opposed to
the unregulated use of radio frequency
equipped product tags (such as
clothing labels and interactive credit
card chips)
URL stands for uniform (or universal)
resource locator. Every website has a
domain name or URL that is equivalent
to the site’s address or telephone
number
Viral Marketing a term typically used to describe very
subtle or ‘secret’ marketing practices.
On the Internet, for example, a
company may contribute product
satisfaction information to a blog site
in order to rapidly spread positive
word-of-mouth communication about
its brand
VPN virtual private network. The use of
encryption in the lower protocol layers
to provide a secure connection through
an otherwise insecure network,
typically the Internet. VPNs are
generally cheaper than real private
networks using private lines but rely on
having the same encryption system at
both ends. The encryption may be
performed by firewall software or
possibly by routers
WAP wireless application protocol
Webcasting from ‘World Wide Web’ and
‘broadcast’. Webcasting implies realtime
transmission of encoded video
under the control of the server to
multiple recipients who all receive the
same content at the same time. This is
in contrast to normal Web browsing
which is controlled from the browser
by individual users and may take
arbitrarily long to deliver a complete
document
Website a WWW file written in html
containing text and often pictures,
colour, sound and/or motion
Wi-Fi similar to Bluetooth wireless
technology, but offers significantly
more range and enhanced performance
Wireless LAN a local area network of computers or
similar devices linked without the use
of wires
