'(Net) Neutrality’ for SMEs and Digital Divide

The current spotlight is on “net neutrality” so I suggest that we look into

a less popular, but extremely important aspect of the net neutrality issue: the

lack of anti-hijacking protection for SMEs’ customers who type brand/company

names into the internet address bar.

(You may read more about “customer hijacking” on Whose Customers Are Those Typing Brand and Company Names in the Internet Address Bar?)

Let’s begin by exploring staff hijacking, followed by delving into the concept of “digital revenge”.

In some countries, SMEs employ up to 90% of the workforce. Many of these

SME employees work not only at a desk in their employer’s office, but also

somewhere else online. When an SME staff member accesses the internet via

his or her computer, and the first page is not the company’s website, he or she

starts working for a different company. Many business owners and employees

are not aware of this.

Connecting to the internet via a workplace computer is like opening and walking

through an office door. If you use the computer at work, you are supposed to

be doing so on behalf of your employer. Today, however, in many workplaces,

when an SME employee goes online, he or she opens a “door” to (and enters)

a different company! He or she goes to online search companies or the portals

thereof. In effect, the employee in our example contributes to the revenue of a

different company – the search company that he or she uses. It probably does

not happen within all SMEs, but it certainly does happen more often than most

people realize.

By typing their company's name in the address bar, SME staff are unknowingly

making the portals richer because the act of doing so results in portal usage

instead of connecting them directly to their company website.. There is no

problem, however, when employees type their company's complete domain

name in the address bar. However, many employees simply type their company

name (without .com, etc.) because it is easier that way. Nevertheless, when

they type simple names in the address bar, they are unable to directly access

their company’s website. What happens next? Browsers take the employees to

the search results page.

There are some cases when the direct link to the company is on top of the

results page. This is good. In other cases, paid advertisement links for the

company are on top of the results page. In this case, some companies may

have to pay more money when their employees (accidentally) click on the paid

links.

This is how some SME workers (unknowingly) make money for other

companies (ie: portals). This is what we call staff hijacking in the Internet

address bar. Employees are not connected directly to their company website.

Instead, they are redirected to the search website results. Business owners

need to be aware of this.

The SME owners are cheated out of revenue in this backhanded process. The

SMEs are unknowingly financing the portals.

Now let’s delve into the concept of “digital revenge”. In the case of company

owners who pay for online advertisements, they need to be careful not to offend

their employees and customers. Imagine, if you will, an angry employee who

decides to use click fraud as a way to release their stress. Further, an angry

customer could do the same thing repeatedly. This is an extreme example but

it can, and does, happen.

This is one example of what I would call “digital revenge”

The distorted internet mechanism makes the above-described digital revenge

possible.

Ponder this:

Who benefits from digital revenge? The higher the incidence of this kind of

digital revenge, the more money goes to the portals.

These might sound like ridiculous examples today, but the lack of protection

for the customers of brands as well as for the companies in the URL bar could

make digital revenge more widespread.

Nowadays, more people prefer typing brand and company names than

complete domain names. This is why there is also a net neutrality issue in the

address bar.

In this internet age, genuine network neutrality starts in the address bar. Here

is a simple process to help prevent employee hijacking: If 10 million SME

employees in any given country change their default homepage to their own

company's website, instead of the portals, that means 10 million employees go

straight to their respective SME’s website.

If these employees also set their default page to the web page that they use

everyday at work (ie: their specific division page of their company’s website), it

is even more efficient for their company.

Many business people from older generations are not familiar with the details

of keyword advertising. They could become victims of this kind of hijacking.

National leaders and internet experts must also pay attention to what’s currently

happening with SMEs in terms of the internet.

Staff hijacking, customer hijacking, digital revenge, and the issues of net

neutrality are all connected to the concept of digital divide. That being said, it is

important to understand that net neutrality is not just about networks, it is also

related to the concept of digital divide.

The digital divide is expanding because many leaders are still unaware of -- or

not paying attention to -- the many problems inherent to the internet.

Leaders are not well-informed, so the SMEs in each country are being

overlooked. As a result, the economy is not booming as it should. This is

another aspect of the digital divide within the economy.

Before there can be net neutrality, the digital divide needs to be narrowed.

National leaders and internet experts must pay more attention to the state and

degree of digital divide. Perhaps establishing what constitutes “fair play” is a

good way to start resolving the issues I have mentioned above.

Digital divide is not only about differences between the old and young people or

between advanced and developing countries. The concept of digital divide also

involves the awareness levels, understandings and beliefs of national leaders,

experts and political leaders. The world economic issues are connected with the

digital divide because even presidents are not aware of this all-encompassing

distorted internet mechanism. That’s why every country is suffering from

national economic issues. They do their best to improve their country’s

economy, but their results are meagre. This is one hallmark of the digital divide at the national leadership level.

This is what I believe to be the true root of the current worldwide financial

difficulties.

Where Is Cyberspace?

(The following article was published on Circle ID. Click here to read/comment on Circle ID.)

Where Is Cyberspace?

In my first CircleID post, I compared the cyberspace to a farmland, which has to be cultivated and developed. I ended by asking: Where is cyberspace?

I have asked this same question from many people, many of whom are internet experts. They all said the cyberspace is in the computers, networks, or servers, or the Internet itself. I agree with these cyberspace ideas. In addition, my opinion is a bit different. For me, cyberspace is within the browsers. Sure, it is also outside the browsers and everywhere, but the greater part of the cyberspace is in the browsers.

I'm saying the greater part of the cyberspace is in the browsers because this is where e-commerce is active. People shop for everything and visit media sites in the browsers. Company websites and SNS are in the browsers, too.

Have you ever heard of the "browser wars?" Read about it on Forbes.com and Economist.com.

What do you think is the cause of this browser war? The browser is a free software, but why do the media call it browser war? What do you think? It is interesting, isn't it?

Now, consider this. In cyberspace, if there is no proper legal system, it is possible for browser company policies to work like the constitution in cyberspace. Then, there will be unfair mechanisms in the internet.

We have to consider the user's rights. Why do the browsers interrupt the customer-to-company connection? When users type exactly a brand name or company name in the internet address bar, they should have direct connection. But for smartphone users, they are always connected to a portal. As a result, they pay extra data charges.

If a user already knows the company name or brand name, then he/she should be able to connect directly to the company without going to the portal. Cause that user is obviously a customer of the company or brand name owner. Governments have to regulate it — for the user's rights and company and brand owners' rights — by Trademark Law and Fair Trade Commission, and Telecommunications Business Act, etc. in each country.

And so I asked in my first CircleID article, "Whose Customers Are Those Typing Brand Names in the Browser's Address Bar?"

In that article, I emphasized that we have to help the SMEs and prevent customer hijacking in the Internet address bar. Perhaps I should just start calling it the Internet entrance bar.

Further, the entrance to the cyberspace is the internet address bar. This is where we connect directly to a company like dialling a telephone number. I would like to encourage everyone to watch the story of Almon Strowger here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efUmnuDdlhQ

There are so many research centers all over the world. I want to suggest to everyone to research and look for clues about the problem in the 21st century economy.

Surprisingly, the browser war is actually a customer hijacking war in the entrance of the cyberspace.

The majority of the victims are the users and the SMEs. And the news and media companies.

The users are charged extra for mobile data cost. The SMEs lose their customers in the entrance of the internet. So, they have to advertise in the portal to get back their customers. They do this repeatedly, and spend a lot of extra money.

Does the cyberspace have extraterritorial rights in each country? The internet entrance bar is not an embassy. It is within the domestic law. So governments must protect the customers, cause the workplaces are fundamentally created by customers.

We have to know what is going on. Governments must not ignore the distorted structure in the cyberspace. We know already where is the cyberspace. Cyberspace is within the browsers. Browsers are within each country's law.

I discussed this topic with a browser company's staff. Their answer is so interesting. They said, there is no institution that takes care of this issue. There is no legal system or regulation that prevents browsers from ruling the cyberspace.

Naturally, this means browsers will follow the legal system, if there are proper regulations on the cyberspace, with regards to the internet address bar.

Once again, I welcome comments about this topic.

Whose Customers Are Those Typing Brand Names in the Browser's Address Bar?

(The following article was published on Circle ID. Click here to read my column.)

Fourteen years ago, we had so much hope at the start of a new century. We thought the global economy was going to improve a lot because of the emerging Internet technologies. But where are we today? What has happened in the last 14 years?

We know that even advanced countries are suffering from economic difficulties today. What happened to these advanced countries with high speed Internet?

The answer, though pretty simple, might shock you.

Let me ask you this: Whose customers are those who type your brand and company names in the Internet Address Bar – without .kr or .com? Please take note: not in the “search” bar.

Now, if you type in the URL bar mrpizza.co.kr or mrpizza.com (assuming these are domain names owned by Mr Pizza), whose customer are you?  

Consider this, too: If you dial the telephone number of Mr Pizza, are you a customer of the telephone service provider, or the operator, like 411? No. You are definitely a customer of Mr Pizza. It’s obvious.

By not typing “.co.kr” or “.com” in the URL bar, customers were not directly connected to Mr. Pizza.

Telephone numbers and domain names are protected by law. The people recognize those who dial the telephone number as customers of the owner of the telephone number. It is the same with domains. Domains are protected by laws. But customers who typed in brand and company names in the Internet address bar are not protected at all. Why? Is this fair? I do not think so.

Internet users who type brand and company names in the URL bar are directed to the portals. They have become customers of the portals. What is going on? What is happening?

The internet (the entrance in cyberspace) has become the best tool to hijack other companies’ customers.

So, despite the best efforts of companies to keep their customers, many are still lost at the entrance of cyberspace – the Internet Address Bar. This is how some businesses fall. The company owners are aware there are some problems, but they do not know what exactly is going on.

One portal’s CEO said, “Hijacking is a fascinating business.” Nowadays, he has become a hero in the Internet business. And he has accumulated great wealth.

But the government is ignoring this. Why?

Every government puts much effort and spends a large amount of the national budget to improve their country’s economy. But still several countries are suffering from national financial issues. How many countries are free from this issue?

Brand names, as well as company names, are registered with the government. But governments ignore customer hijacking in the entrance of the internet, and it makes companies lose revenue.

Remember, telephone numbers and domain names are not registered with the government, but they are protected by law. The same protection should be given to brand names without .co or .kr (or other domain name extensions, whether ccTLD or gTLD) in the internet address bar. It makes sense.

Brand names typed in the browser address bar without .com or .kr are still properties of the brand name owners. They should be properly protected.

A lot of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) rely on the internet and spend much money to recover their customers by keyword advertising. They think they are getting “new” customers. But in reality, they are merely recovering the customers they lost. The point is, the SMEs did lose their customers in the internet address bar. The business owners do not know why. (I will discuss keyword advertising elaborately in my succeeding columns.)

Why do the customers go to the portals, and why are they not directly connected to the company they typed?

Why can't the customers of Mr Pizza enjoy a direct connection?

Some portals said direct connection is ‘feeling lucky,’ but why did they make most customers feel unlucky?

We need a no-fuss, straightforward and legal system for customers to reach the companies directly online.

About a hundred years ago, an undertaker named Almon Strowger noticed he had been receiving fewer calls for his funeral services. He realized one of the local operators, the wife of his competitor, had been connecting calls for undertaker services to her husband.

Strowger thought it was not fair at all. He knew he had to do something to fix this unjust system.

So Strowger developed the “Automatic Switch” that connected calls directly to the telephone numbers dialed.

Now history is repeating itself. This telephone evolved into a more advanced technology-- the Internet. In the Internet Age, the new operators are the portals!

The metaphorical wife (in the early stage of the telephone) of the undertaker is now working again in the Internet address bar, redirecting and hijacking customers.

The SMEs are losing their customers because the portals are making them their own customers. This is customer hijacking!

It was unfair one hundred years ago. And it is still unfair today in the 21st century.

It is time to wake up from this Internet injustice.

Here’s another question for you: Who creates jobs for the people – is it the enterprises, or the customers?

We have to keep our customers because fundamentally, customers create jobs for the people. SMEs should not lose their customers online because SMEs hire about 90% of the employment ratio in each country.

I call for everyone’s attention because customer-to-brand connection in cyberspace is one of the issues that affect the status of the economy today.

Sadly, most of us are not well aware of this.

For workplaces, in the agricultural age, people cultivated farmlands. In the ICT age, we must also cultivate the cyber farmlands.

To do this, we must first know: Where is cyberspace?

Everybody thinks “web” is only about the “world wide web.” However, we have to recognize it has another meaning – trap. By understanding the cyberspace, we can avoid being trapped.

I intend to write more about the cyberspace and the SMEs in my next column. Please feel free to share with me your ideas on these topics. Until then!

IGF 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey - Open Mic

This was presented via remote participation at the IGF 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey:

Good afternoon. My name is Lee Pan Jeong from South Korea. I am with Netpia.  

We know that even advanced countries are suffering from economic crisis today. What happened to these advanced countries with high speed Internet?

Gathered here today are Internet experts. I am honored to ask these questions for us to ponder. 

1. Where is Cyberspace?
2. What constitution governs the cyberspace?
3. Whose customers are those who type your brand and company names in the Internet Address Bar? Please take note NOT in the SEARCH bar.

Think about this: If you dial the telephone number of Mr. Pizza directly are you a customer of the telephone service, or the operator, like 411? You are definitely a customer of Mr. Pizza. It’s obvious.

In the ICT age, if Internet users type in the URL bar mrpizza.co.kr or mrpizza.com (assuming these are domain names owned by Mr. Pizza) they are evidently customers of Mr.Pizza.  

Just like dialing the telephone numbers, customers are directly connected to Mr.Pizza. The telephone evolved into a more advanced technology-the Internet.

More questions!

4. Who creates jobs for the people – is it the enterprises, or the customers?

We have to keep our customers because fundamentally customers create jobs. Not only the enterprises.

These questions call for everyone’s attention because these are issues that affect the current status of the economy. Sadly, most of us are not well aware of this.

For workplaces, in the agricultural age, people cultivated farmlands.

In the ICT age, we must also cultivate the cyber farmlands

To do this, we must first know: Where is Cyberspace?

Everybody thinks “web” is only about the “world wide web.” However, we have to recognize it has another meaning – trap.

By understanding the cyberspace, we can avoid being trapped.

To all of you who are here today in the IGF meeting. I invite you to think about how we can solve the global economic crisis in relation to the questions that I raised.

Thank you very much.

Where Is The Cyberspace (Part 2)

Background:

Where Is The Cyberspace? (Part 1)


We call the present era the Internet Age. This advancement seemed promising! Yet today, the small and medium enterprises are finding themselves in financial trouble. Highly developed countries are definitely affected by this situation among the SMEs. 

What could we infer from this situation? Could SMEs in developed countries possibly be suffering from digital divide?  Could there be a brewing financial crisis in very big economies? If so, we need to study and reevaluate the current structure of the Internet ecosystem. So I am compelled to ask everyone: Where is the cyberspace?

Cyberspace Awareness, Its Relevance to the Digital Divide, and Its Effect on the SMEs

So many government leaders and SMEs, who have access to high speed internet 24 hours a day/7 days a week, do not know where cyberspace is. Even Internet leaders do not know where it is exactly. This is one form of digital divide. The root cause of digital divide is not limited to having no Internet access. Digital divide also develops when those who have Internet access are not fully aware about something as important as the location of cyberspace. 

This is something that internet leaders should not ignore: To bridge the digital divide, there should be sufficient awareness on something that plays a big role in the new economy.

SMEs, which provide about 90% of a country’s employment, are foremost the victims of digital divide. Helping a country's SMEs is like helping the world avoid a global economic crisis.

Small and medium businesses spend millions on online advertising but they are still losing their customers. They do not know why. 

The SMEs do not have the slightest idea that they have been losing their customers in the Internet address bar.

At this point, I should go back to my cyber farmland reference: A large chunk of the cyberspace is in the browser.  And the entrance to the cyberspace is in the Internet address bar, aka, the Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

Now, how are the SMEs losing their customers at the entrance of cyberspace?

Watch the video below to see how this very same thing happened many years ago:

The story in the video above is about Almon Strowger, an undertaker who noticed that the telephone (back then, it was a newly introduced technology) was not working for him. He was being robbed of clients, yet he was unaware of what was going on. His business was in trouble, until the Strowger switch was developed.

As mentioned, the same thing is happening to small and medium business players today.

Think about this: 

Whose customers are those who type company/brand names in the Internet Address (URL) Bar?

If you dial the telephone number of Mr. Pizza directly, are you a customer of the telephone service or 411? No. You are definitely a customer of Mr. Pizza. It’s obvious.

In the ICT age, the telephone evolved into a more advanced technology-the Internet. If Internet users type mrpizza.co.kr or mrpizza.com (assuming these are domain names owned by Mr. Pizza) in the URL bar, they are evidently customers of Mr.Pizza. Just like dialing the telephone numbers, customers are directly connected to Mr.Pizza.

But how about those who type “Mr. Pizza” without “.co.kr” or “.com” in the URL bar (not in the search bar) -- whose customers are they? Are they customers of the portal or Mr.Pizza? These users are connected to Mr. Pizza. They are not supposed to be customers of the portals.

Every company all over the world has been spending a lot of money and exerting a lot of effort to keep old customers and make new ones. But in cyberspace, the portals benefit from their hard work.

In the Internet or ICT age, customers who type the brand and company names in the URL bar are directed to the portals. They became customers of the portals. What’s going on?

To be continued...

RELATED READING:

Web Economy

Where Is The Cyberspace (Part 1)

Where Is Cyberspace?

The Oxford dictionary says the cyberspace is the "environment in which communication over computer networks occurs." It is like a farmland of opportunities. It is a global network of connected computers. Most of us know this. But do we all know where cyberspace is?

The cyberspace enables business organizations to easily formulate strategies, communicate with customers, and increase revenue.

Cyberspace should be good for everyone. However, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that play a vital role in a country’s economy, are struggling despite this technological advancement.

Businesses are losing customers in spite of the enhanced online publicity. This loss of customers is creating a domino effect: Workers are losing their jobs. Consumer demand is dropping. National production is declining.

As a result of all these and more, the national economy of many countries is suffering. These scenarios are happening in highly developed countries.

It is time for everyone to realize that these are all connected to cyberspace operations.

Where is cyberspace? I have asked this question to Internet entrepreneurs, government leaders and all other individuals. Most of them responded that cyberspace is in the Internet, in the servers and networks. It is in the PCs, laptops and all other digital devices that connect to the Internet.

These answers are not wrong. However, these answers are not 100% correct.

In reality, cyberspace is like a farmland, a cyber farmland. And the major part of this land is in the browsers.

Does cyberspace exist outside of the web browsers? Yes. But only in a much smaller scale. The largest part of cyberspace is definitely within the browsers.

To be continued...

RELATED READING:

The Effect on the Web Economy caused by wrongful use of Internet Address Bar