O'Neill A1). The Internet is a very valuable means of communication. A very valuable use of the Internet for all consumers and vendors alike is electronic commerce (e-commerce). E-commerce is just like regular commerce, "the buying and selling of commodities on a large scale involving transportation from place to place" (Brian), except it is done electronically over the Internet. This has its advantages for customers and merchants. Customers have the advantage of being able to sit at home and purchase virtually anything as well as being able to compare product prices without having to leave their chair. Merchants have the advantage of not having to hire people to work in an actual store or to answer phones like in a mail order company, which saves them money. When companies save money they tend to lower prices. When prices are lowered consumers are more likely to buy a product. That means that e-commerce seems to be good all around. It makes merchants more money as well as saving consumers money (Brian). A great example of how the Internet and e-commerce can change lives is the DotComGuy. This is a man in his twenties who has been living through the Internet since the beginning of the year and plans to do so until the year comes to an end. He actually changed his name to DotComGuy. He communicates with a cell phone ordered online. He gets his food online, pays bills online, and buys every product he needs from furniture to exercise equipment all online. The house started out completely unfurnished except for his computer and the box that it came in. Everything in the house came from an e-commerce merchant. People seem to really support him while others think he's crazy (About DotComGuy). This is a great example of what the Internet can do for the common American and how the Internet can be used as a major means of communication. The Internet has not only effected communication but has dramatically effected the way people relax and enter...
