MVC - A Key Architectural Pattern in RIA: Illustrates the use of MVC on the Flex client-side as well as that of the Flex client as the View component in the MVC pattern.
Web 2.0 is the phenomenon of our times - and several major trends have come together that make it a very important influence on how e-businesses interact with their customers and sell to them.
70% of US households had broadband connectivity by end of 2006.
More than 40% of online purchases happen because customers use search engines.
Cutting edge companies like Google, Yahoo, Nike and others are launching rich interactive websites that use AJAX, Video and other new interactive technologies, that are attracting customers away from their competitors.
User generated content, in the form of user reviews, blogs and tags, is beginning to have tremendous impact on product perception and product purchases, and finally
Professional Open-source solutions, such as Google Enterprise Solutions, Content Management Systems and Dashboards, have begun to provide low-cost and reliable alternatives.
Video and Rich Media
Instead of using static images for the product presentation, use video to promote "lifestyle selling"
Link e-commerce functionality directly into the video, such that customers can directly add-tocart or buy, even as they watch the video
Monetize your content video assets by inserting advertisements and promotions into the video
Use video to create "how-to-use" User Guides and Educational video for products and services that need hand-holding during installation or troubleshooting
AJAX
Product Navigation: At websites like Netflix, hovering the mouse over the product image, automatically brings up the product details in a popup, instead of the user having to click on the image, wait for the webpage refresh and then seeing the product details.
Cart & Checkout: Companies like Anthropologies, TJMaxx and Urban Outfitters are using AJAX techniques to condense the entire cart and checkout experience into a seamless "single-page".
Site Search: Firms such as Answers.com and Google use AJAX for the Search box. As the user starts typing his search string, the system starts coming back with various recommendations on the search string that the user might actually be searching for.
Next Generation Site Search
Google Search Appliance: The Google Search Appliance is an integrated hardware and software product designed to give businesses the productivity-enhancing power of Google Search. This appliance can be easily customized to work effectively as a Site-search tool. Furthermore, at price points as low as $2,000, its is an extremely cost-effective solutions as well.
Open-source Lucene: Lucene is an open-source project launched by the prestigious Apache foundation, and has become the world's premier open-source search and indexing engine. Similar to the Google search appliance, it can be easily customized to work effectively as a Site-search system.
These main Web 2.0 trends, when leveraged well, offer great opportunites to e-businesses in four main ways:
