size and shape

    

Current State of Play (2nd Edition), a quarterly statistical report from Australia's National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) supplying indicators of Australian ecommerce activity along with international benchmarks. NOIE is to be applauded for its belated emphasis on local data, given its tendency to concentrate on overseas studies. 

The October 2000 E-Commerce Across Australia report from NOIE supplements the January E-commerce beyond 2000 report, arguing that e-commerce will neutralise the tyranny of distance and place us all on a level footing in the global marketplace. Reality's a bit more complicated than that, but the new report offers a detailed analysis of the potential impacts on regional Australia.

The Economic & Social Impacts of Electronic Commerce: Preliminary Findings & Research Agenda report from the OECD explores the growth of E-C, the impact on national economies and business models, employment and wider social implications.  It follows the 1997 report on Measuring Electronic Commerce.  The OECD has recently released a separate New Economy report, primarily concerned with the relationship between information technology and growth.

the US Commerce Department's Digital Economy 2000 (DE2K) report, touted as a national scorecard, considers e-commerce (defined as business to business and business to consumer transactions using digital technology) and information technology within the US economy. It replaces last year's The Emerging Digital Economy II report and a similar 1998 document.

Fast Forward: Accelerating Canada's Leadership in the Internet Economy is a report by Boston Consulting from earlier this year for the Canadian E-Business Round Table

The website of the US government Electronic Commerce agency contains a wealth of information about policy-making and research initiatives in the US.  The World Trade Organization (WTO) site - currently being reconstructed - provides access to statistical data, research and international agreements such as TRIPS.

Australia's National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) has produced a range of reports, some of value, on aspects of electronic commerce.  At the end of last year it released Australia's E-Commerce Report Card, essentially a report on progress against the Strategic Framework For The Information Economy issued in January 1999.  Must reading if you're a bureaucrat, otherwise no.  

The US prototype is the 1997 A Framework for Global Electronic Commerce (often referred to as the Magaziner Report). Sceptics will of course turn to the work of US economist Robert Gordon of Northwestern Uni and IT analyst Paul Strassman.

In June this year NOIE released a report on the uptake of electronic commerce among small and medium sized enterprises, arguing that around 60% of Australian businesses are "online" and - more usefully - examining impediments to the growth of ecommerce. Much of the report's inconsistent with the more credible December 2000 report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) regarding business use of IT, including use of email, etailing and online presences.

Our metrics and statistics guide offers pointers to research into the size of the Net (and the 'Digital Economy'), as well as vexed questions such as the various 'Digital Divide/s'.  

A number of studies stand out.  Last year the US Internet Council, comprising state and national legislators, released State of the Net 1999, a snapshot of access, ecommerce, traffic and other Internet developments in the land of the free. While some of the figures are suspect, the report is a useful compilation.  

The major 1999 conference on Understanding The Digital Economy: Data, Tools & Research - a partnership between MIT and the Digital Economy office of the US Department of Commerce - featured a number of significant reports. We've recently read Measuring The Internet Economy (PDF), a report by Barua, Pinnell, Whinston & Shutter of the University of Texas.

     who's participating 

We've highlighted information sources about who's online in our Metrics & Statistics guide.   

A number of national, regional and global electronic commerce associations are emerging. We will be identifying major bodies towards the end of 1999.  Locally two bodies are Tradegate, an Australian electronic commerce association, and the Australian Internet Industry Association (IIA).  

The Australian Electronic Business Network (AEBN) is a government program meant to "foster awareness of electronic commerce among small to medium enterprises". Lots of Canberra propaganda, along with some good stuff.

The explosion of ecommerce in North America has resulted in a proliferation of lobby groups, expert panels and reports. Many of those bodies share membership, produce little of value and are unlikely to be around after sucking on the exhaust of traffic going down the information highway. We're highlighting a few of the more interesting - or merely more powerful - bodies.

The Electronic Commerce Forum (ECF) competes with NetCoalition.com and the strangely named Global Information Infrastructure (GII).  US bricks-&-mortar retailers, including the International Council of Shopping Centers and International Mass Retail Association, have formed the E-Fairness Coalition, a lobby group advocating a 'level playing field' at the state and national levels.

The Internet Alliance, another lobby group, advertises itself as the "premier organisation of Internet policy professionals representing the Internet online industry" [sic] and strongly aligned with the Direct Marketing Association of America.

The US-based Internet Law & Policy Forum (IPF) has a cross-border focus. Its current working groups are dealing with self-regulation, digital signatures, content blocking, and certificate authorities.

The Global Internet Project (GIP),  another US-based and industry-driven group, has produced a number of interesting papers on cryptography and regulatory regimes. It is a major funder of the private-sector led Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN) and is associated with bodies such as the  Global Business Dialogue for Electronic Commerce (GBDe).

Australia's Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) site features draft reports on Accessibility of electronic commerce and other new service delivery technologies for older Australians and people with a disability.

The Business Council of Australia site features another government-funded discussion paper on Accessible E-Commerce in Australia: The Effects of Electronic Commerce Developments on People With Disabilities.  

A US perspective is provided by Cynthia Waddell's 1999 paper on The Growing Digital Divide In Access For People With Disabilities: Overcoming Barriers To Participation.


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