At it's most simplistic level; eCommerce is simply buying and selling of goods, services or information via World Wide Web, email or other pathways on Internet. It is here to stay and will play a bigger role in our lives over years ahead. Ecommerce and Ebusiness are interchangeable terms. eCommerce can be broken down into following sections:

- eTailing. These are mainly "virtual" storefronts which act as a catalogue of products of merchants and usually include a "shopping cart" system to enable consumers to purchase online with use of credit cards. Today's Internet climate dictates that if you can't buy what you see online while you are online; you will probably lose sale. The great advantage of etailing is international coverage at minimum cost and ability to trade 24 hours a day with minimum staffing levels. The benefits to consumers are shopping from home and a wide range of choice. This range of choice can sometimes be a downfall as it confuses some consumers who in frustration may give up on buying product at all!

- EDI (Electronic Data exchange). This is business to business (b2b) flow of information between companies or within a company itself. The 90's saw concept information equalling power. Whatever creates power also generates money and therefore creates new enterprises to supply this information. EDI is being replaced with XML. He with most relevant data on his hard drive wins!

- Email and faxing. Direct marketing through email. Unfortunately, it also creates equivalent of what we find in our physical mailboxes every day; junk mail - electronic junk mail is known as spam. Terrabytes of spam is circulating around Internet at any given time, which slows down our global network. While this is one of negative aspects of eCommerce, direct marketing ploys, if carried out properly are a very successful and acceptable way of generating income for a business

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"WHAAAAT!" Sherry looked at me in disbelief. "That machine took my card...and that bi...bit...*person* refused to give it back!" Her face was quickly going brick red with mounting rage.

Hmmm, wait a minute, *Sherry's* card?

I said, "I *thought* it was Danny's?" It had his name on it, in fact. "Yes," Sherry said impatiently, "it's his, but it's a *joint* account - Danny *and* me." She pauses. "That...that...person should've given it BACK..." She's really fuming now...I wondered if her Kirlian aura was gonna turn purple, or maybe red. I look at her, "Well, now...I didn't know that, did I now?" Sherry glares at me - but not *at* me - then relaxes to a sheepish smile, "Sorry, dear heart...I thought you knew." I shrug, "No matter...we gotta get card back, OK?" *And*, figure out why machine ate it too, just quietly...but, one thing at a time!

So, thirty minutes later, we're both at branch, fronting up to *that* Customer Service Desk...ho, ho, HO, ho, ho! The woman who had served me is nowhere in sight, but another clone steps up, vacant smile glowing, 'Colgate' white...

SHE: "And how may we help you today, hmmm?" (The royal 'we', no less, thinks I).

ME: "Ah, look, about half hour ago, one of your machines took card...it's in drawer there", me pointing, "and, I went to get autho..." Sherry elbows me to side.

SHERRY: "Listen, and listen good!" She transfixes hapless woman with her fury. "You have a card of MINE, in that drawer...get it out and give it BACK. Now!" She glares magnificently. "It's in name of Danny Burke...and I'm *other* joint owner of account, his MOTHER." Sherry made last word sound like 'HITMAN'. The woman visibly wilts...truly, she cringes.

SHE: "Er...oh...um, but, but...you...you...must have a l..letter that author..." Sherry raises her hand, like a cop stopping traffic.

SHERRY: "Stop...go to your fax machine, and there you will find letter waiting for you." She smiles benignly now, soothingly, waving her away. (Just to let *you* know, we went to Sherry's other branch first and got them to draft and fax necessary letter. We *knew* it would be waiting by time we got to *this* branch.)

A few minutes later, woman came back and, after satisfying procedure, Sherry got card back. Twirling card in her fingers, Sherry looks at woman...