In other words, the World Wide Web is the first example of a hypermedia CME with a body of software, and a set of protocols and conventions that make it possible for people on the Internet to search, retrieve, browse, and add information to the environment at will. Figures 1a and 1b show examples of CommerceNet, a site dedicated to promoting electronic commerce on the Internet. CommerceNet represents a hypermedia computer-mediated interface for dozens of firms wishing to do business on the Internet and is just one of hundreds of such diverse efforts to bring users and providers together in a virtual marketplace. From here, a user chooses where to go next. This page itself offers a nonlinear menu of choices to the user.
All home pages look different, uniquely reflecting the firms they represent.
Figures 1c and 1d show sample pages from the Internet Shopping Network, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Home Shopping Network. Along with the suspected increases in efficiency, the anecdotal evidence mounts that marketing on the net may also be more effective than marketing through traditional media. Yet, without a theoretical framework to examine the issues, we are likely to make little progress in exploiting the potential of this unique environment. At the least, the current void in theory is likely to hamper seriously the efforts of marketers who wish to understand the hypermedia CME, from either the scholarly or practical perspective. Further, if marketers do not understand the medium, they cannot possibly develop and market offerings efficiently and effectively to customers, let alone satisfy customer needs.