E-business comes in many forms, though each is implemented to add value. Founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar, was an entrepreneur who understood this basic principle. Most web savvy people are familiar with e-auction king eBay whose business model takes advantage of a digital marketplace for exchange. As economist and philosopher Adam Smith so eloquently described:

Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another.

Omidyar created an online platform to connect any two willing bargainers from any place in the world for exchange. He utilized existing physical chains for shipping and bought out PayPal, the leading online payment service for buyers and merchants. The core of his revenue streams are built on e-commerce. All he has to do is collect a small fee from each transaction.

Much of e-business isn't about direct revenue streams. It can simply be about collaboration over the web, an intranet, extranet or some combination. Businesses use "knowledge management" (KM) and virtual communities to connect employees as well as customers, suppliers, etc. In these virtual communities a customer can get a question answered, a supplier receive an order or two managers promote organizational objectives. Instant messaging, e-mail and live chat rooms are some of the communication methods. KM's core is in compiling and distributing what it knows to key players in the business. New relationships can bloom from these systems as well as be enhanced and maintained.



A writer's livelihood can be via e-business distribution of their content. As in any business ad revenue may be collected the greater a website's traffic grows. Omidyar showed entrepreneurs that e-business can support existing commerce in physical space as well as flourish as a business itself. Upon Google's initial public offering (IPO) in 2004 some investors missed out on the opportunity pondering "what do they do" beyond ad revenue. They wondered how a free search engine could produce long-term earnings growth and a prosperous stock. Certainly they missed out on owning a piece of the internet's leading presence.

With e-business it comes back to adding value to somebody along the value-chain. If this is achieved, a business's culture and bottom line will thrive.

Written by Ryan Swift