Recently I completed a talk to some local small business on the subject of "building websites".

"In the world of e-Commerce today, it is crucial businesses have a presence on the Internet, no matter how small they are...", I started.

I was interrupted...

"What is e-Commerce?"

I was taken aback.

I didn't know what the 'e' stood for?

Do you?

Subsequent to the talk, I did a little research.

e-Commerce is short for "electronic commerce."

So what's "electronic commerce," then? Basically it is the buying and selling of products and services over the Internet. Not that long ago, to buy a book, you had to get dressed and go into town. Now, you can go online, buy a book, and have it delivered to your door the next day, without ever setting foot outside your front door. When it comes to buying and selling stuff, barriers of time and distance mean very little anymore, especially when you purchase an e-product!

So what's an e-Product?

An electronic product. Something that you can download straight away. A CD from itunes. An e-book from an expert. You pay your money (by card or Paypal) and you instantly can have access to the e-product you have just purchased.

But e-commerce isn't just for the consumer and retailer.

On the Internet, businesses also sell products and services to other businesses, rather than to consumers. (Often referred to as B2B (business to business). e-Commerce has grown pretty fast over the last few years and expect this to continue at an even faster rate. And it's cheaper, faster more convenient and can reach more potential customers (i.e. world wide). Hence - why I was giving the talk in the first place. If you own a business, then you must get an Internet presence. Almost every kind of business will be done at least partly over the Internet.

So, what is e-commerce?

It's a relatively new way of doing business and marketing goods and services over the Internet. One more thing I found out during my little bit of research. You know that tiny little lower case "e" at the beginning of the word e-commerce?

Ever wonder why it's not a large, capital "E"?

The "e" stands for electronic, and electronic, literally, means having to do with electrons. Electrons are the sub-atomic particles that move around us and give us energy in the form of electricity. The scientific symbol for electron is a small "e".

If you knew all this, I am sorry to bore you but as I didn't know I thought others may not.