Ziff-Davis, Others Form Council to Set E-Commerce Standards
New York, July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Executives from Ziff-Davis
Inc., eToys Inc. and other Internet companies are forming a
council to set standards for electronic commerce to try to make
consumers more comfortable with online purchases.
The Council for Internet Commerce will be led by Jim Hake,
founder and chairman of Ziff-Davis' global information
infrastructure unit. Other members include Scott Kurnit, the
chairman of About.com Inc., BlueFly Inc. Chief Executive Ken
Seiff, and Cyberian Outpost Inc. Chief Executive Darryl Peck.
The council will begin by setting standards for e-commerce,
such as the use of personal information by companies and security
for online transactions, said Hake. Eventually, the council aims
to have a certificate that World Wide Web sites could display to
show they adhere to council standards, he said.
The standards will ''let consumers avoid feeling that their
order fell into a black hole'' by advising merchants to send
confirmation e-mails when they receive orders, for example, said
Hake.
Fewer than 40 percent of heavily used Web sites send out
confirmation e-mails to customers to let them know their orders
were received, Hake said, citing a study from Shelley Taylor &
Associates.
The public will be able to make recommendations and vote on
the standards at the council's Web site at
www.commercestandard.com.
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