Mercari is a website that offers casual selling for internet users. It was founded in Japan, making it one of those odd Japanese native sites that actually has a presence in America. The site has been struggling to make money in America but I just created an account today and I just listed my first item, a Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones DVD, widescreen; this DVD came in an age when DVDs were important to the revenue stream of movie companies. I have already gotten 10 views after putting it on the site.
The question that I am asking here is this: Is Mercari the future of Japanese E-Commerce dominance?
Japan, being a society driven by the willingness to maintain its traditions was slower to embrace the internet than the United States. The Japanese mentality was to focus more on integrating mobile internet into their daily lives. However, this also meant that Japan was focused on its hardware not the software. This focus on hardware would prove one of the reasons why Japan fell behind in Information Technology while America and China continued to innovate in software engineering.
Mercari is the odd one out and represents something interesting in Japan. This is a Japanese site that has gotten much traction among the public in the country. In America it has been struggling somewhat but based on my interactions with the site, it seems that there is steady number of users who are trying to sell on there.
eBay is already heavily entrenched in the ecommerce market in America. Can Mercari really make a difference and gain a foothold in America.
What I think that Mercari has is the ease of use. Unlike the eBay app, Mercari makes it easy to sell items online. Ebay has entrenched buyers who have been on the site for many years and it makes it tough for someone just starting out to sell on there.
All it takes to list an item is to put in a couple boxes and you have a listing and people are ready to buy it. Ebay is better for power sellers, but it can be very confusing for a generation of users who grew up mostly interacting with the internet on phones not their desktops. Mercari is prefect fit for many Millennials and Gen Z types who simply want a storefront without all the messiness involved with it.
That is why I think in spite of the struggles it has having now, Mercari will probably be successful in at least Japan and then spread out to other countries. It is great that we are now going to get some competition in ecommerce. Competition will make the internet great again.
Tesla’s robotaxi service starts in Austin today and it will a momentous occasion for America’s transportation system. For many years, Tesla has leading the way in revolutionizing the car industry; now it will do the same to our aging transportation networks. There has not been much change in the transportation system since the 1920s era. It was in that decade we saw internal combustion engines overtake the electric as well as steam powered cars. There was also a decline in train traffic and also in street cars. However, now in the 2020s, we have a chance to change that and revitalize our transportation systems right here in America. Here are the 10 reasons why you should support Tesla’s robotaxis.
1. They are sustainable.
Zoox by Amazon is attempting to build their own cars. This is a great method but these cars have not truly being tested. In comparison, Tesla’s cars feed data into the company’s computers over the past decade and a half, allowing the company to prepare these cars for automated driving with human copilots being ready in a command center to take over whenever the need arises.
2. They are stylish
Unlike Zoox or Waymo cars, Tesla’s designs have always been forward thinking. While the Cybertruck may be seen as ugly by some, it is a masterpiece in modern design, breaking away from Japanese smoothness.
3. They are forward thinking and not relying on stagnant laurels
While sometimes change can be accomplished in an incompetent way, the age of Globalization that we are currently in demands we innovate more than before. The Tesla robotaxis are exactly what we need now in America, especially in a nostalgia-oriented culture such as ours. We need to move forward, remembering the past, honoring the present and preparing for the future.
4. It encourages competition
It seems to me that one of the main issues in America is the lack of competition in our age. Many of the big tech companies have taken control of their markets. The AV car market is not under control of Uber which gives many other companies opportunities to showcase their abilities. Unlike the search engine market, there is true opportunity in the AV car market in order to get innovation flowing once again in America.
5. They already have the cars
Zoox opened up a new factory in California to build their own robotaxis. However, Tesla is planning on having the robotaxis based on already built Tesla cars. This means that these cars have already been tested and are reliable. Zoox has to prove their cars in many more tests before they are out on the roads. While I believe that Zoox will be successful in this endeavor, Tesla is going to have a head start, allowing them to catch up to Waymo, which is the top company when it comes to automated driving in America. I think that Tesla, with the leadership of Elon Musk will help Tesla surpass all the companies that are currently involved in the emerging AV car industry in the United States. Elon Musk has shown the ability to disrupt ISP markets in other countries. He can do the same with AV Cars in America in this age. Instead of building the cars, Elon already has the information ready for these cars to make headway on the busy streets of the United States. In confident that he will be successful in this endeavor when compared to his competitors in California such as Zoox and Waymo.
6. Elon Musk
While Elon Musk has gotten unfair criticism from newsmongers, the man is truly a reincarnation of Thomas Edison. He is the reason why so many people have satellite internet which is much faster than most ISPs in their own countries. When it comes to building the infrastructure of the future, he is the man for it. Along with Jeff Bezos and some others, they are the ones who have been using the fortunes in order to shake up this stale, industrial culture.
7. Robotaxis will help to reduce congestion
In places such as Phoenix, Arizona, Waymo is already had multiple years of service. The company has experience with self-driving cars but has been slow to rollout into other cities. In Phoenix, it is tough to see that it had an effect. However, it can be said if at a high enough scale, Robotaxis will help to reduce congestion in the United States. Tesla will add to the companies that currently trying to find a way to improve traffic in our country now. That competition will surely help America in this area of our transportation systems.
8. They will help to rebuild public transit
Public transit in America often has a bad reputation for many reasons. In the past, it was one of the shining examples of our country’s excellence in implementing technology into public spaces. Now, it is seen as an eyesore in a car centric culture. Having robotaxis will help to revitalize public transit by giving people more options to use when needing to get around in cities.
9. They will give people options
When living in an Exurb, you do not have many options to move about. This is one of the biggest issues is mobility. If you do not have a car, you cannot move anywhere except as pedestrian. Robotaxis make this an easier process for many people.
10. They will reduce car repair costs for many citizens
Currently in the United States, Car repair is going up. One of the main reasons for why the cost is going up is because people are holding onto their cars for longer than in the past. Another reason is that many newer cars are stuffed to the brim with electronics which often have proprietary software and internal electronics that require specialists. Repair skills, which would worked wonders on the cars of 3 generations ago, are no longer possibly able to keep up with the cars that come out of the factories in our current age. Robotaxis will help to give people options to use their primary cars less and use the services for shorter commutes around the urban areas.
Amazon has generally been a pretty straight forward website. It is a place where you buy things or if you are a seller, sell your items on the Amazon storefront similar to eBay. Unlike many other dotcom businesses in the 1990s, Jeff Bezos had a vision and a sustainable business model. However, this does not mean that Amazon is lying on its laurels and has been continuing to innovate in many areas.
Amazon’s Rufus is named after a dog who was in Amazon’s office in the early days. It’s function is very much like a digital golden retriever: it seeks out information about the items you want to buy on the site.
Rufus is available on desktop as well as the mobile app. On the desktop site, Rufus is located on the upper left side of the screen.
How to search with Amazon Rufus Chatbot.
To start, you need to start typing something into the Amazon search box.
When you type in something into the Amazon, Rufus will analyze it and it will provide relevant questions.
When you click on the question bubbles, Rufus will provide answers to your questions here. It combines ChatGPT with the Amazon customer review system which helps to create a unique AI.
I chose a Runic Ring to buy, the first result on the page.
When you click on the link to the product page, Amazon has now integrated Rufus into many aspects of the site.
One of the best aspects of Amazon’s AI integration is that it is holistic. Unlike the older versions of chatbots that would you see before ChatGPT, companies such as Amazon are integrating throughout the site. It is not an annoyance on the side bar; it now greatly enhances your ability to shop on Amazon and save time instead of spending it on the annoying search engine in Amazon.
Amazon’s s Rufus is much better than Google’s AI overview as it curates the Amazon customer review system in order to provide better responses.
Amazon smartly chooses to have Rufus located throughout the page for each product that you click on the site. While it may seem overbearing for some, this approach means that Amazon is not just treating like a feature that is being hidden away on the screen. In many ways, Amazon is the prefect site for such implementation of Shopping chatbots.
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