http://tc.eserver.org/authors/Paterson,_Lorraine A bibliography of works by Paterson, Lorraine in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Paterson,_Lorraine http://tc.eserver.org/35248.html http://tc.eserver.org/35248.html This article describes how the author investigated the business case for the operation of online customer communities, and evaluated their impact. This was achieved through analysis of opinions from members in company-sponsored and member-initiated online customer communities. The research aimed to understand the relationship between customer and company in online communities, explore the motivations of customers to participate in online customer communities, and the benefits of these communities to companies. The main findings of the research revealed that online customer communities are beneficial to both company and customer. The evaluation concludes with a set of recommendations to companies on how online customer communities might be effectively created and managed. http://tc.eserver.org/33749.html http://tc.eserver.org/33749.html The economic pinch is encouraging more people to shop online, making website usability more important than ever. Those ecommerce sites that follow good usability practices will inevitably have a competitive advantage. What are the key things companies can do to make their site user friendly?