What & when is the earliest mention of the term E Commerce on the
Internet of in any business publication ?

Thanks

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 17 Jun 2004 08:01 PDT

My searching shows the term beginning to appear in general business
literature in 1994.  However, there is no way of confirming that this
is the first time the term appeared in print in a business context.

Any earlier references all seem to be to addresses:  E. Commerce Drive, etc.

Should I post the first 1994 mention of e-commerce as an answer to your question.

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Clarification of Question by hendo-ga on 17 Jun 2004 15:56 PDT

pafalafa - yes, pls post the earliest reference you have found as an
answer - thanks, hendo

hendo-ga,

The term "e-commerce" seems to have first appreared on the scene in
1994 in a smattering of published works.  Although it mostly found use
as a convenient shorthand of "electronic commerce" for use by headline
writers, it also began creeping into article text in 1994 as well. 
And once again, the federal government played a prominent role in
bringing this new aspect of the internet to the forefront.

Here are some of key uses of the term that I found by searching the
Factiva business news database for the terms [ e-commerce OR "e
commerce" ]:


=====

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SET FOR ELECTRONIC BUYING 


21 September 1994
Corporate EFT Report 
Vol. 14, Issue: 18 

"The GSA has already published implementation guides for most EDI
transactions and an interagency task force will soon issue rules for
Federal e-commerce. The Clinton Administration's push for a
streamlined, electronic federal purchasing is right on schedule, and
electronic data interchange (EDI) traffic between the government and
its suppliers could begin this fall..."

=====


U.S. encryption policy hurting E-commerce

5 December 1994
PC Week 

[this was a headline-only use of the term...it does not appear in the
article text itself].

=====

STERLING INTRODUCES UK E-COMMERCE NETWORK 


20 October 1994
Telecomworldwire 

[again...another headline-only use of the term.  The actual article
text looked like this:]

"Sterling Software has launched...its electronic commerce VAN, forming
part of a planned pan-European service roll-out. The Commerce:Network
will offer a complete suite of electronic commerce facilities...and
will support a number of advanced electronic commerce activities to
provide customers with competitive edge and cost benefits..."

=====

[and on the first day of 1995, another headline-only use...]

Federal Blueprint for E-Commerce

1 January 1995
Industries in Transition 
Vol. 22, No. 9 ISSN: 0085-0003 
Business Communications Company, Inc. 

"Following up on President Clinton's initiative to reform the federal
government's procurement regulations, the U.S. General Services
Administration (GSA) and the Dept. of Defense (DOD) today released a
report outlining a blueprint for an electronic commerce acquisition
program throughout the federal government...."


==========

So the little-known EFT report seems to win the prize for being the
first use of the term "e-commerce" and did so in the text of its
writing, rather than as a headline-only use.

And as they say....the rest was history.


Before rating this answer, please let me know if you need any
additional information on these cites -- or on anything else I've
mentioned here.  Just post a Request for Clarification if you need
anything else, and I'll be happy to assist you further.


pafalafa-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by hendo-ga on 17 Jun 2004 23:29 PDT

pafalafa - all fine, thanks again, hendo

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Clarification of Answer by pafalafa-ga on 18 Jun 2004 05:48 PDT

Glad this was useful to you.  Hope to see you back here one of these days.

pafalafa-ga

very proimpt & right on the button

Hi hendo,

I could not find an authoritative answer, however you may find this quote useful:

"The term, e-commerce was first used by Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory through a series of Department of Defense (DOD) projects to
establish paperless business transactions from the beginning to the
end."

"Developing Comparison-Shopping Agent Systems" by C C Lee and others
http://www.cchristopherlee.com/class/bus_496/shop_agent_020309a_all.pdf


Regards,
eiffel-ga