I'd like to look at a vital aspect of e-commerce, and that is the nature of the product or service.

Some of the most profitable e-commerce companies are those selling sex-related products or services.

But in some cases, one marketer's owned media become another marketer's paid media – for instance, when an e-commerce retailer sells ad space on its Web site.

Most leading retailers have already tried e-commerce, with limited success, and expansion abroad.

We define such sold media as owned media whose traffic is so strong that other organizations place their content or e-commerce engines within that environment.