EBay in Talks to Buy Share of Korean Aution Site GMarket

As we have thoroughly discussed throughout the weeks in this class, a major component of the new media is social networking. Social networking has many different websites. Some of the more popular websites include MySpace.com and Facebook.com. But one of the largest and most successful social networking websites is eBay.com. eBay has benefited millions of Americans as they can enjoy having another form of income by auctioning off or selling their goods. Consumers also receive great deals on products that may be discontinued, difficult to find, or find products for a cheaper price. eBay has proved to be immensely successful as a social networking site with incentive to buy and sell great products.

According to the New York Times author Brad Stone, "ebay in talks to Buy Share of Korean Auction Site GMarket", eBay is now looking to expand their business by purchasing shares of the Korean version of eBay, known as GMarket. GMarket like eBay has proven to be very successful since their founding in 1999 selling over $927.7 million in goods and making a $15.4 million dollar profit from fees as a result.

Though the sale has not gone through yet, both companies are in preliminary talks to discuss the sale of shares to the Korean Fair Trade Commission. This merger of sorts would expand the realm of social networking and while eBay has an international scope, this would help further the communication throughout the world making it an even more powerful social networking site.

This is a great example of how the new media is having a significant impact on society. eBay has proved to be so beneficial to consumers and the society as a whole that various companies have developed their own forms of auction and selling sites. The collaboration of these sites in any way would benefit society immensely as social networking will take on a stronger international meaning.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/ebay-in-talks-to-buy-share-of-korean-auction-site-gmarket/index.html?ref=technology