A tentative model for an online place branding application solution

• Author: V.-A. Briciu/A. Briciu/R. Demeter
• Position: Transilvania University of Brasov/Transilvania University of Brasov/Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 149-160

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşo v

Series VII: Social Sciences • Law • Vol. 12 (61) No. 1 – 2019

https://doi.org/10.31926/but.ssl.2019.12.61.1.14

A TENTATIVE MODEL FOR AN ONLINE PLACE

BRANDING APPLICATION SOLUTION

V.-A. BRICIU1 A. BRICIU2 R. DEMETER3

Abstract: This paper aims to introduce an automated ranking algorithm by

using a software platform, an application for analysing an online place brand’s

content, in terms of the characteristics of a place brand’s identity

communicated through official websites. The application was implemented

using up to date programming languages and technologies. For the

database implementation, MySQL was used together with phpMyAdmin

tool. The application was developed using PHP, CSS and JavaScript being

used for designing it. This application is not designed for general or public

use yet, it is intended for an analysis of brand characteristics added by a user

and all the application main functions are described in this paper.

Keywords: place brands, Cyberspace, application, software platform,

ranking brands.

1. Introduction. The History of Cyberspace

The origins of the Internet, or cyberspace as you wish to call it, are to be found in a

military research project created by the Defence Department of United States. In 1958

ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) was created to mobilize research resources,

particularly from the university world, in order to create military superiority over the

Soviet Union. In September 1969 a minor project, a computer network, emerging from

one of ARPA’S department called ARPANET was invented. Its purpose was to facilitate “a

way of sharing computing time on-line between various computers centres and research

groups working for the agency” (Castells, 2001, p.10).

Before 1990, cyberspace was used primarily for e-mails and file-transfers by academics

and researchers across the United States of America and was defined by the shared

pursuit of science. Nonetheless, by the middle of the de cade two major changes

occurred: the commercial use (once forbidden across the US) surpassed its academic use

and the World Wide Web (WWW), a graphical-hyper textual interface, became the main

vehicle for navigating internet sites (Holmes, 2001, p.57).

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, victor.briciu@unitbv.ro

2 Transilvania University of Braşov, arabela.baican@unitbv.ro

3 Transilvania University of Braşov, rdemeter@unitbv.ro