A new era in business is emerging. As the internet gets stronger and stronger as a resource, companies are trying hard to adjust to the change. Some have oriented themselves well in the new medium, but most simply don’t understand. This is not to say they don’t know how to use Twitter or SEO, but they haven’t fully come to terms with what the internet and consumer blogs truly mean. The internet is much harder to control than any other entity big business has ever tried to face. This is because it wasn’t established for big business, it was made for the full exchange of information (created of course by Al Gore…kidding). The internet can be the best business asset ever created or it can be responsible for the outright destruction of a company. The good news is, no matter what the outcome, the company normally deserved whatever resulted or is resulting from it.
Quality of product is now the name of the game, not how many people you can get to buy something. As people who surf the internet get smarter, and search engines get better at finding the quality content, all the tricks of the trade are becoming obsolete. Link bombing, faking consumer reviews, e-mail spamming, these are all dying practices. Software, music, and movies now have an optional price that more and more people are turning to, and that price is zero dollars. This is not a trend, this is a permanent change. Instead of crying over spilt milk, these industries need to simply come to terms with the situation and adjust. When it comes to software, meaning computer programs, this is not as big of a problem, due to businesses purchasing the programs legally, and the fact that most people that use these programs regularly don’t tend to download. Though they should be wary, and consider making their products cheaper, because as the next generation takes the reigns, downloading of programs will become more and more prominent.
When it comes to the movie and music industries, I fully believe that they deserve what is happening to them. CD’s should not cost twenty dollars, and it should not cost so much to go to the movies. Luckily for us, the internet changed the market completely, adjusting the prices of all movies and CD’s to zero. Granted, this is an illegal act, but it has reached the point of jay-walking. What these industries need to do is adjust, and provide people with reasons to pay them for their products. In terms of the movie industry, they have the advantage of being able to offer high quality movies on bigger screens than your computer can provide. However, I think they need to lower their prices, or they will further alienate their customers, because a free movie on your computer with microwave popcorn sounds pretty good when compared to 20 dollars at the movie theater.
The music industry has a much bigger problem on their hands. Quality used to also be on their side, but now you can download almost any CD in FLAC quality (same quality as CD’s) for zero dollars. Other than the fact that it’s illegal, there is no reason to buy CD’s. What is even worse for the music industry is that it isn’t going to get better; it’s going to get worse. As the Baby Boomer generation dies off, and a new generation emerges, they will be ingrained with the idea of downloading being the proper way to obtain music. However, there is good news; the record industry will never truly die. It may not be in the form (CD’s) that it currently is today (kind-of), but new music will always be demanded and there will always be a market for it. The record industry needs to provide incentive to make the value of purchasing a CD more than just the CD. I have come up with a way to do this, but I won’t write about it here, due to me not wanting the idea stolen from me.
Downloadable products are not the only industries affected by the new face of the internet. Due to blogging and social networking sites, people can exchange information about products much easier than ever before. This means bad products are isolated immediately, and as more and more people are born and brought up internet savvy, products will be forced to get better and better. This is a great thing, as it makes businesses run better and adjust to consumer needs. The internet is also a great asset to businesses who wish to make their products better and directly connect with their customers. However, there is one industry that is trying to move to the internet, and though most people disagree, I personally think the move is the wrong one.
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