week 6 – Monday (25 July 2011)

Digital Economics

• Housekeeping
• Lecture
• Discussion Leader
• Group Project Introduction

Reflection

Being a discussion leader was a fun yet challenging project that I had a lot of fun doing. I got the idea for my project from one of the readings assigned to us on the wired website about digital economics. The article started out talking about how a recommendation on Amazon caused a book to go from obscurity to a best seller. This idea really intrigued me so I looked for a similar article. The article I found was about how people use and misuse Amazon reviews. It was a good experience turning the study done in the article into a presentation about the overall effect of online reviews.

How The New Technology Effect Economy–Download and Copyright

Technology revolution brings us to a new generation; it changes cultures, human behaviors, as well as the way people exchange their information and “gifts.” According to the article that I chose “The Hi-Tech Gift Economy,” I learned that within a short time using the Net has become a normal thing to do for people today, which at the same time change the structure of economy. This article talks about how the Net and new technology is changing economy recently.

Long Tail Theory in Television Markets

Today’s market is powered by blockbuster hits.  The sales of these popular products return extremely high revenue for a period of time.  However, the smaller, less popular products are also selling, just in smaller amounts.  These niche markets are effective in a different way; while they don’t sell large numbers all at once, they do sell consistently over a longer amount of time.  There is always demand for lesser known material from a wide range of people and places.  The Long Tail approach uses the niche genre to sell a lot of different products to many people.  The study recorded a European television audience’s viewership of Video on Demand niche material:  cultural shows and videos.  The results indicated a high demand for free niche products and a smaller demand for the cultural shows that cost money.  While some  of the videos offered were more popular than others, they were all viewed at least once.  This supports the Long Tail theory’s idea that niche products are purchased by the public if they are available.   However, the study did indicate that the Long Tail approach may be more applicable in other forms of media, such as music and books. Regardless, catering to numerous smaller audiences with more specific tastes is a promising method of creating revenue.

Consumer Beliefs and Online Shopping

This research article studied the effect of consumer beliefs on online purchase behavior. As the article states, “the three most common beliefs that consumers have about shopping online are that it saves time, saves money and helps find products that best match needs.” However this is not apparent to everyone. As shopping online is increasingly becoming more and more popular it is important for these online retailers to figure out who their customers are, in particular what their beliefs are and what they want out of their online shopping experience. This study investigates the characteristics of online shoppers such as their income, education level, and age, effects their online shopping beliefs. This article also discusses the “tyranny of choice” paradox, when it comes to consumers desire to have a wide selection of products vs. the time it takes to examine all the options.