According to the article entitled, “The Future of Technology: The Power of Us,” the Internet is a popular tool that continues to thrive. However, its impact has been helpful and hurtful to some businesses.
The Internet helps people form local groups through the "use of file-sharing, blogs, group edited sites and also through social networking services such as MySpace." People post their opinions on blogs which have “connected … people with many others at the same time,” a feature that email and websites have not been able to do. This system has revolutionized email, making it possible for people to form local groups based on their similar points of view.
Depending on what people post on their blogs, their opinions and comments can have an impact on certain industries. For example, companies like eBay offer a feedback system “where buyers and sellers can rate each other on each transaction.” This reveals the “underpinnings of a new economic order” in which the people are in control, not the industries. The comments that people post are helpful for businesses to determine how to appeal to the interests of their customers. This has contributed to the success of many businesses because of the profits they have made as a result.
However, certain industries have lost profits because of the Internet and its features. For example, the Hollywood industry has been hurt by people who download movies and music online. This industry has lost money because of the websites that allow its users to download media such as these for free.
Blogging has also hurt companies because of the comments people have posted which are available for the public to read. For example, “last September, [the] bike-lock manufacturer Kryptonite tried to downplay a blogger video that showed how to open its bike locks with a BIC pen.” This video spread across the Internet which caused “the company to spend more than 10 million dollars on lock replacements.”
This excerpt shows how the Internet could be detrimental to certain companies. The power of blogging can have a significant impact on businesses. It could either allow companies to make more profits or it could cause a company to spend more money than it has to. It is clear that the Internet can be advantageous or harmful to some businesses.
