The Virtual and the Economy

The Virtual and the Economy. (Wk. 7)

The internet has created a virtual market that has ‘change not just business, but much else besides.’ (The Economist, 2012). The impact on the economy has had a global impact, despite the Global Financial Crisis. Online shopping and consumerism is fast becoming the dominant market, with businesses exploiting people’s need for the “Latest and Greatest”. Many businesses take advantage of the constantly changing virtual landscape, paying for adverts, pop-ups and marketing through social networking sites such as Facebook. This allows a product to be exposed to a great different types of people, with advertisements posted on sites such as youtube, going viral in a matter of hours.

The use of the internet has not just been by big businesses, small businesses also use the internet to advertise, as it is a cheap alternative to non-virtual options. I am forever inboxed with junk email and spam mail, adverts popping up the side when I use Facebook, and sponsored sites advertising other products that they sell.

For more information go to: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-facebook-could-destroy-the-us-economy-2012-05-22

The Economist. (2012). The third industrial revolution. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/21553017.

Wilkinson, R. (2013). Week 7 Lecture.

Image retrieved from: http://blog.biocision.com/6400/stem-cell-research-moves-forward