craig's edit: this is actually the first post by one of the guys (the one who wishes to remain anonymous) who I asked to help out with the blog. I removed the "posted by XXX" message from the top of every post a few months back because, well, everything on here was posted by me. I now need to figure out how to get it back!
Like a true apprentice, my blogging is being closely supervised by the boss. So, in true "teacher/pupil" form, the boss has given me an assignment!! He pointed me in the direction of an interesting article he found, and told me to write about it. Find below my masterpiece (in the truest meaning of the word).
Ever since I first started looking to buy items online, I have been amazed at the amount of obscure and niche products/titles you can find with such ease on the internet. A book you read 15 years ago and have never seen since, or a song on the radio that you have never heard before can now be almost instantly purchased online. I find it incredibe and a real indication of how the internet is just beginning to allow any individual to be educated and entertained by exactly what they desire at any time. This real consequences of this is indicated in this article which was shown to me by The Editor.
Amazon.com has almost single handedly changed what we expect from a modern retailer. I'm sure anyone who has used this online store has noticed the recommendations/others-who-bought-this features. What this has done is to allow just a few people who bought a major title, but who had also heard of a more obscure title of a similar vein, to now start a ripple that could develop into a tidal wave as more and more people begin investigating more and more titles which they couldn't possibly have discovered in a traditional bookshop. What I take from this, is that many people are getting a much richer and wide ranging experience from the products they watch, read and listen to, and hopefully getting a much more unbiased opinion as their tastes increase. We'll that's what I'd like to think.
Of course, what allows this is the cost saving nature of online retailing. Amazon.com makes much more money from niche sales than from big titles. I like to think that, as the web develops, it will become so cheap and easy to produce and market one's own productions (books, music, movies etc) that the whimsical opinions of large production houses will become less and less important in the marketplace. Of course, I, for one, would hate to see the demise of the big-budget summer/christmas blockbuster, but a market that can cater for a much broader range of interests, will surely be a great deal more, well, interesting.
Like a true apprentice, my blogging is being closely supervised by the boss. So, in true "teacher/pupil" form, the boss has given me an assignment!! He pointed me in the direction of an interesting article he found, and told me to write about it. Find below my masterpiece (in the truest meaning of the word).
Ever since I first started looking to buy items online, I have been amazed at the amount of obscure and niche products/titles you can find with such ease on the internet. A book you read 15 years ago and have never seen since, or a song on the radio that you have never heard before can now be almost instantly purchased online. I find it incredibe and a real indication of how the internet is just beginning to allow any individual to be educated and entertained by exactly what they desire at any time. This real consequences of this is indicated in this article which was shown to me by The Editor.
Amazon.com has almost single handedly changed what we expect from a modern retailer. I'm sure anyone who has used this online store has noticed the recommendations/others-who-bought-this features. What this has done is to allow just a few people who bought a major title, but who had also heard of a more obscure title of a similar vein, to now start a ripple that could develop into a tidal wave as more and more people begin investigating more and more titles which they couldn't possibly have discovered in a traditional bookshop. What I take from this, is that many people are getting a much richer and wide ranging experience from the products they watch, read and listen to, and hopefully getting a much more unbiased opinion as their tastes increase. We'll that's what I'd like to think.
Of course, what allows this is the cost saving nature of online retailing. Amazon.com makes much more money from niche sales than from big titles. I like to think that, as the web develops, it will become so cheap and easy to produce and market one's own productions (books, music, movies etc) that the whimsical opinions of large production houses will become less and less important in the marketplace. Of course, I, for one, would hate to see the demise of the big-budget summer/christmas blockbuster, but a market that can cater for a much broader range of interests, will surely be a great deal more, well, interesting.
