While the traditional economy has been stuck in the toilet since
2007, there has simultaneously been an explosion in the Digital
Economy. (The “good” kind of explosion.)
For example, did you know that:
24.3% of all Christmas shopping was done online in 2012?
70% expect to pay less for stuff online than at a local retailer
Online sales are expected to increase $100 billion by 2015
There are currently more than 1.038 billion “smart phones”
(you know, the handheld supercomputers with more processor
power than the original space shuttle called iPhone, Blackberry,
Android) in use
Another 1 billion will be sold in the next 2 years alone.
(You read it right.)
While there were over 5 billion (Yes, 5,000,000,000) apps
downloaded in 2010 there are expected to be over 21 billion
downloaded in 2013.
And, here are a few examples of how far we have come in 20-30 years:
Vinyl records gave way to CDs, then MP3s, and now streaming
audio with Pandora, Spotify, and Slacker
The VHS tape gave way to the DVD and Blu-ray, and now,
streaming video with the likes of Netflix, Apple TV, and Hulu
Rotaries and Pay-phones gave way to cell phones, then smart
phones
Dial up Internet gave way to high speed digital cable, and
eventually we will see Google’s Fiber (free Internet 100x faster
than broadband), did we mention it’s going to be FREE!?
The typewriter gave way to the fax machine, to the printer,
to the paperless
Mail evolved to the facsimile, then email
Film photography transitioned to digital photography
Wondering how any of this matters to you?
Read on…
The Digital Revolution (aka “Digital Gold Rush”) started in 1989 with
the invention of the World Wide Web. This invention was made 150
years after the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall in San Francisco.
(More on the Digital Gold Rush and “arbitrage” opportunity on Day 3.)
With the massive shift to online spending and more recently, the Mobile,
App, and Social Media Revolutions, the Digital Gold Rush continues to
take on more and more momentum. In fact, what’s happening online
today makes the California Gold Rush look like child’s play.
In 1849, people had to trek up to 20,000 miles around the south tip
of South America, by ship (remember this was prior the Panama canal).
Today, anyone with a laptop and Internet connection can access the
Digital Gold Rush.
And, just like 150+ years ago, 95% are amateurs. They will never turn
a profit.
But, we are not “most people”. Like we mentioned yesterday’s email,
we have an inside edge that most people don’t.
In today’s episode of our Digital BootCamp we are going to talk about
the Digital Economy: Past, Present and F
maggadogg's Blog 