Sunday, July 12, 2009

The Technological Revolution

By Finbar Minstrel

In a very similar fashion to the way that the industrial revolution re-shaped the financial world of business, we have seen the next great revolution begin to take shape over the last few years. Unlike the last one however, the gain is there to be had regardless of geographical location and levels of accessibility.

It was very difficult to begin competing nationally before the Internet, let alone globally. This was because there were no affordable methods of advertising. You could have had a TV or radio ad, which would have been very expensive. Magazine advertising would have only appealed to a niche market, and ads in national newspapers are also very expensive. Despite the cost, before the explosion of the Internet, these were all reliable and effective ways of attracting business.

At many times in the history of commerce, it has been the businesses that are able to keep on top of new, emerging technologies and adapt their practises to them quickly and effectively, that stay a step above their competition and ultimately, succeed where others fail. Pioneers have led the way on many occasions, such as Henry Ford who almost single handedly invented the mass production line, and by the same hand, massively improved product consistency and quality, severely cut his costs and gained a huge advantage over the competitors, helping to guide the Ford Motor Company through harder times.

The difference between the companies that adopt new technologies and those that are set in their ways is often profound. Now that is more true than ever as the opportunities for advancement come at an alarming rate.

The wall that had previously blocked potential entrepreneurs from fulfilling that potential has been removed by the Internet. Many good business ideas went to waste because of the lack of financial backing, but all that has changed with the arrival of the Internet.

Instead of an advertising campaign for a product costing tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds, an efficient sales funnel website correctly optimized for Google and Yahoo will attract thousands of potential customers who are already pre qualified to buy from you, for a fraction of the investment. A good website and a couple of years Search Engine Optimization can be bought for less than 5,000 - 10,000 and will be seen by potentially billions of people.

The Internet is in its infancy, we are only just scratching the surface of this information revolution. 98% of all the information online is inaccessible to strangers as it has not been designed for search engines to read. Because of this, many good ideas are going to waste. It is only recently that SEO has reached the public consciousness. In 5 or 10 years what will the Internet look like?

There is little doubt that the companies who change with the changes in information technology, will be the ones on top in the coming years.

The world wide web is a truly brilliant gateway of opportunity for everyone and anyone with a good idea and a small pocket of cash for a website to turn their idea into their trade.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment