T
ool & D
ie page 25
T
ool & D
ie page 25
vantages. The Internet has the potential
to further deprive humans of social con-
tacts. Unintended consequences such as
social isolation and the implications can be
detrimental to a person's well being. With
this individualism of leisure time comes a
further source of increased social isolation.
The more time spent surfing the web, the
less time they spend with friends, family
and at social events. The Internet cannot
provide that intimacy.
The Internet brought an abundance of
marketing opportunities to businesses.
Through RSS feeds, blogs and social net-
works such as MySpace, Facebook and
Twitter, small business to corporations can
get attention. Any online business can of-
fer a store that is open 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. Customers can be world-
wide and can shop at their convenience.
Unlike print advertising, e-mail is free and
will cost your company practically noth-
ing. Providing your customers up-to-date
information is done in an instant via e-
mail. Something which long before the
birth of the Internet may have taken hours
perhaps even months.
Marketing online is not free. Companies
must pay for the design of a site, a web-
master to monitor it, distribution costs and
time. Despite our fast paced world, people
still want to speak to another human, not
a computer. Therefore customer service is
irreplaceable. There are also people who
do not want to disclose their credit card
numbers for online purchases due to lack
of trust in a secure connection. On top of
this, customers
do not appreci-
ate company's
who sell their
contact infor-
mation to third
parties nor do
they
desire
spam filling up
their inbox.
As if the In-
ternet
was
not satisfying
enough
for
those impatient
types, mobile
marketing can
take it one step
closer; literally.
Chances
are
Internet-savvy
consumers are
just as comfort-
able with their
mobile devices.
Provide them
with useful in-
formation that
is also enter-
taining. Custom-
ize your mobile action plan to be relevant
and personal to your customers. They will
become more interested by the intimate
environment you have built for them. Au-
dience participation is a great opportunity
to build your brand awareness and poten-
tial clientele.
Digital music players
commonly referred to
as MP3 players, allow
you to carry video,
pictures or even thou-
sands of songs right
in your pocket. The
first MP3 player was
introduced in the late
1990's. They were
relatively expensive
and offered a small
amount of memory.
Early MP3 players
were introduced dur-
ing the initial version
of Napster and other
illegal P2P (peer-to-
peer) programs.
These MP3 players
had a few advantages
as the new media de-
livery method. Their
small and portable
nature was attrac-
tive. No longer did
people have to haul
around a boom box,
portable CD player or
CD's. Most portable
MP3 players feature storage systems that
have no visible moving parts. This adds
value over other portable music players,
such as the CD player in particular, because
there are no chances of the music skipping.
The amount of data these MP3 players can
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