Positive Effects
One of the most significant economic turning points of the Internet has been in facilitating communication between businesses and their customers, fundamentally altering business. By allowing people in distant locations to collaborate and communicate, large companies operate more efficiently. The Internet also helps small businesses reach customers all over the globe. The Internet has created a platform for online industries which reach individuals all over the world.
"Since 1995, manufacturing jobs have increased by 46,000, while software and computer services jobs have increased by 1.2 million." -William T. Archey, CEO of the American Electronics Association "There was an explosion of software-e-mail, search engines like Google, and proprietary software that can chop up any piece of work and send one part to Boston, one part to Bangalore, and one part to Beijing, making it easy for anyone to do remote development." -Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys Technologies Limited about Outsourcing Jobs |
Negative effects
However, the Internet has caused many industries to suffer. For example, the recording industry has suffered an increasing decrease in CD sales as Internet users download billions of digital songs.
It is not always safe for consumers to provide credit card numbers and other personal data online for the threat of fraud and identity theft. Advertising companies can gain access to people's information, which can be utilized secretly without permission. |