(Topics: eBooks, Software, Movies, Music, Video Games, Digital, Electronic, Information, Downloadable Products, Online Business, Internet Sales)

“The world is changing Marty. And it’s not about who has the most bullets, it’s about who controls the information!”

This memorable quote* is from the hit 1992 movie Sneakers, staring Robert Redford and Ben Kingsley. The fact that the movie was released in 1992, just a couple years before the popularity explosion of the internet, gives this quote a slightly prophetic edge. Its all about who controls the information.

All forms of multimedia, including music, movies, books, magazines, software, video games and still images have been available for immediate download since the arrival of the internet. This is one of the reasons why the internet is part of the “Information Superhighway”. Each form of media is a way of transporting information, and when transported on the internet it becomes available immediately! These products are usually given the name “electronic” or “digital”. Some even have the prefix “e” for electronic. For example ebook means electronic book, ezines are electronic magazines, and email is electronic mail.

The world’s market allows for a great variation on any product. Customers who are looking for a hard copy will surely find it, especially since the electronic versions are still a new idea when compared to the hundreds of years that hard copy books have been available, or compared to the decades that some form of hard copy video and music have been available. For all of us who are becoming familiar with the digital age, it might be time to consider the benefits of buying and selling electronic or digital products on the internet.

A major benefit for consumers when they buy a product for immediate download on the internet is that it is made available to them NOW! They can get what they want immediately after paying for it, without having to leave their home, without having to wait for it to be shipped in 3-5 business days, and without having to pay extra for shipping.

They can take a ride on the Information Superhighway and arrive at the destination fast! The same valuable information that is sought for in bookstores, the same listening pleasure purchased at CD shops, the same eye-opening entertainment found at the movie theater, the same functionality of over-packaged software, and the virtual world of video games can all be accessed from the comfort of home, often at an equal or lower price.

Other benefits include: conserving the natural resources that make up plastic and paper in the hard copy products, less gas from of less driving, and an alternate source for light isn’t needed during road trips or when a partner is asleep since a laptop or electronic reading device produce the light needed for reading or watching. Also, space and clutter are freed in the home. Students don't have to carry heavy books and have instant, easy access to the information they need. Medical and legal records are easily organized, stored and accessed.

A common requirement for Masters and Doctorate students is to buy a new laptop computer that they will use in their program. For example, Dental students at UNLV have the option of purchasing all of their textbooks electronically for download on their laptop. This eliminates the hassle of carrying a lot of books around. And the special search features that are included allow the students to write reports for their classes, with plenty of sources, in a matter of hours. It would take days to do the same research in the library by traditional methods.

This is only the precursor to the Dental profession, as well as most other health professions. Much of the health care field is becoming entirely paperless. Drug descriptions, x-rays, MRIs, lab reports, charts, and other patient records are all becoming entirely digital.

Entertainment industries are also included in the digital market. The movie, music and video game industries-- digital wonderlands-- bring in billions of dollars of revenue every year. Some of the more well-known electronic products include iTunes, Adobe Creative Suite, Blockbuster and Netflix movie downloads, World of Warcraft, Xbox live, online television, downloads for Kindle, iPhone applications, and mobile phone wallpaper, ringtones and games just to name a few. Perhaps the greatest success story is Bill Gates, who is one of the richest men (sometimes the richest) in the world because he knows how to market his software-- a digital product.

Electronic products present an amazing opportunity for jobs and business. Independent music artists, painters, photographers, freelance writers, authors and movie makers can market and sell their creations online, while using inexpensive or even free resources. eBay, other auctions sites, and e-commerce web stores show that even a store location can become electronic, whether the products being sold are electronic or not. The start-up costs for a business are substantially decreased when starting the business online. It's even possible to have no start up costs at all! E-commerce (electronic commerce) shifts the balance of the rising Corporate America back to the small business owner.
 
Digital and Electronic Products gain a particular interest for sellers. Shopping is one of the top uses of the internet! The internet has made it possible for any person with a computer to sell anything. Even if it is not his or her own product, there are ways to promote what the person wants to sell and get a commission through affiliate programs. Many of these potential online entrepreneurs have asked themselves what the best product to sell online is. The answer is digital products available for immediate download. There is no shipping involved, inventory consists entirely of file management on a computer, there are no warehousing fees, and there is an unlimited amount of the product since it is copied from a server to the consumer's computer when purchased, or access is given to a database. The immediate shipping and delivery, as well as automated emails allow for instant customer service and satisfaction.

 

Electronic products also present a great opportunity for business owners to apply "free" marketing. Offering items for free has been a successful marketing strategy for ages. By offering items for free an entrepreneur or company can draw attention to products and services being sold. Before electronic products, items that were given away for free had to be paid for by a portion of the marketing budget. However, such is not the case with electronic products since costs are next to nothing for storing and distributing the freebie on the internet. Multi-million dollar organizations that have demostrated "free" marketing to the max are MySpace and Google, whose majority of services are free.

Free electronic product downloads, resources for business, and other internet freebies are available at ActuallyFree.info.

*The actual quote from the Sneakers movie is, "There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information". In a different scene in the movie Ben Kingsley's character tells Robert Redford's character that the world is changing.

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