Bonus Blog Assignment: Show Me The Money

As much as technology and social norms change, the theories we have learned will stay pretty much how they are. These same theories and phenomena might be applied differently as the Internet changes and grows, but they’re fundamental ideas and concepts will remain the same. This is because the basics of Internet interaction will never change drastically.

For instance, the CFO perspective, the Hyperpersonal model, and SIDE all deal with impression formation and relationship development. These concepts will always be relevant in their current forms because there will always be Internet users meeting new people. No matter what new technologies arise, or what new uses for the internet develop, people will always be interacting on the web. Thus, such theories will still apply.

Likewise, people will always need social support, there will always be two genders, and there will always be internet users who take their relationships and interactions offline, into reality. Most, if not all, of the theories we learned are broad enough, commenting on the entire Internet or general psychological spaces, that these elements of human nature, and thus the net, will continue to exist and be important.

One aspect of the Internet that will be explored heavily in coming years, and that this class did not cover, is commerce. There are so many people buying, selling, promoting, and researching on the Internet that it would be unwise for communication researchers to ignore this area of the Internet. How do people make financial decisions on the Internet, and is the process different that at physical stores? There is such a variety of commercial activity on the Internet that the opportunities for research and observation are almost limitless. Not only are new companies establishing themselves on the net, but also reputable businesses are expanding to include websites. Some companies use the Internet simply to promote their products and services, while others offer ways to make actual purchases.

Internet promotion takes many forms on the Internet. Vendors send emails to promote sales and new products, film studios release trailers on YouTube and similar sites, and small advertisements cover web pages of almost every kind.
The issue of Internet commerce, whether it differs from traditional purchasing activities, and if so, how, will become increasingly important in the years and decades to come. As the Internet, along with its number of users, grows, more will be possible on the Internet, especially in this area. This Internet space will be the subject of much future research.


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