The New Market Segmentation
It has been a long time since we have seen a new market segmentation. It did not come up with the last recession or even the current one but as technology becomes more and more important, there is finally a new market segmentation that seems to be emerging. The first big change came when the markets were split in two by social media, meaning that before now there was no distinction between consumers and businesses on social media. This was an incredible event for companies who had traditionally designed websites for consumers but then shifted their focus to the business world (such as Microsoft) after realizing that they would need to use it for many purposes beyond advertising. But now, another big change is forming and it is much bigger than that first one. This time, there is a fundamental change in the structure of the web itself.
Google wants to build an internet within the internet. They want to organize all of the information on the web and allow everyone access to it. Google has created new products such as Google Translate, Google Scholar, Google Books, YouTube and many others with this goal in mind. They have also been working on a new system known as "search plus your world" which will bring all of this information into their search engine results so that it can be easily accessed by anyone who searches for certain topics through them (Google). Even though search plus your world is still being developed, it has already launched with some products and has a massive number of users. It requires being signed in but even if people are not signed in, they can still use it to search. In other words, Google is gaining its own full-fledged social network as well as all of the other products that come with it (such as a full on web browser).
The segments of the internet that Google is invading are those occupied by Yahoo and Microsoft along with all the online businesses (both big and small) who want to advertise through them (Google Adwords). This moves Google from a search engine to a platform with its own browsers, maps, social network and so on. In order to make all of this work, they have been working hard towards the idea of creating their own "cloud computing" system so that all of their users can access the internet without having to worry about downloading too much information or enough space on their computers (TechCrunch). They have already come up with Google Drive which is very similar to iCloud for Apple products (Google). It allows users to store files online as well as access them from any computer with an internet connection. This is just the beginning of what will be a massive cloud computing system for consumers and businesses alike.
Google is now making the internet into its own platform which will compete with the current online businesses. They are their biggest threat by far, and their invasion of these markets is coming very quickly. Google is planning on having search plus your world completely functional (with a full browser) by the end of this year or early next year (Borchers). The shift to cloud computing and a business platform will take longer, but when it does happen it will be even more impactful. This is because they have so many users that it will make all of the other businesses on the web practically irrelevant. Not only does Google have its own social network, users can also access all of the information in Google Scholar, Google Books, and even their email on it. For many people, this will be all of the online services they need and for those who want more there will still be the option to use Microsoft's products as well.
In order for these segments not to disappear entirely as many of them have before (such as Internet Explorer), Microsoft has to make a big change. It needs to open up their own platform by making its own social network and allowing others to use their products on it (such as Skype). This way, they can gain new users who would not normally use a Microsoft product but now have no choice. This will be the only way to keep their businesses relevant in the long term, and it is an idea that Microsoft has already been working on for a long time now. They want to make their products more attractive to non-Microsoft users who, by default, would use Google's products (Borchers). By creating this new platform, they will have to spend no money on advertising and all of their capitalists money can go towards trying to catch up with Google if they are not able to do so in terms of users. If they succeed at this task, they can then focus more on other aspects of their business such as their software.
Overall, it seems that Google is becoming a much more powerful company than anyone had anticipated. They are now the largest single entity in search engine and online advertising (Dot Com). The shift from focusing on the consumer to business is a major one, and it will have a huge impact both on people's lives and businesses. It seems that this change has already begun and there is no way to fight it just yet. Google will probably continue to move towards the point where all of their services exist completely outside of any other platform, and it will come quickly. It is very hard to predict what they will do next, but they are certainly in uncharted territory right now.
Reference:
Borchers, Alex. "Google Sees Its Search Engine Become Its Own Platform." TechCrunch . N.p. n.d. Web. 23 May 2013.
"Google Introduces Search Plus Your World." Google News . N.p. n.d. Web. 23 May 2013
Kingston, Henry and Kington, Elizabeth, eds.. Information Systems: A Strategic Approach to Enterprise Computing (3rd ed). New York: Prentice Hall, 2002. Print
Game of Thrones is a fantasy novel series by American author George R.R Martin that has been adapted into several TV shows and movies as well as a board game for HBO Master of none creator Lena Dunham is developing an interactive digital series about the same topic .
The article discusses how the digital games industry is growing globally and becoming profitable. The Chinese government has also gotten involved in making this industry more profitable by creating laws that help regulate the digital games market as well as provide more of an opportunity for growth. Chinese companies are also becoming more successful, with 60% of companies in the top ten gaming companies being Chinese.
China is an important market for Electronic Art's and it makes sense for them to have a presence in China, even if it involves censorship.
A report that was released by the FTC in the United States, indicated that more and more companies are recognizing social media as a form of marketing. The report also talks about the financial impacts of social media on companies.
This is an example of a global campaign launched by Volkswagen. The global campaign aimed to encourage car sharing in cities across the world. Although it took place across different countries, it did create awareness in each city where it took place, regarding car sharing and what they had to offer their citizens. It also spread awareness regarding sustainability; a problem that has been faced by many countries around the world.
Conclusion:
These three examples have shown how the digital gaming industry and social media is becoming an important marketing tool for many businesses. Social media and digital gaming is creating a lot of profit for companies as well as cities across the world by encouraging car sharing through global campaigns. This is just a few examples of how social media and games are being used to influence the everyday lives of people around the world.
The article discusses about Google's Map Maker, a place where anyone can go in and edit out their area from Google Maps. One teacher decided to draw a phallic symbol on the map in order to create awareness about bullying.