What industries have been greatly changed by the internet?

[kdonnel]

The South Lake Tahoe movie theater thread got me thinking about what other industries have been greatly changed by the internet?

For example travel agents. Travel agents remain but now primarily as a niche provider of services to those taking unique trips.

The movie industry. It is being reshaped by streaming.

Other examples I can think of are real estate, retail shopping, taxis, job search, and news papers.

Services like Zillow, Redfin, and others let home buyers browse and compare before involving an agent. People are feeling like they are doing more of the work and should have to pay a much smaller fee to the agent forcing the agents to reinvent their purpose.

Online shopping may one day soon be the cause of a real estate crisis as physical stores close down, or will enough people want the in person experience of shopping?

I feel like Uber and Lyft have changed the taxi industry for the better. Will traditional taxis remain or will they morph into their own version of Uber/Lyft?

Looking for a job is very much an online activity now.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution just recently announced they are going to cease printing a paper and will be online only. I think that is the trend all across the US.

What other industries have been dramatically impacted by the internet?

For that matter what industries have not been changed at all by the internet?

 

[soccerdad72]

Car sales - most auto dealerships don't even bother with 'haggling' as they know consumers can simply just pull up Autotrader or other car shopping apps and compare prices across different dealerships, plus it's so much easier to know the exact cost of any vehicle.

 

[anniemae]

I was just going to say car sales like the pp. I never thought I would see the day where people would buy cars on line but it is happening. You can check out different dealerships online, get quotes through email and not even leave your house. Gone are the days of haggling and spending hours at dealerships. My neighbor bought his car online a couple of years ago. He worked out the price and did everything he could online. Drove to the dealership and traded his car and drove home in the new one.

 

[gmi3804]

I always said I want to be the first real estate broker with a shopping cart and check-out buttons on my website.

 

[sarahann77]

Banking - so many more direct consumer/corporation services available via website or app.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Buying tickets… and it’s not just Disney tickets. Concerts and sporting events have gone largely digital.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Music and film.
Film/TV and music - streaming has basically rewriteen entertainment industry.
It has also changed way we find stuff.
I worked in publishing for many years, and the books were marketed before was controlled by publisher and money marketed on books, either in tours or with book stores/chains.
That has completely changed.
For that reason many more books and music artist have already bit of notoriety often not in the field(singing/writing) mainly because the publisher no longer have the outlets to push new product like they use to.

 

[SC Minnie]

Paper -- I work for a paper manufacturer

 

[kdonnel]

Paper -- I work for a paper manufacturer

I know knowing about the paper industry. What changes has the internet triggered?

 

[Skippy918]

School - no more hardcover textbooks. Assignments are posted on google classroom.
College applications are all done online these days.

 

[longboard55]

This is my argument why we will ever see 2% inflation again. The internet changed everything. Now anyone could communicate with a foreign manufacturer to get things made cheaper. It totally opened up the world to cheaper prices. Also totally allowed total transparency in pricing. We will never see a cost changing innovation like that again.

 

[PollyannaMom]

What other industries have been dramatically impacted by the internet?

Definitely education! There are so many things you can learn online now, classes over Zoom, etc.

Advertising - Ads are now much more personally targeted, and advertising budgets are used in very different ways.

Banking - so many more direct consumer/corporation services available via website or app.

I'm kind of sad about this one. I still like personal banking.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Music is the big one. No idea how new artists get a foot-hold in the industry anymore. Used to be you had to buy the album if you wanted to listen to anything but the hits off of it. Gone are the indie recording studios if they can't get their music into the Apple Music library. Consequently, gone also is pretty much all creativity in the music business. What I wouldn't give for another punk revolution to shake us out of the blah music of today.

Print anything but especially news. I don't know how authors make money on books anymore. I have to wait a bit, but I read over 20 books a year, all on Kindle, all free from the local library.

Shopping malls - I've always hated shopping so Amazon is a Godsend for me. Not so much for the big shopping malls. There is one in Beaverton Oregon we went to that seems healthy as ever, and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa does pretty well too. Every other mall is dead.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Forgot one that I think is especially problematic - Meaningful friendships. I used to send out over 100 Christmas cards every year and I got a card in return from every one. Now I am down to about 40 and I only get about 15-20 in return. Why bother calling someone or seeing them in person if you are seeing their constant updates on Facebook anyway (and vice-versa)?

Really sad about that one. And we wonder why kids are so messed up these days...

 

[Lumpy1106]

This is my argument why we will ever see 2% inflation again. The internet changed everything. Now anyone could communicate with a foreign manufacturer to get things made cheaper. It totally opened up the world to cheaper prices. Also totally allowed total transparency in pricing. We will never see a cost changing innovation like that again.

Insert uncomfortable discussion about cheap Chinese labor and tariffs here....
Or really let's not - but that is the result you know.

 

[Niklnip]

Freelance art has become extremely competitive and demanding for the average person with the rise of social media. Basically everyone I know (or follow) has talked more than once about the expectation of constant production and consumption rather than allowing their work to be able to be present in the mind of the viewer. A lot of nuance with artwork is lost online as a result. I myself work on the side here and there with personal small-scale freelancing, but can't keep up with the level of advertising needed, so my sales are basically nothing. Cash is cash though.

It's also far, far easier to advertise yourself and your products, which has the same cons, but it's a lot easier to have your work seen by a much wider and even global audience. There's a lot of give-and-take, but it often feels like the door is shut for anyone who doesn't happen to strike lightning in a bottle.

Not to mention the perceived valuation of art has seemingly decreased, both due to the quantity of work available and in relation to modern industrial manufacturing costs and sales (fast fashion, for example). Hard to sell a craft for $100 when someone can get one for $5 on Amazon, even if the $5 product is manufactured through dubious means.

Also agree on college, but my perception is positive. I work an extremely demanding job that prevents me from being able to attend traditional schooling. Online college specifically through accredited colleges is such a boon for people like me. I can't just quit my job. I pay the rent!

Note: I'm not even touching the AI discussion here because that's an entire can of worms I don't have the energy for today

 

[Lumpy1106]

Music and film.
Film/TV and music - streaming has basically rewriteen entertainment industry.
It has also changed way we find stuff.

I never thought I'd miss Blockbuster - boy do I miss Blockbuster. And going out to the movies - we rarely do that. Why spend time and money going to see a mediocre movie you can see on a streaming service in a couple of months anyway? Is it just me or has the quality of movies taken a serious nose-dive too?

 

[Niklnip]

Oh, and the animal welfare and pet product industries have blown up for better or for worse. Fast fashion style pet trends have become a problem, but on the other hand it's much easier to network families in need and animals for adoption. The con here is that it's also become much easier for animal shelter facilities to be harassed into next week. It puts a huge emotional strain on the people who have to network these animals on top of the already intense pressure and strain to do the best they can for the animals that show up to their facilities.

Win some, lose some.

 

[citruscurtis]

The Atlanta Journal Constitution just recently announced they are going to cease printing a paper and will be online only. I think that is the trend all across the US

So a great culture study is waiting for a graduate student here in Yuma....a thriving newspaper newspaper industry is doing well... for the simple reason old folks love holding a newspaper....and have time to read and do the puzzles...and it is a good paper and from November 1 to April 1 Yuma is a thriving community event activity every weekend .... published in the paper

 

[kdonnel]

So a great culture study is waiting for a graduate student here in Yuma....a thriving newspaper newspaper industry is doing well... for the simple reason old folks love holding a newspaper....and have time to read and do the puzzles...and it is a good paper and from November 1 to April 1 Yuma is a thriving community event activity every weekend .... published in the paper

Sounds like a bad position to be in as a newspaper owner.

Their best customers only have a few years left and will the next generation that ages up still want newspapers? Sure there will always be new old people, but will there always be old people that want a physical paper?