Long Tail Theory and Purchases in the Gaming World

1. Long Tail Theory is basically an economic change that has begun in our buying practices as a society. We have gone from large groups of buyers who could be categorized into several large groups, to many niche markets with a lot of buying power. The large, broad groups still exist at the top of the tail but they steadily break into smaller groups along the tail. Basically this a trend of consumers who are becoming more and more independent and defining their own buying habits to a much more accurate level. Same with sellers, who are now able to target the buyers within the tail with much more customized and targeted content. This theory seems to be almost one that falls into fact as this trend does not seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

2.Based off my own buying habits, their are some electronic devices and games that I purchase that only a small number usually do. This puts me into one of these niche groups that have decent buying power in regard to a small, particular market. This market being video games, has a strong head with games like Call of Duty, which is hugely popular. Then it begins to thin out with less popular games. This leads to a tail that gets thinner with games that a much smaller number of people purchase and subscribe to, such as MLB The Show. Indie games also make up a decent part of the tail as they have less of an ability to brand and advertise.
I define myself as almost a hybrid of entertainment and surfer. I do use the internet primarily as an informative outlet with a dash of entertainment. However, I feel I fit with the surfer as I only look at info and entertainment that I enjoy. If it doesn't necessarily pertain or grab my attention I usually overlook it. Also, I only get on the internet with a goal or objective in mind, such as assignments or to send out emails.

No More Internet Explorer

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/03/17/microsoft-to-axe-internet-explorer/

I chose this article due to the mainstay that was Internet Explorer (IE). I grew up with and used it despite the struggles it had. To see it go is sad yet also probably best because this browser could never shake the negative stigma that constantly followed. Microsoft, which recently announced IE's end, ran several advertising campaigns to get the negative connotation to dissipate but it never did . Microsoft has said the new browser for Windows Ten has the working name of Project-Spartan. This just goes to show that the ever changing world of the internet will continue to evolve as older more nostalgic components fall nu the way side.

Information and Networks

The one network law that I most agree with has to be Sarnoff's Law. This law states, in a nutshell, that the value of a network increases linearly with the number of people on it. Now I agree with this for a variety of reasons. One, is that when you look at networks from an advertising point of view. Facebook's value has taken off in the past five years and that is due to the number of users. These users attract advertisers thus increasing the value of Facebook's network tenfold. On the other side of the coin, look at Myspace. This website had all of the value when it hit it's peak in popularity in the mid 2000's. After the drastic decline in users, Myspace became obsolete and essentially abandoned. This is due to the fact that Myspace failed to capitalize on the value that they had. Network values are always changing and it can disappear as easily as it appears. If Myspace had sold more advertising and kept evolving they would of held on to this ever changing value a bit longer.

When looking at where people will get their information five years from now, I see two major sources. One being the traditional media with a slight twist. The twist being the online sources provided by today's traditional media outlets will become the main source of news information. I could see today's traditional news casts being moved to completely online where you have to go to that affiliate, or broadcast company's website to view it. The second source, which to me is unfortunate, will continue to be social media. People do consider most things they see on social media as truth or fact regardless of sources. Yes, I have been guilty of it too, but unless we teach people to look past the outer layer then this second source will persist and grow.

Why we blog

With a question as general as this it is hard to establish an exact answer. According to the article "Why we blog" there seems to be a very wide range of answers, reasoning's and motivators behind blogging. Blogging is considered by a majority of people as an entry level form of online expression yet to some bloggers it was a bit more impact-full and that readers had a good bit to do with how bloggers blog. On top of that, most bloggers seem to keep a set of rules or code of ethics so to speak. One thing from the article that surprised me was that bloggers censor their content when the reader demographic changes. The example given by some of the bloggers is that their families are a part of their readership. One blogger mentioned how he censored his own blog because his mom and grandmother are both active readers. One blogger stated how they keep it a purely family oriented forum. However, one blogger that I found the most refreshing was a female blogger with differentiating political views to her uncle and how she took that into consideration by not making inflammatory political statements because he is an active reader.

Overall, I felt the article addressed the extremely general question in a very informative manner. I feel that blogging is generally a very individual form of self expression but this article has opened up my thinking about what bloggers take into consideration. They play to their own readership much like newspapers and other written media outlets do in a professional setting.

My Favorite ad of the Big Game