CHAPTER 2 A DIGITAL WORLD

1
CHAPTER 2- A DIGITAL WORLD
2
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

• Everything on the Internet is digital I.e. all of
  its text and pictures are stored as a string of
  zeros and ones (or bits).
• A bit is a single piece of information
• 3 factors make the translation into bits such a
  powerful process
• 1) Moores law
• 2) Ability to create digital environments
• 3) Convergence

3
1) MOORES LAW

• Noticed by Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel
  Corporation, based on engineering practices.
• The falling cost of digital technology.
• Each new generation of chip technology, which
  has been released about every 18 months, can pack
  the same number of elements into half the space

4
Using Moores Law

• Input substitution- When an input to production
  gets cheaper, we substitute that cheaper input
  for other inputs that have stayed the same or
  gotten more expensive.
• E.g. the switch to bits from atoms
• Digital technology helps offset increasing costs
  (e.g. marketing and customer support) for
  organisations.

5
Language and Digital Substitution

• Substituting bits for atoms saves money and
  creates new capability's
• For example, the internet allows global companies
  to send messages and text to a variety of
  cultural audiences as language options are
  offered, as well as online translation services
  made available.
• E.g. disneyland.go.com/disneylandresort

6
Will Moores Law continue?

• Skeptics say that the doubling period would need
  to be adjusted to keep the law going.
• Also, factories making the chips are becoming
  more expensive.
• Conversely, supporters of Moores Law, such as
  industry commentators, argue that costs will
  continue to fall exponentially, reflecting the
  cost decrease of Mainframes
• The future of Moores Law has been
  controversially debated over the past couple of
  years
• Robertson, j. (2002) Moores Law Namesake
  Predicts IC Density Growth could Slow Available
  online (proquest)

7
2) DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS

• The use of computers has extended from making
  simple calculations to creating entire digital
  worlds.
• Digital environments are
• a) Procedural
• b) Participatory
• c) Spatial
• d) Encyclopedic

8
a) Procedural

• Computers are logical, pre-programmed engines
  that follow (procedural) rules.
• Internet marketing allows consumers to interact
  directly and independently with the digital
  environments.
• Procedural rules Participation
  Interactivity

9
b) Participatory

• Participation online is encouraged, and provides
  feedback between the user and the computer.
• Participation helps users find the information
  needed, thus ease of use is important.
• Helps create personalization

10
c) Spatial

• Digital environments can make participants loose
  track of time and dismiss the real world
• Providing familiarity and comfort to users makes
  spatial environments seem less daunting, and
  more realistic.
• E.g. disney.go.com

11
d) Encyclopedic

• Digital environments allow large amounts of
  information to be stored cheaply and easily.
• Cheap bits allow marketers, for example, to
  avoid costly multiple product versions or ignore
  small markets e.g. a book publisher allowing
  various formats to be offered online.

12
The Future of Digital Environments

• Digital environments are dynamic and are
  continually increasing in size.
• Improvements are continuously being made to
  existing sites, including the ability to offer
  not only two but also three dimensional
  capabilities.
• E.g. e-toys

13
DIGITAL CONVERGENCE

• the merging of industries, technologies and
  content which used to be separate but now
  overlap... (Hanson, 2000)
• The merging of computing, communications and
  media content make up the Interactive
  Multimedia triangle.
• Companies composing the Multimedia triangle are
  merging e.g. Disneys Go Network

14
HOW DIGITIZING WORKS

• In order to take advantage of Moores Law,
  digital environments and digital convergence,
  text and images need to be made digital.
• Digitizing text- Each letter of the alphabet is
  assigned a code.
• Digitizing images- Each colour/shade of an object
  is assigned a number which is then represented by
  a binary code.
• Text and images are then stored digitally as a
  set or string of binary codes (I.e. 0s and
  1s).

15
DIGITIZING MARKETING PROCESSES

• 3 step process followed by firms to take
  advantage of digital environments
• 1) Archive- Retain and digitalize material
• 2) Substitute- Substitute digital materials into
  marketing processes e.g. Allowing staff at
  Levis to globally view customer focus groups
  over an intranet
• 3) Redesign- Change marketing practices to better
  use digital features e.g. e-tickets

16
SUMMARY

• The Internet is compiled of digital images and
  text, stored as a string of 0s and 1s.
• Moores Law identifies the falling cost of
  digital technology.
• Digital Environments are procedural,
  participatory, spatial and encyclopedic.
• The Internet has allowed industries, technologies
  and content to converge.
• Taking advantage of digital environments involves
  the Archive and Substitution of digital
  material, and Redesign of marketing processes
• Due to the rapidly growing, improving and dynamic
  nature of the technological industry, who knows
  what it will bring tomorrow??