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Newsflash: There's money to be made on the internet
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Granted it's not exactly "news" in the sense that it's information you haven't likely come across in your travels, but there has been some recent excitement as corporations look to internet connectivity to drive sales in markets that simply didn't exist as recently as five years ago. Hardware manufacturer Cisco forecast profits going into 2010 as CEOs "eased off the brake" and started spending money on information systems again. Cisco CEO John Chambers cited an increased need for Cisco's products as service providers expanded their content to include high-speed video and online networking.
Comcast posted a third-quarter profit of over 22 percent recently, giving the credit to their "bundle packages", which combine two or more Comcast services into a single data line. The digital conversion earlier this year required the media giant to upgrade most of it's coaxial cable connections with the high-speed data systems that Cisco manufactures. Currently, Comcast's download speeds and the depth of their high definition content library keeps them competitive in a market that has seen unexpected and heavy competition from telecommunications giant AT&T and mobile upstart Verizon Wireless. Additionally, an impending purchase of 51 percent of NBC debt would make Comcast one of the most powerful media companies in the world, something investors no doubt hope will tip the balance between the three companies even further in Comcast's favor.
Only days after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer warned the global IT community not to expect America's technology recovery to spread far beyond her own shores, forecasts for domestic tech have begun to grow extremely optimistic. Overseas, however, developing nations continue to suffer through the "growing pains" of social modernization. Countries used to managing their populations are experiencing headache after unforeseen headache as they try to cope with the social impact of the internet.
In Beijing, the Ministry of Culture and the bureau that oversees publishing are squabbling over who will control the internet. The runaway success of multiplayer games like World of Warcraft has prompted a heated debate over how the internet should be regulated as pertains to China's 338 million internet users. With more online consumers than the entire US population, there is far more at stake here than a mere government title. No other country has as many online consumers as China, and not many promote the use of the internet as aggressively as the Chinese. That translates into the internet serving as a catalyst for nearly all of the purchases Chinese consumers make for just about every aspect of their lives and, as China rapidly overtakes America in terms of consumer spending, that equates to a lot of money.
In the coming years, technology will be the stabilizing factor in the global economy as countries with the means to maintain the speed of international business set themselves apart as "superpowers" and those without receive little attention on the world stage. What as it stake for America as it restructures itself through a recession is it's own relevance as an economic superpower.
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