Technology is significantly affecting our lives and there are many examples of that. As an example, with the electronic payment systems, it is no longer necessary to go to the nearest bank office or ATM to make payments. Google and Apple are offering their payment systems, which have been used by millions of people. This allows the accumulation of significant financial resources and the real victim of this development would be banks and other financial institutions. If they don’t provide competing solutions, it is possible for banks and any financial intermediary to have reduced influence in the global scene. There will be lack of commitments among customers, because they find it easy to perform financial transactions using electronic systems provided by Google, Apple and PayPal. These companies may not have a desire to conquer the whole financial world, but there are signs that they are starting to dominate.
It is too soon to predict that electronic payments to supersede paper money, but these solutions will become more common. It has been understood that it is rather foolish to maintain our copyright in the Internet, because digital content can be manipulated in many ways. The development of content can be quite expensive and it involves the writing of the concept, the actual production process and the transmission of the information. While DVDs and books can be bought and borrowed, their digital versions can be distributed much more easily and publishers are losing the war against piracy. In fact, the battle is already lost when content enter the digital domain. Any copyrighted digital content, if they are considered interesting enough can quickly be found in their pirated forms and to some extents, Internet giants also contribute to the proliferation of pirated content.
It is good to know that we could gain much information through Internet-based platforms and it is no longer necessary to sit on the school benches to gain the same amount of information. It is clear that the Internet still can’t replace Harvard and Oxford, but some educational institutions find it more difficult compete with information provided by Internet-based educational systems. It is all about the convenience of providing the same amount of education from the comfort of our house. The Internet could effectively remove physical obstacles, especially for people located in more remote locations. Many mediators could also be affected by the Internet and they may include real state agencies, tourism agents, retailers and others. We are living in a new world where older forces are getting more obsolete. Even average users could have much bigger voices in the society if they have something interesting to say.
IT giants are having more advantages in the global scene and we should try to predict and make pre-emptive actions to counter potentially undesirable results. It is clear that an average user won’t have the ability and resources to confront giants, but common awareness among them could have a significant effect. Users should maintain their voices and they are more likely supported by the media.