Final (theoretically) paper topic

Given that no one will use streaming media if there is no money to be made, I decided to focus on the commercial uses of online content. This is a major issue for the company I work for as we attempt to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and it's good to do a quick roundup of everything available out there and all of the various ways it can be monetized. People are starting to pay for content, it's true, but not yet from sites that don't normally sell content. Travelocity and Orbitz offer free videos and podcasts respectively to tell travelers about destinations and Amazon offers free video talking about books, movies and more. They don't charge for the content as they're hoping it will give users a reason to come back beyond anything the site can provide in terms of discounts and deals.

It's a good idea, but on it's own, it won't work. People already know how to shop around and the internet has created an inherantly even playing field for ecommerce sites. Sites like Froogle (Google's shopping site - check it out if you haven't already, it's pretty cool) make sure the site with the cheapest price is easily highlighted. If sites want to retain consumers, they're going to have to offer more types on online content beyond the basic. At work, we're working on some ideas and I'm hoping that this preliminary research project will generate a few more.