User:JanellM/sandbox

Overall the digital economy article has a lot of great information on it. I would like to add a history section to the page because it doesn't have one at the moment. I'd also like to clean up the wording of the definition that is currently given. The digital economy is one of the most important aspects of sustainable development. Digital economy refers to an economy that is based on digital computing technologies, although we increasingly perceive this as conducting business through markets based on the internet and the World Wide Web. The digital economy is also referred to as the Internet Economy, New Economy, or Web Economy. Increasingly, the digital economy is intertwined with the traditional economy, making a clear delineation harder.

Definition

The term 'Digital Economy' was first mentioned in Japan by a Japanese professor and research economist in the midst of Japan's recession of the 1990s. In the west the term followed and was coined in Don Tapscott's 1995 book, The Digital Economy: Promise and Peril in the Age of Networked Intelligence. This was among the first books to consider how the Internet would change the way we did business.

American economist Thomas Mesenbourg

According to Thomas Mesenbourg (2001), three main components of the 'Digital Economy' concept can be identified:

• E-business infrastructure (hardware, software, telecom, networks, human capital, etc.),
• E-business (how business is conducted, any process that an organization conducts over computer-mediated networks),
• E-commerce (transfer of goods, for example when a book is sold online).

Bill Imlah comments, new applications are blurring these boundaries and adding complexity; for example, social media and Internet search.

In the last decade of the 20th century. Nicholas Negroponte (1995) used a metaphor of shifting from processing atoms to processing bits. "The problem is simple. When information is embodied in atoms, there is a need for all sorts of industrial-age means and huge corporations for delivery. But suddenly, when the focus shifts to bits, the traditional big guys are no longer needed. Do-it-yourself publishing on the Internet makes sense. It does not for a paper copy."

In this new economy, digital networking and communication infrastructures provide a global platform over which people and organizations devise strategies, interact, communicate, collaborate and search for information. More recently, Digital Economy has been defined as the branch of economics studying zero marginal cost intangible goods over the Net.

Impact on Retail

The digital economy has had a substantial impact on retail sales of consumer product goods. One effect has been the fast proliferation of retailers with no physical presence, such as Ebay or Amazon. Additionally, traditional retailers, like WalMart and Macy's have restructured their businesses to adapt to a digital economy. Some retailers, like Forever 21, have declared bankruptcy as a result of their failure to anticipate and adapt to a digital economy. Others, such as Bebe stores have worked with outside vendors to completely convert their business one that is exclusively digital. These vendors, such as IBM, Microsoft and Branded Online, have enabled smaller retailers to compete with large, multi-national established brands.

International Digital Economy

Countries such as Singapore have been building their digital economy since the 1980’s . Singapore has made such an advanced economy, that it has impacted the digital economy infrastructure within other countries. Within the past 18 years Singapore has continued to establish their world-class digital information infrastructure to support the technological revolutions that are occurring now as well as in the future. The  country’s deputy prime minister presented Singapore’s Electronic Commerce Masterplan .The plan’s focus is to increase the spread of e-commerce, in order to make Singapore an international E-commerce hub.

culture secretary John Whittingdale

Legislation

Canadian-British Journalist Cory Doctorow protesting Digital Economy Act in 2010

The Digital Economy Act of 2010 is an act put in place by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This act was introduced to parliament by Lord Madelson. The act addresses media policy in regards to digital media. Articles within the act give legislation to copyright infringement, Internet domain, as well as age restrictions when it comes to online gaming and transferring content. The Digital Economy Act of 2017 differs form the Digital Economy act of 2010 because it concerns infrastructure and communication. This act was introduced to Parliament by John Whittingdale on July 5th 2017. This act allows the sharing of data between countries to build E-government. The act also requires Internet service providers to block websites providing adult content, unless the customers opt-out.