What does it mean for consumers and marketers to transform cloud operations?

Will consumers eventually leave the hardware? I don't mean that consumers will soon give up using computers. As long as we use the brain, we need to use this kind of hardware interface between the eyes, the ear, the hand and the Internet. However, recent trends have shown that people begin to shift from specialized hardware to "cloud" computing, virtually anywhere online.

Some data in the game market and a drop in game-machine sales suggest that this trend is developing. According to industry data, video game games sales fell 30%, the largest since 2000. The only exception is the growth of Nintendo's Wii game consoles. Since last year, Nintendo's sales are still ahead of Microsoft's Xbox and Sony PS3, despite a 45% drop in sale. A report by the Entertainment Software Alliance, released by Marketingcharts.com, shows that 68% of households in the United States still own games consoles, despite a drop in game sales.

The number of games has not dropped, people just changed the place to play the game. While game-machine sales have fallen, research has shown that more than 22% of users have more time to play games than before. Even if you're not a gamer, it's not surprising, imagine the ubiquitous ads in multiplayer services, the launch of more free online gaming services like "Quake Live".

According to the Liliputing website, which focuses on the netbook market, more and more people are now buying netbooks instead of expensive games consoles. But it is too early to say that users are replacing old computers with small, lightweight, low-cost netbooks. Recently, At&t, a telecoms operator, has launched a broadband promotional service bundled with netbooks, which has amply demonstrated the importance of large carriers in the transition from high-performance computers to small, lightweight products. Some people think that the iphone is actually a mobile computer, I agree with that.

If the traditional approach is threatened by a shift from expensive hardware to lightweight products, operating system giants such as Apple and Microsoft will be nervous about netbooks-centric operating systems. Relying on online applications, even online storage files and other Office-type computer activities, this netbook operating system, while still in its infancy, is not a very long-term vision.

Why?

Because if you track the changes brought about by digital technology in each industry, other areas will also change. Recordings from CDs to MP3, movies from video to DVDs to streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. Files from paper to disk to local websites to the Internet. The shift of digital cloud operation is a general trend.

What does the cloud transform mean for marketers? It means that there are more opportunities to access all aspects of people's lives in a holistic manner, not just in front of the computer. It means that the line between mobile marketing and traditional online marketing is increasingly blurred. While we still need to have the same information to engage with them, the increased mobility of using High-tech users today and the popularity of tomorrow's phenomenon mean that we must pay special attention to the geographical location of people and pay more attention to what they want to hear. We must listen carefully to the voice of the consumer, must pay attention to the mobile, social market brand reputation.

(Original: August 31, 2009; Compiling: Song XI)