5 Industries That Were Transformed by the Internet

Featured image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay

There’s nothing more complex than the World Wide Web. Invented decades ago, the internet has transformed the way human beings communicate with one another.

The internet has allowed people in America to write letters to siblings who move overseas. It will continue to allow workers to maintain their employment remotely during a global pandemic. It has even let people order transportation and food from the comfort of their couch. The internet makes us all one click away from each other.

In the business world, this type of connection has meant industry change that wasn’t occurring in the 80s and 90s. For example, online auto insurance is now a thing. Moreover, job interviews don’t have to take place 50 miles from the prospective worker’s home. What other industries have been altered drastically by the way the internet dominates home and business life?

We’ll discuss the five biggest examples of this technology revolution, along with what they might look like as the internet continues to change and get bigger. Things like social media especially have contributed to this trend, and we’ll take a closer look at that.

#1 – Human Resources and Recruiting on the Internet

This industry encompasses every business sector. No matter what company or what type of work they do, they almost always have an HR department and a recruiting sector. These are essential to expanding your reach and growing both internally and externally.

The internet has fundamentally changed the very core of what these two departments do on a daily basis. Companies once did their recruiting solely through job ads in newspapers and radio airtime. Now, sites like LinkedIn and Indeed are two behemoths of the industry. Almost every company uses these websites for potential employment outreach.

Social media is another thing that every business needs to use to advertise potential openings. Hashtags and trending topics pages are littered with these offerings.

What’s more, if people don’t play the Twitter game with employment, both bosses and workers are missing out on their full potential. Your competitors will take valuable employees that you could be getting, and people looking for work will get beaten out by those who are aware of how important networking is to get a career.

#2 – The Restaurant Industry and the Internet

There’s starting and growing an online business, and then there’s taking a business that has nothing to do with the internet and going online to expand your reach. Not many industries have taken this idea and run with it more than the food and service industry.

Before the internet, the only way to get dinner delivered to your door was by calling the pizza delivery guy down the road. Now, every restaurant in your area uses services like Door Dash or Uber Eats to bring you food at the drop of a hat.

It’s made eating wherever you want much easier, but also more difficult for the food industry. Drivers aren’t always treated with respect. People expect their items to come to them in an instant. It can be a little overwhelming for the people doing the work. But because the internet has made this the norm now, you really can’t survive without this business model.

The pandemic forcing people to stay home only furthered this evolution. Folks ordered takeout for every meal, wanting to stay home and quarantined away from others as much as possible. This is a great example of the way the internet has transformed the possibilities of staying safe and getting essentials during tough times.

#3 – Insurance Companies

Getting things like auto or life insurance has always been a little confusing when you first start shopping. In the past, you had to go to the insurance agent’s place of business and negotiate in a one-to-one setting. It could be a little intimidating. It also didn’t allow you to sit back and think about what you were going to buy for your insurance policy.

The internet has completely changed the way we shop and compare different insurance companies. You can quickly and easily compare rates online depending on what company you are thinking of. You can pay your bills online, and you can see how others compare their experiences to yours with online reviews.

Try to find a website that has a comparison tool so you can see the different rates through your own eyes. Talking to an agent online can still help build a good relationship in any home-based business, especially insurance. It can also be misleading.

Raw numbers are available on comparison sites that simply weren’t there for the consumer even 20 years ago. You should always take advantage of this. It is one of the best internet innovations for customers.

#4 – Video Games and Streaming Services

We should touch on the entertainment sector now. Video games, movies, television, and similar entities have become multi-billion-dollar industries. The internet revolution has certainly been one of the biggest reasons for this expansion.

Taking video games outside of the living room and onto the internet has allowed people to make friends (and some enemies, unfortunately) with the fellow players they meet halfway across the world.

Watching television with the family was once a weekly occurrence. But services like Netflix and Hulu have expanded the intent of watching TV. Now people can access hundreds of programs any time of the day. If a TV producer doesn’t allow their show onto one of these platforms, it is difficult for it to survive in 2022.

These entertainment options have been heaven-sent during a time when people need social interaction through a remote setting, while they also they need convenience. They want to watch and play whenever they want. The internet allows that to happen.

#5 – Medicine

The internet has allowed people to access their medical providers in ways they were never able to do in decades past. During the pandemic, this has been more important than ever. Scheduling appointments online, and even interacting with your doctor during a Zoom meeting, have been popular during the pandemic.

The internet has given broader access to medical resources to the majority of the population. It will be exciting to see how the medical field will continue to use the web to grow its ability to help patients.

The Internet and Your Target Audience

As with any of the businesses we’ve talked about here, the ability to use tech in your company is directly tied to income inequality. If you are targeting customers who do not have access to a regular internet connection, it’s going to be difficult for them to use your services or buy your products.

The internet has transformed the world, but not everyone has caught up yet. Hopefully, someday that will change. In the meantime, we are going to continue to see more industries turned upside down by the relevance of technology and internet connection.

About the Author

Shawn Laib writes and researches for the auto insurance comparison site, AutoInsurance.org. He wants to help people understand how auto insurance ties into their everyday lives and business desires.

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