In reflection of the readings and discussions on June 30, I was most surprised to find that my ability to relate to the Economics subject matter has far increased compared to when I was studying Economics 101 and 102 (micro- and macro-) at age 18.
I found the works Media Economics and “Economics of Information Technology” to both be interesting refreshers on the subject matter. In my readings, I came across just two hurdles that slowed the process down. Primarily, the numerous typographical errors in “Economics of Information Technology” were distracting and caused me to have to re-read things in order to make sense of the author’s message. The second hurdle for me was in understanding the equations. It took me a while to wrap my head around some, and they became increasingly complex as the text progressed.
Overall, I was able to relate the subject matter to my own experiences as a consumer of digital technologies. The example of Amazon selling items by the bundle is something I am familiar with as a consumer and which I now understand the process behind. Different consumers may each value (and be willing to pay a higher price for) one item in a bundle more than the second item. By selling a bundle of items, Amazon is able to draw-in the business from customers with different values since each would feel they are paying for the item they value most and getting the second item at the lower portion of the total bundle cost.
Ah .. I should include the directive to “skip the equations” along with the reading assignment!