1, information products with different relations with material carriers.
Information products can be divided into tangible information products and intangible information products according to whether they are solidified on their material carriers. Tangible information products refer to information products that must be attached to material carriers, and can also be called information commodities.
According to whether its content changes with the change of material carrier, tangible information products can be divided into two categories: the first category of tangible information products is information products whose content does not change with the change of material carrier form, such as scientific and technological information products and economic information products, which do not change with the change of material carrier, and most tangible information products belong to this category; The second kind of information products are information products whose contents have changed due to the change of material carrier form, such as information products in arts and crafts.
Intangible information products refer to information products without fixed material carriers. This kind of information product can have no material carrier, or take the human brain as the storage carrier, or exist in the form of sound waves, electromagnetic waves, digitalization, etc., and its characteristic is that it is difficult to accumulate and preserve. In classroom teaching, radio and television service and oral consultation service, users can only get intangible information. Some people also call intangible information products information services. Nowadays, digital products and network products that exist widely belong to this category, which we will introduce later.
2. Information products with different processing depths
The production of information products mainly processes and processes information to varying degrees. Information products can be divided into zero-level information products, first-level information products, second-level information products and third-level information products according to the different processing depths of producers. These include:
First, the zero-order information product refers to the information product that only collects unprocessed information, which is the most primary product form in information products;
Second, primary information products are information products obtained through scientific research, such as papers and monographs;
Third, secondary information products are information products formed by concentrating and sorting primary information products, such as bibliographies, abstracts, indexes, etc.
Fourthly, the third-level information product is an information product which is synthesized from the first-level and second-level information products on the basis of using the second-level information products such as reviews and comments.
3. Information products with different labor characteristics
According to the different labor characteristics, Byrd classified information products into three categories: material information products, deepening information products and expanding information products, and classified information services into four categories: commercial information services, commercial or non-commercial information services, services to ensure and promote information exchange, and information services within organizations. Zhang Shousheng divides information products into four categories: material information products, public information products, deepening information products and thematic information products. We believe that according to different labor characteristics, information products can be divided into the following types:
(1) material information products. That is, information products obtained by repeatedly reprinting the same information content and information amount are similar to the production of material products, so they are called material information products, such as books, periodicals, audio-visual products and so on.
(2) Extended information products. That is, information products, such as second-hand information products, databases and so on. , constantly broaden their information content and scope, increase their information.
(3) Deepening information products. That is, information products, such as research reports and academic works, constantly process the same content to increase its information content.
(4) Special information products. Information products whose information content changes with the carrier, that is, the second kind of tangible information products.
In addition, information products can be divided into scientific and technological information products, economic information products, political information products, legal information products, military information products and other types according to the disciplinary nature of their contents; According to their different functions, it can be divided into decision-making information products, control information products, supervision information products and organization information products. According to different carrier forms, it can be divided into oral information products, document information products and physical information products; According to the different modes of communication, it can be divided into free communication information products and paid communication information products.
4. Digital and network information products
Digital products and network products belong to the category of information commodities, and they are new development forms of information commodities.
(1) digital products
Digital product is the exchange of information content based on digital format.
Digital products include: digital products that express certain content, that is, content digital products; A digital product representing the exchange tool of a contract; Digital processes and services, that is, any interactive behavior that can be digitized.
The physical characteristics of digital products are not easy to be destroyed, changeable and reproducible.
(1) Not easy to destroy means that the existence of digital products depends on a certain material carrier, but the material can be destroyed, and the digital products themselves are not easy to be destroyed. As long as digital products can be used and stored correctly, no matter how many times you reuse them, the quality of digital products will not decline, and there is no difference between durability and non-durability;
② Variability means that the content of digital products can be changed, easily customized or modified at any time, and the manufacturer cannot control the integrity of the products. Once digital products are downloaded to the Internet, it is difficult to control the integrity of the content at the user level. Although there are some methods to verify whether digital products have been tampered with, such as encryption technology and digital signature, the degree and scope are very small.
(3) Reproducibility, in fact, a large number of information products are replicable, but here refers to the replicability that the marginal cost of replication is almost zero. On the one hand, this feature brings huge profits to digital product producers, on the other hand, the replicability of digital products provides a manufacturing base with low marginal production cost for digital product piracy activities, thus bringing huge economic losses to digital product producers.
In addition to the characteristics of information goods, the economic characteristics of digital products have their own characteristics, which are easy to customize and personalize. Digital products contain a lot of information, and the same information can be expressed in different external forms, such as different fonts, background colors and pictures. This is mainly due to the variability of digital products, because digital products are easily changed, so manufacturers can provide their personalized products or services with reference to the needs of consumers.
(2) Network products
Network products are information commodities based on the network. These products can be searched through search engines provided by special websites and then consumed.
Network information products not only have the inherent characteristics of general information products, but also have some more unique characteristics, such as:
(1) timeliness, buyers of network information products can get it in time at the same moment when producers just start selling products online;
(2) Low cost, because consumers don't need to provide carriers of information products (such as tapes, CDs, etc.). ) It is sold to consumers by downloading or subscribing to information products online, so the sales cost will be lower. In addition, because the online sales market covers the whole world, it will stimulate more potential groups to buy.
(3) Easy to be intelligent. In addition to all kinds of advertisements and other media publicity, once a network information product is docked with a search engine, people who really need it will get it quickly through keyword search, which is many times more efficient than finding a needle in a haystack in the traditional market.
(4) Full enjoyment, information producers will store the processed information products in a database for thousands of visitors to call at the same time. This situation that a large number of users around the world enjoy the same product at the same time can only be carried out on the Internet.
⑤ Traceability: In addition to selling the latest online information products, such as newspapers and magazines, users can also buy any issue that has been issued in the past, which is also difficult for traditional media.
Both information products can exist without carriers. They can spread through electromagnetic waves and are easy to appreciate. They are more advanced information products than traditional information products.