Hey, It's My (digital) Birthday!
Today I'm celebrating a birthday. It was 24 years ago, in July 1995, that The Internet Tourbus first rolled out into cyberspace. And ten years later, AskBobRankin.com was born. With thanks to awesome readers like you, I'll keep on keeping on, with my continuing guaranteed to make you better looking and 146% smarter. Read on! |
Two Cyber-Birthdays Today
Back in 1996, I interviewed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in Boardwatch Magazine, which was the publication of record for the early Internet and BBS scene. Bezos was not yet a billionaire, and Amazon was still billing itself as "Earth's Biggest Bookstore." I can't find the article now, but I remember Bezos telling me that a bell would ring every time a book was sold. Eventually, the bell was ringing non-stop, so it had to be disconnected. It would be several years before Amazon began to expand into clothing, toys, gadgets and groceries.
Coincidentally, this is also Amazon’s 25th birthday. Since 2015, the e-commerce giant has celebrated with Prime Day, offering Prime members “more deals than Black Friday.” Today and tomorrow, you'll find deep discounts on both Amazon-branded products and thousands of third-party sellers.
This annual cyber-holiday boasts sales figures that rival November's Black Friday, and brings tears to the eyes of CEOs at Best Buy, WalMart, Target and eBay. Amazon further turned up the heat on its ecommerce competitors by announcing that Prime Day will be TWO days this year. The super sale for Amazon Prime subscribers will run today, July 15th and July 16th. Even if you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can sign up for a free trial and get in on the party.
And because Amazon is a global company, you don't have to be in the USA to enjoy Prime Day savings. Prime Day deals are also available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates.
The main Prime Day page features a live QVC-style video stream, with new deals announced throughout the day. You'll find items in categories such as Appliances, Automotive, Baby, Beauty, Books, Cameras, Cell Phones, Computers, Electronics, Home Improvement, Kitchen, Lawn & Garden, Musical Instruments, Office Supplies, Pet Supplies, and Televisions.
You can also find special pricing on Amazon Devices like the Echo Dot, Ring Video Doorbell, Kindle, and FireTV.
Some deals will be available for the entire two days, but others will be limited-time deals. The Upcoming Deals page will show you deals that start in the next few minutes, and typically have limited quantities.
I mentioned other online retailers earlier, and they've got their own plans to steal some of the Prime Day thunder. Target will be having Deal Days sales on both July 15 and 16. And eBay plans to crash Amazon's party with a site-wide Crash Sale on July 15. eBay just might be poking a little fun at Amazon, because their servers crashed last year during the Prime Day event.
Will you shop at Amazon, or one of their online competitors on Prime Day? Your thoughts on this topic are welcome. Post your comment or question below...
|
|
|
This article was posted by Bob Rankin on 15 Jul 2019
| For Fun: Buy Bob a Snickers. |
 |
Prev Article: Is Cloud Storage Secure and Private? |
The Top Twenty |
Next Article: Wow, Free Online Photo Editors |
 |
There's more reader feedback... See all 59 comments for this article.
Post your Comments, Questions or Suggestions
|
Free Tech Support -- Ask Bob Rankin Subscribe to AskBobRankin Updates: Free Newsletter Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved About Us Privacy Policy RSS/XML |
Article information: AskBobRankin -- Hey, It's My (digital) Birthday! (Posted: 15 Jul 2019)
Source: https://askbobrankin.com/hey_its_my_digital_birthday.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "Hey, It's My (digital) Birthday!"
(See all 59 comments for this article.)Posted by:
Richard
16 Jul 2019
Happy St Swithin's day. Hope it's not raining.
Posted by:
Carolyn
16 Jul 2019
Happy Digital Birthday!!!
Posted by:
thenudehamster
16 Jul 2019
Congratulations on on 24 years of largely sound and often humorous advice and suggestions.
Your research does need a little work though - Amazon's Prime Day is also a big event in the UK - a small country you may have heard of, but failed to mention in your list...
Posted by:
Stella
16 Jul 2019
Yep, still here with you since the beginning. Wouldn't miss your news for the world. Happy Digital Birthday Bob
Posted by:
Shoe
16 Jul 2019
Thanks, Bob, for doing what you do and have done for 25 years! I look forward to your postings and thank you heartily for your work and advice on backing up--I feel much more secure now with Macrium Reflect taking acre of business! Your e-book is great!!
Posted by:
Michtrixie
16 Jul 2019
Happy digital birthday, Bob! Thanks for all the advice over the years. Here's to many more!
Posted by:
Ed
16 Jul 2019
Bob, Appreciate all the help received over the years. I remember the bus but don't actually remember when I signed on. As far as Amazon, I would rather deal with companies that have higher standards. I never buy there. I will say "It's all about marketing marketing marketing" With marketing, no matter how dishonest or sleazy, you could sell pig poop to pig farmers and they will think they need it and are getting a deal. Keep up the good work you do!
Posted by:
Ed
16 Jul 2019
Bob, I also especially appreciate this........YES... spelling, punctuation, grammar and proper use of UPPER/lower case are important! It is a pleasure to read correctly spelled words where correct punctuation is used and capitalization. Shows good education!
Posted by:
David Schultz
16 Jul 2019
Happy birthday. I haven't been with you quite that long but have enjoyed the ride since I came onboard.
Posted by:
Jpm Bellar
16 Jul 2019
It's been a pleasure reading your articles all these years. Keep up the great work.
Posted by:
Kathryn S
16 Jul 2019
Happy Digital Birthday. I have been riding the bus since 2000 - long before I ever got a computer. I was using WebTv plus back in those days but knew there would be a computer somewhere in my future and I wanted to gain computer knowledge and literacy before getting one. The transition was a delight and the ride has been also, thanks in part to you and the bus. Many, many thanks for sharing your knowledge and humor with us all these years.
Posted by:
Patricia L. Miller
16 Jul 2019
Happy Digital Birthday
Posted by:
Charles
16 Jul 2019
Happy Digital Birthday!! Wishing you many more.
Posted by:
Linda Dann
16 Jul 2019
Wishing you a very happy digital birthday, Bob. A HUGE THANK YOU for making tech understandable and accessible for all of us for so many years! I am sure that, over 24 years, you have probably helped millions of us, and we are grateful! If there were an Oscar for Best and Most Helpful Website it should go to you.
Posted by:
Butch
17 Jul 2019
Many "Thank You" & "Happy Birthday" wishes coming from another 20th Century passenger. Many thanks for the very valuable & useful tips, so many of which have been free or 'low cost.' You have enriched the computing lives of more folks than you probably can imagine.
Posted by:
Therrito
17 Jul 2019
Today (July 17th) is my birthday :-D
Posted by:
JIM REICKER
18 Jul 2019
Belated congrats and thanks. There must have been times when you wondered if it was worth all the trouble -- believe me, it was! You have somehow found the right balance between technical info (eg stuff on WIN 10, computer tune-ups) and the important non-technical stuff (security, shopping, etc).I was on the Tourbus and still find references to it in my files. (What ever happened to PC's squirrels?)
Congrats again!
Posted by:
RandiO
19 Jul 2019
Happy Birthday, Bob Rankin
Posted by:
Phil Glenn
19 Jul 2019
Congratulations and than you Bob from an early subscriber. I remember the squirrels and the Crispin partnership days. I submitted Snickers in appreciation for the tips. What a ride. I will stay with you as long as you are willing to keep going.
Posted by:
Silvia M Rapacz
23 Jul 2019
I was going to send you a cup of coffee. Isn't that possible any more?