The Greatest Invention for Financial Freedom by Tory Reiss

TORY REISS GREATEST INVENTION - The internet has forever changed the way we connect. Personal and business connections are made every day, and messages have the ability to reach every part of the globe. But what some people don’t realize is the extent to which the internet has freed up the way we use and grow our money as well.

This article is going to examine the internet’s close ties to new innovative financial territories, and what we can learn about how technology will continue to forever change how people look at employment, entrepreneurship and their own personal success.



New Digital Real Estate

In the advent of the real estate market rise, many individuals with few ties to the real estate industry were buying up properties, “flipping” houses and investing in land that they planned to develop – accruing a considerable amount of wealth along the way. This trend followed the simple truth that land has been one of the most valuable assets for human beings since the dawn of time.

But since the late 90’s and the invention and spreading of this thing known as the internet, many cyber entrepreneurs have been quietly using this technology to buy their financial freedom. And as we move forward in this new century and millennium, we are only beginning to see the tip of the iceberg of the potential of the internet. So what makes this technology so special and potentially profitable you might ask? Well, let a humble man named Tory Reiss explain it to you.



When Potential Turned to Profit

When the internet was in its infancy, many marveled at its potential for connection. Someone could send you a personal or professional message, and you could access it from anywhere in the world. In terms of information, instead of being limited by finite pages in books, you could type a query into a search engine and examine a near limitless well of resources.

During this initial period, individuals and companies were buying up web addresses that would be sure to pique the interest of millions of people around the world (otherwise known as keyword mining). Similar to buying real estate, these people held on to these URL’s and sold them to businesses that would eventually realize the value of the keywords.

However, after the .com bubble burst, this initial period of buying web addresses had come to an end. But, in its place, came the social network and the blog. And these modes of communication allowed people to express themselves as they never had before. Solitary internet users could now form communities – or “tribes” as Seth Godin would call them – where people with the same interests, anywhere from cooking to travel, could come together and exchange experiences and ideas.

And the depth of connection became so rich that even the marketing field – which was traditionally dominated by corporations – shifted to people trusting each other for product reviews more than they trusted corporations.

And now, in the last few years, people have been learning how to monetize that connection and completely change both their personal finances and the ability to finance their dreams. They have learned how to brand themselves in the internet space, and fulfill a need of the average internet user.



The Many Roads to Financial Freedom

There have been many different technologies that have created new financial avenues. An example of this fact is the website Prosper, which is a P2P lending service that connects people needing to borrow money with people willing to lend money anywhere in the country. This provides an amazing alternative to traditional money-lending services, which require credit checks and various hoops for people looking to borrow.

Similar to the P2P lending alternative, has been the P2P financing revolution. With sites like kickstarter and gofundme, people can receive backing for their personal projects, non-profit work, and large business endeavors without having to step foot in a bank or investing firm.

In addition, what’s remarkable is not only the opportunity for the people who use these services, but for the people who create them. These new internet businesses are quickly turning into extremely profitable ventures, and these companies are constantly looking into ways to continually revolutionize the user’s experience.

But for the person with specialized knowledge but little experience in business or technology, the internet once again comes through with its wealth of information. Someone can learn how to become an “infopreneur,” who spreads information about an industry or craft. In doing so they are able to monetize their knowledge by creating a paid guide or subscription service, and then can run their business from a beach in Antigua (aka the Tory Reiss Dream Office).

On the other hand, for people who are intimidated or uninterested in the prospect of being an infopreneur, the internet has opened up many innovative paths for remote work. Finding work like freelancing is no longer reserved for individuals like Peter Parker. With sites like elance and odesk, people can take on projects from film to writing, and get paid anywhere in the world. They can similarly become store owners and run a merchant site through one of the big auction outlets like Ebay and Amazon.

And once you start earning profits, if the idea of investing sounds useful but potentially overwhelming, there are sites like betterment that handle all of your investments to your specifications.

But even with all of these powerful internet tools, I would bet that this is only the beginning. In this new age, anyone with an idea can find exposure and potential funding. So many internet innovations – from online B2B solutions, to information aggregation, to B2P solutions – have come as a result of people wanting to solve a problem.

That being said, just like the real estate market, the potential of the internet is not limitless. New prospectors are carving out niches and buying digital real estate every day. And just like with the housing market, they are buying their financial freedom – through connection, through information, through innovation.

The question is…will you get in on the action?



- Tory Reiss