Technology seems to be advancing at exponential speeds these days. Just look at the changes that have evolved from the first cell phones 30 years ago to today, where interactive smartphones provide us ways to communicate, navigate, and enjoy entertainment from the palms of our hands. So it comes as no surprise that seminal e-commerce company Amazon recently revealed its business plan to begin having unmanned drones deliver products to customers in the next four to five years.

This futuristic plan was announced by CEO Jeff Bezos on “60 Minutes,” which aired Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013. Clearly Amazon is a powerhouse in the e-commerce industry, which is why Bezos is constantly reinvesting the company’s profits into perfecting delivery and distribution. Bezos explained his vision to enhance delivery speed and efficiency with the development and deployment of drones, known as octocopters, which would be able to carry as much as five pounds of cargo within a 10-mile radius of an Amazon fulfillment center, according to the Seattle Times.

This announcement came just in time for Cyber Monday – a brilliant PR strategy might I point out. According to CBS, Amazon was expected to push more than 300 items per second on Cyber Monday. The prediction that many customers would take their business online in order to remove the fuss of Black Friday lines proved to be true. The Seattle Times stated that e-commerce spending increased 15 percent, resulting in $1.2 billion in sales. Amazon was surely a big component of those sales and the buzz surrounding the drone announcement likely drew curious consumers to the website.

Bezos’ announcement is being covered everywhere. People are interested in this highly successful company’s future projects, but this announcement is also getting tremendous amounts of coverage for the futuristic and innovative plan of drone usage. The general public is somewhat fearful, though, of unmanned aerial vehicles (think surveillance, crashes, etc.), but in reality they have the potential to improve the world.  As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, drones could be used to assist reaching developing countries where adequate, safe road systems are lacking and supplies and medicine are still needed.  Drones could also aid in disaster relief, where conventional transportation may no longer be an option due to the conditions. Essentially, the public’s fear surrounding drones may very soon be outweighed by the potential those devices have to aid and improve society.

Regardless of the future of drones, Amazon’s announcement is generating significant press coverage and will be on top of mind for consumers during the holiday season, helping fuel what will most likely be an overwhelmingly large number of sales for the e-commerce company. The coverage of Amazon will also further enhance Bezos’ image as a big tech thinker and innovator and will continue to help shape the image of the company moving forward. I am interested to see what the future holds for tech-savvy and forward-thinking Amazon, a company that has come so far in so little time.