Saturday, February 4, 2012

Red Queens and Increasing Returns

When I decided to watch Blade Runner, I viewed it digitally from Amazon.com instant streaming videos.  This was the easiest way to view it since I didn’t have the DVD nor did I want to buy it.  I believe the competition between DVDs and video-on-demand is an example of Red Queens.  As far back as I can remember, VHS dominated stores until DVDS hit.  Once DVDs came out, Blockbuster and other movie stores rented them to clients to view.  However, when Netflix and “The Red Box” emerged, movie stores started going out of business due to the ease of renting from home.   Now, videos-on-demand are the Red Queen in the market place because they are dominating in the movie industry.   I believe video-on-demand obsoletes all other technologies of viewing movies (VHS, DVDs).  It allows you to stream a movie from your phone, lap top, iPad, itouch, etc…I do not see this Red Queen being replaced anytime soon due to its popularity and ease of use. As for DVDs, it retrieves and rekindles the VHS.  It will eventually become obsolete due to videos-on-demand. 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Module 4: Disruptive Technologies


  • How is Second Life a disruptive technology?  A disruptive technology is considered a new technology with the same functionality of an existing technology, but it functions more efficiently, and obsoletes the technology.  Second Life was a "wild card" that virtually came out of nowhere.  

  • What technology or innovation did it displace?  Second Life displaced other virtual worlds, games, and perhaps even dating sites (or will) in the future due to its gaining popularity.  From what I know of Second Life (and that isn't a lot), it seems that people can use it for a plethora of agendas.  

  • How many years do you think Second Life has left before another emerging technology or disruptive technology replaces it?  I think that it will be quite a few years before Second Life has left us due to its overwhelming success on both the personal and business fronts.  

  • What are the social benefits of Second Life, and what might be the social implications of virtual worlds in your industry?  People are using Second Life to become the individuals that in real life they can never be or aren't able to be due to a variety of reasons whether it be physical, mental, or social limitations.  As the popular country song a few years ago states, "I'm so much cooler online."  In a virtual world, individual create an avatar who is exactly what they have always wanted to be or how they have always wanted others to see them.  As a high school teacher, I could see high school students using Second Life to interact with each other and to possibly virtually visit college campuses, but I personally, have not had a lot of experience with Second Life. 

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Module 3: Rhymes of History Technology

Dr. Thornburg postulates in the vodcast this week, Rhymes of History, that one of the six forces that drive emerging technologies are rhymes of history.  He explains how the affect of an innovation can rekindle interactions and activities from the past.  When I think of this, it makes me think of the evolution of mail.  I think back to the times when harbingers were sent ahead to deliver messages during great battles, when runners were sent to deliver messages from town to town, the development of letters/messages being delivered to individuals, email, text messaging, instant messaging, and other development such as Skype.  What this rekindles or bring to light from the past is the idea of communication and the various ways we choose to do this.  Whereas in the past, we may have had to wait for days, weeks, even months to deliver a message or get a response, now we can generate, send, and have a response within seconds.  We can communicate and collaborate in ways that were not even imaginable 10 years ago, which relates directly to the Ted Talk that we watched this week about the Internet and the next 5,000 days.  Kevin Kelly discusses how far the Internet has come in the last 5,000 days and what we can expect (or can't even fathom) happening in the next 5,000 days.

Resource:

Kelly, K. (2007, December). Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the Web [Speech]. Speech delivered at the EG 2007 Conference, Los Angeles. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.html