8848 Module 4 Second Life as a Disruptive Technology

Disruptive technologies, according to Thornburg in Laureate Education, 2009) is one of the six forces that drive emerging technologies. Thornburg references Clayton Christensen’s term of disruptive innovation as the groundwork of the notion of disruptive technology. In brief, a disruptive technology is an innovation along the evolutionary path of technology that takes the industry by storm in creating a more efficient, lower cost solution with increased benefits and makes it more possible for more consumers to access, afford, or utilize the innovation. At the same time, it obsoletes its predecessors.

Thornburg (in Laureate Education, 2009) uses the transistor as an example of disrupting the success of the vacuum tube. Other examples include the digital cameras replacing film or CDs replacing the phonograph.

For this module, we will discuss Second Life as a disruptive technology.

1. How is Second Life a disruptive technology?
2. What technology does it replace?
3. How long before it is replaced?

I am not 100% sure that Second Life is yet a disruptive technology, but perhaps on the verge of it. As the inventor Philip Rosedale states in his Second Life video talk, "We are more like the Wild West than like Rome." Furthermore, in an interview with Rosedale, (Lamont, 2009) he states that Second Life is in the first stage of at least three stages. Perhaps he is merely being humble, as Second Life could have begun to be a disruptive technology.

Second Life could be replacing games (Nintendo, GameBoy), virtual reality platforms, educational and training classrooms, office meeting and work collaboration areas, a streaming server (allows for streaming audio without a streaming server), and even Skype is mentioned as being replaced with equal or better sound but in a 3D meeting space.

Rosedale (2008) discusses how feedback from current users are consistently helping him to improve upon the concept by identifying the areas of lack and need. His futuristic mindset and drive to push this technology forward in time makes one speculate that he may even obsolete his own creation or come up with the second generation of Second Life. I would say it is too difficult to guestimate when another innovation may make Second Life obsolete. I think the next innovation may pop up as the next stage of processing, speed, power, and storage become faster and more efficient probably by jumping into a whole new realm that we don’t see today. Technological advances can sometimes seem to pop up at a drop of a hat or as Thornburg (in Laureate Education, 2009) said, like a wildcard, not knowing when it is coming, but when it does, "Look out."

4. What are the social benefits of Second Life and what might be the social implications of virtual worlds in my industry?

I hesitate to discuss the social benefits of Second Life. I think the negatives (too much make believe, hiding behind an identity, change of ethical/moral fiber, sitting at a computer too long, etc.) might outweigh the positives on a social level. But that would be a completely separate discussion. I am not saying Second Life is not beneficial for some areas. I often compare technology to a knife. Knives have a lot of great benefits (cooking, cutting, etc.), but if not used properly, they can be very detrimental. From my industry’s perspective, I can see how Second Life could be a helpful tool for training and simulation. Second Life could be a very inexpensive tool for learning, teaching, collaboration, and brainstorming in both the business and educational worlds.


Koh


Resources

Annotated bibliography of Second Life, http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~mpepper/slbib

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Science Fiction. [DVD]. In emerging and future technology. (Available from MBS Direct Virtual Bookstore, http://www.mbsdirect.net/Index.htm).

Lamont, I. (2009). Interview with Second Life creator Philip Rosedale. http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/01/30/interview-second-life-creator-philip-rosedale
Rosedale, P. (2008). Philip Rosedale on Second Life. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html

EDUC 8848 Module 3 Post

May I dare to "go where no man has gone before"? How can I resist a Star Trek reference in light of Science Fiction being one of the six forces that drive emergence of new technologies (Laureate Education, 2009a)? Well maybe someone has challenged the Rhymes of History, but not so far that I have read.

Rhymes of History is one of the forces that drive the emergence of technology. "A new technology is a fresh emergence of the impact felt many years before from another technology." (Thornburg in Laureate Education, 2009a). This goes along with McLuhan's rekindling section of his technology tetrad(Laureate Education, 2009b). For example the Kindle is a handheld library of books, which rekindles the basic book as well as having a place (library) to store many resources.

Here is where I am taking my Star Trek venture. I certainly do not have the years of expertise of McLuhan. My grasp of educational technology must be a fraction of a percent of one percent of Thornburg's knowledge. So I feel rather naive in posing this question. But here goes: Could every piece of technology be tied to rekindling something from the past? Man has had basic needs to survive (which could be eating, making money, hunting, fighting, learning, etc.), be sheltered, provide, communicate, etc. For example, cell phones and all variations of them could be tied to the need to communicate. New, high-tech ovens can be a retrieval of fire. Any transportation vehicle can be a retrieval of man's need to get from one place to another. Cameras could be traced back to drawings on cave walls, to capture or remember. I might be stretching my point too far here, or perhaps I am just totally missing the boat of understanding of McLuhan's rekindling or Thornburg's Rhyme of History. If indeed every technology is tied to something from the past, is Rhyme of History a force?

Lisa Rodriguez made an interesting comment about McLuhan's tetrad, asking if another factor should be added concerning "the downside" or "the dangers" of the technology. I will now expand on her comment and ask if there is any value of having the unintended consequences as discussed by Rogers (2003) reside in the quadrant in place of the rekindle quadrant?

Any clarification or comments are extremely welcome!


References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Six forces that drive emergence of new technologies. [DVD]. In emerging and future technology. (Available from MBS Direct Virtual Bookstore, http://www.mbsdirect.net/Index.htm)

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). McLuhan’s tetrad. [DVD]. In emerging and future technology. (Available from MBS Direct Virtual Bookstore, http://www.mbsdirect.net/Index.htm)

Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press.