The Disruptive Power of Second Life

Second life is a disruptive technology because it has displaced a technology.  The traditional online chat has been replaced with virtual worlds in a sense.  This innovation replaced the traditional chat room where people can only talk using words.  In second life people interact differently.  Humans are social people and this fills a social need that humans have.  In these virtual worlds you are never alone and information can be experienced together according to Philip Rosedale.   I think it will be over a decade before another technology displaces it because it is just now getting off the ground.

Reference

Rosedale, P. (2008). Philip Rosedale on Second Life [Video]. Retrieved from                 http://www.ted.com/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html.

Rhymes of History Technology

The technology that I wanted to focus on is Instagram. This new technology is trying to create a, “world more connected through photos.” This technology is free and easy to use. The type of technology that Instagram rekindles from the past would go back as far as 3500 B.C. in ancient Sumer. Pictographs were used on clay tablets to convey messages and connect future generations. Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics are believed to go back to about 3000 B.C. Julius Caesar had messages carved into stone in public. In 175 the Chinese carved classics into stones. These are all different types of technology that Instagram has rekindled. People take pictures on a daily basis and post them for the world to see and stay connected. This was the same function that the historic technologies were used for as well.  Dr. Thornburg said that technology can fit in a rhymes of history situation  where a new development mirrors or rekindles something form the past and I believe Instagram does just that.


References

Instagram. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://instagram.com/

Laureate Education, Inc. (2009). Rhymes of History. Baltimore, MD: Author