Week 8 Blog Post- The Disruptive Power of Second Life

Week 8 Blog Post-The Disruptive Power of Second Life

                  A disruptive technology is an innovation that is developed typically for less money, is more convenient in use, although not necessarily better in performance (Christensen, 1997). The creation of the new technology can disrupt entire industries- as an industry that creates a more sustainable technology has not built in a way to combat the new disruptive technology, nor do the industry executives buy into an emerging disruptive technology – all leading to the sustainable technology being surpassed by the new, disruptive technology (Christensen, 1997).

                  Second Life is a disruptive technology that can replace face-to-face environments through online avatar creations and simulated worlds invented by users (Kalning, 2007). The technology is an updated version of Sim City, which originated as an animated world where users could join and play games online. In Second Life, the users actually create individual worlds with whatever their imagination allows (Kalning, 2007).

                  For the industry of education, this could be utilized as a creative learning tool, where teachers could lead virtual classrooms and interact with students, as well as students interacting with each other. This idea is already as far as distance/online education is concerned, however the creativity factor seems endless. Socially, this can be good for those that perform better with some level of anonymity. However, all of the technology that emerges that subdues social interaction in a face-to-face environment can reek havoc on personal relationships.

References:

Christensen, C. (1997). The innovator’s dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms to fail. Boston. Harvard Business School Press

Kalning, K. (2007). If second life isn’t a game, what is it? Msnbc.com. Retrieved from www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17538999/ns/technology_and_science-games/t/if-secong-life-isnt-game-what-it/