Module 4 The Disruptive Power of Second Life

Disruptive technology is “New Technology with the same functionality of an existing technology, but it functions more efficiently, and then obsoletes that technology.” Second LIfe is a disruptive technology because it is a virtual world but with a 3D design. You can live in an unrealistic world of whatever you dream of. Philip Rosedale, founder of Second Life, feels this is Second life going to be bigger than the web. The web is in the form of text and images and Second world is text and text to link information. Virtual worlds are a great way to organize information. Since people are social, they like to be around other people. In the virtual world, there are always people there with you to socialize with. You can walk into a café and speak with people locally or from other countries where you might not ever be able to do that in reality. Rosedale said 65% of people are not from the US but there are translators that you can use to translate your conversations. The average age is 32 in this three dimensional world but as the age of the person using the Second Life world goes up, the amount of time spent on the website goes up. The innovation Second Life is trying to displace the World Wide Web. It is making the chat room on the computer into a three-dimensional chat room. I feel 2nd life is currently too difficult for many people to learn how to join in and maybe not so cost effective. People would choose a free site over a paying site most of the time. Second Life might want to make an easier way to use the 3D world. I do wonder if Second Life will ever be able to combine technologies such as using video games like xbox or google earth into 2nd life so you can play within the site with others. This site reminds me a little bit of the Jim Carry movie called The Truman Show. It was someone else that put him into a fake world and ran his world how they wanted it to run without him knowing and then put it on a live television show for everyone to view what happens. Both the movie and Second Life are made up worlds and ran how you want them to run. References Rosedale, P. (2008). Philip Rosedale on Second Life [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/the_inspiration_of_second_life.html. Thornburg, D. (2009). Disruptive Technologies. DVD. Laureate Education, Inc.