Module 5 Red Queens and Increasing Returns
When you decided to obtain a DVD for your science fiction assignment in Module 4, where did you go to find a movie based on a Philip K. Dick book? Did you rent or purchase a DVD, or did you view it digitally on yor computer using Netflix or a similar vendor of video-on-demand?
I went to the University library where I teach and checked out the movie "Minority Report" on DVD from the media center. I do not have Netflix in my home at this time. I watched the movie on my PC.
Is the current competition between DVD's and video-on-demand an example of incrasing returns or Red Queens? Justify your response with sound reasoning and specific examples.
According to Thornburg (2008), the term "Red Queen" is attached to phenomena when the competition between two forces ends up with both of them rapidly developing. Red Queens exist in emerging technology and an example would be the early competition between Netscape (now Firefox) and Microsoft. Because of fierce competition between venders, there is a lot of incentive for new and improved feature sets for software programs.
Increasing returns on the other hand, is defined as the tendency for the ones that are ahead to get further ahead and for those behind to lose further advantage. In other words, increasing returns cause products that are ahead to "get further ahead" (Arthur, 1996, p. 100).
The competition between DVD's and video-on-demand is an example of a Red Queen. The DVD technology is running as fast as it can to keep up with Streaming Video services, however the DVD market is losing that race. The convenience of streaming and video-on-demand is quickly obsoleting the DVD store front market. Televisions, computers, and gaming devices are becoming more and more advanced and will eventually phase out the DVD market.
Where do you think DVD's and video-on-demand are on the four criteria of McLuhan's tetrad?
According to McLuhan's tetrad, all emerging technologies go through the four stages of the tetrad including enhancement, retrieval, obsolescense, and reversal. I think that DVD's are on the reversal phase and are setting the stage for their own demise in the near future. The video-on-demand are on the enhancement phase because they allow us to streamline and have surpassed video storefronts and video by mail services.
References:
Arthur, W.B. (1996). Increasing returns and the new world of business. Harvard Business review, 74(4), 100-109.
Thornburg, D. (2008). Red Queens, butterflies, and strange attractors: Imperfect lenses into emergent technologies. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.
I went to the University library where I teach and checked out the movie "Minority Report" on DVD from the media center. I do not have Netflix in my home at this time. I watched the movie on my PC.
Is the current competition between DVD's and video-on-demand an example of incrasing returns or Red Queens? Justify your response with sound reasoning and specific examples.
According to Thornburg (2008), the term "Red Queen" is attached to phenomena when the competition between two forces ends up with both of them rapidly developing. Red Queens exist in emerging technology and an example would be the early competition between Netscape (now Firefox) and Microsoft. Because of fierce competition between venders, there is a lot of incentive for new and improved feature sets for software programs.
Increasing returns on the other hand, is defined as the tendency for the ones that are ahead to get further ahead and for those behind to lose further advantage. In other words, increasing returns cause products that are ahead to "get further ahead" (Arthur, 1996, p. 100).
The competition between DVD's and video-on-demand is an example of a Red Queen. The DVD technology is running as fast as it can to keep up with Streaming Video services, however the DVD market is losing that race. The convenience of streaming and video-on-demand is quickly obsoleting the DVD store front market. Televisions, computers, and gaming devices are becoming more and more advanced and will eventually phase out the DVD market.
Where do you think DVD's and video-on-demand are on the four criteria of McLuhan's tetrad?
According to McLuhan's tetrad, all emerging technologies go through the four stages of the tetrad including enhancement, retrieval, obsolescense, and reversal. I think that DVD's are on the reversal phase and are setting the stage for their own demise in the near future. The video-on-demand are on the enhancement phase because they allow us to streamline and have surpassed video storefronts and video by mail services.
References:
Arthur, W.B. (1996). Increasing returns and the new world of business. Harvard Business review, 74(4), 100-109.
Thornburg, D. (2008). Red Queens, butterflies, and strange attractors: Imperfect lenses into emergent technologies. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.
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