This phenomenon is always happening around us, for example: the rock wheel in the stone ages was replaced by the wood wheel, and this one got replaced by the iron wheel, which was finally replaced by the rubber and the plastic tire wheel.
More over, we can see creative destruction all around us these days thanks to technology innovation. A current example of this issue is what professor Anthony Miyazaki mentions on his blog this week about the demise of the non-internet media, like newspapers or magazines providing the whole content online and even some ceasing to distribute physical papers anymore, such as the Seattle Newspaper in March 2009.
I believe that this is a natural process of change and companies should be smart and see ahead of the curve to make the necessary business model restructures to accompanied the changes in technology and accommodate to the audience's new needs and take advantage of the new market before others. Take the example of Blockbuster, they had more than 10 years to restructure into a fully digital movie rental store but they failed to so and kept the same system they had since the invention of video tapes, and now is paying the consequences filling for bankruptcy last September. Despite all this, I believe that if Blockbuster makes the necessary business model changes and restructures, still has chances to re-float and become the most relevant source of movie rentals in America once again, since this brand has gained the trust of millions of Americas for decades and that is something that Netflix (biggest competitor) is still working on.
Another example of companies moving along with technology is one that a friend of mine shared with me over Facebook a couple of weeks ago, from the company Newsday which had launched a brand new IPad application in addition to their regular online edition. Watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeVyOKq-KXU. Maybe MAC should consider making IPads fly kill proof now :).
I think that the future of technology and internet will keep changing the way we use technology for entertainment, work, social interaction and live our everyday lives. In this process some products will become obsolete just like the rock wheel in the stone age became obsolete after the wood wheel and so on. Products like the physical newspaper, magazines and dvd's don't have too much future and should not base their revenue over the physical product distribution. But other products like the physical books (not textbooks), I believe will remain in the market, in a very small scale, at least for a lot more decades to come.
Do you agree?
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