Last ECT post for now

Last night's ECT was particularly interesting. We talked about Disruptive Technologies and the effects they can have on a company and an industry.

What are they? How do you recognize them? What are their implications?

We spoke briefly about each of these, and I feel we should have spent more on actual examples. But we moved quickly to a connected topic that was also fascinating - the technology market adoption cycle.

As someone who has worked tangentially in marketing (PR is a form of marketing an image), it was so interesting to actually study the field of marketing. We discussed the S-curve of the adoption cycle, and learned about two books by Geoffrey Moore that discuss how to cross the chasm between early adopters and the early majority, between visionaries and pragmatists. The books are Crossing the Chasm and Inside the Tornado. I'm going to add the second book to my personal reading list between semesters.

In suggesting how not to get left behind when a disruptive technology comes along, our instructor suggested that we READ - follow different sources all the time, from the stock market, to the newspapers, to online media. Don't get silo'd into your own field or product, rather keep your eyes and ears open to the political, technological, and social changes that are going on all around you. Pretty wise advise.