1) With which one of the network laws do you most agree? Why?
I agree with Metcalfe's law. The law states," the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users." Metcalfe's law really applies to the way we currently get information from the internet. One example I found that used fax machines as their example really explained the law by basically saying that one computer with internet really has no value. The value comes from the more connections the internet has. When more connections are made the system is gradually building a community. The connections This law creates a web that I believe is a perfect description of how the internet connects the world. We use the internet today for virtually everything. The internet is involved in everything from socialization to shopping. The connections that are built from the internet are so vast that a person in North Carolina can instantly talk for free to someone in China. The Metcalfe law is very similar to Reed’s law. Reed’s law applies more to connections through social media, in a sense that you have closed connections to different individuals. Users can have privacy settings that make the connections even more closed as it is a finite number of connections.
2) How you think people might get their information five years from now?
In five years I believe that we will still be getting information from virtual connections. The ways we currently get information is through personal connections like through the internet. In the future I believe this will be strengthened and even bigger. The changes will probably have to do with how quickly we can obtain the information we are looking for. The information will probably come to us as all possible connections at once.
Courtney, I discussed Reed's Law in my post, but I like what you have to say about Metcalfe's law. The value DOES come from the more connections that the internet has. And once this happens, everything gets connected.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great analysis of Metacalfe's law. I enjoy where you said that "one computer with internet really has no value. The value comes from the more connections the internet has. When more connections are made the system is gradually building a community." This makes sense and really explains the concept behind the laws we discussed. Value comes from connections and interactions and now we can connect with the majority of the planet. That's billions of close connections that can be made from extreme distances.
ReplyDeleteYou said "information will come to us as all possible connections at once." What did you mean by this? I agree that in the next five years information will only continue to be about personal connections. That is what information is about today. We want to be connected, but with control of being able to connect when and how we want.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your prediction for 5 years from now. I think that the speed with which we are able to find information will increase, as it already has in the past five years.
ReplyDeleteI agree that information will continue to be shared over virtual connections. We have gotten to the point where information is retrieved so quickly and easily that there is almost no need for new ways of finding information.
ReplyDeleteI agree, the internet wouldn't be what it is today if it was just one user. It takes the majority of the population to give internet the power it has today. I already feel we are very virtual with most news outlets now aside from TV. It'll only get more involved into our daily lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree that we will have virtual connections but I think our virtual connections will be more mobile. So google glass is a good example of what I think we will have an opportunity to use. This will shape our social interactions and also guide us to find new ways to instantly get information.
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