Networks & Information

1) I think all the network laws, in different yet equally valuable ways, offer good advice for quantifying the value of a network. Which one do I agree with the most? Well, I would have to say I agree with all of them as they apply to different types of networks. When trying to decipher the value of a television network, I would agree the most with Sarnoff’s law. Considering his law states "the value of a broadcast network is directly proportional to the number of viewers" and television makes money off advertising and advertisers pay more money for more viewers. Therefore, it makes sense that the value of a television network is proportional to the size of its viewership. When it comes to digital networks and social media I agree equally with Reed’s and Metcalf’s law because both of their laws account for interconnectivity between users when calculating the value of a network.

2) I think the internet has proven itself to be the most dynamic and capable innovation of our time and five years from now that statement ring all the truer. Five years from now I think people will continue to get their information from the internet, and what will change is that the internet will make all other information sources (Television, Radio, Magazines, etc.) obsolete. Or not so much “obsolete” but the internet will replace the traditional way they are distributed (broadcasting, printed). A lot of information sources like the ones mentioned are online currently in some regards. For example, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Pandora, iHeart Radio, Spotify. Also, nearly all magazines have websites where they share similar, if not exactly the same, content as they do in their printed magazines. Ten years ago none of the companies mentioned above were around and five years ago half of them weren’t around. Five years from now I think all news, TV, movies, music, and the like will be stored and streamed online and there will no longer be any of the traditional broadcasting. When it comes to technology and the distribution of information things are constantly evolving. Five years from now we can only speculate how things will change, what we do know for sure is that they defiantly won’t stay the same.