The book “The War of the Worlds” by H. G. Wells was greeted with great interest in 1898, however, neither its publication nor the previous serialization had an impact that was comparable to that of the radio broadcast. Applying new technologies can significantly increase the impact of something, even if this something isn’t new. Something to remember for the new changes about to happen.
In “The War of the Worlds” the older world with higher technology is that of Mars. Humans are on the verge of loosing the battle for Earth. Eventually the terrestrial biosphere defeats the mighty Martians.
We are witnessing the beginning of another “War of the Worlds”, a war of two business worlds. Here the “old world” is that of “traditional industry.” This is the industry which can trace its origin to the industrial revolution. A “new world” of business has appeared on the horizon. One with different paradigms, based on communities and self-organization. These two worlds will be characterized in more detail in the next posts. But what we can clearly see is that worlds have started to “collide” because the Internet of Things will merge the physical world with the virtual world. The question is which will remain the stronger one, if any. The influencing forces of both worlds engage, but which world will shape the future more — and bend the other one?
As we are observing this “collision” — or will it be a merger? — new technology is being deployed: the Internet of Things. The deployment of this new technology will significantly influence the development of market and society. Will this new technology increase the potential impact forces of the “new world” as dramatically as Orson Welles’ radio adoption increased the impact of H. G. Wells’ story on the public? If that is the case, what chance does the “old world” have? H. G. Wells’ book was just waiting to be adapted to the new technology. Similarly the “new world” is just waiting for, is ready for the Internet of Things. What about the “traditional industry” — is it ready, too? We invite you to continue in the following blog article and to comment below.