James L'Angelle
Dr. Paromita Pain
12 June 2019
Mid Term Proposal: Disruptive Innovation and Social Media
Paradigms are meant to be replaced. The phenomenon known as "social media" may or may not be considered a paradigm in the strict sense of the word but it has made a major mark not just on the internet but on culture itself.
Within the confines of the social media universe, trends rise and fall depending on the demands made by consumers and demands developed by industry. Pressure from both of those demands creates an atmosphere where progress, often times radical, replaces inertia. That pressure in radical form is defined by Clayton Christensen of Harvard University as "disruptive innovation."
PROPOSAL: Option One:-- Define that pressure; the breaking points, the fall of the social media paradigm and if and when it does, what caused it and what lies beyond.
BACKGROUND: Trace the evolution of social media from the chat room to the all pervasive leviathan, "too big to fail."
METHODOLOGY: Apply scientific processess such as deductive and inductive analysis to examine how social media might be vulnerable to a paradigm shift brought about by disruptive innovation.
CONCLUSIONS: Present convincing arguments that social media is here to stay or just another cultural trend; subject to internal and external forces such as privacy issues and economics. Will it be just another cyberspace train wreck?
Thank You,
James L'Angelle