The Printing Press — a Disruptive Technology

It is hard to believe, but Tuesday is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, an event that would likely never achieved much had the same events occurred 50-80 years or less earlier. The difference in the year 517 AD was the existence of the printing press first invented by Gutenberg and in wide use by 1480 AD.

To me the Internet is the 20th-century invention that has radically changed so much of our modern lives. Just as in the time of Martin Luther, he had no idea what was going to be coming his way due to his actions. But someone made a copy of his 95 Theses, they were printed and distributed, and the history of the Western World shifted quickly.

We are only at the beginning of the technological revolution brought about by the Internet. Where we end up is only anyone's guess. Hopefully not being burned at the stake for being a heretic!