Nature Abhors a Vacuum, so does Capitalism

This came up in conversation today, as I tried to explain the potential future of a community after a metropolitan broadband network is deployed. In nature, a dramatic change in the environment creates openings for new species to come in and exploit. And so it goes in business. A metropolitan broadband network creates a new playing field, reshuffling the deck as it were. This dynamic restructuring of the local market place and the new infrastructure combine to open up the local economy to new web-based service models and businesses. Get ready.

In nature, we see regional ecosystems where every species has a place in the food chain and in the natural order of things. Nature enjoys harmony and balance, but when there is a new niche to be filled, plant and animal species rush in to find a way to fill it. In fact, there's a term that describes the occurence of different creatures that all fill roles in an ecosystem: "Species Diversity." Nature abhors a vacuum, indeed.

Two hundred years ago, biologists of the day spent their time marvelling at the variety of birds and insects, cataloguing them, but not able to explain WHY there were so many different species. That is, until Darwin came along with his revolutionary theory, and his groundbreaking book, "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" in 1859. They ate it up. We tend to think of the modern controversies regarding evolution, creationism, and natural selection when we think of Darwin, but HIS big motivator at the time he wrote his book wasn't to upset the apple cart of society, but to explain his observations on why he thought there was so much diversity of species in nature.

There's no doubt we have an abundance of business "species" to fill the niches in our national economy. But at the micro-level, local economies can suffer from a lack of diversity and struggle to get out of a hole. Watch these new metropolitan broadband networks in the next five years, especially in cities that have a preponderance of one or two types of jobs. There will be new businesses, new products, and new services that will move in to the fresh economic territory created by the networks. They will arise to take advantage of the new capabilities of these metropolitan networks. Beyond their original intentions with these networks, cities will come to appreciate the economic diversity these networks bring.

As a footnote, for my friends at Texas State University, check out the taxonomy of the Bobcat, another bit of "Google Serendipity" I found while surfing....