Jacob Rosenberg’s Blog

The Hero with a Thousand Faces advances the theory of a monomyth. This is a prototypical structure which stories and myths have all grown up around for a thousand years. Obviously, this blog is unlikely to discuss comparative mythology, however I’m working on working out a reasonable monomyth for the web. Here’s what I have so far.

A once-dominant technology company in the midst of a changing marketplace makes a dramatic shift to their business model. In January, they announce that they will give away their product for free. By February, the sharks are already circling, looking to shop them to the highest bidder. November of that year, they are acquired in much the way prophesized. And, of course, then the exodus/bloodbath begins, with most of their employees heading out in all directions.

A once-dominant technology company in the midst of a changing marketplace makes a dramtic shift to their business model. In August, they announce that they will give away their product for free. By December, the sharks are already circling, looking to shop them to the highest bidder. The denouement has not yet been reached, yet the exodus/bloodbath has already begun, with many employees heading/pushed out.
Ouch, too soon for me, too. Still, if there’s ever a call for a Joseph Campbell for Web 2.0, ring me up. Happy New Years, folks!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 28th, 2006 at 7:59 am and is filed under History, aol, netscape. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.