A massive number of species appeared and began evolving some 580 million years ago, forming the basis of modern life. Now we’re in the middle of another “Cambrian Explosion,” Erick Schonfeld explains in the video above, where the internet is primed for new startups like Precambrian Earth was for rapid evolution.
Lower costs for getting started and the prevalence of internet-connected devices make it more possible for new companies to create big changes in seemingly slow-growing industries like health care, education and transportation. But that’s not great for everyone. Like the fossils show, many of the species didn’t find a way to survive in the ever-changing world.
The video is of a talk Erick gave at TechCrunch Japan‘s Tokyo 2011 conference this past week. You can read his original article on the topic here.