L.E.D. Zeppelin

How many people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? It’s an old joke, but also one that — like the behavior to which it refers — might soon be obsolete. Because today’s L.E.D. lightbulbs last so long, replacing them is rarely necessary. So then the question becomes, how many entrepreneurs does it take to keep the lightbulb business from falling victim to its own technological advances? Or as The New Yorker’s JB MacKinnon wonders: “Is there a workable business model for products that are built to last, rather than to fall apart?” There are a few ideas from startups that hope to turn lighting into a software-driven service. (If that doesn’t work, I suppose they could always remove the headphone jack and pretend that’s a must-have advance…) Here’s more on a very interesting challenge to an industry that got too good at its job. Trying To Solve The L.E.D. Quandary.