Where Innovation Happens

Mon, Nov 16, 2009

Digital Anthropology, Philosophy, Tech

Where Innovation Happens

[[If you can follow my thoughts and get through this post, please comment.]]

Not to knock social media but we must take a step back.  It’s fantastic for communications, but it sucks for innovation.

Tweet, video blog, blog, and go to event after event after event and meet the same people over and over again.  No new value is added; nothing new is learned.

So what do we do?  It’s time to put our heads down.

Innovation cannot take place with constant inflows of information and ideas.  (Because with all those inflows the only outflow is regurgitation.)  Innovation takes place in a dark, dark place. A basement.  Underground.  In solitude.

Business models will incorporate social media, but should not revolve around it.

Remember that everything popular is not always right.  Tweeting and having a Facebook fan page is not a viable model.

I pray that there is a little girl, somewhere, in her parent’s basement.  I pray that she is developing the next “big thing”.  We will not see this coming.  We will be shocked when it does happen.  We will abandon Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Google.  We will all wonder to ourselves “why didn’t I think of that?”   We will wonder how she is so wise despite not having any type of social networking account.

Just as quickly as we figured out this “social media” system, a new one will evolve.  We cannot see into the future and we can’t say what’s going to be the next trend of the next movement of human interaction, brand building, and business communications.  We can wait for it and ride the wave or we think about what we can do to start that next movement.

Is social media preventing innovation?

I’m not sure.  That’s why I’m writing this.  To explore.  So please, tell me what you think cuz I’d love to get this discussion going.

Photo credit: blprnt_ban
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  • Yes, the flow of information, its volume and quality is at least distracting.
    But anyone who's into something like thinking and innovation would - sometimes forcibly - withdraw for a while. Not necessarily become a monk and disconnect from the civilization or get into a basement, but yes, needs to get away from the buzz for a while. To hear his own thoughts, again.
  • I rarely adhere to the belief that tools are what limit potential or innovation. At the end of the day, they're just tools. Twitter/FB/Social Media in general are just tools that people use currently to communicate.

    The problem really comes from HOW people use them and what they EXPECT from them. Those who rely on social media to be their only form of communication/advertisting/marketing are going to be at a severe disadvantage when the next innovation comes. Those with the ability to adapt and use new tools in new ways will excel.

    It's like a Darwinian business model. Thus the dot-com bubble and real estate bubble. There are always new ideas and old ideas, but one thing remains the same. And that is both the supreme brilliance and extreme stupidity of humans using the tools available to them. :)
  • Right on, Elisa. They're tools. I suppose I was ranting a bit in this post, which stems from wanting to get away from the model of only using social media. Lewis Howes from SportsNetworker.com does a great job of this - he leverages the tools to get his message accross but doesn't rely on the tools for his business model.

    Btw, love your last point of supreme brilliance and extreme stupidity. Very well put.
  • I think you and I touched on this during our coffee chat didn't we? We both had a slightly different take on how social media/blogging is limiting innovation. I just posted mine recently.

    Things evolve. Technology, communication, and PEOPLE evolve. Everything will change given enough time.

    I'm not sure that social media is limiting innovation but I see what you're saying. When you buy into something so deeply, like social media, it's hard to innovate because you've become comfortable with it. It's hard to innovate on something that you understand and that you've gotten used to. Innovation occurs when you see something that needs fixing. It usually happens when someone looking in from the outside figures out a way to improve. When you're ingrained withing a trend, it's very hard to take a step back and look at where improvement is needed.

    David
    Scribnia.com
  • All very good points David, and yes we talked about this at Subtle Tea. I think the key here is to be immersed in the trend, the game, the industry (what have you), and meanwhile, keep one foot outside. It's crucial to have perspective or you'll get caught off guard.
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