Accidental Innovation: Realizing that you are Breaking New Ground While it’s Happening
Accidental Innovation: Realizing that you are Breaking New Ground While it’s Happening
They say hindsight is 20-20.
So how do you know innovation is happening while it’s actually happening?
Edelman Digital blog author Matt Churchill specifically discusses social media, how now new ideas are instantly made available to all.
Furthermore, where do you draw the line when it comes to sharing information, versus taking it and claiming it’s your own?
The biggest example of this probably would be regarding illegal music downloading, causing the music industry to be up in arms.
Who’s going to buy a CD for $14 when you can get whichever songs you want for free-ninety-nine?
Granted, this new, unlimited access to all things media was not viewed as a step in the right direction by the entertainment industry, however isn’t it still innovation–however accidental it might have been?
So that leads me to today, this very instant.
What’s currently in the process of being innovated?
One thought I have: app downloading for the newest phones.
iPhone has successfully reached their 1 billion app download mark, without barely breaking a sweat.
Putting endless applications on your mobile device that tell you traffic reports, the weather, or the closest chinese restaurant.
Now there are apps that act as makeshift lightsabers, flashlights, and more.
Is this innovation accidental? Did app downloading madness start because someone simply wanted to know what the temperature would be? If there was an accident on highway 101?
Who was the lucky person who ended up downloading the billionth iPhone app anyway?
Regardless, whether it’s illegal music downloading, or being able to check my eBay account through the appropriate iPhone app, accidental innovation is never boring.
