The Innovation Diaries

Who says that progress needs to cost the earth? Park the thought of saving the planet for a moment and reflect on saving yourself the investment needed AFTER you have invested in a new innovation.

In an online New York Times article Eduardo Porter reported on the lure of the lights of Las Vegas. Mind you, we’re not talking about the lights on the strip but those on the front of new consumer electronics.

Curiously, rather than celebrating in the joy of ever more “innovative” gadgets, he briskly moves on to describing a potential globe spanning graveyard of these new innovations. From Tribot Robots, elephant sized plasma screens and tasers with a song, they might all just end up simply fertilizing the growth of eBay. But what really fertilizes the mind here is his statement that a successful innovation provides benefits greater than its costs - including the hassle of adopting it.

At the end of the day, it seems we’re walking a thin line between what seems like a good idea and what seems like a good idea, easy and “post-investment cheap” to adopt.

That reminds me, I should really upgrade to Vista.