March 22, 2012
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

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The Problem With “Innovation” is a great, great post by Bryce Roberts in which he cites the above quote from Buckminster Fuller and points out that what looks silly, superficial, inconsequential and downright distracting when they’re first proposed can “suddenly” have fundamental consequences for society as a whole. Or, as he puts it:

New models create new markets, but they’re often misunderstood at the outset. Stupid checkins reshape how we explore and experience the real world. Prepaying for tick tock watches reshapes financial markets. Silly status updates spark revolutions. And grainy glitchy video calls cut into the commercial air travel.

Super useful to bear this in mind.

[Story via Erik van Crimmin]

10:19am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZLv7dxIO6Lbi
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Filed under: innovation Bryce Roberts Buckminster Fuller disruption change transformation business models 
February 22, 2012
"Everyone I spoke with who was familiar with the project repeatedly said that Google was not thinking about potential business models with the new glasses. Instead, they said, Google sees the project as an experiment that anyone will be able to join. If consumers take to the glasses when they are released later this year, then Google will explore possible revenue streams."

— Amidst all the excitement around Google’s potential introduction of “wearable computing”, or glasses that can stream real-time information, I was struck by this comment in New York Times reporter, Nick Bilton’s article, Google To Sell Heads-Up Display Glasses By Year’s End. Given Google’s previous inability to figure out revenue streams for its ideas, this seems like a risky if somewhat predictable strategy. Business model design is just as difficult as inventing stuff, and equally important.

2:00pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZLv7dxGrhjgt
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Filed under: Google invention innovation business models AR advertising