Too Much Innovation And No Profits

from the the-innovators-dilemma dept

Here's a theory. What if the world has too much innovation going on right now? Companies can't keep up with the innovation, and customers can't keep up either. Any company that does innovate faces almost immediate competition, and thus can't charge anything extra for their innovation. It's "innovation glut". I think this is a little far fetched. I tend to think a lot of the "innovations" that are discussed are creative, but not great innovations. I consider a great innovation one that gives a company a real competitive advantage. These are still possible, but people don't seem to spend as much time thinking through business models for innovations.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Ed Classic, 7 Nov 2000 @ 11:18am

    Ideas are easy

    Think about it -- how many great business ideas have you had? How many great technology ideas have you had? Probably a lot.

    What makes the difference is the drive and tenacity to follow-up on the profitable ideas.

    Microsoft and AOL "gave away" their "innovations" (blech) because it served their ultimate business goals of market dominance. They draw people in by making the mass-appeal big-wow products free, then charging for the mundane-but-necessary parts of their service.

    Simply having a great idea isn't good enough. If it's a good idea few will actually pay for (like a web browser), it must be tied to a more profitable product (like development tools). If it's a good idea people WILL pay for, it must be completed, marketed, and maintained.

    10% Inspiration, 90% Perspiration and all that.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.