What is unique in blogging ?

200705
(answer to the question "what is unique in blogging ?")

I use the term "blogule" for my small blogs. Red or white depending on my mood, not very important by themselves but somehow vital to me. As an author, blogging is part of what I call my "junk writing". And I enjoy it because as ugly as it seems, it can taste good and fulfil you. I need to zap from actual writing to junk writing to keep my balance. Because at the same time, blogging is like gymnastics to me. It's a quick fix when I need to stretch or let my mind wander on any topic I want.

You don't have to bother about the structure, nor the big picture. I've been blogging for 4 years but at the beginning, I didn't want to use a genuine blogging platform - that was frustrating and stupid considering the ease of use / instantaneity of blogs.

Define: innovation

An innovation literally brings something new inside a given environment, which means innovation shouldn't be considered without taking into account its impacts on the said environment, the time factor, the very process of "bringing".

Innovation can be immaterial, like a new way of considering that environment, even using the same old tools (ie your eyes and brain). Sign' o the times : I noted that in today's vocabulary, "progress" turned somehow negative (a colateral damage of the end of the myth of eternal progress during last century) while "innovation" became the new fave. As a matter of fact, innovation is not necessarily positive - the "novation" doesn't necessarily mean "one step forward" like in "progress". Who knows when this beautiful world will fall out of fashion...

200704
(answer to the question "how would you define innovation ?")

On the impacts of new technologies

200704
(answer to the question "With all this great technology - computers, email, cellphones, IM, YouTube, MySpace, wireless Internet, etc. - where is it taking us? How is it impacting society?")

This question has been answered by countless books and essays. As I feel it, the very texture of society has changed (society as a whole as well as society as a puzzle of societies) and identity crisis is not over yet. The tissue can look much more elaborate, yet it can easily be torn. Societies either lock out to protect themselves, or collapse - the fittest survive, their frontiers blurred and everchanging. No wonder identity became a more complex concept and challenge for individuals as well as for societies...

The technology boom you mentioned is neither good nor bad in itself. It changed our perception of time and space, it changed the way we interact with our environment and with each other It contributes to diversity (ie revival of languages) and speeds up evolutions, but also facilitates globalization and uniformization. It contributes to knowledge, but also threatens intelligence. The sexier virtual worlds become, the duller real ones appear and the more people try to escape. ... and so on....

All this is at least disruptive and upsetting for any society. Gaps and divides are formed and not everybody will adapt, not everybody will follow the same path nor the same pace. More than ever, education is key. Beyond the learning of the tools you mentioned, of course.

About great technos and great business models

200703
(answer to the question "Does a great business model foster great technology, or does a great technology foster great business models ?")

I've survived a couple of start-ups in the innovation field and I know two things : great technology can be a curse, and failing to deliver a death warrant. If I get your question right, you have both techno geniuses and marketing whizz kids, and you are wondering what a brainy manager would do to get the most value out of this explosive combo.

First : lock patents, don't waste your gems and don't let them go. They shouldn't feel like they are locked in a monolithic joint playing a "us vs them" game. You foster innovative approaches in general and as a general you must take decisions. If time to market is key, keep a playing ground for research - give your techies time to work on pet projects in exchange for the delivery of the dreadful quick-and-dirty gizmo your salesforce requires. Market the smart upgrades while selling the monster. It may work even if you are not Microsoft.

Actually, that's the essence of Google part II (growing into a powerhouse beyond the initial innovation) : the new bricks added to the edifice are either smart tools fresh from the lab or quick and dirty me-too products launched basically to fill the blanks, the time for competitive upgrades to be completed. You may not be able to stretch your staff that far, but at least mentioning Google could help stretch the smile on your investors' face for a while.

Define: disruptive innovation

A disruptive innovation brings an evident solution to a key unsolved question. And a truly disruptive innovation does the same for a key unsolved question that had never been asked before.

Simplicity often comes with a paradigm shift, a total reformulation of the initial question, a complete change of plane ; you have to think out of the box, where old problems offer new solutions, where old constraints open new horizons...

A disruptive innovation changes the very way we consider our environment.

20070612
(answer to the question "What does disruptive innovation mean to you?")

Red Blogule to XP - XP-hate

Archives 20031015 (see blogules 2003)

Why dub this Microsoft OS "XP" ? Because it helps you expiate for all past and future, actual and virtual crimes. There's more color in it but make no mistake : the black box gets even more hermetical and darker. XP ? The highest stage of microsoftism... till the next version comes. The heaven for bugs and troyan horses. I can see them run across my computer like a bunch of Ingalses on the prairie. Except back then, in computer free America, you rode the horses and not the opposite.

SM on a forum (as "Acidbrain")