Innovation [2009-04-20]

Another week and another collection of interesting ideas from around
the Internet.

As always, thoughts and/or comments are greatly appreciated.

This issue:

  • Inside Google’s design process [BusinessWeek: Innovation]
    Google takes an integrated approach to innovation, pulling together design, analysis and engineering to create an iterative processes which helps them nurture small ideas into big products.
  • Horizontal Innovation Networks: By and for Users [Eric von Hippel]
    Innovation development, production, distribution and consumption networks can be built up horizontally—with actors consisting only of innovation users (more precisely, “user/self-manufacturers”). Some open source software projects are examples of such networks, and examples can be found in the case of physical products as well. In this article, we discuss three conditions under which user innovation networks can function entirely independently of manufacturers. We then explore related empirical evidence, and conclude that conditions favorable to horizontal user innovation networks are often present in the economy.
  • Jim Jarmusch On Stealing From Everywhere [PSFK]
    Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination…
  • If Isaac Asimov designed your computer… [Educated Guesswork]
    Like nearly all science fiction authors of that era, Asimov got computers pretty much all wrong, in at least three major ways.