PSILOG

The proliferation of "user-generated" designs signals the "democratizing" of innovation. Or so the saying goes, at least when you talk to experts like Eric von Hippel, a management professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. he argues that ordinary people, armed with inexpensive digital tools and networks can band together to push their own innovations. And furthermore "the people" can also hijack existing technologies, taking them in directions only dimly envisioned by the original creators. However...

 Comes along iPod. In the good old tradition of traditional innovation (think: Henry Ford and his model T), most likely no 'user generated content / thinking' was included in the design process. The pure elitist approach to innovation of Apple led to one of the most impressive successes of the company ever (and not only that company). It appears to be on the same level as the original Sony Walkman. Though the technology isn't new (as was the case with the walkman), the bundling of value is break-through enough.

The only design impact which is allowed is the customization to your own personal style: adding on your own covers (and music/video of course). We do see a number of co-innovation initiatives online, but so far no model has proved itself to be a great success. After all, even disregarding the technological complexities, people do not want to invent new things, they like to customize the things they find in the environment and adapt it to their needs and personality.

The downside? Well, the disadvantage of an elitist (and expensive) approach to innovation is that many of the 'though' questions go unanswered. It's easier to think in terms of the next MP3 (or MP4 player) or improvement of search engines, rather than to focus on new means of dealing with energy consumption. They would benefit society as a whole and not so much consumerism as we know it.

Fact remains, of all the 'great products or gadgets' of the last decades, products such as iPod stand out as ultimate innovations. To see which other ones score and what this could mean: check out the latest Wired blog.

BTW: One of the most interesting products (IMHO) was the Hitachi Magic Wand from the seventies. Designed to massage tired and aching muscles, it became - strangely - a big success with women. Talking about hijacking technology...

back to blog