Is Innovation on the Internet Over?
All the great ideas on the internet have been executed. A great search engine has been built (Google). A great way to connect with your friends and family has been created (Facebook). Top discounts in your email have been done (Groupon). An auction site to buy and sell stuff finished, that’s old news (Ebay). As is an international book store (Amazon).
If it can be done on the internet, someone somewhere has thought about it and built it.
So it seems. But just because many of the great ideas have been executed does not mean the gold rush is over. That is like saying that after the first few major channels in television came out that there was nothing left to do in television. As history shows, this was not the case.
Here are some of the TV channels launched over 60 years after television started in the 1920s.
- National Geographic
- MTV
- Discovery Channel
- Channel V
- Sci Fi Channel
- Cartoon Network
- Bloomberg
If new channels could be introduced and made hugely profitable 60 years after television got started, why would you think that innovation on the internet has ended after just 22 years of its commercialisation?
Innovation on the Internet: Predicting the Future
So what can we expect in the future? While no one knows for sure, here are two possibilities.
Original Ideas: This is the part that is completely unknown. Depending on technological advances and the needs, wants and the fears of the market, new ideas will pop up to fulfil these needs.
Variations on existing ideas: This where most of the innovation will occur. Many of the ideas that will hit big time will be new angles on old ideas. As no product is perfect for everyone, the other products will seek to fulfil the gaps created by the market leaders.
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