Comments on: Why Edison Was Wrong http://www.bidiversity.com/2009/08/why-edison-was-wrong/ Business Innovation through Diversity. Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:26:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: dhwdesigns http://www.bidiversity.com/2009/08/why-edison-was-wrong/#comment-17 dhwdesigns Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:22:13 +0000 http://www.bidiversity.com/?p=1078#comment-17 The problem in external crowd sourcing in this example is that no matter the innovation from any single crowd individual the lightbulb concept must still function. For Edison it was no an acedemic excercise but rather he needed to make money. The invention not only had to be innovative but had to work and he had to be able to build them. Itteration is a process in this case that developed the materials and methods leading to the development of a useful and commercially viable light source. Edison and his technicians had to learn to blow glass and encapsulate a filament and evacuate the capsule. He invented the base of the lamp and the machinery to make them. All of this came from the need to iteratively develop his concept. Every time he repeated the steps in building the lamp he got better at it. Itteration has its place. I've seen so many ideas from a crowd of people and you know what you get? Obama's version of socialism. You get half-baked ideas without a plan to make them work. And if they work and aren't commercially viable, then why bother? Good inventions come from inovation coupled with technical expertise that is developed through hard work and practice. Practical innovation is not art, as in a sculpted object. It is a combination of design meeting the needs and desires of a marketplace and the ability to deliver a commercially viable product. Itteration has its place. The problem in external crowd sourcing in this example is that no matter the innovation from any single crowd individual the lightbulb concept must still function. For Edison it was no an acedemic excercise but rather he needed to make money. The invention not only had to be innovative but had to work and he had to be able to build them.

Itteration is a process in this case that developed the materials and methods leading to the development of a useful and commercially viable light source. Edison and his technicians had to learn to blow glass and encapsulate a filament and evacuate the capsule. He invented the base of the lamp and the machinery to make them. All of this came from the need to iteratively develop his concept. Every time he repeated the steps in building the lamp he got better at it. Itteration has its place.

I’ve seen so many ideas from a crowd of people and you know what you get? Obama’s version of socialism. You get half-baked ideas without a plan to make them work. And if they work and aren’t commercially viable, then why bother?

Good inventions come from inovation coupled with technical expertise that is developed through hard work and practice.

Practical innovation is not art, as in a sculpted object. It is a combination of design meeting the needs and desires of a marketplace and the ability to deliver a commercially viable product. Itteration has its place.

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