Comments on: Web Innovation: Have we seen the best or is it still to come? http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/ Thinking about Business Development Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:39:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Sean http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/comment-page-1/#comment-127261 Sean Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:31:40 +0000 http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/#comment-127261 I think we are just getting started. Falling hardware / software infrastructure costs and productivity-boosting innovations have made it so any *geek* can start a company just because they want to, to solve a problem, without worrying about the business model or raising capital. So we got a lot of stuff that geeks want. Those same forces will continue and eventually we may reach the point where any *person* can start a company just to solve problem that they feel needs solving. Then things will get really exciting. Hang out with someone who works in a non-tech-savvy industry or a big company. They are usually full of ideas for problems that are being inefficiently solved now. I think we are just getting started. Falling hardware / software infrastructure costs and productivity-boosting innovations have made it so any *geek* can start a company just because they want to, to solve a problem, without worrying about the business model or raising capital. So we got a lot of stuff that geeks want.

Those same forces will continue and eventually we may reach the point where any *person* can start a company just to solve problem that they feel needs solving.

Then things will get really exciting. Hang out with someone who works in a non-tech-savvy industry or a big company. They are usually full of ideas for problems that are being inefficiently solved now.

]]> By: Aziz Gilani http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/comment-page-1/#comment-121530 Aziz Gilani Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:44:14 +0000 http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/#comment-121530 I couldn't disagree with Mark Cuban more (and not just because he is from Dallas and I am from Houston). Today's innovations around data syndication and aggregation across multiple mediums give real scalability to the initial killer apps that Cuban appreciates. Whether its cloud computing, virtualization, the mobile web, or utilization of our newly found social networks, innovation has never been more vibrant! I couldn’t disagree with Mark Cuban more (and not just because he is from Dallas and I am from Houston). Today’s innovations around data syndication and aggregation across multiple mediums give real scalability to the initial killer apps that Cuban appreciates. Whether its cloud computing, virtualization, the mobile web, or utilization of our newly found social networks, innovation has never been more vibrant!

]]> By: John Ramey http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/comment-page-1/#comment-121346 John Ramey Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:16:38 +0000 http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/#comment-121346 Good post Eric, glad to see people rationally challenging things. I think there is truth to the fact innovation has slowed. When's the last time you were excited about anything? I think the "web 2.0" startup culture is the culprit. Everyone began touting the falling costs of starting a web company, the lightweight user friendly applications and the iteration-focused mentality. But this created a safe culture that no longer rewarded radical innovation. In other words, if a startup couldn't get to market traction with $15,000 in incubator money, it likely wasn't a "worthwhile" app. But frameworks like that stunt creativity. The innovation cycle will recover over the next few years as the economic/funding/exit cycle dampens, just as it did 5 years ago.The web is the greatest innovation catalyst in history because of it's transparency, flexibility, growth, community, etc. Until a system that bests those qualities comes along, the web will be king. Good post Eric, glad to see people rationally challenging things. I think there is truth to the fact innovation has slowed. When’s the last time you were excited about anything?

I think the “web 2.0″ startup culture is the culprit. Everyone began touting the falling costs of starting a web company, the lightweight user friendly applications and the iteration-focused mentality. But this created a safe culture that no longer rewarded radical innovation.

In other words, if a startup couldn’t get to market traction with $15,000 in incubator money, it likely wasn’t a “worthwhile” app. But frameworks like that stunt creativity.

The innovation cycle will recover over the next few years as the economic/funding/exit cycle dampens, just as it did 5 years ago.The web is the greatest innovation catalyst in history because of it’s transparency, flexibility, growth, community, etc. Until a system that bests those qualities comes along, the web will be king.

]]> By: jeff judge http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/comment-page-1/#comment-121217 jeff judge Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:22:21 +0000 http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/#comment-121217 i agree with you. i think a lot of these things we're working on these days focus on transparency, which is leading to tons of innovation in products and the way we do business. i think twitter does one thing really well, which is to enable asynchronous communication between a group of like minded people. i don't think it's necessary, but i think it taps into the basic desire to keep up on what friends, family, etc are up to and makes it easy to do so without forcing the committment of direct communication. this is why so many people look at the service and blow it off, then start using it and get addicted. good post. i agree with you. i think a lot of these things we’re working on these days focus on transparency, which is leading to tons of innovation in products and the way we do business. i think twitter does one thing really well, which is to enable asynchronous communication between a group of like minded people. i don’t think it’s necessary, but i think it taps into the basic desire to keep up on what friends, family, etc are up to and makes it easy to do so without forcing the committment of direct communication. this is why so many people look at the service and blow it off, then start using it and get addicted.

good post.

]]> By: Mike Maddaloni - The Hot Iron http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/comment-page-1/#comment-121080 Mike Maddaloni - The Hot Iron Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:33:03 +0000 http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/#comment-121080 Hi Eric - I wouldn't call it a lull, I would say we are following in a cycle. I do not believe the Internet has jumped the shark, and there is plenty more to come! Back in '04 I spoke to high school students in the Boston area who won the Hugh O'Brien Youth Award, given to HS sophomores. As I was preparing for what I would say to them, I realized they did not know a time without email or cell phones! Now looking back just 4 years, there was no YouTube then, nor Twitter. And look back 4 years earlier, think of what happened since then. You are right that people need to identify what is new. The "old days" of working on an idea until your head hurt so bad are over, people are throwing it out there and seeing what sticks, while people are looking for ideas to take forward. The best days are yet to come! mp/m Hi Eric – I wouldn’t call it a lull, I would say we are following in a cycle. I do not believe the Internet has jumped the shark, and there is plenty more to come!

Back in ‘04 I spoke to high school students in the Boston area who won the Hugh O’Brien Youth Award, given to HS sophomores. As I was preparing for what I would say to them, I realized they did not know a time without email or cell phones! Now looking back just 4 years, there was no YouTube then, nor Twitter. And look back 4 years earlier, think of what happened since then.

You are right that people need to identify what is new. The “old days” of working on an idea until your head hurt so bad are over, people are throwing it out there and seeing what sticks, while people are looking for ideas to take forward.

The best days are yet to come!

mp/m

]]> By: Bob Brill http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/comment-page-1/#comment-120772 Bob Brill Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:21:10 +0000 http://www.ericjohnolson.com/blog/2008/07/11/web-innovation-have-we-seen-the-best-or-is-it-still-to-come/#comment-120772 Eric: Thanks for your post. Thoughtful. Noticed frequency down with your VC life. Friendly typo-correction: [we] --were-- meant to evolve. Regards, Bob Eric: Thanks for your post. Thoughtful. Noticed frequency down with your VC life. Friendly typo-correction: [we] –were– meant to evolve. Regards, Bob

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