\ ^^ /_

I've been thinking about how to develop a system for innovation and feel like this process can be synthesized and refined.

I'd like to take examples of innovative technologies and evaluate them on the particular innovation that made them unique and successful.

Below is a list of technologies and free form descriptions of what has made them successful.

It's my belief that one can distill these development to the list of common sense components that make these accessible as well as the innovative ingredient(s) that make them unique.

The way I see it, innovation happens when all the components of a technology emerge and one finally puts them together into a new development.

For example, google glass was an eventuality once display and mobile tech got small and powerful enough.
Innovative developments need only take an inventory of the tech components available and find a solution recipe for a particular problem or new product offering.


Twitter
-Input simplicity
-hashtags / keywords
-following?
Facebook
-social connection
-exclusivity (initially)
-net ubiquity (enabled by mass user base)
Apple iphone / ipad
-attention to design (form and function)
--simplicity, elegance
Google
-search intelligence, quality of results
Draw Something
-social game, popular platform (win lose or draw, pictionary etc.)
MS Photosynth
-advanced 360degree photo stitching
Pandora
- intelligent music suggestion
Shazam
- audio recognition + music library
Flipboard
- reading UI
Quora
- crowd sourced answers
TED
- excitement over innovation
- presentation / engagement

I also think that if this process could be synthesized, it could be integrated into a service/system that could farm crowd resources to facilitate innovation in many scientific and technical domains.

how do we foster innovation from the crowd?

Link authorities from diverse domains and request perspectives on high level problems.

Must be:
Engaging
Simple ( do most of the work for the user, deliver automated customized requests for perspective with gaming like achievements/rewards available for contributors)

Must have:
rewards / incentive

Argument for how individuals collaborating can be more effective than traditional group project type work in an office.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opini ... think.html