Bonnier R&D's Erich Hugo wants web leaders to stop out-innovating the consumer.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king—or so the old adage goes.
But what has this got to do with the world we live in today? Well, it struck me last night while I was doing some dishes, using the latest and greatest dishwashing liquid. It actually contained an active ingredient extracted from cucumber. And I was like, what??
But the fact of the matter is that the whole webifaction trend is affecting all walks of life. The web today is conducting a global race into obscurity—hence cucumber-enriched dishwashing liquid. I have a strange feeling that the innovative leaders of the Web World are innovating themselves into obscurity because so many of the innovations right now lack compelling relevancy.
And by this, I mean a compelling relevancy to the user group that gives us relevance, the consumers. The average consumer does dishes, looks through the kitchen window and dreams of a charter holiday.
On the web, we already have major crashes, and the cycle just keeps on repeating itself. But this has also transpired before the web. Now and then, you have an innovative group of cats who come back from their own induced irrelevance to make a compelling product offering again—here I am looking at Apple. But that is the exception and not the rule.
Most innovators (unless they are totally independent and not consumer-dependent, like Dr. Frankenstein) stagnate in their own righteousness. No matter how liberal, their shutters go up because they have figured out THEIR truth and assume everybody else will see things the same way they do.
I am a firm believer in basics, cause and effect, bodies, rest and motion, supply and demand. Right now, there are some web services out there that I cannot see a demand for. Or worse, the services are out-innovating their own demand.
Kind of like cucumber-enriched dishwashing liquid.
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Comments
Remember the KISS Principle (Keep It Simple - Stupid). If something is too complicated, the consumer will gravitate to something more simple.
Matias, April 3, 2009
I don't think this is a symptom of "over-innovation", but a sign that most Web companies aren't in touch their users. Real world field research, personas, user testing, agile development, more user testing, open betas etc. are not optional any more. They are critical to success online, but they are also critical to finding out early, whether the original idea holds water. I think the Web is suffering from "Build it and they will come" syndrome, not over-innovation.
Claus, April 1, 2009
Marketing 101... nobody gives a rats *ss about cucumber extract in the soap, but in a market where most products are essentially the same, the race is to distinguish yourself, and stay current in the consumer's mind. Jeeezus the amount of commercials I had to put with about tampons when I was growing up. How much innovation can there possibly be for such a product? The web has become a bit like tampons. Plain vanilla data transfer. How many more ways can we repackage email to make it more fun? Do I really need it in my phone? Ok, there are some innovations that are interesting, and rather more useful than a cotton plug (depending on immediate circumstances, I suppose) but the big innovations with all this data are still a long way off. Most everything else is a gimmick.
Jeff Lebowski, March 31, 2009
Megan, that is the Frankenstein Paradox... was he just waiting for the rabble to catch up with his 19th century steampunk inspired genetic engineering innovation? Stefan, thats doctor Franken-steen. Don't most agencies/evangelists see themselves as visionaries?
Erich, March 31, 2009
It must be a little depressing for the entrepreneur—to have an idea he thinks the consumer will like and then find out he's "out-innovated" the market? Lots of times, products are just launched too early. It's not the innovator's fault he's smarter than the masses! :)
Megan, March 31, 2009
Happy to be a part time Dr Frankenstein! If brands are approached directly with solid ideas they normally go for it, it's when agencies/evangelists get involved that things can sometimes go awry.
Stefan Wessels, March 31, 2009
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