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Innovation is the key to success. It should be clear to anybody. But this is not really clear to the big corporations. Why do we have all the Apple clones? Why consumer electronics corporations prefer to copy Apple’s products instead of innovating? Why do Hollywood companies remake the same movies and reboot the same franchises instead of creating some fascinating new stories? Why do we always go back to the fashion of the ’20s or the ’60s instead of wearing new clothes? Because innovation is hard is the easy answer, but the truth is more complicated.
Patents and people seems to be today’s most important resources. Of course it also helps if you have the resources (time, money, people, patents, etc) to implement your ideas ASAP. Might be the fact that even corporations are afraid to fail these days? Failure is an important part of the process that leads to innovation. Being afraid to fail means you are afraid to innovate. Because this is what innovation is sometimes all about: trying different new things and improving them until they are fit for the market. Innovation is also about creating new things.
Today’s failure to innovate seems to come from the simple fact that today’s CEOs think that a property that generated large incomes will do so in the future. While this is true in some cases, we should not assume this is a rule of all markets in all times. It’s not at all true in our times.
Now what happens in the mobile market or even in the car market is strange because most of the companies don’t just copy ideas, designs, interfaces, but also add some small touches. Enough to say that the new products are not just copycats. Imitation is the proof of success, but only innovation is the key to success. This is the simple lesson most companies do not want to learn. The other lesson is: fear of failure destroys innovation. It’s the most destructive force in the life of a company.
This is just a short list, but we feel you might like some of these jobs:
Trend spotting counselor – This usually means a highly-skilled person trained to watch and predict what will happen in different markets and even to create new markets. Training for such a job would usually require training in one or two disciplines, PhD or experience at the top in one of the best companies in your field, passion for reading and creating news, for creating highly customized graphics and presentations, but also at least an intimate knowledge of several markets like IT and Finance and Medicine (no connection between these, you say? Then this is clearly not your kind of job). It already exists for several decades, but in the future it will be a mix between SF writer / researcher / statistician and different other combinations. The heydays of this job are yet to come.
Interface programmer – It’s not just usability we’re talking about or futuristic GUIs, but rather brand new interfaces that look even better than those from Minority Report (which we already see in practice). Think visualizations + data mining + 3D graphics. If you like these than you clearly have a shot. The interfaces of the future will be fluid and will even be integrated in our environment. It’s already happening and there aren’t too many talented people in this area.
Bio engineer – In case we won’t have a UN ban on genetic engineering technologies this will definitely be the best career choice for your future. It’s enough to think that there are thousands of diseases that need some treatment. Our advice: please stay away from eugenics!
Content creator and entertainer- Since robots will do most of our jobs, isn’t it obvious that we will have more time to enjoy watching opera or live features or even Big Brother?
Galactic Suite - Interior of the Space Hotel (c)QUITUS from Wikimedia Commons
Space Traveler – The most interesting job? Surely one of the best. If you loved Star Wars it’s definitely your territory. Just don’t hope you will be Han Solo tomorrow. It will take at least 20 to 100 years to get there. It’s hard to say when will this really take of, but in the next years we already have some projects like the Space Hotel. When people like Sir Richard Branson (Virgin) or Elon Musk (of Tesla fame) get into a field like this, a revolution is definitely coming!
We will present you with more career choices like this in the next weeks. Stay tuned and choose wisely.
It takes time to recover after such a huge news. It almost feels like The Beatles have disbanded again (should we remind you that it took years until Jobs brought The Beatles catalog to iTunes?). Steve Jobs steps down as the CEO of Apple, and, as expected, the new CEO is Tim Cook. While he doesn’t seem to have the same presence like Jobs, Cook was the interim CEO for all the periods when Jobs was unable to fulfill his duties due to health or other problems. While both Jobs and Cook assure us that the best is still to come for Apple, the previous days felt like a sad one.
Steve Jobs
Who was this guy, anyway? A college dropout who changed the consumer electronics space, music and film forever. He was also the CEO of Pixar, the computer animation company behind hits like Toy Story or Cars (later bought by Disney) and Next (later bought by Apple). For me, at least, he was also the guy who delivered the most famous speech in recent memory: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish (at Stanford University).
His evolution can be traced precisely to that famous phrase from the last issue of the Whole Earth Catalog: Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish. This is precisely what you need to do if you want to remain relevant for your whole career. If you want to be able to innovate your whole life. Jobs understood this since college. He always did what he wanted and also connected the dots. He started with philosophy and dreams. Since he founded Apple he battled the other IT titan, William “Bill” Gates, for the supremacy. He was only able to win the war when his rival retired, but that’s another story. It’s what he did during this whole period that transformed him into perhaps the biggest CEO superstar we ever saw.
In the first phase he launched Apple and introduced design into the PC era. All web designers take notice! Perhaps the best remembered thing from those times is the Apple II and the Mac (launched through Ridley Scott’s visionary 1984 commercial). After he was thrown out from his own company he continued to innovate at the helm of Pixar (at first short animations then full-featured movies) and Next (on one of these computer Sir Timothy Berners-Lee wrote the first version of the WWW we know today). Back to Apple, for the next 15 years (until this week), he wrote history: iMac, iTunes, iPod, iOS, iPhone, iPad, Air and the retail experience. Just few products, but the waves they started have changed the world. This means they have: the best music player (hardware, software and store: iPod, iTunes), the best operating system for mobile devices and the best mobile devices (iOS + iPhone or IPad), the best laptops (is there any doubt on this one?), and so on. In fact we should write a book about the man and at least several books about Apple’s products and services to give justice to what Jobs has done at Apple in the last 15 years (not that his first tenure was bad, but the second was just history).
While we do feel a little bit sad that the next CEO is not the other superstar from Apple, their Senior Vice President of Industrial Design Jonathan Ive, we know that Apple still has lots of things to say. If Jobs was able to pass at least a part of his life philosophy to the Apple employees (and we are confident that he was able to do that) than we do not need to worry, Apple’s future is in good hands. We just need to remind them, that now since they are number #1 and there is no reason to continue to Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish, they have to do it, if they want to remain there. Goodbye Steve Jobs. Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish forever!
It should be clear that computing does not mean PCs anymore. Today there is more computing power in mobile devices than there was in a PC 5 to 10 years ago. Most mobile phones come with processors that are comparable with the ones that you saw on PCs circa 2005-2007. Some of them are even have 2 cores. Since this is the case, we should ask ourselves who are the big players in this market. This short list reflects our opinions on the matter, but it might not contain all the players because the new mobile era is still young (should we call it 3rd generation? 1st generation: first mobiles, 2nd generation: smartphones, 3rd generation: tablets and 2nd generation smartphones).
Hardware + Software
Apple – With its IOS operating system aimed at mobiles and tablets is currently the market leader, but they only deliver high-end products and only few products. This is likely to cost them market share in the future.
Google + Motorola Mobility – We have explained in a previous article why this alliance is likely to succeed and what it means for the industry. Expect Android to be anywhere from refrigerators to cars. And they will also deliver the cheap devices. Likely to be the market leader in several months / 2 years if Apple doesn’t change his strategy.
Microsoft + Nokia – It’s not clear if they will end up together, but Nokia has an ex-Microsoft executive as CEO. We will be able to say something about this only after Windows 8, but Microsoft had a fantastic year because of Kinect.
Hardware
Intel – They provide the processors for almost everybody. And they also started making software. Still hard to say if they will someday provide both hardware + software, but it might happen. They do have software for this market, but it’s not iOS or Android level yet. This is why we put them here. We have to add a question mark. Will Intel play at 2 heads?
Samsung – Best Android experience yet. Their Galaxy line is sometimes even better than Apple’s iPad + iPhone. Likely to change because of the Google + Motorola Mobility deal.
HTC – 2nd place in the Android market after Samsung. Same observation like before.
Software
HP – The shock of the week: HP wants to sell his PC division. We understand why. What we don’t know is how will they play in this market as a software player. They do have an operating system, but one that doesn’t has a strong position.
IBM – For the moment we will put them in software, but they might return to hardware. Just that not in the way we would expect. Their research lab still produces processors and other hardware devices.
The rest
There are many companies that we have not mentioned and which are likely to play a major part in the new markets. There will definitely be at least one giant from China. There will probably be some giants from Russia or Europe. Why not even from Romania? Still, we listed just the ones that we will probably talk more in the coming weeks / months.
We have all read too many articles that state that the deal of the year (Google + Motorola Mobility) means tons of patents. There is some truth behind this statement, but at most it is an understatement. First of all, because Motorola means more than patents. Motorola is a brand that for many was synonymous to the best in mobile phones and telecommunications. They created the famous transceiver stations that we still see in movies (used by the Police and FBI, but not only). They were the first to create a mobile phone. Their StarTAC and RAZR phones were probably the most imitated phones when they were launched (succeeding this twice it’s something quite rare in the mobile world). Motorola means radio, satellites, communication devices for transports (think trains, airplanes, etc) and many other things. Please don’t forget the fact that, while it is not Samsung Galaxy Tab, their Android tablet is quite good.
Most of all, a company means people, not patents. And if you hire a hardware company that has your size, you better be sure you have some plan when you do it. IP(Intelectual Property) means patents, but also people, company culture, know-how about how to transform ideas into patents and state-of-the-art hardware technology. Google venturing into hardware should not be a surprise (as it was when Oracle did a similar move buying Sun Microsystems), because they are already working on projects like the self-driving car, that require also a lot of hardware skills. So, it’s not just patents, right? Motorola’s technology is perfect fit for the self-driving car. Their expertise in telecommunication for the transport business is almost unmatched. Their hardware for Android phones and tablets is not Samsung, but it can play in the same league with Samsung and Apple. Google’s unmatched focus on simplicity transported into hardware is not something new (remember Nexus?), but with Motorola Mobility it can join the likes of Apple quite soon. And these are just several reasons, why this means more than patents, but for a media that is in search of sensational headlines, you only get to see the surface of such a news at most. Too bad.
Artificial Life is becoming reality. Only in the last days we had several news that point in this direction. We’re not yet in The Terminator, but there are clues that humanoid robots can become reality.
Playing robots
The first signal comes from IBM. Their SyNAPSE project aims to develop the first neurosynaptic computing chips. Every chip will have a programmable component and a learning component (more than 300 000 synapses). The idea behind this project is to create processors that are as close as possible to the human brain, and maybe even capable to deal with cognition, emotions, perceptions. It’s not a new idea, but it’s the first time anyone takes a change at it.
Another signal comes from the Leeds University, where researchers found a way to create something similar to a virtual touch. The tactile feedback technology will be mainly used in remote surgery in the next years, after they perfect it, but of course, it can as well be used for giving the gift of touch to future robots.
Another signal is the fact that Intel hires science fiction writers to dream up the future of technology. We don’t need to say who brought us robots in the first place, right? This is a clear signal that technology is getting closer to the sci-fi realm than ever before.
The last important signal is the different announcements regarding the synthesis of artificial life cells and even of artificial spinal column. All these in the last couple of days. For the moment we have the first steps towards artificial brains, touch, and the development of artificial bodies similar to ours. Movement and vision are possible for years already. So we already know that in the next years most of the components needed to make humanoid robots will exist. Of course, we won’t have a T-1000 so fast, but one has to wonder, why these news are not given the treatment they deserve on front page everywhere, so that the public can start a debate about artificial life.
Floating cities. When you hear this words you start thinking at some sci-fi TV series in which humans colonized the oceans, like SeaQuest, for example. Such projects where proposed for decades, but they never materialized. We actually got into a place where we are far from the ’60s optimism when it comes to colonizing the oceans, space travel or artificial intelligence (the last flight of the space shuttle is a good argument for this). The reason why we are still far from the ’60s dreams is not related to the end of the Cold War (even tough that is part of the reason), but rather to the fact that we lost the art of rapid prototyping and the desire to experiment with anything that was characteristic to that age.
The free floating cities is major news this week, but only between the lines (read: lost between the Google-Motorola deal, football and the aftermath of the London riots and the Oslo re-enactment). Peter Thiel, member of the PayPal Mafia and renowned Facebook investor, gave 1,25 billions to The Seasteading Institute run by Patri Friedman, ex-Googler and the nephew of Milton Friedman (the famous economist). The main reason for this investment seems to be the fact that Thiel loved Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and believes that people should have the liberty to choose the governments they want. Cities that would flow on the international waters, usually built on oil-rig platforms and cruise technology, might help us do exactly that. These would be outside any international regulations, so they will provide interesting experiments in the area of the self-governing communities. The first platform will be launched next year, and probably by 2018 they will be recognized by the United Nations. That’s the year when SeaQuest begins! Another sci-fi story becoming reality?
www.TheMillionDollarSearch.com & www.Macoway.com welcomes you to the MillionDollar Blog – Ideas That Made 1 mil $ or more !
Million dollar business ideas have no boundaries, age limits, race restrictions, time lines, or economic class. They can occur when you least expect them.
For psychologist Roger Adams, it occurred during a midlife crisis and divorce. For management consultant Mercia Tapping, it happened after a 10-year battle with allergies and the search for a cure. Ruta Fox was a freelancer running out of work when she said “Ah” to her “Aha” moment. Searching for the million dollar business idea is less a product of business planning and market research and more born from observation and frustration.
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10 Examples:
1. Million Dollar Homepage
1000000 pixels, charge a dollar per pixel.
2. PickyDomains
Hire another person to think of a cool domain name for you?
3. Doggles
Create goggles for dogs and sell them online?
4. LaserMonks
LaserMonks.com is a for-profit subsidiary of the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank, an eight-monk monastery in the hills of Monroe County, 90 miles northwest of Madison.
5. AntennaBalls
You can’t sell antenna ball online. There is no way. And surely it wouldn’t make you rich. But this is exactly what Jason Wall did, and now he is now a millionaire.
6. FitDeck
Create a deck of cards featuring exercise routines, and sell it online for $18.95. Sounds like a disaster idea but former Navy SEAL and fitness instructor Phil Black reported last year sales of $4.7 million. Surely beats what military pays.
7. PositivesDating.Com
How would you like to go on a date with an HIV positive person? Paul Graves and Brandon Koechlin thought that someone would, so they created a dating site for HIV positive folks last year. Projected 2006 sales are $110,000, and the two hope to have 50,000 members by their two-year mark.
8. Designer Diaper Bags
Christie Rein was tired of carrying diapers around in a freezer bag. The 34-year-old mother of three found herself constantly stuffing diapers for her infant son into freezer bags to keep them from getting scrunched up in her purse. Rein wanted something that was compact, sleek and stylish, so in November 2004, she sat down with her husband, Marcus, who helped her design a custom diaper bag that’s big enough to hold a travel pack of wipes and two to four diapers. With more than $180,000 in sales for 2005, Christie’s company, Diapees & Wipees, has bags in 22 different styles, available online and in 120 boutiques across the globe for $14.99.
9. SantaMail
Ok, how’s that for a brilliant idea. Get a postal address at North Pole, Alaska, pretend you are Santa Claus and charge parents 10 bucks for every letter you send to their kids? Well, Byron Reese sent over 200000 letters since the start of the business in 2001, which makes him a couple million dollars richer.
10. Lucky Wishbone Co.
Fake wishbones. Now, this stupid idea is just destined to flop. Who in the world needs FAKE PLASTIC wishbones? A lot of people, it turns out. Now producing 30,000 wishbones daily (they retail for 3 bucks a pop) Ken Ahroni, the company founder, expects 2006 sales to reach $1 million.
The list of the top 30 earning websites in the world, for some of these websites, $50 million in revenue a day is just a typical day. This Websites Are Business aren’t they ? And it was all created in the last 10 or so years! How many business dream to make this money in this short period of time ? Well, now, you have them in one place.
The TOP 30 Websites That Make > 1$/sec on the internet.
| Rank |
Website |
Founders |
Annual Revenue |
Per Second |
| 1 |
|
Larry Page and Sergey Brin |
$21,800,000,000 |
$691.27 |
| 2 |
|
Jeff Bezos |
$19,166,000,000 |
$607.75 |
| 3 |
|
Jerry Yang and David Filo |
$7,200,000,000 |
$228.31 |
| 4 |
|
Pierre Omidyar |
$6,290,000,000 |
$199.45 |
| 5 |
|
Nathan Myhrvold. |
$3,214,000,000 |
$101.92 |
| 6 |
|
Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek, |
$2,250,000,000 |
$71.35 |
| 7 |
|
Jeff Robbin |
$1,900,000,000 |
$60.25 |
| 8 |
|
Marshal Vace |
$1,892,000,000 |
$59.99 |
| 9 |
|
Jesse Fink |
$1,884,000,000 |
$59.74 |
| 10 |
|
Added Mark Schroeder |
$1,447,000,000 |
$45.88 |
| 11 |
|
Reed Hastings |
$1,200,000,000 |
$38.05 |
| 12 |
|
Terry Jones |
$1,100,000,000 |
$34.88 |
| 13 |
|
Nick Swinmurn |
$1,000,000,000 |
$31.71 |
| 14 |
|
David Litman |
$1,000,000,000 |
$31.71 |
| 15 |
|
Erik Prince |
$968,000,000 |
$30.70 |
| 16 |
|
Jeff Katz |
$870,000,000 |
$27.59 |
| 17 |
|
Robert Brazell |
$834,000,000 |
$26.45 |
| 18 |
|
Tom Anderson |
$800,000,000 |
$25.37 |
| 19 |
|
Niklas Zennstrom |
$550,841,000 |
$17.47 |
| 20 |
|
Zhang Chaoyang |
$429,000,000 |
$13.60 |
| 21 |
|
Robb Brock |
$400,000,000 |
$12.68 |
| 22 |
|
Eric Baker |
$400,000,000 |
$12.68 |
| 23 |
|
Jack Ma |
$316,000,000 |
$10.02 |
| 24 |
|
Mark Zuckerberg |
$300,000,000 |
$9.51 |
| 25 |
|
Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, |
$300,000,000 |
$9.51 |
| 26 |
|
Mark Vadon |
$295,000,000 |
$9.35 |
| 27 |
|
Stephen Kaufer |
$260,000,000 |
$8.24 |
| 28 |
|
Mark Getty |
$233,200,000 |
$7.39 |
| 29 |
|
Garry Itkin |
$207,000,000 |
$6.56 |
| 30 |
|
Henry Jarvis Raymond |
$175,000,000 |
$5.55 |
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