Nothing New in Digital

Throughout the course, Dave kept mentioning "there's nothing new in digital." And he would explain what he means by that, and how we can apply that mentality to the field of journalism. But it took me a little longer than the rest of the class to actually internalize what Dave meant by "there's nothing new in digital." At first, I thought it was a preposterous statement, because people are innovating the digital realm it seems like everyday. But that's not what he meant at all. Sure, people are making new websites or trying to reformat existing ones in order to benefit the "user" experience. But that's not creating anything new; it's just changing what we already have. What Dave means, or at least what I took away, is that with all of the varying media that have only recently become important but will continue to grow and prosper, it's hard to imagine that another game-changing medium like the internet or mobile media will enter the picture. Companies will try, of course, because they've seen how innovators like Apple have changed the scene entirely with it's creations. Dave has also said, in connection with "there's nothing new in digital," that people have always found ways to communicate with each other, and those ways have evolved. Now we live in a world with instant social networking from home or where ever you happen to be. It's instant. So in that respect, innovation has ceased, unless we can make social networking faster than instant.

I agree and also disagree with Dave's statements. I think that we have come a long way in a short period. But I also think that there's always room for improvement. And with the current technological resources and brainpower available, there will always be something new in digital.

"Disrupt" - Part I

Welcome to my first post on this blog about Dave Allen's class about strategy. My first post will be about Part 1 in Luke Williams' book "Disrupt: Think the Unthinkable to Spark Transformation." An unusual title, yes, but yet it hints at his core thesis: to embrace unusual methods of innovation.

Williams opens with examples of how people with creative innovation, or "disruptive hypotheses," have found success by changing products and services in sensible ways to attract an audience.