As posted by me on MEO Social
The Telephone. The handheld phone. Nokia 3310. The iPhone. BlackBerry. Android Phones and then today’s latest mobile phones as we know it.
Fax. Email. SMS. Instant messaging. Myspace. Tumblr. Facebook. Twitter. WhatsApp. Snapchat. Pinterest. Instagram.
Are these iterations or innovations?
The evolution across the various platforms of mobile and social media brings about a fertile ground to truly understand what the difference between innovation and iteration is. The two are often used interchangeably and many times incorrectly.
The buzz around innovation
Innovation can be thought of as ‘coming up with new things’. Is Facebook an innovation as it appears to be something new? On the other hand, it can be thought of as in iteration because it possibly took the framework of Myspace and created an improvement on it. If you take a step back, you’ll realize that it truly is an innovation.
It is generally something that is ‘game-changing’, which is what Facebook was. It explains why sometimes customers are disappointed with new releases of iPhones or a new enhancement on Instagram, WhatsApp etc. Often it’s been branded as something is innovative, which creates an expectation from a customers’ point of view that there will be something completely new. A few recent innovations is when new platforms are created such as Vine and Snap Chat. Many of those features are now used on other platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Another example easy to understand is the Apple Watch. Although there were smart watches before it was released, nothing operated as smoothly, sleekly and changed the game as did the Apple Watches.
Iteration is as important as innovation
We can think of iteration on the other hand as constant improvements and refinements. It’s a between the ‘fail fast’ and ‘agile approach. Taking existing concepts and making continuous improvements on them. Take for example the latest release of the Samsung Galaxy 8 which was recently launched. If compared to previous phones and other phones on the market, it is pretty much the same with just a few enhancements. The Galaxy 8 boasts a larger display, no longer has a home button and also has a “Siri” like assistant. That’s an example of good iteration, constant improvements on previous versions that now has the Galaxy 8 on track to be the most popular phone.
Social Media is currently having a frenzy with iterations, with many platforms looking quite similar. In fact, many experts are saying the unique selling points between different platforms are no longer as clear-cut because of these iterations. Instagram has a facility to live stream, add albums, like, comment and follow someone. It’s not much different to Facebook who also have those functionalities. It’s also quite similar to YouTube. Even WhatsApp, a traditional messaging platform has video capabilities and ‘story-telling’ facilities much similar to SnapChat in their status tab. It’s improved the services of each of these industries but each product may eventually lose its bite as customers become fatigued due to overexposure of the same thing across different platforms.
To iterate or innovate?
In this day and age, it might be better to iterate than innovate. Competition and market share is important that often the first to market often gets more reward than an innovative product released after five years. In fact, an improvement on one product often inspires completely new innovations.
Some of the greatest modern day innovators have been able to sustain their success due to iteration. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who are often seen as the fathers of modern day innovation actually have been iterating their products all along. The success behind Apple is their sleek interface, and unique typeface which Jobs had a keen eye for. If you look at the first Apple laptop, you’ll see how backdated it appears. Through small iterations to the size, weight and aesthetic appeal it became one of the most valuable pieces of technologies in the 21st century.
It’s the feedback loop that occurs through iteration which makes it a concept worth adopting. Elon Musk wholeheartedly adopts this fail fast, fast feedback approach and is one of the reasons why he is so successful. The success behinds Musks’ PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX products come through constant iteration which eventually lead to innovation.
It might be hurtful actually to try and innovate these days. Every idea has been thought of and most of them are in development or already have been developed. The true competitive advantage is to iterate. Fail fast, improve faster and through this innovation will occur.
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