Just when you think that we’ve innovated all that we can, something new comes along and completely blows our mind. It could be an advancement in hardware, software or just a new way of thinking of things. Humans are pretty resilient when it comes to thinking up new things to tinker with and making our lives easier.
This year was pretty awesome when it comes to innovation, and not the innovation that you might be thinking of. There was no “next big thing” to speak of, meaning there was no new big company to take attention away from Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft. That’s ok, though, because there were plenty of companies that looked at what we do on a daily basis, and found new and cool ways to make it more fun or less time consuming. That’s innovation, too.
I think of what Lyft and Uber have done to make our rides around big cities more enjoyable and less stressful, and you have to look at what Lytro has done to the camera, as well as what Lit Motors will do for motor vehicles. This year was pretty exciting. For consumer apps, it might have been an off-year though. That’s ok, because there are plenty of places where innovation can happen in 2013.
Let’s talk about just a few of them.
Healthcare
Eventually, you’ll be able to beam your full medical history from your phone or other mobile device, directly to an emergency room or new doctor. No longer will you have to wait for records to be sent over or labs to be read. They’ll all be right there, and medical professionals will have devices to support it, too.
We’re not super far off from that, but Apple and Google are making huge strides in what mobile devices can do. In the future, we need better software and technology applied to healthcare, and that alone will bring down the stress and worry of going for a checkup or perhaps finding out that you have a longterm illness to deal with.
It’s just not a sexy space to get into, and honestly scares a lot of folks. We’ll get there, though.
Education
If you peel back all of the layers in what goes into our school system, there are so many inefficiencies that make our teachers frustrated, parents nervous and kids left behind. Technology can’t solve all of the world’s problems, but it can help you clean up the easier things that trip us up on a daily basis. Some people still have to log into Lotus to get their college grades, that’s nuts.
If we honestly spent our collective energies to make our school systems better with technology, teachers could focus on teaching and kids could focus on learning. More of that in 2013, please.
Transportation
Again, some of this is already cobbled together, but there’s no real “industry” for technology-advanced transportation. If you want to throw in Lit Motors and Elon Musk’s Tesla, there is excitement brewing and money to be made.
And hey, don’t forget about that self-driving car from Google, it could honestly save lives one day.
Entertainment
As far as books and magazines go, Apple, Google and Amazon have just begun to scratch the service on distributing these types of media. As more startups get involved in being the middle-men for distribution, amazing things can happen. Remember when Amazon acquired Zappos? It had a lot to do with culture and its e-commerce mechanisms.
We’ll be able to move things around with our hands, interact with each other more and enjoy life like it was intended to be enjoyed.
Boring? Nah
Our own Michael Arrington said he was bored, but what he was really saying is “Step it up, entrepreneurs, don’t stand pat now.” That’s good advice, because just when you settle into a groove of shipping crappy apps that replicate what others are doing, there are a lot of cycles wasted on something that could be used elsewhere.
If you’re building a photo-sharing app, why not think of how to adapt it to higher education, special education or the healthcare industry? Yes, it sounds like a chore, but the hardest things are the things worth doing. We’re moving away from the “quick hits” like Instagram and Snapchat, and just starting to sink our teeth into bigger, wordlier problems. That takes time and it won’t happen overnight.
If more startups focused on solving the seemingly little problems that give consumers the most grief, there’s a lot of money to be made there too. For everyone involved.
It’s not boring, it’s just the beginning.
[Photo credits: Flickr, Flickr, Flickr]
Uber, a San Francisco based technology startup is innovating at the intersection of mobile technology, car transportation & logistics. The Uber experience captures the elite limo experiences and transforms it into an on demand service that fits an efficient and modern lifestyle.
Lyft is an on-demand ridesharing service owned and operated by Zimride that is currently operating in San Francisco, CA. Using the Lyft iPhone app, passengers can instantly request a pickup, and a safe, friendly driver will arrive within minutes. The Lyft staff carefully selects pre-vetted, trustworthy drivers from the community who swiftly get passengers to their destinations.
Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Google+, the company’s extension into the social space. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google’s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing...
The Tesla is the third line of Nvidia’s graphics processing unit (GRU). It’s based on the G80 and Quadro and is NVIDIA’s first dedicated general purpose GPU.
Lit Motors designs and develops sustainable personal transportation solutions. The company is currently focused on a vehicle code-named “C-1”. This fully-electric, two-wheeled vehicle is self-balancing, using a pair of flywheels to maintain stability in all conditions. The flywheels are also used as part of a KERS regenerative braking system, contributing to an overall efficient, human-centered design.
Uber, a San Francisco based technology startup is innovating at the intersection of mobile technology, car transportation & logistics. The Uber experience captures the elite limo experiences and transforms it into an on demand service that fits an efficient and modern lifestyle.
Lyft is an on-demand ridesharing service owned and operated by Zimride that is currently operating in San Francisco, CA. Using the Lyft iPhone app, passengers can instantly request a pickup, and a safe, friendly driver will arrive within minutes. The Lyft staff carefully selects pre-vetted, trustworthy drivers from the community who swiftly get passengers to their destinations.
Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Google+, the company’s extension into the social space. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google’s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing...
The Tesla is the third line of Nvidia’s graphics processing unit (GRU). It’s based on the G80 and Quadro and is NVIDIA’s first dedicated general purpose GPU.
Lit Motors designs and develops sustainable personal transportation solutions. The company is currently focused on a vehicle code-named “C-1”. This fully-electric, two-wheeled vehicle is self-balancing, using a pair of flywheels to maintain stability in all conditions. The flywheels are also used as part of a KERS regenerative braking system, contributing to an overall efficient, human-centered design.
Source : feedproxy[dot]google[dot]com
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