How many apps have come and gone? How many developers have had their moment, shining under the public spotlight as an example of ingenuity and achievement, only to be absorbed and forgotten by the monolithic machine we call "big business"? What is excellent one day becomes obsolete the next day. As a result, users experience our products on a superficial level and have no problem discarding in an instant what might have taken years to create. Is this the only way things can be?
If you examine Silicon Valley you may eventually come to an interesting realization: innovation is more often communicated than experienced. We seem to be playing with the odds although chances are not in our favor since we're failing more times than we're succeeding. In sight of this reality, many are under the impression that history cannot guide us when we are thinking about the future; but as they say "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". A closer look in our past may reveal some long forgotten truths that could help us make better decisions for our future...
The liar and the thief rejoice in their first year only
Many entrepreneurs think it's OK to imitate or even bluntly copy, while withdrawing from crediting their sources. Their fate will most likely grant them a warm welcome of enthusiastic initial responses, following a later silent withdraw to obscurity, once it's clear that their originality, their mojo, has run out. That's because it was never theirs to begin with. Everyone deserves an equal chance in succeeding in life, but for the sake of the greater good we could exercise greater accountability.
The truth is that no one owns the holy grail and in our search for unicorns we are susceptible to this kind of deception. As it is usually the case, honesty and transparency is the cure for devious behaviors. A communal approach to innovation, where everyone's opinion is respected and measured would have a higher success rate and a milder failure curve.
Everything in moderation
A saying that keeps re-appearing in history, which many bright minds were seeking to take credit for. It makes one wonder why there was such an urge to promote measure throughout history; probably because it goes against our primal instincts and the eventual "norm", tooting that greed is good and more is better. Yet greed is listed as one of the 7 deadly sins, some would argue for valid reasons...
For one, greed has obvious negative side-effects to an individual's character and life balance. As consumers, we are indoctrinated into this mentality through marketing, as it helps consumerism thrive, ending up with problems like obesity and credit dept. In science and the arts, creativity is squashed down so it can pass through the "right" channels, allowing only the elite to benefit. Not disregarding the above, probably the worst contribution of greed is the birth of monopolies.
Monopolies jeopardize democratic ideals as they favor conformity above variety, availability above choice, and more importantly funnel income to the few, creating the kind of financial inequality that leads to civil unrest and potentially rebellion. Our civilization has already gone through such events many times, most notably during the Dark Ages. Beyond labels, the facts show clearly that the effects of greed cripple our evolution rate.
Fortune favors the bold
Appearing as one of the most prominent lessons of history in our time. Want to play it safe? Mimic or do as you are told and you will scrape by with the bare minimum. Want to make a difference? Look within and you will find true sense of purpose. No one will give you the opportunity to reach your true potential, you have to seize it yourself. All this is good in theory, yet in practice it's hard to differentiate between what is a worthy cause and a self-serving obsession that's often fused with a false sense of worth and a bloated feeling of authority.
There's an extensive showcase of examples where marching without a solid plan is devastating. Napoleon, Alexander the Great, and many more were all exceptional humans that were obsessed with a false cause, driving everyone along their way to their doom. Short-term gains with long-term downfall is never a long lasting strategy. Confidence needs to be measured with foresight otherwise it is simply a foolish exhibition of ego.
Three men make a tiger
Chinese stories are often great allegories, and this is one of them. Knowing how popularity works is important for not getting carried away with tends and fads. Product development shouldn't turn into a popularity contest that measures success based on what the majority thinks. A lot of useful things are not exciting. That doesn't make them popular but that also doesn't mean they are less important.
Popularity is an impression that in many cases is manufactured. It's not meaningful and never lasts. Followers are never remembered in history so why would following trends return any sort of reward?
Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God
A phrase attributed to Jesus Christ. He clearly separated what is of this world from what is spiritual. If all our services and products operate in this world then they are binded by the rules of our physical reality. On the flip side, if everything that makes us unique, our dreams, our relationships, our emotions are spiritual then they shouldn't be placed on the same realm as the former.
Many argue that corporations don't care enough about people. Privacy concerns are a constant and there are heated debates about human rights and online services. Some promote the idea that privacy online is a myth and that everything that's on "the cloud" should be considered public; and it may be so... But maybe we shouldn't be expecting from corporations what they are not designated for: withholding the human spirit.
Act with no control. Burn out. Merge with the mass. Repeat. The meteoric rise and fall of many entrepreneurs has become source for anecdotal stories that amuse us. They are so frequent we don't even question them. We may just account all this to "human nature". Or we could simply accept our inadequacy, our imperfection; which results to well-documented, well-deserving consequences. And through that awareness operate in a different manner next time...