The Good Enough Generation
For generations, companies have struggled to build the "better mousetrap." Enormous amounts of resources have been dedicated towards making machines better, faster, smarter, and more efficient - and this has been mutually beneficial for the public and the companies themselves. For the public, better products increase people's standard of living, and for the companies, this means goods that command higher prices, and also higher profits.
This paradigm has worked for many years, because each iteration of a product design has brought along a disproportionate amount of benefit to the customers buying them. For example, over past couple of decades, each new computer a customer bought was significantly faster than the one before, which allowed them to multi-task and be more efficient.
However, what if this paradigm is changing? What if each new iteration is only slightly better than the one before? A recent Wired magazine article suggests this new "revolution" is already happening. Better may not be good enough. And when "Good to Better" doesn't work, society turns to "Good Enough."
The article highlights several innovations which employ this philosophy:
mp3's: True, the mp3 format provides inferior audio quality when compared to a music CD. However, mp3's are the "good enough" solution for casual listening. In addition, it is low-cost, portable, and can be copied, distributed, and shared quickly.
Flip Camera: A stripped down camcorder with minuscule viewing screen, no color-adjustment features, and only the most rudimentary controls (it doesn't even have digital zoom!) However, it's small, inexpensive, and so simple to use a child can use it.
Predator Drone: A rudimentary plane that only flies 135 mph with an altitude ceiling of 25,000 feet (compared to a military aircraft, which can travel up to 420mph and cruise at 45,000 feet). Unlike a piloted plane, it can record more flight hours (since it never needs to rest). In addition, it is always available, cheap to build, and enables remotely guided surgical strikes with fewer troops and armaments.
The above rings true for many other "products" that have started to seep into our lives. For example, Skype is the "good enough" phone. WebMD is the "good enough" doctor. youtube is the "good enough" television.
And the most recent debate within the media industry is similar. Will consumers upgrade from the DVD video format to the "much" better quality blu ray format (introduced by Sony). Will the "better mousetrap" win? Or will the "good enough" solution prevail. If recent history is any indication, DVDs may be here to stay for a while...
This paradigm has worked for many years, because each iteration of a product design has brought along a disproportionate amount of benefit to the customers buying them. For example, over past couple of decades, each new computer a customer bought was significantly faster than the one before, which allowed them to multi-task and be more efficient.
However, what if this paradigm is changing? What if each new iteration is only slightly better than the one before? A recent Wired magazine article suggests this new "revolution" is already happening. Better may not be good enough. And when "Good to Better" doesn't work, society turns to "Good Enough."
The article highlights several innovations which employ this philosophy:
mp3's: True, the mp3 format provides inferior audio quality when compared to a music CD. However, mp3's are the "good enough" solution for casual listening. In addition, it is low-cost, portable, and can be copied, distributed, and shared quickly.
Flip Camera: A stripped down camcorder with minuscule viewing screen, no color-adjustment features, and only the most rudimentary controls (it doesn't even have digital zoom!) However, it's small, inexpensive, and so simple to use a child can use it.
Predator Drone: A rudimentary plane that only flies 135 mph with an altitude ceiling of 25,000 feet (compared to a military aircraft, which can travel up to 420mph and cruise at 45,000 feet). Unlike a piloted plane, it can record more flight hours (since it never needs to rest). In addition, it is always available, cheap to build, and enables remotely guided surgical strikes with fewer troops and armaments.
The above rings true for many other "products" that have started to seep into our lives. For example, Skype is the "good enough" phone. WebMD is the "good enough" doctor. youtube is the "good enough" television.
And the most recent debate within the media industry is similar. Will consumers upgrade from the DVD video format to the "much" better quality blu ray format (introduced by Sony). Will the "better mousetrap" win? Or will the "good enough" solution prevail. If recent history is any indication, DVDs may be here to stay for a while...
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