Innovation != Commercialization

Yesterday, I posted about Social Podcasting and the version that we started things out with. In the e-mail channel, I received a well-intentioned, but snarky, message from a friend of many years now. I won’t quote the message, it’s not important but the story is.

I’ve written a very lengthy response - too long for one post. I’ll be posting it over the next few days in chunks, hopefully to help convey the points I need to make.

So here’s today’s installment:

Essentially, my buddy was coming down on me for changing direction. In his opinion I don’t deserve credit for “social podcasting” since I didn’t commercialize it. That’s quite simply a load of manure - an idea need not be commercialized to exist. In fact, I would offer as evidence almost no one who’s using the term now has officially commercialized it (since I count as part of commercialization to be monetization). Granted, I am on a bus in Toronto right now heading to a conference that I will be providing podcasting services for (based on the fact that I have the Beercasting experience under my belt) but I digress.

One of the problems with ideas is that everyone thinks they have one. I’ve written on this many times before. It’s knowing which ideas are worth exploring, either personally or financially, that separates thinkers from doers. I’m a thinker for sure, but I also really like doing things with my ideas.

When I wrote my post on social podcasting, I was only half seeking some sense of acknowledgment. The reality is that I’ve met hundreds of people that have listened to a beercast in one method or another. I’ve also been asked my many, many folks to continue the project. At the moment, that’s easier said than done. That doesn’t change the fact that there are 70 people still subscribed to the feed - a whole year since my last publication through that channel.

The point? Innovation has nothing to do with commericalization - except if money is your only metric for success. I’m more than content with both the work I did, the recognition I’ve received in the process, and the leverage it’s given me in other situations.

In closing, contribute something and be proud of it. If you can’t, don’t deride others who have.

In the next segment, I’ll deal with the statements that I think are valid and worthy of explanation.