Deconstructing Innovation with @StephenColbert

by Nathaniel Whittemore

Published April 03, 2009 @ 09:30AM PT

America's most influential talk show host Stephen Colbert had Twitter co-founder Biz Stone on the show last night. It provided a nice moment to deconstruct or at least challenge our notion of innovation.

The three things that I thought were most interesting:

1. "The messaging system we didn't know we needed until we had it."

That's how Biz Stone described Twitter. The first question it obviously brings up is, if we didn't know we needed it, then do we? I think it's worth noting two things. One, "need" is a slippery word. If we only focused on what we need in the strictest sense, our world would look very different. But "want" can matter too. Twitter allows for more rapid transmission of information, which can be extraordinary powerful. It also allows for easier and more dispersed social interaction. Used well, it really can make you feel more connected to your people.

2. "the difference between profit and value"

When asked about their business model, Biz made the fair and interesting point that they were differentiating value and profit. Sounds like they talked to Steve Wright about this? When I'm talking to students about whether they should be for profit or nonprofit, the conversation tends almost always to end up asking "what is the value you create?" and "who are the actors you believe should be paying for that value?" Of course, it will still be interesting to see for just how long their investor's patience is when it comes to the difference between profit and value. As Colbert said "the "Biz" in "Biz Stone" doesn't stand for "Business Model" then?

3. "creativity inspired by constraint"

If there's one phrase that sums up social sector optimists during this recession, it's "creativity inspired by constraint." That was how Biz described how people on Twitter reduce their messages. It's certainly a medium that lends itself to getting to the point.

In our adoration of innovation, it's always worth asking the question "does it really matter?" In the social sector, I think that this takes the form of the even more salient "does it solve the problem any more effectively, responsibly, or sustainably?" I think it's particularly important for social entrepreneurs to keep that in mind as we go about trying to build a better world.

In the name of keeping it real, check out Flutter: