Marketing and the tech innovation process

This could be an interesting Webinar from the California Institute of Technology on laying the foundation for the commercial success of inventions: Marketing and the Technology Innovation Process. I like these short case studies on innovative companies — this week’s focus is on how Corning has sustained invention for the last 100 years.

Emerging markets ripe for product innovation

Here’s an approach to innovation that’s becoming popular — first design and develop products for emerging markets where necessity demands lower barriers to access and adoption. In the article Innovation Trickles in a New Direction, BusinessWeek takes a look at how large corporations like GE are selecting products traditionally created in rich nations but choosing to develop and test them in emerging markets first before mass marketing them in established markets. This is an R&D strategy (and a potentially cost effective one) that many companies may start paying more attention to in virtually every sector, especially in tough economic times.

I want Bourdain’s job

Anthony Bourdain has one of the best jobs out there, anywhere.

I’ve long been a fan of his show, No Reservations, but his recent visit to Sri Lanka got my attention, and I tuned in eagerly to watch his experience of the place where I was born. For those who know Bourdain’s style, he doesn’t mince words and he doesn’t sugar coat things … a quality I appreciate. So, to have him not completely tear into a country, its people and its food is a small victory in itself. You either love or hate Bourdain for his brutal honesty. Sri Lanka made out fairly well considering, and though I might have done a few things differently, I enjoyed his romp through Colombo and neighboring towns testing out the hospitality and cuisine.

Romania on the other hand, which Bourdain also visited recently, didn’t fare so well. In his blog post, Romania: What the hell happened?, he recounts his experience (and his somewhat brutal review) but makes no apologies:

“To describe Romania as particularly friendly? Not really. I’ve been all over the world. Over 50 countries. On the friendly scale? Romania not exactly in the top 40. The food — on camera, off camera? Didn’t matter. It was mostly pretty primitive. Soups may taste good — but they don’t make interesting television. I could lie. But I ain’t gonna.”

That blog post alone received over 2000 comments from fans and outraged Romanians alike.

Considering the tact and diplomacy that most of us need to maintain in our day jobs, Bourdain’s got a pretty good gig. Travel and good food — yes, but most travel show hosts have that. License to be brutally honest and make no apologies for it? That’s rare in a job description.

Drink, Play, F@#k

Here’s a new book that’s got my attention — Drink, Play, F@#k: One Man’s Search for Anything Across Ireland, Las Vegas, and Thailand. Not that I have a particular interest in stories of people finding themselves (or getting lost in foreign places for that matter), but my absolute lack of interest in the book that inspired this one — Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, has piqued my curiosity in this semi-parodic, male take on things.

Many of my friends enjoyed Gilbert’s story of exploration and discovery, but I couldn’t make it past a third of the book. Andrew Gottlieb’s story on the other hand, is about a jilted husband who sets out to explore the world and fulfil fantasies that include beer, soccer and Asian prostitutes. It’s a fictional journey told by a comedic writer, but it might be just as revealing and insightful as Eat, Pray, Love was to many. I’ll give it at least a few chapters.