Innovation

The emergence of the #SlowedDown music sub-genre – Soundcloud

by Stephen Coats
January 10, 2025January 10, 2025

When legendary DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore first invented the technique of scratching and needle-dropping in 1975, it opened up a portal into a world of possibilities, creating new styles and sounds by altering records. Fast-forward to 1983, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock teamed up with Bill Laswell and Michael Beinhorn to write and produce “Rockit,” a landmark track that prominently showcased the turntable as an instrument during televised performances at the 1985 Grammys. Buoyed by the success of the music video on MTV, this sensation hit a generation of kids who would go on to create new sounds from records in unconventional ways.

Innovation Does Not Equal Technology

by Jon Hirst
February 23, 2022February 25, 2022

Illustration from 10 Types of Innovation: The Art of Discovering a Breakthrough Product

Imagine that someone was to say to you, “I’m involved in an innovative project.” What assumptions would you make about the project? Take a moment to be in that conversation and truly consider my question.

The word “innovative” will tip you off that they are working on something new. You may also assume that there is a degree of risk or uncertainty in the project’s outcome because it is new. It is also likely that you assume that the project involves some new technology, or an existing technology applied to a new domain.

It’s that last assumption that I would like to focus on for a few minutes. Why is it that we tend to associate innovation with technology? My guess is that we are simply used to seeing the two go hand in hand in our 21st Century world. There have been so many astounding advances in technology in the past 20 years that our brains are almost conditioned to join the two concepts together.