Inno-vention?

Two things I stumbled upon today that both led me to Google the word "Innovation". Of course the results for both were Wikipedia. But there was an interesting piece in the article that caught my attention: A distinction is typically made between invention, an idea made manifest, and innovation, ideas applied successfully.

The reason that's so interesting to me is that 1) I always thought that they were closely related, 2) I think that innovation is the best form of invention, and 3) if I had to choose which word was my favorite, I would undoubtedly choose "innovation".

In my mind, innovation is a type of invention; it's the way in which we look at the current world we're working in (be it the actual world or the world of online media or the world of politics, etc) and imagine a different outcome. It's about being able to think differently, push the envelope, have foresight, and shape the future.

Invention to me seems to be the solution to a current or existing problem.

Don't get me wrong, I think that these can both exist together, and in reality, I think they must in order to continue to advance socially, politically, etc. But does it seem like one is addressing our past while the other addresses our future? If you ask me, I would fall on the side of the future any day.

I mean, it's not like these two words are going to war. And we certainly don't have a lot of philosophical minds debating to determine the future of these words in a world where only one can exist. But why invent when we can innovate? The suffix -ent literally means "to form"; meanwhile the suffix -ate means "to do".

I say, just "-ate" it!

Sunday Quotable

“Life is the sum of all your choices.” — Albert Camus

It's like compounded interest though...because each choice builds upon the next. And it's not until the end that we see the final product. It's interesting to think though that every choice builds us up. Even if we think that they tear us down, they just continue to add our lives.

Ok, Bacardi, You Caught My Attention

Let's forget for a moment that sometimes alcohol companies get blamed for targeting underage consumers. And let's forget that sometimes advertising is considered the downfall of, well, America causing consumerism galore. Putting that aside, I think that liquor companies have always (ok, ok mostly) done a really good job with marketing and advertising. They push the boundaries of where they should be playing, they do a good job of targeting the right consumers (especially the "luxury" brands), and they aren't afraid to take risks. Actually, they HAVE TO in order to stand out and try to influence the tastes of very fickle, always changing generations. Working in the advertising/media industry, I am constantly amazed (and largely surprised...and very excited) that clients actually approved these strategies and ideas. It makes me love advertising.

Anyway, I really like the new Barcardi ad where the guy goes through different time periods to get the best mojito. But the best part of that ad is the music: Daylight from Matt and Kim. Seriously, check out the song, you'll love it. My brother was actually the first one who recommended it to me...and wanna know why? Because he heard it in a Baracardi commercial.


Anyway, check out this song because it really is awesome. And when you're done, check out some of there other stuff. Lesson Learned: The song is pretty good but the music video kills. I love it.