The Myths of Innovation

This book by Scott Berkun is a fascinating read and I thoroughly recommend it to all the curious people :-) Here's a quote from the book that echoes nicely with my belief system:

Instant messages and cell phone conversations are innovations in conveyance, as are many technological innovations. But they have no impact on the quality of the messages themselves, just as high-resolution television sets have zero effect on the quality of the acting or writing in the shows. Unless you're developing an innovation that motivates people to communicate more clearly or less selfishly, innovations that accelerate are unlikely to change the world in the way their creators expect. If you have someone good to talk to, and something important to talk about, communication is rarely in need of acceleration. In fact, software that rewards people for slowing down and thinking about what they're reading and writing might be the greatest innovation of our time