HICKIES – TURN YOUR KICKS INTO SLIP-ONS by Mariquel & Gaston — Kickstarter.

I caught this link off a VSL email that was just emailed to me. The initial link didn’t really do this Kickstarter project due justice but once I looked into it I thought to myself Guh-duh! Why didn’t *I* think of that!?!

I hear companies going on and on about innovation. They kick the word around like some sort of shiny can that if seen to do so everyone will treat them with reverence and respect. I get that feeling a lot from Microsoft and Samsung, which innovate via photocopier.

It’s these products, indeed the entire concept of the Kickstarter that really represents true innovation. These are novel solutions to problems that people never really thought about before. In this case, is there a way to turn run-of-the-mill shoes into slip-ons? With a set of “Hickies” the answer is yes, yes you can.

Innovation is about bringing new things to the world, not copying and changing little bits from others and posing that as something new. Any tablet after the iPad is a copy of the iPad and lame. Any music player after the iPod is a copy of the iPod and lame. It’s funny, but I think that the company with true innovation is and if they tread very carefully, will always be Apple.

So be very careful when you kick that shiny can labeled “innovation” around. People like me will spot it and call you out for the bullshit you are shoveling.