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Google Jumps the Curve

Earlier today in the YouTube clip posted below, Google unveiled an early prototype of its new phone, Android.

If you watch the video, you will notice that the phone itself doesn’t look all that special. In fact, Apple’s iPhone would appear to be vastly superior. But Google’s Android has two things going for it. First, Google clearly understands the incredible and immense power of the open-source movement. The video is basically an open-ended casting call to thousands of software engineers to develop new applications for its phone. From Google’s perspective this is, in effect, a way to tap into the minds—and ideas—of thousands of incredibly talented and innovative people for nothing!

To say it is free is not entirely true. Google has also adopted a second tool which I outline in my forthcoming book, Jump the Curve, and that is the idea that company’s should offer prize money as way to entice innovation. In Google’s case, the company is offering $10 million in prize money to those software developers who create the best applications.

My prediction is that Google is going to receive thousands of crazy ideas and most of the ideas will be worthless. But—and this is an important “but”—if just one or two of those ideas turn into a “killer app,” the plan to open-source Android will pay for itself a thousand-fold—even after the $10 million in prize money has been taken into consideration.

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Jack Uldrich is a writer, futurist, public speaker and host of jumpthecurve.net. He is the author of seven books, including Jump the Curve and The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business. He is also a frequent speaker on future technology and future trends, nanotechnology, innovation, change management and executive leadership to a variety of businesses, industries and non-profit organizations and trade associations.

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