Steve Jobs and the Economics of Elitism

Idea Market Succeed by Knowledge ™

Summary	Steve Jobs and the Economics of Elitism
Category	Electronics
New Science Technology Idea	" ... The more, the better. That's the fashionable recipe for nurturing new ideas these days. It emphasizes a kind of Internet-era egalitarianism that celebrates the "wisdom of the crowd" and "open innovation." Assemble all the contributions in the digital suggestion box, we're told in books and academic research, and the result will be collective intelligence. Yet Apple, a creativity factory meticulously built by Steven P. Jobs since he returned to the company in 1997, suggests another innovation formula — one more elitist and individual. "A defining quality of Apple has been design restraint," says Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster and consultant in Silicon Valley. That restraint is evident in Mr. Jobs's personal taste. His black turtleneck, beltless blue jeans and running shoes are a signature look. In his Palo Alto home years ago, he said that he preferred uncluttered, spare interiors and then explained the elegant craftsmanship of the simple wooden chairs in his living room, made by George Nakashima, the 20th-century furniture designer and father of the American craft movement. ... "
Webpage	More info
Author	Editor
Date	1/30/2010