[noahr]

Companies that have existed for years can still do innovative things. We've highlighted those new efforts in the entries. Jawbone, for example, has been around for ages but last year had a huge hit with the Jambox. In that entry Farhad Manjoo also writes about the Up, which was flying off shelves until they found a defect and pulled it.

[corin_]

Would you mind explaining Reddit's inclusion in the same way? Certainly the write-up of Reddit in this piece doesn't seem to highlight anything new or innovative (unless campaigning against SOPA counts).

Cheers

(I feel slightly bad for picking upon Reddit, they were just the first example that came to mind when glancing at the list.)

[noahr]

The first thing to note is that Reddit was not on the main list of the 50 Most Innovative. It was included in list of top 10 for Media, which is where we recognize innovators in a more general way within different industries. The main focus of Reddit's entry, after explaining the site to someone who might never have heard of it before, were the "Ask Me Anything" Q&As. Those interviews were far more social and newsworthy than most Q&As that appeared in msm. Although the series didn't start last year, it began gaining traction and became more newsworthy during 2011. Many innovations are slow to mature, or even fail despite their unique approach. The Reddit entry recognized that those Q&As have come into their own.

[benologist]

Here's a better example, and it does suck to single anyone out, especially one that I use and like:

Dropbox - the only thing they've done recently was take small evolutionary steps on the innovation they showed 5 years ago when they launched.

There was so little to say about what else they've done that you basically just mention they're growing and making money. Which is great, but does growth and revenue make them the 22nd most innovative company in the world?

[noahr]

I see your point. My question: Who in the cloud space is doing more innovative work that is targeted to consumers?

[benologist]

Why are cloud and consumers criteria at all? That's why this list feels like such an odd mix - there shouldn't have to be anyone from the cloud, if they don't make the cut weighed against everything else in the entire world then do a separate list on innovation in the cloud where they can be recognized for their achievements without compromise.

[noahr]

Those aren't criteria, but the fact that they have designed so-called cloud storage in a useful way that is accessible to the masses is why they were included on the list. I also think that it is important that a cloud company be included in the list. So I wonder why you think there shouldn't have been anyone from the cloud?