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djdjddhdhdh t1_jdg5ex6 wrote

This is amazing actually, people don’t realize how many times people/things had to fail before becoming world changing and that failure is a normal part of the process

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whateverisok t1_jdg88m1 wrote

Not just "failure" in the literal sense, but also public perception of "failure".

The most recent and major example I can think of is Apple's AirPods: when the original AirPods product was announced, everyone made memes about it like Apple's wired headphones with the cords cut off.

I'm pretty sure Samsung even made an ad about that.

I was one of the early users (bought it ASAP), loved it, and showed it to my friends who originally thought it was a bad product, but then were actually surprised at its quality.

Now, Apple's AirPods (and competitors Bluetooth, in-ear pods) are ubiquitous.

Went from meme and "who would buy that" to who wouldn't buy that

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BeautifulVictory t1_jdh1x4w wrote

I feel it Bluetooth is more ubiquitous because they did away with the headphone jack. It makes it harder not to use them when you have to have a dongle to use your headphones.

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whateverisok t1_jdhh6vk wrote

They made direct lightning cable ones, but agreed - you can't charge and listen to music at the same time.

I still occasionally see people in NYC walk around with wired Apple in-ear headphones (the old/classic one) and I think it's either they're on calls for a majority of their day (battery degradation) or they're worried about getting bumped or tripping and having an AirPod fall down the sidewalk grates.

Or ear shape. Mine fit pretty well, but I'm sure if some big guy is running/hustling and hits me, it'll go flying and then I won't use it until I can clean it - don't want an ear infection from something on NYC streets haha.

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djdjddhdhdh t1_jdhe1pk wrote

Haha I was one one of the people that bashed AirPods and iPad when they came out, but now it’s a part of daily life for me lol

Ye perception is definitely a big one. A lot of time you create something expecting it to ‘fail’ because you want to learn/test from it. Creating something that doesn’t exist or improving on an existing design is such a fascinating process

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whateverisok t1_jdhijgj wrote

Agreed! I love joining those focus groups.

There's a site called UTest that actually pays you to try out company products or apps, and be a part of that whole development process.

I was selected for a couple, but it's nothing crazy like in the movies/TV shows where you go in a room with a 1-way window, everyone's sitting in a circle, and are asked those questions haha - it's entirely remote (at least the ones I did).

Aka. It's not like this: https://youtu.be/Sx1J3S6vUJ8

https://www.utest.com/

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djdjddhdhdh t1_jdhsycm wrote

Oh awesome, thanks, I’ll have to check it out, always good to have someone else subsidize my device addiction lol

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HombreDeMoleculos t1_jdi5eyt wrote

That's the entire history of Apple. The Lisa was an expensive failure, they reworked it into the Mac. The 20th Anniversary Mac was an failure, they reworked it into the iMac. The Newton was a failure, they reworked it into the iPod. I'm not sure the company has had a single success apart from the original personal computer that wasn't built on a past failure.

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whateverisok t1_jdi6z3k wrote

I think 1st gen Apple Watch was a good success and was not reworked from another product - sure there were other smart-ish wearables (like Pebble and FitBit), but Apple's first launch was really successful.

Same goes for Apple AirTags: first iteration (no reworking) and they're a complete success - people are using them for pretty much everything. (I do know the privacy concerns that come up, but Apple's semi-addressing them).

Regarding the Watch, obviously they've now iterated and improved on its features, but the first release was a pretty big success and continues to be so.

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paulwhitedotnyc t1_jdg6h3s wrote

I worked on an ad campaign once where that was the whole idea, all the almost great inventions throughout history. Researching them and the people who created them was so interesting, really made you realize how hard people work even to fail sometimes.

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djdjddhdhdh t1_jdg6w6y wrote

Precisely!! Almost everything we have would’ve never happened if someone sat there and said ehhh I’m not gonna try this cuz I might not succeed

Who was your favorite inventor/story from that campaign?

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paulwhitedotnyc t1_jdg7zap wrote

For sure this guy Russell E. Oakes, an amateur American inventor, he invented spikes on his arms to enable him to push his way through a busy department store, a wind-up spaghetti fork and an automated hat that used a leaf to fan the wearer, Along with a million other failures, but he always kept trying.

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djdjddhdhdh t1_jdhdaof wrote

Wow so I googled the guy, definitely interesting inventions lol and a perfect example. Like I like at his 2 inventions barbecue king and the bed light switcher. Rudimentary leads to infrared oven and hue light bulbs if you think about it

Not gonna lie I kinda want the spaghetti winder lol

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sonofaresiii t1_jdhgd88 wrote

And I'm sure that's a major part of the museum, but the article sure makes it seem like the museum is taking the piss out of major, already-established companies. Coca-Cola, Google, Heinz, Bic... these are not companies displaying early failures that preceded their greatness.

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djdjddhdhdh t1_jdht55a wrote

Ye typical news lol

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djdjddhdhdh t1_jdhtrm8 wrote

Actually it does say it has google glass and coke 2, I definitely remember the coke story back in the day. Google glass is fascinating actually, in Atlanta they had a wearable exhibit at the design museum that showcased all the prior art leading up to google glass, apparently people have been trying to do that since like the 90s, interesting stuff

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