Technology is hard to market.
By its very nature, it moves fast. Tech is a tool, A tool that holds excitement because it holds potential Potential to make us quicker, better, smarter That aspirational value is what marketers build on, makes us dream of what’s possible, what’s next
And yet, because tech is a tool a means to an end, that also means it won’t sit still
Every new piece of technology is a stepping stone. Each product is a temporary achievement, quickly replaced by the next iteration, the next big thing.
Its value diminishes rapidly after launch. Yesterday’s breakthrough is today’s outdated hardware.
Yet, with time, something strange happens.
Some products we left behind start to gain value again. Not for their newness, but for their history. For the beauty of their design, the brilliance of their mechanism, the boldness of their business model.
They become icons of their era.
The car. The Xerox machine. The Macintosh. The iPhone. ChatGPT.
These weren’t just tools; with hindsight they represented shifts. They changed what was possible. They redefined industries.
These products, through a combination of tech, design and business, become coveted not because what utility they empower but because of what they represent as a piece of art, a moment in time
Stepping stones for others to build on.
These are the products we look back on. The legendary innovations.