i read lawrence lessig’s book Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity on a whim after i saw it on sale at a bookstore in massachusetts while on vacation. this was one of those books that stayed with me in many ways.
the book deals primarily with copyright law and its (ab)use in various media segments, like books, music, television, etc. but you can take that concept and apply it in so many other places.
you might even go so far as to say that most original human thought isn’t truly original, but rather a remix of previous human knowledge. every piece of learning builds on established fact. business ideas come from examining markets and competitors, and “remixing” their strengths and weaknesses.
i think remix culture is in fact especially prevalent in business. most of my friends are pretty entrepreneurial. they all have ideas about starting businesses, and we often discuss these ideas. i have yet to hear of a business idea that was completely original. in fact, most of the ideas draw very closely on what another company is doing, but then changing certain aspects of it. like it or not, this is basically a remix of an idea.
i don’t think this is a bad thing, either. it’s just natural.
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