PBS’ Nightly Business Report today published a list of the 30 most important innovations of the last 30 years. The list will be made public on Nightly Business Report tonight on most PBS stations. The list is presented in “count down” fashion and includes many of the innovations that today seem normal but were truly revolutionary when they were brought to market. The top 4 choices are obvious and essential parts of our everyday life; the Internet, PCs, cell phones, and email. I would be lost without any one of them.
Here are the complete results:
- Internet WWW
- PC/Laptop computers
- Mobile phones
- Email
- DNA testing and sequencing/Human genome mapping
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Microprocessors
- Fiber optics
- Office software (Spreadsheets, word processors)
- Non-invasive laser/robotic surgery (laparoscopy)
- Open source software and services (e.g., Linux, Wikipedia)
- Light emitting diodes (first real devices in 1960s; in products in mid-70s)
- Liquid Crystal Displays
- GPS Systems
- Online shopping/ecommerce/auctions (e.g., eBay)
- Media file compression (e.g., jpeg, mpeg, mp3)
- Microfinance
- Photovoltaic Solar Energy
- Large scale wind turbines
- Social networking via internet
- Graphic user interface (GUI)
- Digital photography/videography
- RFID and applications (e.g. EZpass)
- Genetically modified plants
- Bio fuels
- Bar codes and scanners
- ATMs
- Stents
- SRAM flash memory
- Anti retroviral treatment for AIDS
To compile this list, thousands of nominees were submitted by Nightly Business Report viewers. The finalists were then judged according to seven different criteria determined by senior Wharton School faculty who served as judges:
1. Did it have a direct and/or material effect on quality of life?
2. Did it address a compelling need? Did it solve a compelling problem?
3. Was it a fresh, new breakthrough? Was there a "WOW" factor?
4. Did it change the way business is conducted?
5. Did it increase the efficiency of how resources are used?
6. Did it spark an ongoing stream of new innovations on top of the original innovation?
7. Did it lead to the creation of a vast, new industry?
What do you think? Do you have any additions to the list? Would you have a different priority order? Imagine what the list will look like 30 years from now. There are a lot of entrepreneurs out there working on The Next Big Thing for the next decade.