Ideas vs Execution

The mythos of Silicon Valley tech innovation is very much about ideas: once you have the next great idea, success is assured and you'll change the world in no time. But it's just not true: execution is much more important. Julie Zhuo writes about it, pointing out that Google wasn't the first search engine - nor was the iPhone the first smartphone, and so on. Execution of the idea makes all the difference - and critically, that means that past failures of an idea don't necessarily invalidate the idea. Just make sure you have the right people to execute!

File-Naming in Real Life

Yep, this looks pretty familiar. I've always said that the best way to guarantee that more changes are coming is to label a file "final." Sure, there are real best practices for file naming (I'm a devotee of YYMMDD labeling so they self-sort, woohoo!), but hey, those are boring. This method gives a window into the chaos of creation!
[Doghouse Diaries, via Gizmodo]

Long Live the Pizza Saver!

In a world of fast-changing technologies, it's rare to find a product that passes the test of time - but if there's anything that has, it's that little plastic pizza saver. Gizmodo wrote an appreciation on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the patent, and sure enough, it doesn't seem to have changed a bit since. It's a design that's everything it needs to be and nothing more; efficiency, form, and function in perfect harmony. Not only that, but it benefits from the positive association of being something you see right before you eat pizza. Not a bad gig for a little piece of plastic!
[via Gizmodo]