I was drawn to an article by a tweet which dang near summarized a number of projects that I’ve worked with in the past:

Innovation starts when someone has an idea, a sense that they can make something in the world work better. So far so good, but an idea plus 5 dollars is worth 5 dollars. Innovation is about taking an idea, working out whether it has value in the world, then getting it built and adopted by the people who would value it.

If the quote wasn’t a good kick, the rest of the article definitely was.

Since we are in the business of working with individuals and organizations which have aims of better utilizing mobile in a ministry context, we definitely have our share of “hey this idea will be the best thing ever to spread the Gospel.” Unfortunately, many of those ideas begin to fail when questions start to be asked about its relevance or realistic application.

That same UN Global Pulse article noted a few questions that any visionary/innovator should ask before they set their feet towards working out any new idea (summarized bullet points):

• Understand what the problem space is
• Know what already exists in that problem space
• Clearly state the gaps in a way that allows people to help
• Connect the resulting problem set with the people who are available to help
• Try things out – internally and externally.
• Understand when something is useful, usable and significantly improves on what has gone before.
• Find champions.

Some years back, one of our contributors (Jay Noggle) penned the comment, technology is only relevant when its personal. It is vy true that cultural shifts and even pressures to be relevant might compell us to be innovative. Howeve, the test of anything innovative is how it communicates to its intended audiences. The Harvard Business Review adds three bullets to these:

• What are the conventions for this type of product?
• What are the key features/things to be communicated?
• Is the timing for this product effective?

These bullets are just a further extension of applying this wisdom: be innovative, be relevant, be realistic. Let’s be encouraged to experiment and figure out solutions which may have mobile components, but do so in a way that’s not just cool, but relevant to an addressable group of persons in a clear manner.