Don’t knock copy-cat innovation, it fuels the real stuff

Google wanted a more networking-friendly Facebook, so it created Google+.

Apple’s team wanted its own navigation app, so it tried its hand at Google Maps.

Facebook didn’t want to miss out on Snapchat-sized success, so Facebook whipped up its own app, Poke.

Tech companies are notorious for copying each other’s products and services, essentially “stealing” ideas. While some consumers get frustrated with companies releasing copycat products, the reality is that this game of one-upmanship results in better services for the consumer.

For example, let’s look at the copycat social networks that have come and gone in the last decade. MySpace and Friendster once ruled the space, but Facebook improved upon those companies’ ideas. They quickly differentiated themselves with a better feature set, ease of use, and stability. These days, Facebook reigns supreme, while the rest struggle to keep up (or have already thrown in the towel).

Today, in the minds of many users, Google+ is the copycat. What consumers fail to realise, however, is that Google+ is putting pressure on Facebook to innovate to stay ahead of the game. Over time, these two offerings will continue to innovate and differentiate, pushing the other to do better. This is healthy competition and just like there’s room for many radio stations, there’s room for many social networks.

It’s not just tech giants that steal from each other, though. Startups get in the game, too — driving competition even more. New companies trying to disrupt an existing market are behind the eight ball in a lot of ways, but one advantage they have is the agility to stay responsive to user needs. It allows them to change direction, building out features users want faster than their giant competitors.

This is basically what Elon Musk did with Tesla. He did not invent the car, or even the electric car. Instead, he looked at the products already available and thought, “I can do better.” Tesla was built on the innovation of the cars that came before it, but it built better, faster, and in a more innovative way than the competition, which quickly put them on top.

Without competition, everything stagnates. We don’t need to look any further than the US internet service industry for an example. The cost and speed of internet access in that country has long lagged behind the service available in other developed countries. The few companies that controlled the market implemented tiny, slow changes while raking in huge profits.

It looks like their gravy train is coming to an end, however. In this case, the disruption is coming not from an upstart, but from search giant Google. Google Fiber provides connections that are 100 times faster for about the same cost as the competition. What amounts to “copycat” innovation will ultimately be a huge win for consumers.

Here are some tips for being a better copycat and improving upon existing technology:

1. Cut your features

Jason Fried, founder of 37signals, has the saying “Half, not half-ass.” Take whatever you want to build, cut your feature list in half, and continue this until you arrive at your core idea. Focus on that one function and do it better than anyone else; you can consider adding more features once you have the core functionality nailed.

2. Build superior software

Minimum viable products are optimized for speed to market, not quality-built software, and too many MVPs become legitimate products without advancing past that stage. Attention to detail, quality code, and automated testing will slow you down at first, but after a few months, you will see a significant increase in your development velocity.

3. Test

You can make calculated decisions on the user experience of an application, but you never really know how users will respond until you get your product into the hands of real people. If you can’t put together a group of beta testers, consider using a service like UserTesting.com to gather feedback.

In today’s expansive tech market, it’s almost impossible not to be a copycat. Don’t let that deter you. The tools we have at our disposal now are leaps and bounds better than the ones we were using five years ago. What took years to build can now be replicated in a small fraction of that time.

Companies can innovate more quickly by standing on the backs of their predecessors than by constantly starting from scratch. Smart companies steal from each other, taking some poorly implemented ideas and making them better. Even if consumers think it’s all the same, they ultimately benefit from the fierce competition to be the best.