These two words are often confused with one another.
Thomas Edison was an inventor. Steve Jobs and Elon Musk are innovators.
Inventors create something out of thin air while innovators take something that exists and make it better, easier to use etc.
The first email was sent in the mid 1960’s but was not adopted mainstream until the early 1990’s.
The first computer was used in 1943 but the first personal computer was not until 1981. It was not until the graphical interface first with the Lisa by Apple in 1984 and then with MS Windows operating system in the late 80’s /early 90’s that mass adoptions began.
The internet was created in 1961 but it was not used for ecommerce or socially in the form of chat rooms until the mid to late 1990’s.
The electric car was created at the turn of the 1900’s but as we know…the combustible engine won.
The 3D printer was something everyone knew was great but it took a long time before the real value was understood.
Thom and I discuss inventions vs. innovations.