Breaking Old Habits

Zohar Dayan notes that human beings are creatures of habit in his innovating progress speech. Though innovation is generally a means to progress, Dayan cautions that something that was once innovative can quickly turn into a limitation. In other words, the innovative idea becomes a new "model" to follow, which confines imagination and prevents further modification.

In order to illustrate his point, Dayan uses an example from his own life. When he was still a student he noticed that, though the medium for news had evolved from print to online, the information process was essentially the same. He sought to revolutionize the news industry, one of the most traditional industries in the world, by introducing Wibbitz. The company capitalizes on the personalized nature of the web by turning text articles into personalized videos. Not only is this format more compelling than text, it also makes content more accessible for the disabled and the blind.

However, he notes that since each new innovation has the danger of becoming the next generation's "habit," we should continue pushing forward and avoid complacency at all costs.