The Business of Apps: Three Fateful Rivalries Show Why the Idea Itself Matters Less Than You Think

A billion-dollar app idea? Not likely.

Before every intellectual property (IP) attorney in the world begins calling to argue otherwise, let me clarify.

There are nearly 8 billion people on this planet. Any idea for an app has likely been thought up hundreds of times — in independent circumstances, around the globe, in different languages, and by people other than you.

But, if ideas are truly “cheap,” what factors actually determine whether an app will succeed?

Billion-Dollar Execution

If you do in fact have a great idea on your hands, you need to understand that you consequently have a responsibility — to yourself and your fellow stakeholders, certainly, but also to society — to bring that idea into the brilliant light of day.

And the way you do that? Meticulous planning and sublime execution.

Here are three tech rivalries from the past decade in apps, to prove why execution — not the idea itself — is the key ingredient for success in technology.

Myspace vs Facebook

Myspace was a revelation in the social networking space in the early 2000’s, with a…