It seems like just a year or two ago when Flip cams were flying off the shelves and being used by every early adopter and citizen journalist.  Oh, wait – it was just a year or two ago.

 

But now, as you have probably read, the Flip Cam is dead (for now).   Cisco announced yesterday that it’s pulling the plug on its video camera business.  While it’s largely smart phones and their video capability that is driving such a move, this brings forth a clear message.

What’s hot today could very well be dead tomorrow.

With technological advancements moving at lighting speed and new and improved consumer offerings hitting the shelves every day, the proverbial 15-minutes of fame can sometimes be more like 15-seconds these days.   Just ask the Flip dudes, or our friends at “Guitar Hero” who were recently told that their “hottest video game franchise ever” had become a dinosaur overnight and was being put back in a cave.

The lesson here is to invest in evolution or your own competition.  Apple and Google do this consistently, which is just one of many reasons why they continue to dominate.   If you’re running a business, are you thinking about evolution and how to make your product significantly better in 2012?  If you own a successful website, are you investing in creating a new website, with a new brand name, that can replace your current home run when it’s no longer the hottest thing on the web?  I hope so … today’s hottest thing could very well be gone tomorrow.