Fast Company

Something freaks me out about Russia. There is a lot of things to invent here, mainly concerning services. This field is still under-invested (the sense of service is still something difficult to fully get for Russian people). But still, Moscow is a booming city, so what is the result? People are just developing some stuff which are already crowdy and with a lot of players. You see appearing everyday some me-too offers, without communication and product differentiation.

Look at that paying machine (where you can put cash on your phone, your Internet and other services). These are the brands delivering Internet connection. I let you counting them, but really, it does not make sense. Dudes, try to invest in something innovative for once.

(Dirrty Frank, looking for his provider since 3 minutes)

F*** Me, I'm Famous

A new thing to delight your ego appeared near your favourite shops in Moscow. Forget about the caricaturists from Arbat street, portraying you with a big noise and proeminent eyebrows. Now, with a simple photo, you can become your fantasy and believe you're somebody else. Would like to chose to be a princess, a pirate, a spy or a Hollywood star...?

It's up to you to satisfy your dreams and put it on your flat's wall for the pleasure of your family and friends. Spooky.

(Photo: Dirrty Frank, who is thinking to be a porn star on a horse)

Me-Too Sub Products

Russia is a mistery for that. Most of the ideas are stolen from other countries, but contrary to China for example, to talk about it is really a tabu. That's quite ridiculous when you think that globalization of ideas sharing make everything easier to track, some people here are still thinking they're protected by a kinda curtain (no historical mention here) that would allow them to imitate without any shame. I've already shown you that nice homage-video clip

http://brisonslaglace.blogspot.com/2010/05/homage-or-bad-copy.html. This is another one that is quite obvious. Yes, this clip made some buzz but far to be a best-in-class production. Even more if you remove the 'happening' that was generated at that time.

And then, we can talk about many other things like Vkontakte.ru/Facebook, series like Scrubs or Desperate Housewives (see photos), some food chains like Pret a Manger/Prime Star or some numerous local me-too products. To be fair, we can't say that Russian people lack of imagination (all the contrary) but they hate risks. That's why they prefer to develop something that was done successfully somewhere else than to invest in the unknown

(Photos: Dirrty Frank, the one and only...so far)