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Most attribute the runaway success of Amazon's Kindle to the E Ink technology that makes it so readable. But if that were true, why didn't Sony's Librie, which used the same technology and was launched three years earlier in the vibrant Japanese book market, succeed? The true explanation of the Kindle's triumph is something far less obvious--the behind-the-screen elements that make up a product's backstory

Last week, Mark Zuckerberg shook things up at the social media/news interface when he announced Facebook's upcoming partnerships with a number of major news organizations. The Washington Post's Social Reader already looks like a slick piece of work , and apps such as that from other news organizations could dramatically change the way 750 million people (give or take) encounter and read news on the web.

What has become the underlying reason for why we do things in our lives?

To generate growth, companies seem to love "hard" product innovation--the type of expensive breakthroughs that require engineers and PhDs to toil away deep in the lab. Think Teflon, Viagra, or the Segway scooter. The challenge with this type of innovation is that it's expensive and high risk because it requires a lot of marketing dollars to educate consumers, not to mention the cost of developing the product itself.

Traditionally, gold mining has been a messy, toxic business that leaves scars on the earth and mercury in the atmosphere. But the practice may get a bit cleaner with the growing Fairtrade gold certification, announced last year. successThe new standard , labeled as Fairtrade and Fairmined, sets social, environmenta,l and economic criteria to eliminate child labor, minimize or halt the use of toxic mercury and cyanide, and avoid the havoc mining usually visits upon the environment

John Sculley has had a diverse career by any measure--he has served as president of PepsiCo, CEO of Apple (where he famously championed the tablet computer in the 1980s), and more recently, chairman of Watermark Medical, a medical products company that has developed an in-home sleep apnea diagnostic device). Sculley is also working with Audax Health Solutions , a startup that has developed a personal health management platform with a gamification layer that allows users to compete with friends and collect points and badges. We caught up with Sculley at this year's Body Computing Conference --an event that brings together doctors, designers, programmers, entrepreneurs, journalists, and members of the entertainment industry to preview the future of high-tech health care--to learn more about his thoughts on the future of health care technology

“You shouldn’t wait for change—you should pioneer it,” said Paul Block, CEO of Merisant, the company that makes the sugar substitute Equal, and his remark pretty well summed up the theme of last Thursday’s conference session, “Growth and Innovation: Leveraging the Momentum.” A standing-room-only audience attended the panel discussion, in which Block was joined by serial entrepreneur Howard Tullman, CEO of Tribeca Flashpoint Digital Media Arts Academy, and Lisa Price, CEO of Carol’s Daughter, a cosmetics company she launched 18 years ago while working as an assistant writer on “The Cosby Show.” Perhaps the best illustration of Block’s precept came from Price. Four years ago, she said, she and her management team had detected early signs of a major change in the tastes and preferences of their customer base, principally African-American women

Breaking ideas in motion, updated constantly by Fast Company editors. Netflix Signs On DreamWorks . Netflix signed a deal with animation giant DreamWorks to begin streaming television shows and movies in 2013, the New York Times reports , giving the web service first access to content that's traditionally been offered first to television networks like HBO.

A video series in which Inc.com editors explore the most important topics you need to know to run your small business now. This week: How upcoming patent law changes could impact you. In the next few months, recent legislation will transform America's patent system.

A new study points out that "small business" and "innovation" are not synonymous.

Congratulations to two council members for recognition for business achievements that will help take their companies to the next level.

There is a better way to focus your time on what you value the most - and say no to the rest. It begins with a mere 18 Minutes. Do you ever get to the end of a busy day only to realize that next to nothing has been taken off of your “to do” list

Inc.com traces a brief history of U.S.

Distractions at work are nothing new. Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) wrote about strategies for dealing with work distractions way back in the 1300s. In his Life of Solitude , Petrarch offers the following advice for the medieval scholar: "Close the doors of your senses in order to achieve solitude in the presence of other people." Today, you will find many people doing exactly that in coffee shops and other public places.

Scott Harrison's story inspires Inc. 500|5000 attendees to donate their birthdays to charity:water. charity: water CEO, Scott Harrison, a nightclub promoter who transformed himself into one of the hottest not-for-profit entrepreneurs of our time, had Inc