I love this quote from Paul Saffo, Silicon Valley forecaster (what does THAT mean, BTW? How do I get that job?). Here’s the full quote, in reference to Facebook’s creation and whether we can really call any technology ideas original or plagiarized because these ideas are nearly always developed in collaboration with others. I would argue the same is true outside of the technological realm as well:

“Being first is heavily overrated in the technology space because all really good ideas end up being collaborative,” says Saffo, of the San Francisco analysis firm Discern. “Ideas are cheap. It’s the execution that matters. And if you look at where Facebook is now compared to where it started, it’s a very difficult comparison. … I wouldn’t give a whole lot of credence to people who are showing up and claiming credit.”