But overall, many say there aren't much data about whether prizes are more effective in promoting innovation than other types of funding, such as in-house development.

WSJ: Prizes Abound but Unclear if They Are Best Way to Get Innovation

He also distinguished the many different types of innovation, such as reverse innovation, social innovation and even Ghandian innovation.

FORBES: Event Report: Innovation in Mind 2012 - Lund, Sweden #iim2012

It annihilated analog constraints that sustained certain types of profit, freeing up innovation and leading to more consumer satisfaction.

FORBES: How the People Saved Book Publishing

Ensuring that young people learn the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math while in school is crucial to maintaining our culture of innovation, but so is exposing youth to the types of career opportunities available in these and other high-growth fields.

WHITEHOUSE: Our Top Stories

Not only are there new exciting names such as Cloudera Hadoop, or 10Gen MongoDB but even larger than the names and types of technology I am listing is the pace of innovation.

FORBES: Latest trait of successful start-ups: Speed & iteration of learning...and yes un-learning!

Then there is innovation in social and communication companies such as Mxit, which is a mobile communication platform across all types of devices, and if you listen to its new CEO Alan Knott-Craig Jnr, it is well on its way to "conquering the African market".

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS