Early adopters are people who acquire new technologies faster than the rest of society, testing and demonstrating their potential benefits to others. They are part of the “Diffusion of Innovations” system, where new technology is picked up in a bell curve pattern. Early adopters have become a driving force behind the technology industry, demanding new innovations and changing society. Technology companies target early adopters in marketing and focus studies, as gaining their acceptance often leads to wider acceptance from society.
An early adopter is someone who acquires new technologies faster than the rest of society. In a highly technological age, an early adopter has the latest hardware gadgets, the most innovative software releases, and often the most technical skills as well. Early adopters test and demonstrate the potential benefits of the products to the rest of the population, which slowly follows the growing trend. Consequently, every early adopter is an important part of the process behind the release of a technological innovation.
Early adopters are part of a system known as the “Diffusion of Innovations,” an idea proposed by Everett Rogers in a 1962 book of the same name. According to the book, new technology is picked up by members of society in a pattern that resembles a bell curve. In the beginning there is a very small percentage of people, known as the innovators. Innovators develop new material and also leverage other people’s innovations to improve or pass them on. The first adopter, one of a group representing about 13% of the population, follows closely.
When other members of society see early adopters using the new technology, they start following them. The former are the first majority, which brings the formula to the tip of the bell curve. The laggard majority is behind, followed by the “lates”. The last category includes people who are resistant to new technologies, and therefore are likely waiting for technology to prove necessary.
In the 1990s, the technology industry began to rapidly develop new hardware and software products. As a result, early adopters have become a driving force behind the technology industry, as early adopters have constantly demanded new innovations. They also changed the face of society by being the first wave of people to purchase cell phones, use the internet, and participate in numerous other technologies that were new to the society.
Once a piece of technology begins to spread through a society, its climb to social acceptance tends to be slow. New concepts don’t always make their way from an innovator to an early adopter. Within the technology sector, there is a lot of focus on getting products into the hands of early adopters so they can explore, test and promote them. This technique is used extensively in marketing and focus studies, which target early adopters rather than the entire company. Many technology companies are confident that gaining acceptance of something from an early adopter will result in wider acceptance from society at large.
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