On Early Adopting
A small study about the different categories of technology adoption
There is a significant difference between being able to make use of and taking advantage of new technologies, and attempting to embrace technology a tad bit too early.
However, spotting these differences can be quite a chore, and many people have even stopped trying to acknowledge a difference between the two.
In a study performed by Everett Rogers which led to the formulation of a theory called Diffusion of Innovations (DoI), it is said that there are 5 different categories of adopters which are: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Laggards.
According to the (DoI) theory formulated by Everett Rogers, early adopters make up 13.5 percent of the population.
As long as I can remember, I have been an early adopter of new technologies, whether it be hardware based, or software based. I found it fun to be able to tinker and play around with experimental web browsers, or new app features that were still riddled with kinks. If I manage to stumble upon some software on the internet with big bold "BETA" printed somewhere on the screen, I would probably start looking for a way to be part of that beta, especially when it's about software that I already use.
In many cases developers would call for a select few to test a program, without it being made publicly available in large quantities, this is called Closed Beta, or in some cases even Alpha testing.
People who would be interested in testing a product while still in these phases would usually need to sign up so they could "stand in line" to be chosen as beta testers.This usually comes packaged with an agreement of sorts that the tester would have to sign, or agree to that forbids the tester to mention or publish any information regarding the software they are testing other than mentioning the product and main use of it; however in some extreme cases, even that would be a big "no no".
The problem with what have been mentioned above, however, is that many software companies advertise a "closed beta" version to the world, and anyone who would either buy a copy of another program, or who would sign up for the testing would then be allegeable to download a pre-release version of said software to try and test it. This is the kind of "early adopting" that, in my opinion, is of the wrong kind in most cases, as most people who tend to sign up for this kind of testing do not keep in mind that the program is still in its early phases, and that it is bound to come with a lot of kinks and other problems, resulting in massive "flame" wars on the internet, and just generally bad press surrounding the software.
According to Rogers' DoI theory, Adopters have counterparts known as Laggards, who is on the opposite end of the human spectrum, and is usually of older age, with less of a social standing in modern technology and is about 16 percent of the population.
A Laggard would generally be anyone who is slow to embrace new technology, and even slower to learn of it and incorporate it into their lives. A very good example of a laggard would be a person who frequents web browsing on an outdated web browser or device. They are generally extremely ignorant toward updates and news regarding this device or browser, and would only update to the latest technology when everyone else already use it on a regular basis.
Laggards generally tend to have an aversion to change, and is bound to follow more "traditional" means of living and going about their business such as reading the printed newspaper as opposed to getting all their news on their tablet computers.
Many companies still try to cater for this category of adopters by having more conventional methods of updating old software with minor security and bug fixes, while still retaining the same software design and build for the laggard's potential slow and older devices.
Automatic and scheduled update checks also help laggards to embrace newer versions of software faster than anticipated. However, "moving on" to better and faster technology is inevitable, and would always come as a last resort to most laggards, as many companies eventually stop supporting these older technology in order to move on and further their own standing in the technology world.
The rest of Rogers' named categories of adoption are the Early Majority, and the Late Majority of adoptees, which make up the bulk of the population.
Early Majority and Late Majority fall between the Early Adopters and the Laggards, and are usually the people that tend to get software as they are released to the public after testing, and as they are advertised afterward.
Individuals who fall under the Early Majority category would probably be the first ones to hear about a new product, or version thereof from their Early Adopter friends or family members who had already had the chance to play around with the software.
Individuals who fall under the Late Majority category would probably be the ones who would hear about the product or new version thereof from advertisements or product updates that have been scheduled on their devices, and would only get it after asserting that the new software would do exactly what they would want it to do, which is 90 percent of the time just to retain its previous features.
These adoptees also tend to be less tech-savvy than early adopters, yet more so than laggards. Both of these majorities tend to be young working class adults, to slightly older working class adults.
Many companies, for instance, would fall under the Late Majority category as it would take the board quite some time and a couple of meetings to work out how to best utilise the new technology. However, individually owned entrepreneurships and smaller, private companies would fall under the Early Majority category as they would be quick to make use of the latest technology to further their interests and overall social standing.
In conclusion, the Diffusion of Innovation theory states that people adopt and embrace new technologies whether it be hardware or software based, on completely different phases which these technologies are in at the given time, with Early Adopters being the first, and Laggards the last with the majority of the population falling in-between.
Notes
Innovators are the least of the population (mentioned as only 1 in every 40 people), and are not mentioned in this study as they are, by definition the percentage of people who create, design, implement, and study these new technologies, and as such bare no particular importance to this study or article.
It should be noted that this study was written with little knowledge and further reading about the DoI theory, and is based on simple definitions and paragraphs from within Rogers' study.
However, everything in this article is still used in proper context, and that my own opinions are clearly highlighted.
It should also be noted that this is a personal study, and should not be taken as an absolute to anyone who is studying the theory first created by Everett M. Rogers, and should much rather refer to Diffusion of Innovation itself.
This is a simplified study of my own research and readings about the DoI theory.
There is a significant difference between being able to make use of and taking advantage of new technologies, and attempting to embrace technology a tad bit too early.
However, spotting these differences can be quite a chore, and many people have even stopped trying to acknowledge a difference between the two.
In a study performed by Everett Rogers which led to the formulation of a theory called Diffusion of Innovations (DoI), it is said that there are 5 different categories of adopters which are: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Laggards.
According to the (DoI) theory formulated by Everett Rogers, early adopters make up 13.5 percent of the population.
As long as I can remember, I have been an early adopter of new technologies, whether it be hardware based, or software based. I found it fun to be able to tinker and play around with experimental web browsers, or new app features that were still riddled with kinks. If I manage to stumble upon some software on the internet with big bold "BETA" printed somewhere on the screen, I would probably start looking for a way to be part of that beta, especially when it's about software that I already use.
In many cases developers would call for a select few to test a program, without it being made publicly available in large quantities, this is called Closed Beta, or in some cases even Alpha testing.
People who would be interested in testing a product while still in these phases would usually need to sign up so they could "stand in line" to be chosen as beta testers.This usually comes packaged with an agreement of sorts that the tester would have to sign, or agree to that forbids the tester to mention or publish any information regarding the software they are testing other than mentioning the product and main use of it; however in some extreme cases, even that would be a big "no no".
The problem with what have been mentioned above, however, is that many software companies advertise a "closed beta" version to the world, and anyone who would either buy a copy of another program, or who would sign up for the testing would then be allegeable to download a pre-release version of said software to try and test it. This is the kind of "early adopting" that, in my opinion, is of the wrong kind in most cases, as most people who tend to sign up for this kind of testing do not keep in mind that the program is still in its early phases, and that it is bound to come with a lot of kinks and other problems, resulting in massive "flame" wars on the internet, and just generally bad press surrounding the software.
According to Rogers' DoI theory, Adopters have counterparts known as Laggards, who is on the opposite end of the human spectrum, and is usually of older age, with less of a social standing in modern technology and is about 16 percent of the population.
A Laggard would generally be anyone who is slow to embrace new technology, and even slower to learn of it and incorporate it into their lives. A very good example of a laggard would be a person who frequents web browsing on an outdated web browser or device. They are generally extremely ignorant toward updates and news regarding this device or browser, and would only update to the latest technology when everyone else already use it on a regular basis.
Laggards generally tend to have an aversion to change, and is bound to follow more "traditional" means of living and going about their business such as reading the printed newspaper as opposed to getting all their news on their tablet computers.
Many companies still try to cater for this category of adopters by having more conventional methods of updating old software with minor security and bug fixes, while still retaining the same software design and build for the laggard's potential slow and older devices.
Automatic and scheduled update checks also help laggards to embrace newer versions of software faster than anticipated. However, "moving on" to better and faster technology is inevitable, and would always come as a last resort to most laggards, as many companies eventually stop supporting these older technology in order to move on and further their own standing in the technology world.
The rest of Rogers' named categories of adoption are the Early Majority, and the Late Majority of adoptees, which make up the bulk of the population.
Early Majority and Late Majority fall between the Early Adopters and the Laggards, and are usually the people that tend to get software as they are released to the public after testing, and as they are advertised afterward.
Individuals who fall under the Early Majority category would probably be the first ones to hear about a new product, or version thereof from their Early Adopter friends or family members who had already had the chance to play around with the software.
Individuals who fall under the Late Majority category would probably be the ones who would hear about the product or new version thereof from advertisements or product updates that have been scheduled on their devices, and would only get it after asserting that the new software would do exactly what they would want it to do, which is 90 percent of the time just to retain its previous features.
These adoptees also tend to be less tech-savvy than early adopters, yet more so than laggards. Both of these majorities tend to be young working class adults, to slightly older working class adults.
Many companies, for instance, would fall under the Late Majority category as it would take the board quite some time and a couple of meetings to work out how to best utilise the new technology. However, individually owned entrepreneurships and smaller, private companies would fall under the Early Majority category as they would be quick to make use of the latest technology to further their interests and overall social standing.
In conclusion, the Diffusion of Innovation theory states that people adopt and embrace new technologies whether it be hardware or software based, on completely different phases which these technologies are in at the given time, with Early Adopters being the first, and Laggards the last with the majority of the population falling in-between.
Notes
Innovators are the least of the population (mentioned as only 1 in every 40 people), and are not mentioned in this study as they are, by definition the percentage of people who create, design, implement, and study these new technologies, and as such bare no particular importance to this study or article.
It should be noted that this study was written with little knowledge and further reading about the DoI theory, and is based on simple definitions and paragraphs from within Rogers' study.
However, everything in this article is still used in proper context, and that my own opinions are clearly highlighted.
It should also be noted that this is a personal study, and should not be taken as an absolute to anyone who is studying the theory first created by Everett M. Rogers, and should much rather refer to Diffusion of Innovation itself.
This is a simplified study of my own research and readings about the DoI theory.