Diffusions of Innovation (Blog #7)

Diffusion Theory Explanation (skip 54 sec)

Diffusion of Innovation 

Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. Diffusion is not a bad thing to happen in actualality is a great thing. Diffusion is the process of innovations being spread to all the possible outlets for consumers. Allowing individuals to become aware of this no idea, piece of technology, and or innovations. Some criteria that need to be met when considering why certain technology is adopted. This criterion consists of:

 

1.    Compatibility: How well does this innovation fit with existing values, patterns of behavior, or tools?

 

2.    Trialability: Can you try it before you buy it?

 

3.    Relative advantage: In what way is this innovation better than the alternatives?

 

4.    Observability: Are its benefits noticeable? If someone else is using the innovation, can I see it being used?

 

5.    Simplicity / Complexity: The easier it is to learn or grasp, the faster it diffuses.

 

With the ever-changing social norms in today’s modern world the innovation needs to correctly assemble itself in the fabric of society. If it generates any type of backlash or propaganda against the innovation it might not take off. Trialability is the action of putting the innovation through tests via the company. This term can also be installed with the public and consumers giving people a seed for their thoughts and ideas for what the innovation can help with. 

 

            Having an innovation that excites tends to be a leader in the list of other ideas. Having a relative advantage over other alternatives is a key to growing. Having aspects that make a idea even better to better suit different demographics will succeed in the end.

 

            Observability and simplicity / complexity are concepts that correlate with each other. With observability if the benefits outweigh the negatives and it is noticeable within the market it has a high percentage of continuing to the last criterion term. If the innovation is easy to learn and grasp of how it works this will be an innovation that can change the time line. 

 

            Innovations are also reliant on the adapters of the technology. There are three types of people that help with the diffusion of an innovation. Early adopters are the demographic of people that quickly jump onto a new idea or innovation. This group is a key demographic for the succession of a innovation. These people are the ones to quickly talk about it and diffuse the idea. Late adopters are people that are reluctant to new ideas especially if they perfected their uses for other inventions. The individuals that are generally not interested in the idea typically live happy with what they have already and don’t need anything else. 

 

            When talking about The Cloud Computing system some individuals were early adopters, late adopters, and the individuals that simply opted out. The cloud computing system is a data resource and computing power. This innovation is more for the tech savvy younger generations. This idea caught traction because it created an almost unlimited storage for all things involving computers and phones. This put the typical external hard drive at risk of being wiped out. External hard drives are heavy, a hassle if things get corrupted or lost. With the cloud it got rid of all the unnecessary. Some later adopters believed that their information is at risk of being leaked. Individuals felt comfortable with having all their information in their possession and not out in the open in some imaginary cloud. Yes the downsides is that personal information can be accessed through hacking but at the same time the goods outweigh the negatives. When considering the positives and negative analysis and weighing the odds comes down to how many people has it helped. I belive that if an innovation that helps more than it hurts then it is a good innovation.