3 ms·

> innovators (will try new tech because it's shiny) That doesn't sound like innovation to me. It sounds more like fashion. Am I reading too strictly into def

• wpietri 13y ago
  Great question. Any fault in my post is surely with my quick summary. The model is complex, and goes beyond tech: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusions_of_innovations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusions_of_innovations I describe the innovator group that way because high-tech early adopters will often try a new tech just because it's an exciting new tech. I don't think that's fashion, exactly, because those people are only 2-3% of the market, but you could look at it as fashion within that group. A good recent example is Google Glass. Some people surely bought it to be seen as cool by other tech adopters, but I know a bunch of people who bought it just to see what the hell it did, to experiment with it. Ditto for low-cost 3D printers. I think the name "innovators" pre-dates applying the model to high-tech types, and outside of tech I think the term is more clearly appropriate, because tech folks have an especially strong fondness for novelty.