Diffusion of the Facebook Innovation

Let's begin with a brief overview of how Facebook became an innovation. Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004 as an exclusive platform for Harvard University students to connect online. Within a few years, the platform quickly began to expand and became a global platform. Facebook was created to connect the world and create a global community. 

How did Facebook grow so fast?

Facebook, as an innovation, grew rapidly across the board. The platform has many pros and cons, that I will discuss based on each category of innovation adopters. I will explain how each group adopted the innovation through the Diffusion Theory.

Five categories of adopters: 

• Pioneers

• Early Adopters

• Early Majority

• Late Majority

• Laggards

The innovation has reached each group in a unique way. The different adopters receive information and appeal to messages that are tailored to each specific group. The process for spreading this innovation paused at each category of adopter in chronological order.

Pioneers

Pioneers, sometimes known as "innovators" are the first to adopt an innovation. This group of adopters is the smallest out of the five commonly discussed within the theory. This group is always the first to try new innovations. Pioneers have a strong drive to want to share their experiences with their community. They are responsible for demonstrating, to future adopters, the benefits of adopting a new innovation. 

Pioneers could be considered as the first Harvard University students who had access to the original version of Facebook in 2004. The platform appealed to pioneers because it was exclusive and created a narrow community. It allowed users to share their lives and experiences easily, within a new online universe. Pioneers adopted this innovation because it promoted easy communication, and was exclusive to their demographic, making them feel special. Since pioneers are known to be "adventurous," they dove right into the adoption of Facebook with no hesitation. They were eager to learn and explore the newly created online world. This group did not deny the adoption of Facebook because they only saw benefits to using the platform. They saw no downside to being able to share experiences and connect with others through an internet platform.

Early Adopters

Early adopters are the second smallest group. While small, they are very important in setting the tone for how innovations will be adopted in the future. They are considered to be opinion leaders who have the ability to convince the early majority to adopt an innovation. 

This group, in reference to the spread of Facebook, would be the second wave to adopt Facebook. They were most likely the Harvard students who were skeptical, at first, but were quickly persuaded. They also could be considered as students or individuals in late 2004, early 2005, who quickly adopted the innovation after the poineers. Early adopters were motivated to quickly adopt Facebook because of their need for communication and expression of their opinions. They believe their opinion is very important and used Facebook to disseminate their thoughts. Facebook appealed to this group due to the ability to increase the number of relationships, connections, and methods of communication. The only hesitation that held this group back from being the first adopters, was the limitation that Facebook was exclusive to Harvard students during the first year. After the platform became open to the public, early adopters quickly accepted the innovation.

Early Majority

The early majority were the third wave of adopters of Facebook. This group hesitates to adopt innovations as they want to see the benefits of adopting the innovation. They tend to observe how the previous groups use the technology. The early majority are older than the early adopters and innovators. They will adopt innovations once they are convinced that the technology will benefit their lives.

During the creation of Facebook, the early majority were inclined to adopt the use of Facebook after the early adopters had used it for a sufficient amount of time. The platform was appealing to this group because it was proven to have the ability to increase global connections. This was important, as the early majority demographic valued the ability to maximize their business potential and have the capacity to expand internationally. The early majority saw the benefit of being able to quickly access and spread information. The increased flow of information was due to the ability of the average user to act as a journalist, reporting from across the world. The group also values their family and the community, of which Facebook helps the individual to connect easily. The early majority were hesitant to adopt Facebook without identifying the advantages of the platform. They were cautious but not completely reluctant to accept the newly introduced technology.

Late Majority

The late majority tend to be more resistant to change. They are typically skeptical of new innovations and wait to adopt them until they are widely used and tested. They are nearing the end of a traditional career and are not always up-to-date on the latest innovations. While skeptical, they are vulnerable to the impact of peer pressure. The late majority follow the adoption of innovations by the early majority. The group is one of the largest groups, along with the early majority. 

Hesitations to adopt Facebook could have been due to historical trauma and lack of technological knowledge. This demographic was impacted by the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and an economic crisis. These major historical events potentially caused the late majority to be skeptical of society and often resist the urge to change. Facebook became appealing to this group when it proved to be a way to become more involved in one's own community. This group wanted to be able to share their life with family and close friends. With the need to fit in and become a user of the widely used platform, the late majority would be more inclined to adopt the innovation after some time.

Laggards

Laggards are typically the last group to adopt an innovation. This group may even resist adopting the innovation altogether. They are extremely resistant to change in all aspects of society. Laggards can be difficult to reach, in terms of marketing because they tend to limit themselves to traditional media outlets. This group will only adopt an innovation once it has been accepted by the majority of society for a substantial amount of time. 

Facebook eventually became appealing to a portion of laggards due to the emphasis to join from family members or close friends. Laggards were hesitant to adopt this innovation because they don't see much benefit from sharing personal information. They also had privacy concerns and most were unfamiliar with how the platform worked. Facebook's adaptations have made the platform more appealing to this generation or adopters, by making it easier to use. Facebook also became attractive to laggards when they recognized it created an easier way to connect with their children, grandchildren, and close friends. While many laggards have adopted the platform, the majority of the group do not rely on Facebook as much as other groups.

Where on the model do you stand?

What could Facebook have done to speed up the diffusion process? 

Where does today's society stand in the willingness to adopt Facebook?