Introduction of communication

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Introduction

Everett Rogers (March 6, 1931 – October 21, 2004)

He was a communication scholar, writer, and teacher. He is best known for originating the diffusion of innovations theory and for introducing the term early adopter.

IntroductionRogers was born on his family's farm in 1931

Rogers had no plans to attend university until a school teacher drove him and some classmates to visit Iowa State University. Rogers decided to pursue a degree in agriculture there.

He then served in the Korean War for two years. He returned to Iowa State University to earn a Ph.D. insociology and statistics in 1957.

Introduction

• In 1995, Rogers moved to the University of New Mexico. He helped UNM launch a doctoral program in communication and he was Distinguished Professor Emeritus( 杰出的名誉退休教授 )at UNM.

• Rogers suffered from kidney disease and retired from UNM in the summer of 2004 and he died just a few months later.

Publications • Rogers, E. M. (1960). Social change in rural

society: A textbook in rural sociology. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

• Rogers, E. M. (1962). Diffusion of innovations. New York: Free Press.

• Rogers, E. M. (1969). Modernization among peasants: The impact of communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

• Rogers, E. M. (1986). Communication technology: The new media in society. New York: Free Press.

• Rogers, E. M. (1994). A history of communication study: A biographical approach. New York: Free Press.

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Diffusion of innovations

• Diffusion of Innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread through cultures.

• Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system.

• Rogers (1962) espoused the theory that there are four main elements that influence the spread of a new idea: the innovation, communication channels, time, and a social system. This process relies heavily on human capital.The categories of adopters are: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards

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• Roger's work asserts that 4 main elements influence the spread of a new idea: the innovation, communication channels, time, and a social system.

• These elements work in conjunction with one another: diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. Roger;s adds that central to this theory is process.

• Individuals experience 5 stages of accepting a new innovation: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. If the innovation is adopted, it spreads via various communication channels. During communication, the idea is rarely evaluated from a scientific standpoint; rather, subjective perceptions of the innovation influence diffusion. The process occurs over time.

• Finally, social systems determine diffusion, norms on diffusion, roles of opinion leaders and change agents, types of innovation decisions, and innovation consequences.

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Elements

The key elements in diffusion research are:

Elements Definition

Innovation Rogers defines an innovation as "an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption"

Communic-ation channels

A communication channel is "the means by which messages get from one individual to another"

Time The innovation-decision period is the length of time required to pass through the innovation-decision process". "Rate of adoption is the relative speed with which an innovation is adopted by members of a social system"

Social system

A social system is defined as a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal

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Decisions

• Two factors determine what type a particular decision is:

• Whether the decision is made freely and implemented voluntarily,

• Who makes the decision.• Based on these considerations, th

ree types of innovation-decisions have been identified within diffusion of innovations.

Type Definition

Optional Innovation-Decision

his decision is made by an individual who is in some way distinguished from others in a social system.

Collective Innovation-Decision

This decision is made collectively by all individuals of a social system.

Authority Innovation-Decision

This decision is made for the entire social system by few individuals in positions of influence or power

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Process

• Diffusion of an innovation occurs through a five–step process. This process is a type of decision-making.

Stage Definition

Knowledge In this stage the individual is first exposed to an innovation but lacks information about the innovation. During this stage of the process the individual has not been inspired to find more information about the innovation.

Persuasion In this stage the individual is interested in the innovation and actively seeks information/detail about the innovation

Decision In this stage the individual takes the concept of the change and weighs the advantages/disadvantages of using the innovation and decides whether to adopt or reject the innovation.Due to the individualistic nature of this stage Rogers notes that it is the most difficult stage to acquire empirical evidence

Implement-ation

In this stage the individual employs the innovation to a varying degree depending on the situation. During this stage the individual determines the usefulness of the innovation and may search for further information about it.

Confirmati-on

In this stage the individual finalises his/her decision to continue using the innovation. This stage is both intrapersonal and interpersonal, confirmation the group has made the right decision.

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Adopter categories

• Rogers defines an adopter category as a classification of individuals within a social system on the basis of innovativeness.

• In the book Diffusion of Innovations, Rogers suggests a total of five categories of adopters in order to standardize the usage of adopter categories in diffusion research. The adoption of an innovation follows an S curve when plotted over a length of time. The categories of adopters are: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards .

• In addition to the gatekeepers and opinion leaders who exist within a given community, there are change agents from outside the community. Change agents essentially bring innovations to new communities– first through the gatekeepers, then through the opinion leaders, and so on through the community.

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Early adopter

• An early adopter or lighthouse customer is an early customer of a given company, product, or technology; in politics, fashion, art, and other fields, this person would be referred to as a trendsetter. The term originates from Everett Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations (1962).

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History

• Typically this will be a customer who, in addition to using the vendor's product or technology, will also provide considerable and candid feedback to help the vendor refine its future product releases, as well as the associated means of distribution, service, and support

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Early adopters as shown in the Rogers' bell curve

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• The relationship is synergistic, with the customer having early (and sometimes unique, or at least uniquely early) access to an advantageous new product or technology, but he also serves as a kind of guinea pig.

• In exchange for being an early adopter, and thus being exposed to the problems, risks, and annoyances common to early-stage product testing and deployment, the lighthouse customer is sometimes given especially attentive vendor assistance and support, even to the point of having personnel at the customer's work site to assist with implementation. The customer is sometimes given preferential pricing, terms, and conditions, although new technology is very often expensive, so the early adopter still often pays quite a lot.

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• The vendor, on the other hand, benefits from receiving early revenues, and also from a lighthouse customer's endorsement and assistance in further developing the product and its go-to-market mechanisms. Acquiring lighthouse customers is a common step in new product development and implementation. The real-world focus that this type of relationship can bring to a vendor can be extremely valuable.

• Early adoption does come with pitfalls: early versions of products may be buggy and/or prone to malfunction. Furthermore, more efficient, and sometimes less expensive, versions of the product usually appear a few months after the initial release (Apple iPhone). The trend of new technology costing more at release is often referred to as the "early adopter tax".

How were his ideas important for development communication?

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How was the Diffusion of Innovations important for development communication?

Before 1962, most diffusion studies was going on in the United States and Europe. In the 1960 s,before the first edition and the second edition of this book published, diffusion research did a lot of investigation and study in Latin America, Africa and Asia's developing countries .

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Early adopters are who affected by the innovator and then followed them..they are the leaders of related groups and have their own ideas. They respect by the people. They can keenly feel the actions of the "innovator", see the value, and began to follow suit.

The early adopters are fashion-crowd who concerned more about the new things, but they also willing to try a new way of life, and they are susceptible to the influence of the mass media., Their greatest features is often opinion leaders temperament cautious characteristics and leadership have a decisive impact on the subsequent adoption.. Therefore, they have far-reaching impact on the promotion of innovation .Early adopters have passion for work, interpersonal relationships and influence, which making it serve a set term of office of the innovative media "the best candidate.

Early adopters made the necessary preparations for later takeoff. This seemingly "weak" groups can play a significant role in human-to-human transmission and to persuade others to accept innovation. In Rogers' view, the "early adopters" is who willing to lead the acceptance and use of innovative things and taking risks some people who are willing to.

Early adopters not only have strong endurance innovative early shortcomings, but also be able to expand itself and in groups of opinion leaders who "lobbying" to accept as well as the adoption of innovative products. After the rapid outward diffusion of innovation through these opinion leaders.