Diffusion of Innovations

In an age of ever-increasing technological innovation, thisrenowned volume - which has sold more than 30,000 copies in eachedition -is more important than ever. DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONSlucidly explains how inventions are almost always perceived asuncertain or even risky. To overcome this, most people seek outothers like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. Thediffusion process, then, is most often shaped by a few individualswho spread the word amongst their circle of acquaintances, a processthat typically takes months or years. But there are exceptions: useof the Internet in the 1990s, for instance, may have spread morerapidly than any other innovation in human history - and it continuesto influence the very nature of diffusion by decreasing thesignificance of physical distance between people. Asthought-provoking as it is instructive, this fully updated, widelyacclaimed work of scholarship is itself a great idea that continuesto spread.